New Delhi, October 16
The conviction of ten Delhi Police cops by a city court after years of trial for killing Kurkashetra-based innocent businessmen Jagjit Singh and Pradeep Goyal in cold blood in broad daylight shootout at Connought Place, came as a much-awaited justice but a bit too late.

But Pradeep’s wife Neema and Jagjit’s father Niranjan Singh said nothing less than the death sentence to the accused would serve the justice as the cops had killed the two innocent persons in cold blood for no fault on their part.

“I want death penalty for them. The punishment should be exemplary,” she said, while Jagajit Singh’s father said that the cops had ruined the life of his entire family. “God will certainly punish the guilty…it was a deliberate murder and they should be punished with death,” he said.

Their relatives, who fought the case with their back to the wall, which normally happens when the defenders of the law themselves were in the dock, however, expressed their satisfaction over the final outcome today.

But for Pradeep’s wife Neema, and his son Naman, who was only two years old then and had been told for the past ten years that his father had died in a road accident, it was a long wait for justice, their relatives said.

Naman, now a class seven student, was only recently told that his father had actually been killed in a “fake encounter” for no fault of his.

Now they are eagerly waiting for the pronouncement of the verdict of sentence, fixed by Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar for October 24. Pradeep’s relative Dinesh Gupta said the families of the two business partners had suffered a lot during the 10-year-long trial proceedings.

Two innocent businessmen on their trip to the city were gunned down by the “trigger-happy policemen”, even without trying to verify their identities for a second. They simply rained bullets on them at a most busy place of the national capital–Connought Place–in broad daylight, he said.

“After the crime, the policemen even did not accept their responsibility, they just said sorry,” Gupta said.

Instead of admitting their crime, they tried every trick in the trade to portray the two innocent businessmen as criminals, planted a pistol and bullets in their car to save their skin, the relatives said.

“They were killed without provocation… It was never a case of mistaken identity. It was a well-planned murder. The cops chased the car for nearly half an hour… but they did not ascertain during this period whether the persons in the car they are following are actually criminals,” victims’ lawyer Saif said.

The relatives said the life for Pradeep’s wife had come to standstill after the brutal killing of her husband and she came to terms only a couple of years ago and joined a public school as a teacher to divert her attention from the agony.

There was public outrage on the day of killing of the duo and the government was even forced to remove the Police Commissioner Nikhil Kumar, apart from placing the guilty cops under suspension.

New Delhi, October 16
The Supreme Court has said that a person can escape with lighter punishment, if he or she proves that the offence was not pre-meditated or was done during the course of a sudden quarrel or provocation, in a murder case. 

In such cases, the accused can escape with lighter punishment of 10 years or the maximum punishment of life imprisonment, as the offence is treated as culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The person can escape death penalty, which is the maximum punishment as prescribed for murder under the Indian Penal Code. Whereas, if an offence is established as murder, the minimum sentence is life imprisonment and the maximum is death sentence.

Interpreting Exception four, as provided under Section 300 IPC, a bench of justices Arijit Pasayat and L S Panta said that the Exception is founded on the same principle, as covered by Exception one under the code. — PTI

When after more than four hours Dr A K Bisoi did not turn up, another doctor had to perform the heart surgery of the patient suffering from triple vessel disease. — PTI

Ghaziabad, October 16
By arresting Surinder, alias Leelu, Kavi Nagar police, Ghaziabad, have cracked the murder case of a railway official in Sadarpur area two and a half months ago.

Leelu had killed Raghuraj Singh for which he was given a contract for Rs 60,000 by deceased’s own son, Amit, alias Riku, Leelu told the police. The son was upset over his father’s wayward lifestyle. The son had hoped that he would secure a job in railways after his father’s death.

S.P. City Ghazibad, Vijay Bhushan said the police would soon arrest the son and others involved in the murder. He said Riku had paid Rs 40,000 as an advance to Leelu for killing Raghuraj.

On July 22, a middle-aged man’s body was recovered in Raispur village, under Kavi Nagar police station. The man was later identified as Raghuraj Singh of Sadarpur village. Raghuraj, a railway officer posted in Delhi, had been shot dead.

SP City said SO Kavi Nagar police station learnt that the killer of Raghuraj Singh was hanging around Dasna railway crossing. The police sprang into action immediately and arrested Leelu.

Ghaziabad, October 16
Former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said that the Bharatiya Janata Party was ready for the Lok Sabha polls now or in 2009.

Inaugurating a cancer hospital on Meerut Road in Ghaziabad on Sunday, leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha said that terrorism, dearness and failure of the UPA government on all fronts would be the main issue on which the next elections would be contested. The BJP was ready for the polls even today, but the Congress had backtracked and the elections might be held in 2009. Advani said that for the past decade or so the country’s politics had passed through strange circumstances.

Leader of the opposition said that though Manmohoan Singh was the Prime Minister of the country, but the strings of power were being pulled from 10 Janpath, New Delhi. Sonia Gandhi was virtually running the government, he said.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to make out as to who was actually running the coalition government at centre. It is not clear where the mutual infighting among coalition partners will lead. Even Gandhi had said that the government was about to fall, but suddenly she announced that the next elections would be held in 2009.

The former Deputy Prime Minister advised people that instead of depending on the government they should come forward. He said that during his college days the mere mention of T.B. meant that the person was sure to die, but medical science had progressed today and diseases like tuberculosis and cancer had become curable. He appealed people to shun tobacco chewing, cigarette smoking, drinking and consuming other intoxicating products.

“We know that all of us has to die one day, yet people indulge in evil habits. It is desirable that good health care and hospital should be set up but equally important was that people don’t succumb to bad and unhealthy habits,” added the former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani.

New Delhi, October 16
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today in presence of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, with the aim of transforming the Capital into a water-sufficient city.

Dikshit stressed the need for water conservation and adoption of the best water technology.

She said that the DJB and the CII should generate awareness about the use of rainwater harvesting. She advocated the reuse and recycling of water policy for industries and other large commercial users.

Arun Mathur, CEO, DJB said that the DJB and the CII would work towards efficient water usage. They would generate awareness about water conservation among students and promote water reuse. They would also monitor the activities on a quarterly basis.

Kartikeya Bharat Ram, CEO, CII-Delhi State Council said that the commitment to adoption of sustainable practices would help in solving the problem of water scarcity in the Capital.

New Delhi, October 16
His ‘Om Shanti Om’ is pitted against ‘Saawariya’, which has Sony Pictures splurging big money on its publicity. But Shah Rukh Khan says no amount of money can surpass the goodwill he has created.

“After this film, people will love me. And nobody is going to use the money to oust the goodness that I have created,” Shah Rukh told IANS. “Filmmaking is an expensive business but then there is a market that is getting you that money back. I don’t think you need to spend money to make money. Having said that, yes, outside players like Sony Pictures and Columbia Tristar are hugely moneyed,” he added.

While ‘Om Shanti Om’ has been produced under Shah Rukh’s own banner, Red Chillies Entertainment, ‘Saawariya’ has Hollywood studio Sony Pictures as co-producer. Both are releasing Nov 9.But Shah Rukh is all ready for the competition. “You have to compete. And by god’s grace after this film, I will have enough money to compete with them on money terms also.”

He candidly described his much talked about six-pack abs in the eagerly awaited ‘Om Shanti Om’ as a marketing trick. “The film is meant to be more celebrative and fun... I will not put it beyond the fact that it is a part of marketing to attract attention but it is also an inherent part of the story. It has a character that requires that kind of physique.”

The superstar believes that more than marketing and stars it is content that dictates the success of a film.“There is no denying that the content is the king. If you have good content in a film and you present it in whatever manner... whether it is ‘Chak De! India’, ‘Om Shanti Om’, ‘Don’ or ‘Swades’, I think at the end, people like only good content,” said Shah Rukh, who was in the capital for the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

“There is nothing beyond content - no stars, no marketing.”Director Farah Khan has roped in 31 stars, including Jeetendra and Rekha, for a special song in ‘Om Shanti Om’.

“The film required a sequence with film actors because the film is about filmmaking. It makes it look more authentic. On the lighter side, it is very helpful if people like to come and see some items.

”The actor has plans to build his own studio. However, he will have to wait. “There is no place and nobody gives me the land!” said SRK. — IANS

New Delhi, October 16
The Pearl School of Business (PSB), Gurgaon, has announced admission to the two-year MBA programme for 2008-10. The last date for submitting the application is December 31, 2007. The programme would start in June 2008.

Graduates in any discipline are eligible for admission. Those who have appeared for CAT or GMAT would only be considered for admission to the programme. The annual fee for the MBA programme is Rs 3,60,000. Those having two years’ experience will be preferred.

The programme developed in collaboration with leading international business schools (Babson College, USA, Nottingham Trent University, UK and Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand) blends entrepreneurial mindset, international outlook, social responsibility and ethics. The students would be awarded degree from the Nottingham Trent University, UK.

The institute offers degree in global business leadership, to enable students to build careers in business management. The programme has a unique integrated curriculum, oriented to the needs of global industry and start-up enterprises. The MBA programme offered provides opportunities of contacts with global business, service, and professional firms. It would also provide competitive entrepreneurial advantage to PSB students.

New Delhi, October 16
With the energy sector booming and continuing to garner the attention of the policy makers and diplomacy tuning to meet the energy demands of India, leaders of the sector werebestowed the honour in the Capital.

In a function organised last evening, Infraline Energy Excellence awards were given by union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to the energy firms for corporate excellence, individual value creators and some others were recognised for longstanding contribution in the sector, a release said today.

In the corporate excellence category, the awards for Petroleum Exploration was won by Reliance Industries, the award for Petroleum Production was won by BG India, Refining Award went to RIL, Natural Gas awards went to Gujarat Gas and GAIL, HR and skill honours went to Shell India.

The state of power award went to Gujarat government, regulatory commission award to DERC, Thermal Power Generation to REL (Dahanu Plant), Hydel Power Generation to Bhakra Beas Board, Power Distribution awards to Torrent Power and NDPL, Coal Award to South Eastern Coalfield and Singareni Coal.

In the individual excellence category, energy sector value creator awards went to D J Pandian of GSPC, Sudhir Mehta chairman of Torrent Power, Ms Vijayalakshmi Joshi chairperson of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam.

The jury award for longstanding contribution in E&P went to N K Mitra of ONGC, Natural Gas to U D Chaubey of GAIL, Downstream to B N Bankapur of IOC, Power Generation to T Shankarlingam of NTPC, Transmission to R P Singh of Power Grid, Equipment Manufacturing to A K Puri of BHEL.

In the multinational category Bill Adamson of BG India won the award for longstanding contribution to the service of the nation and in the individual category Rabi Bastia of RIL won the award.

New Delhi, October 16
From Wednesday, Delhi residents will throng the hundreds of shimmering Durga Puja pandals to celebrate the five-day festival that has become bigger and brighter over the years. Yet many can’t help but remember the old days with nostalgia.

It was a time when the pujas were an intimate community affair instead of the extravaganzas they are today.And no one knows this better than Swapan Ganguly, general secretary of New Delhi Kali Bari, the oldest Durga Puja in the city and the nodal point for the hundreds of puja committees in Delhi.“This year, the total number of pujas will cross 400. Every year, 10 to 15 new pujas are added to the list,” said Ganguly, who remembers that there were only about 40 Durga Pujas in the 1970s.As a 27-year-old, Indra Nath Banerjee landed up in Delhi from Kolkata in 1972 in search of better employment. Nostalgic about his hometown, he used to frequent the major Durga Pujas here, redolent with the smell of incense and clanging bells.

When he remembers those early days, his memories are mainly of the amateur theatre groups, made up of Bengali expatriates who used to wait the entire year to stage just a single show during the five days.

“There used to be groups like Kalkchakra of Lajpat Nagar and Karol Bagh’s Chena Mahal who were renowned for their jatras (Bengali folk theatre),” said Banerjee.
With none of the cinema halls in Delhi showing Bengali cinema, the puja nights would turn into marathon movie-watching sessions. “We used to hire a projector, get the reels of the hit movies from Kolkata, hang a white screen in the pandal and watch three films back to back throughout the night,” he reminisces.

These days, the tradition of plays and dance dramas staged by local community members is rarer, with most people hardly able to devote time to daily rehearsals. Instead, there are numerous professional drama repertories from Kolkata that come to Delhi to earn good money on the ‘puja circuit’.

They are joined by big-ticket performers, like film playback singers and dance troupes—with people waiting for their shows even through the night.Celebrated overwhelmingly by the Bengali community, the festival entails five days of worshipping the mother goddess Durga whose idols are put up at giant pandals. Flanking these are idols of her four children. The event is still an occasion for Bengalis to flaunt new clothes, jewellery and catch up with one another. But it has kept pace with the changing times. The pandals have grown bigger and grander, competing to get the best artisans from Bengal, from idol-makers, pandal decorators, lightmen and even drummers.

The budget of a medium-sized puja, with about 30 families, has multiplied several times to Rs 700,000 while those of the big ones, like at Chittaranjan Park, have a minimum outlay of about Rs 2 million.The bigger ones, especially, turn into tourist attractions for those five days, with the C.R. Park pujas receiving a footfall of 100,000 visitors daily.

Of course, with Kolkata being the beacon for all puja trends, the major committees also give a ‘theme’ to their annual celebrations. “This year, our theme is the ancient sculptural design of Indian temples, with a side inspiration of Ajanta and Ellora paintings,” said Indrajit Sen, general secretary of Cooperative Grounds C.R. Park Durga Puja committee.

An integral part of the festival is also the food served at the pandals, termed bhog, with most Bengalis hardly cooking at home for five days. An interesting tradition is of women setting up temporary stalls in the evening to sell homemade Bengali cuisine on the evening of ‘shashti’, the first day of Durga Puja.Due to the higher profile of the pujas, they are no longer a Bengali bastion, with residents from other regions of India also joining the organising committee and going pandal-hopping.The cultural give-and-take has resulted in changing traditions of goddess worship among north Indians. “Now the idols at the jagrans (night-long religious singing) in praise of the goddess, which is a north Indian custom, are modelled after the Bengali Durga idols,” said Sen.

While for observers the celebrations have become visibly commercial with pandals being festooned with the banners of multinationals, the organisers consider the heightened security presence the chief distinction from earlier pujas.“Besides Delhi policemen on duty, we have hired a private security agency and installed close circuit television. We will also have some people in plainclothes, mingling in the crowd,” Sen said.—IANS