New Delhi, February 11
A scuffle among students of a state-run school here today turned violent as a boy attacked his senior with a sharp edged object in self-defence, bringing back grim memories of a shootout in an elite Gurgaon school exactly two months ago.

Rahul Dev, 17, was admitted to the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital with stab injuries on the chest, shoulder, chin and left hand. The doctors informed the police around 1:45 am, and later declared Rahul out of danger.

The incident occurred soon after the school hours around 12:20 pm when Manoj (named changed), a Class VIII student, attacked Rahul following a scuffle in the playground of the Kendriya Vidyalya in Delhi Cantonment area.

“Rahul and his four-five friends had gone to beat Manoj, who had passed lewd comments on his sister, a class VII student of the same school.

During the brawl, Manoj seized a paper cutter from his assailants and in a bid to save himself attacked Rahul,” a school student, who witnessed the scene, told IANS.

“Rahul’s friends took him to the principal’s room and, then, he was taken to the hospital,” said the student who did not wish to be identified.

As the news spread, students and teachers rushed to check on the victim and the accused. Many students said Rahul was attacked with a “long sharp knife”.

The police detained the accused, but no case was registered till late Monday. Rahul’s father K.K. Singh said he was unaware of his son’s enmity with any fellow student.

“My son doesn’t share any enmity with other students and he is innocent,” Singh said. School authorities refused to comment.

The incident came exactly two months after a Class VIII student of the Euro International School in Gurgaon, a booming IT hub on the outskirts of the national Capital, was shot dead by two of his classmates over some personal dispute.

Abhishek Tyagi succumbed to three bullets pumped into his chest and head at a point blank range. — IANS

Noida, February 11
Six years after her marriage, Dr Mrs Sweta Shabnam, who had married against the wishes of her parents, ended her life by hanging from a noose.

In her suicide note, she blamed society, her parents and partly herself for the extreme step. Dr Subash Ballabb of Mongere in Bihar had married Dr Sweta Shabnam, daughter of Dr Ravinder in Ranchi in 2003 after a love affair.

Dr Sweta had married Dr Subash against the wishes of her parents who had severed all relations with her, never meeting or contacting her after that. This had distressed Dr Sweta for six years so much so that she could no longer bear it.

Dr Sweta, 27, an eye specialist in Eye-Care Hospital in Noida’s Sector-26 and her husband Dr Subash lived in Sector-20, Noida. They had no issue.

On Sunday, Dr Subash had left for Dharamarth Charitable hospital in Mayur Vihar Phase-III while Dr Sweta hanged herself with a noose from the ceiling fan at 9 a.m.

When her husband came back at 3 pm, he found the flat door bolted from inside. When Dr Subash failed to get it opened, he broke open the door with the help of neighbours.

He was shocked to find his wife hanging from her dupatta from the ceiling fan. The police, informed of the suicide, have sent the body for a postmortem.

Dr Subash said while leaving in the morning that he had found everything normal and as usual and could never ever dream that his wife would take such an extreme step.

Addressing the suicide note to her husband, Dr Sweta Shabnam wrote: “Subash, I am going to end my life, not because my love for you has waned. But I have realized that life for people like us is a long and frustrating struggle (Jang) and in this strife I am completely shattered and broken. Only our society and people living in it are responsible for this step of mine,” she said.

Dr Sweta Shabnam’s suicide note written, according to police, a little before 9 a.m. on Sunday said, “I know my husband will be shattered with this step of mine. But I have no desire and can’t live any more nor can I see grief in his eyes.” She had sought forgiveness from her senior colleague, Dr Rita, her husband and all others.

New Delhi, February 11
Pet-loving Delhiites can heave a sigh of relief. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today decided not to levy taxes for pets.

“There are several other sources to generate revenue. There is no need to levy taxes for pets. In any case, such taxation is not going to generate much revenue,” Subhash Arya, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led civic body, said Monday.

The civic body approved a budget of around Rs 52 billion for 2008-09, without imposing any new taxes. “The budget is people friendly,” said Arya.

The proposal to tax pets kicked off a hue and cry a fortnight ago when the Congress-led Delhi government approved the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2008, that stipulated among other things an upward revision in the taxes on pets not revised since long.

“The amendment had a provision to levy tax as much as Rs 500 on dog and cat owners annually, much higher than the existing slabs between Rs 12 to Rs 24,” Arya said.

The amended bill also proposed tax for buffaloes and cows – Rs 2,500 for a buffalo, and Rs 2,000 for a cow.

There was also a proposal for tax on draught animals like horses, mules, donkeys and camels.

A tax of Rs 2,000 annually was suggested on four-wheeled vehicles drawn by animals, and Rs 1,000 for two-wheeled carts.

The Congress councillors have termed the budget “election friendly”. Jain Kishan Sharma, Congress councillor and leader of opposition in the house, said, “The budget has been drafted with an eye on the coming assembly elections. Such a budget would not help the civic body raise adequate funds to upgrade basic infrastructure in the city.” — IANS

New Delhi, February 11
With the arrest of five persons — Ram Dularae, Shahid, Shah Azam, Firoz and Vinod Kumar, the South District Police has claimed to have foiled a robbery at a toll tax booth in the Noida-Kalindi border area.

An information was received that the five would assemble in the Shahin Bagh area to loot a toll tax booth. A trap was laid and the five were arrested.

A resident of Vikaspuri in West Delhi had complained to the agency that Kumar had demanded Rs 50,000 for not hauling him up for constructing a mobile phone tower on the roof of his house. — IANS

New Delhi, February 11
Thanks largely to cold winds from the north sweeping the National Capital Territory of Delhi the minimum temperature today fell to 3.8 ° Celsius, six degrees below normal.

The minimum temperature yesterday was 5.5 ° Celsius while the maximum was
19.8° Celsius.

The chilly conditions are attributed to the snowfall in the hilly regions of the northern states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Met department said.

For the next 24 hours, the weatherman has predicted clear sky and cold
windy days.

New Delhi, February 11
Over 500 soldiers of security and paramilitary forces, living in villages near Mehrauli, were honoured with shawls and trophy at a sainik samman samaroh in the Capital today.

The Narayani Devi Charitable Trust, Chhatarpur in association with the Defence Forces Group organised the samaroh.

Kanwar Singh Tanwar, trustee, Narayani Devi Charitable Trust expressed his gratitude towards the soldiers who serve the country for 26 years.

It is our duty to honour them and the Trust looks forward to such programmes, he said. Lt Gen Shantanu Chaudhary, PVSM, AVSM, VSM was the chief guest.

He said that such hoours encourage soldiers. Over 25,000 people attended
the function.

New Delhi, February 11
Come February 15, the sprawling Delhi University (DU) campus at the edge of northern ridge would be smoke free—hopefully.

Already declared a no-smoking zone, the campus will sport street plays, posters and wall paintings to carry forcefully the message ‘chuck the butt’.

Besides, there will be warnings everywhere for students and visitors alike that if they do not stub out their cigarette, they would have to shell out fines up to Rs 500.

“Circulars with this information that the DU campus has been declared a no-smoking zone and anyone found smoking here will be fined, have been given to all college principals and another one from the vice-chancellor Deepak Pental has also been issued,” said Amrita Bahari, president of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU).

“Posters campaigning against smoking and paintings against the usage of tobacco are up across the campus. Also some students are putting up a street play February 13 at the Arts Faculty, which harps on the same message,” Bahari told IANS.

She said all vendors selling cigarettes in and around the colleges have been steered off the campus with the help of the Delhi Police and the anti-smoking cell of the Delhi government.

“Come February 15 and if anyone is caught smoking on the campus, he or she will be fined Rs 200. Thereafter, a fine of Rs 500 will be slapped on the person if he repeats the offence. “The rule is applicable to all, not just students,” Bahari said.

Although the initiatives to clear the campus air of the smoke are going great guns, students doubt if the campaign will be effective for long.

“There have been such initiatives earlier as well, but after some time it all fizzles out. Even the vendors know that and so after a few weeks of being evacuated from the campus, they come back,” said Shreshtha Kumar, a third-year student of Ramjas College.

“Sure the initiatives are going the right way, but the question is how long will they remain this way. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t go up in smoke,” Adarsh Sinha of Hindu College said.

But to that Bahari said she is sure that the campaign will work this time. “We are working in association with the students. Therefore, we are sure that we will make DU smoke free,” she said. — IANS

New Delhi, February 11
The Delhi Police has ordered commercial establishments to display boards reading ‘No smoking area: Smoking here is an offence’ at the entrance and other prominent areas in the building.

The order has been issued as per Section 10 of the Delhi Prohibition of Smoking and Non-smokers Health Protection Act, 1996.

It is mandatory for owners of restaurants, hotels, guest houses and cinema halls operating in the national Capital to display this signboard on the premises otherwise they will have to face punishment, a senior police official said.

Anyone who contravenes the provision shall be fined. The fine may extend to Rs 100. If a person repeats the offence, he shall be slapped with a minimum fine of Rs 200, which may extend to Rs 500.

New Delhi, February 11
An increasing number of teenagers in India is taking to tobacco and nearly one million people die every year due to tobacco-related illnesses, says a new study by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The report titled ‘The Tobacco Use and Control Efforts’ said that 9.7 per cent teenaged girls in India were using some form of tobacco as against just 3.1 per cent of women. Similarly, 17.3 per cent teenaged boys had taken to smoking.

The study revealed that tobacco use in India was starting at quite a young age and in many cases at schools. The global health watchdog said that at least 14.1 per cent of youngsters was consuming tobacco products like cigarettes and bidis.

It found that a total 60 per cent of adults in the country was consuming tobacco, of which 57 per cent were men.

“Tobacco is cultivated around the world and can be legally purchased in all countries. The dried leaf is smoked in the form of manufactured cigarettes, bidis, cigars, kreteks, pipes and sticks,” WHO said in the report.

“It is also chewed throughout the world, but principally in South and Southeast Asia, often together with areca nuts and staked lime,” the report added.

The WHO said that there were more than one billion smokers in the world. And, shockingly, the use of tobacco products was mainly in developing and underdeveloped countries.

“Almost half of the world’s children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke. The epidemic is shifting to the developing world. More than 80 per cent of the world’s smokers live in low and middle-income countries,” the report pointed out.

Tobacco is the primary cause of health problems like cancer and cardiovascular diseases. It also aggravates problems like diabetes.

Across the globe, tobacco use kills 5.4 million people every year, of which one million are Indians. This means an average of one person dies every six seconds, accounting for one in 10 adult deaths worldwide.

“Unchecked, tobacco-related deaths will increase to more than eight million a year by 2030, and 80 per cent of those deaths will occur in the developing world,” the report warned.

The UN body said that at least 100 million deaths were caused by tobacco in the 20th century. “If current trends continue, there will be up to one billion deaths in the 21st century.” — IANS

New Delhi, February 11
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has invited applications to avail of the desealing scheme which provides relief under special laws.

The civic body is asking the affected people to submit applications to the zonal deputy commissioners for desealing their properties, which had been sealed on charges of misusing the residential premises for commercial purposes, a senior MCD official said.

The notice comes 10 days after the union urban development ministry asked the local authorities to deseal premises protected under the Delhi Laws Special Provisions Act of 2007.

The ministry also asked them to suspend action against structures that came up before December 31, 2005.

Zonal deputy commissioners have been asked to deseal all premises protected under the special laws and covered under the directions given by the Centre, the official said.

New Delhi, February 11
A former Indian Airlines flight purser today moved the Supreme Court against his dismissal on charges of sporting a handlebar moustache.

Sacked Indian Airlines employee Joynath Victor De, who is also a member of London’s famed Handlebar Club, petitioned the apex court after waging a long legal battle at the Calcutta High Court and winning the initial round of litigation.

He told the apex court in his plea that he has been “keeping a stout moustache as part of his family custom and spiritual faith”.

A bench of Justices H.K. Sema and Markandey Katju issued notice to the state-run domestic airliner and sought its reply within four weeks.

De told the court that he had begun sporting the moustache since 1968, when he joined the airlines. He went on to become assistant manager in 1994 on the basis of his efficiency and integrity of character.

De told the court that he had scrupulously adhered to the airline’s conduct rules of 1991 that “all crew members should have well groomed appearance and moustache, if worn, would be neatly trimmed”.

He said he adhered to the rules even when the airline scrapped the provision between 1996 and 1998.

However, in July 1998, Indian Airlines revived the provision with the amendment that “except Sikhs, all crew members should be clean shaven, and moustache, if worn, should not extend beyond upper lips”, said De.

Soon after, he was issued a notice asking him why he should not be sacked for keeping a handlebar moustache.

He told the court that despite his explanation, the airlines forced him to take premature retirement at the age of 55 in January 2001.

A single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court held his sacking as illegal, but a division bench of the high court set aside the order.

De approached the apex court, challenging the High Court’s final order. — IANS