New Delhi, November 5
The Delhi High court today voiced its displeasure over the police denial that the pregnant wife of slain Uttar Pradesh-based gangster Gurbachan Singh was in their custody.

“How can this type of thing happen? A person goes to you and does not return and later you say that you don’t know about his or her whereabouts”, a division bench of justices R S Sodhi and B N Chaturvedi observed.

The 26-year-old gangster, Gurbachan Singh, from Uttar Ppradesh, who allegedly tried to escape from police custody, and his associate Jabbar Singh were killed by the special cell of Delhi police in an encounter in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar town on October 25.

A petition was filed by his father-in-law Devi Rram alleging that Singh’s wife Rita had been illegally detained by the police and her whereabouts were not known to them.

The court’s observations came when the police submitted that Rita was not in their custody and the matter had been referred to the crime branch.

“I don’t believe your excuse that you don’t know the whereabouts of the woman”, justice Sodhi said, asking the police to make sincere efforts to find her.

“You can’t hurt her.We will not tolerate it”, the bench said, referring to the apprehensions of Devi Ram, the petitioner.

“When I was a lawyer, I handed over several people to you (police), many of them have never come back. And later, you denied having them in custody”, Justice Sodhi remarked.

Appearing for the police, Mukta Gupta said the matter has been referred to the crime branch and an independent team would find out the woman and submit a report by November 28.

Denying the allegations levelled by Rita’s father that police Inspector S K Giri had conveyed to him that his daughter would be released on October 27, Gupta said the officer concerned was not on duty on that day.

To her submission, the bench said it was not a question whether a policeman was on duty or not but the woman, who was two-months pregnant, needed medical attention.

The court had on October 31 directed the police to produce the woman today before it on the petition alleging that Singh was picked up from a Haridwar hotel, where he and his pregnant wife Rita were staying on the night of October 25. He was later allegedly killed by the police.

Expressing apprehensions that the police could harm Rita, Ram alleged his daughter had been detained by the police as she was the only eye-witness to the incident.

Despite repeated representations from the petitioner, the police had failed to disclose her whereabouts, he said in a habeas corpus petition.

Earlier, the police claimed that Singh, against whom 27 cases of murder and dacoity were registered, and his associate Jabbar (27) were tracked down when they reached the temple town of Haridwar in a car from Delhi.

Singh, who carried a reward of Rs 10,000 on his head, was arrested by the crime branch last year and sent to a jail in Bhondsi, Haryana, before his attempted escape from custody on August 8,this year, from Gurgaon.

New Delhi, November 5
The Delhi Metro is all set for the 2007 India International Trade Fair (IITF). To avoid heavy rush at ticket counters at Pragati Maidan, the DMRC will start selling India International Trade Fair (IITF) entry tickets from tomorrow at 58 Metro stations at reduced prices.

Last year, 4,16,206 IITF tickets were sold through Metro stations. Besides, the DMRC is also planning to open extra train ticket counters at Pragati Maidan station to tackle the expected heavy rush during the fair.

Moreover, the DMRC will operate 30 trains on Line 3 during the IITF with a frequency of 3.47 minutes from 8 am to 9 pm to cater to the additional rush.

During last year’s trade fair, the average daily ridership was 5.84 lakh while the daily average for November on the whole was 5.19 lakh.

Meaning that there was a 12.5 per cent increase in ridership during IITF. In fact, the highest ridership was recorded on November 24 at 6.97 lakh.

DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal says that in order to encourage visitors to purchase tickets at Metro stations, tickets can be purchased at stations for Rs 5 less than the rate visitors will have to pay if buying directly at Pragati Maidan.

The IITF general entry tickets at Metro stations will be priced as follows:The ticket for adults during weekdays is Rs 20; on weekends, it is Rs 50 while the ticket for children during weekdays is Rs 10; on weekends, it is Rs 20.

The spokesperson says there will be no sale of IITF tickets at Pragati Maidan Metro Station to avoid crowding.

General entry to the Trade Fair at above rates will be permitted from November 16 as the first two days will be for business visitors.

The DMRC is also expecting a large number of people to use the Pragati Maidan Metro Station. Therefore, 44 ticket counters will be opened at Pragati Maidan on weekdays during peak hours (2 pm to 10 pm) and 52 counters on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 10 pm for sale of tokens.

In addition, two Customer Care Guidance Counters will also be started from where Smart Cards can be purchased.

The number of Automatic Fare Collection entry/exit gates will be increased from eight to 28 gates to handle the expected rush.

Pre-vended tokens (fixed value) will also be issued for popular destinations to save time. The DMRC will also deploy additional DMRC and security staff at all stations.

Noida, November 5
Dadri town appears to be sitting on a keg of ammunition which could result in a big explosion any time, with the authorities, especially the police department, simply winking at the scenario.

The manufacturers of crackers for Divali fireworks are working overtime these days as the festival of lights draws near.

However, what is alarming is that they are manufacturing and storing the crackers in their houses situated in narrow streets of congested mohallas in Dadri.

Should anything goes amiss, it can cause explosions and loss of life. Many people have lost their lives in small and big explosions which have taken place in these dingy lanes and houses.

Besides, people have stored massive dry powder. Dozens of people have lost their lives around Divali festival in the past, but the administration is found lacking in taking a timely action. Those in this industry of cracker-making, lack any safety measures.

These are all small-timers who use old methods of cracker-making. That is why raw material gets ignited at times or some explosion is caused. Four persons had lost their lives in such an explosion in Hari Chand’s house a few years ago in which his wife, brother, daughter and his workers had all perished.

Later, near Gaur Dharamshalla an explosion in a store killed a blacksmith and his two workers. Subsequently, in an explosion in a godown in village Garhi, one Rakesh and his worker lost their lives. A fire in Leela Patakha on railway road had killed half a dozen persons.

On January 17, 1998, there was a devastating blast in Bishnohi’s neighbour’s house in Gautam Puri Mohalla, which had killed four persons, including a four-year-old girl. After this the licences of many cracker-makers and sellers were revoked by the authorities. The police arrested Pyare Lal, Harish Chander, Surinder, and others under Section 415/9.

Even today, traders are openly selling crackers at Jarcha Road, Katehra Road, G.T. Road etc. A fortnight ago, district magistrate Sharvan Kumar had asked cracker-makers and sellers to celebrate festivals in a peaceful way and declared that premises of all such manufacturers and sellers will be inspected and new licences issued.

New Delhi, November 5
Chairperson of the standing committee Vijender Gupta today urged farmhouse owners holding social functions in their farmhouses to follow the recently laid guidelines.

He said that owners of the farmhouses, constructed as per the sanctioned building plan and having sufficient parking space, can seek permission from the zonal deputy commissioner, MCD for holding socal functions on their premises.

The parking area in farmhouses should be properly demarcated with separate entry and exit gates. The owners of farmhouses should deploy their security guards to manage parking within the premises.

He said that the DDA was locating suitable places for the auction of farmhouses to develop facilities for social functions. Its completion is likely to take some more time.

Keeping this in view, the Lieutenant Governor has temporarily permitted that farmhouses subject to the fulfilment of certain guidelines can be used for social functions.

This follows the disposition of the matter in the High Court, which in its judgement in the matter of Bhrashtachar Virodhi Sangathan v/s the Lieutenant Governor and others states that it is satisfied with the guidelines formulated. The Government of NCT of Delhi had proposed those guidelines.

Gupta said that no parking should be permitted on the road outside farmhouses. If the rule was violated, the violators would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

Farmhouses having proper access road from the main road will only be selected. The minimum width of access road to such farmhouse from the main road should be 60 ft. Farmhouses should not be located on road that has a dead end.

Gupta said that the charges for the usage of farmhouses had also been fixed.

He informed that as per the guidelines, the permission should be given on mutational basis for 120 days in a year.

He said that the farmhouses are bound to obey the rules regarding the usage of noiseless generators, loudspeakers and musical instruments. Processions and horse-drawn carriages will not be permitted on roads outside farmhouses.

Strict action will be taken against those farmhouses that use their premises for commercial purposes, without the DMC Committee’s permission.

New Delhi, November 5
The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Delhi government to take appropriate steps against those schools which have started their admission process for pre-primary classes even before the implementation of Ganguly Committee recommendations this year.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice M.K. Sharma issued notices to the city government, Directorate of Education and around 25 schools, seeking their reply by November 7.

The court`s direction came on a petition filed by Rakesh Goel, through his counsel Ashok Agarwal, alleging that some private schools, including Rukmani Devi School and Jindal Public School had started the process of admission to pre-primary in violation of the recommendations.

The CBSE chairman, Ashok Ganguly, had submitted a report, in pursuant to the High Court’s order to the Delhi government, recommending a 100-point grading system instead of interviews and a minimum age of four years for admission in nursery classes.

“Even before the government could implement the report, some schools have started admission process, which amounted to contempt of court,” Agarwal alleged.

The High Court had last year directed the privately-run schools in the Capital to implement the new pattern for nursery admissions under which neither children nor their parents are to be subjected to interviews.

The court had asked the Action Committee of Recognised Unaided Schools to implement the proposed system on an experimental basis for one academic session.

Congress municipal councillors stage a dharna at the main gate of Town Hall against the BJP-administered MCD in the Capital on Monday. — Tribune photo by Manas Ranjan Bhui

New Delhi, November 5
Members of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) led by the leader of opposition in the MCD, Jai Kishan Sharma, staged dharna at the MCD’s headquarters at Town Hall in the Capital today.

They were protesting against the scandal involving the purchase of Ayurvedic medicines. They said that the MCD had never faced such a scam. Sharma held the BJP councillors responsible for the scam.

He alleged that in place of opening Ayurvedic dispensaries, the BJP had siphoned off the funds meant for Ayurvedic dispensaries and medicines.

He said that during its six months’ tenure in the MCD, Ayurvedic medicines worth Rs 11 crores were purchased. Whereas, during the Congress’ rule, medicines worth Rs 1 crore only were purchased.

He described the raids conducted on Ayurvedic hospitals on the orders of the Mayor, leader of the house and chairperson of the standing committee as fake.

He said that during the purchase of medicines, some BJP councillors took commission. But, some of them did not receive the commission.

New Delhi, November 5
The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act of 2005 has no justification as developed nations had achieved growth without “such a draconian, thoughtless and pro-corporate-capital legislation,” environmental activist Vandana Shiva said here today.

“In China where it is considered to have unleashed growth, that land is not transferred to the corporates and continues to vest in the state and the total number of such SEZs is only six,” she added.

She was addressing farmers who had gathered at India Gate lawns to protest against “acquisition of land by force”. The public hearing was organised by Navdanya on SEZs and land rights.

According to Shiva, who chaired the hearing, “the largest SEZs have been allocated to Mukesh Ambani, the world’s richest man. This is a criminal subsidy that the state is providing to the rich by stealing from the poor”.

The SEZ Act is anti-peasantry, anti-rural poor, anti labour and anti-environment, Shiva said, adding that it was also a huge drain on the public exchequer.

Former Prime Minister V.P. Singh reiterated that the Land Acquisition Act had no place in a genuine market economy. S.P Shukla, co-convener with Shiva on the national committee on agrarian crisis, said the land would be the defining issue for Indian politics and economy.

Representative from Nandigram, Gurgaon, Jhajjar gave report on the violence perpetrated on village communities for corporate land grab. Farmers from across India participated in the public hearing.

Shiva said that the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 has become the instrument of corporate land-grab and commodification of land.

“The Land Acquisition Act must be amended to ensure that government does not acquire land for private companies. It should serve the public purpose, which should be defined to mean those purposes by which government will bring into effect the directive principles of state policy of the constitution”.

The public hearing resolved:
*The Act is pro-big companies, pro-rich and pro-speculative finance capital. At best, it is intended to create islands of affluence for the benefit of handful of rich, with no social, financial and legal accountability. At worst, it would end up in unprecedented situation in land and real estate, only benefiting indigenous and foreign speculative financé capital.

*.The R& R policy should not become an underhand way to keep the outmoded Land Acquisition Act of 1894 alive and give the SEZ new lease of life through the assurance that 70pwer cent of the total land required will have to be purchased by the company/corporate and 30per cent can be forcibly acquired for private projects by the government.

*.The illegal buying of agricultural land in India by foreign investors must be banned immediately. A government should issue a white paper on the land grab by foreign investors.

*All land use change must be subjected to a climate change impact assessment. The massive transformation of farmland into concrete jungles and superhighways will contribute to global warming.

New Delhi, November 5
Members of the Reliance Energy Limited (REL) investors forum met Delhi power minister A. K. Walia last week and sought government’s stand on the REL-owned BSES in the Capital that is transferring its operations to Reliance Power, which is coming with an IPO soon.

“The Delhi government has been doling out subsidies to the company, it is high time that it cancels their license for operating in the Capital, as the performance of both the BSES Yamuna and Rajdhani has been poor,” demanded V K Arora, spokesperson of the REL investors forum.

“It seems that by remaining silent, the government is supporting the move of the Reliance Power promoters to transfer the assets of Reliance Energy to Reliance Power, without caring for the interests of shareholders and partners” he added.

Investors have sought an immediate action and clarification from the state government. A.K Walia has assured that he would soon write to the REL for clarification.

In a letter submitted to A. K. Walia, the investors have stated, “This is to bring to your notice that the REL and the Discom, operating under the name of BSES in the Capital has transferred their operations to Reliance Power, which is coming with an IPO soon.”

“Any establishment flouting the new notification would be prosecuted by the local police,” said Kampani.

Employees of a national company had tried to dump rotten fruit and vegetables at this spot opposite Murali Lal Bal Public School.

But residents opposed it and shooed away the company staffers. But they left their waste container on the spot.

As the people closed the gate of Ward No. 55 and jammed the road, local corporator Rekha Jain and supervisor Bhagwat Prasad visited the spot who were both detained by the residents.

Noida, November 5?
A salesman of Spencer’s Retail at a shopping mall in Sector-61 Noida was stabbed to death by criminals on a bike near Kanchanjunga Apartments in Sector-53, last night.

The salesman was walking home after his duty at about 10 p.m. yesterday. The victim who was identified as Nitin was left as dead on roadside in a pool of blood by criminals who had repeatedly stabbed him. A rickshaw puller had informed Bajrang Jha, a security guard in Kanchanjunga apartments who in turn informed the police control room.

Soon Chetak 10 of Noida police reached the spot who immediately rushed him to district hospital. The deceased, however, succumbed to injuries on the way. Police recovered a voter ID card, a Spencer retail card and a cell phone.

On the basis of his cards, he was identified as Nitin, an employee of Spencer retails, in Sector-61 Noida. He had been transferred from the same company in Pacific Mall, Anand Vihar.

The police said from mobile phone, Nitin appeared to be a resident of Gulzari Mall Road, Dharamshalla, Muradabad. He was living in a rented place in Delhi.

His family has been informed. The police are trying to identify the killers and the motive for this attack and murder.

New Delhi, November 5
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has called the Delhi government’s advertisement that reads ‘Regularised colonies, Happier Delhi’, a fraud with the residents of unauthorised colonies.

It has alleged that the government had carried such an advertisement in 2004 too, but nothing happened. The advertisement as published in the print media reads, ‘Regularised colonies, Happier Delhi’, is misleading.

Residents of 1,432 colonies had applied for regularisation in 2004, in which crores of rupees were spent. But, not a single colony has been regularised yet.

The advertisement is only a part of the forthcoming election campaign, Delhi unit BJP president, Harsh Vardhan said.

The Central and state governments are fooling more than 40 lakh residents of unauthorised colonies. Vardhan alleged that the Congress is trying to cheat the citizens of the Capital in view of the forthcoming assembly elections. Earlier, the party had tried to cheat citizens through the Master Plan 2021 during the MCD elections.

With the publication of advertisement for the regularisation of 1,432 colonies, applications had to be submitted to the officer in-charge of the recently constituted unauthorised cell. Residents of these colonies had received layout plans for the colonies and submitted eight copies of the plan to the Delhi government.

The concerned DDA and MCD officers had verified all colonies and enumerated each house. Even after three years, not a single colony has been regularised, Vardhan said.

He added that before the MCD elections, the union urban development minister had announced that all unauthorised colonies would be regularised within three months. By publishing such misleading advertisement (with stern conditions), the registered resident societies of unauthorised colonies have to submit applications from November 5 to December 15, on the lines of the advertisement published in 2004.

For this purpose, provisions have been included in the advertisement regarding development fee, processing fee, charges, other fees and provision for free land for basic amenities and community centres.

New Delhi, November 5
The SAARC regional conference on legal education was held at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) recently and concluded on Monday at the varsity campus.

The conference was organized by the University School of Law and Legal Studies and the valedictory session of the conference was presided over by Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, president, SAARC Law.

Others present on the occasion included S. Gopakumaran Nair, chairman, Bar Council of India, and Prof. K. K. Aggarwal, vice-chancellor, GGSIPU. While foreign dignitaries included Justice Kinley Namgay, Judge, Royal Court of Justice, Bhutan; Prof. Zakir Hussain, Head and Dean from the University of Chhittagong, Bangladesh; Prof. Yubaraj Sangroula, executive director, Kathmandu School of Law; Prof. Tasneem Kausar, Associate Dean, Pakistan College of Law, Lahore; Prof. Quadir Amiryar, Advisor, Higher Education, Govt. of Afghanistan, Kabul; Prof. N. Selvakkumaran, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Muhamad Tahseen, the Maldives.

Held from the 2nd to the 5th of November, the SAARC conference had legal experts from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka besides India. The four-day conference examined the present status of legal education in the member countries and highlighted both the problems as well as challenges faced by them.

The issues discussed included teaching methods, infrastructural facilities, financial resources, academic freedom, relations between law schools/faculties with the bar and bench, research initiatives, teachers training, evaluation system, curriculum design, nature of practical training for students and placements.

At the end of the conference, a resolution was adopted by the participating members which focused on strengthening the South Asian Law School Forum (SALS Forum) as a common platform of the law institutions, identifying issues such as human rights, focusing the marginalized and weaker sections of society, human trafficking, terrorism, economic and social justice, and good governance as the priority areas for interaction, research and academic collaboration, publishing the ‘South Asian Law Journal’ under SALS forum, developing schemes for student and faculty exchange and setting up of a SAARC Centre as a common centre of research and training for the benefit of all members, among others.

New Delhi, November 5
For all those hunting for chic fashion accessories during this festive season, here is a chance. The Rose Group launched its first outlet, Watches and More, (WAM) here on Thursday.

The group, which has eight such stores in Mumbai and Bangalore, unveiled its first WAM outlet at Lajpat Nagar here. Spanning over an area of 650 sq. ft, the store offers brands like Esprit, Pierre Cardin, Carrera, Cerruti 1881, Puma and Versace to name a few.

Rose Group, which has a joint venture with Egana Goldfeil, a US-based group, specialising in jewellery, timepiece and lifestyle accessories, ranging from necklaces, bracelets, earrings to time wear, eyewear and pens, is upbeat of doing brisk business here.

“We always knew the potential of this city. Moreover, the festive time is around, so it is the right time for the launch,” said Biren Vaidya, managing director of the Rose Group.

“We have always endeavoured to offer customers the best in fashion and lifestyle, this launch is a step forward in this direction,” Vaidya told IANS.

“Our store will be a perfect destination for shoppers in Delhi, keeping in mind their sense of style and desire for the best to make a perfect style statement.”

“I am proud to present our first store here. I am sure that every customer walking into our shop will experience our quality services and products,” he added. — IANS