The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood

	3 of a family murdered Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 Three members of a family were stabbed to death at their house in Rajnagar Colony near Palam Vihar in West Delhi. Vinod Verma, 58, a telephone operator at the Hungarian Embassy, his wife Pushpa, 48 and daughter-in-law Pooja, 25, were found dead by the neighbours last night. All three have been killed with a sharp weapon, probably a knife. While the body of Vinod was lying in the verandah, Pushpa and Pooja were found lying in their bedrooms. The victims had apparently put up a stiff fight against the killer. Bloodstains were found all over the house, said a police official. A case has been lodged in the Dwarka police station. The police is clueless about the motive behind the killing, as there is no indication of robbery in the house. “Prime-facie there are no signs of ransack or robbery. However, if something has been taken away, it will be known once Nitin, the adopted son of Vinod Verma, checks the house,” said a police official. Nitin, who works in a private company in Karol Bagh, was not in the house when the incident took place. The neighbours said that they did not hear any noise from the house last night. Nitin told the police that he had met with an accident near Buddha Garden last night and had called his relatives, who stay near-by, for help. “He called at our house and said that he had met with an accident and that nobody was picking up the phone in his house. As I went to give the news to his family, I found the main gate open. When I went inside, it was blood all around,” said Nitin’s cousin Ravinder. Nitin became unconscious on seeing the sight. He is admitted into the Deen Dayal Upadhayay Hospital. However, the police claims that Nitin’s statement contain loopholes. “Earlier he had said that he had met with an accident, now he says that he had gone to get medicines for migraine on his wife’s instructions,” told a police official. Nitin suffers from migraine.
	Chided over housework, youth kills mother Ghaziabad, April 19 A mentally challenged youth killed his mother here today when she chided him over the housework, and also injured his sister and father when they tried to intervene. According to the police, the incident took place on Saturday noon at Sanjay Nagar locality of Ghaziabad under the Kavi Nagar police station. Nand Kishore, 20, was assisting his mother, Vijay Laxmi, in preparing the mid-day meal, when she scolded him for cutting vegetable pieces too large. Annoyed at her, Nand Kishore took a pair of scissors and stabbed her in the neck. When his father Ramji Lal, a retired railway employee, and sister Sashi, 17, intervened, the youth attacked them too. His father sustained sharp stab injuries on the head while his sister got gashes in her abdomen. Hearing their cries, neighbours rushed in and rescued them and locked the angry man in a room. They then called the police. The police took the victims to the Sarvodaya Hospital, where doctors declared the mother brought dead. While the sister was in critical condition, the father was discharged after first aid. Nand Kishore was arrested after a case was registered against him, circle officer CP Singh said. — IANS
	Theatre First War of Independence at Old Fort New Delhi, April 19 The historical characters of Tantiya Tope, Nana Saheb and Nawab Wajid Ali Shah were brought to life at the 16th century Purana Qila here as theatre personality Nadira Zaheer Babbar recreated the Sepoy Mutiny through a play. ‘1857: Ek Safarnama’ by Nadira, the wife of actor and MP Raj Babbar, was part of the yearlong events lined up to celebrate 50 years of the National School of Drama (NSD), the Capital’s premier theatre school. Raj, daughter Juhi, who is an actress and filmmaker, and son Arya, also an actor, were busy lending emotional and logistic support to mother Nadira on the sprawling green lawns of Purana Quila on Friday evening. Incidentally, the fort is a venue where Nadira and Babbar appeared on stage for some of their early plays like ‘Tughlaq’ in 1974 as NSD students under their tutor, Ebrahim Alkazi. And, the imposing stone façade of the Purana Quila was hosting a play after 31 years. ‘1857: Ek Safarnama’ is about the revolt told from the perspective of the common people — the farmers, the potters and the working class of India. It has been narrated in a new way,” Nadira told IANS. Steeped in socialist values since childhood, Nadira said, “When she delved into history, she found that all values that are rooted in our culture were present in the uprising”. She added, “I chose ‘1857’ as the theme because it is the 150th year of the Sepoy Mutiny and we have to remember our heritage.” The play opens with the annexation of Awadh — present day Lucknow — by the East India Company. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the ruler, is forced to flee to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in Bengal. The plot cuts through the nawab’s plight and zeroes in on Ramsaran, a labourer who deserts the company and joins ranks with a renegade, Shamsuddin. Both of them join Nana Saheb, Tantiya Tope and Azimullah Khan, three nationalists, to mount an attack against the British. But the plan is aborted when the British army outsmarts Nana and his men. The rebel leader then sends his forces to fight the British in Delhi under the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. The battle is bravely fought, but the Indians are betrayed. “It is a story that reflects true India, it is totally secular in nature,” Nadira said. ‘Safarnama’ draws from traditional Indian styles and makes liberal use of music and grand compositions to convey the expansive yet belligerent mood of the times. “I shared a lot of new material that I had unearthed for my book ‘War of Civilisation: India 1857’ with Nadira for the play,” author and resource person Amaresh Misra said. “For the first time in history, we have given a different narrative to the infamous Bibigarh massacre. We have shown that the British killed their own women and children to defame Nana Saheb...because they wanted sanction for the mass killings of Indians.” Oscar winner Bhanu Athiaya of Richard Attenborough’s ‘Gandhi’ fame designed the costumes and Kajal Ghosh, a student of Pandit Vishwanath Bose, set the score. Union tourism minister Ambika Soni was the chief guest. Raj Babbar told reporters that Hindi theatre was in a bad state. “Hindi theatre is struggling. Good actors have no time for Hindi stage, including myself. If I sermonise, I would look a cheat. I went straight into films after graduating from NSD. “Theatre needs a lot of help, it has no funds. It is a pure art and purity needs a lot of effort to sustain because everybody wants to see remixes and adulteration these days,” the actor-turned-politician said. — IANS
	Poll for Mayor: BJP rebels withdraw from contest Syed Ali Ahmed Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 The decision of three BJP councillors to withdraw the nominations for elections of Mayor’s post in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has changed the political scenario in the corporation. The nominations were withdrawn today after the councillors – Jagdish Mumgai, Harish, Dharambeer Singh and Nirmala – were pressurised by the BJP high command. They were assured places in special committees. They had filed the nominations in protest against the party’s decision to continue Arti Mehra as Mayor. They were told by the party high command that there would be no change in the coveted posts and zonal committees but they would be accommodated in special committees. The election for the Mayor post will be held on April 21. Congress councillor Razia Sultana and BSP candidate Sanjay have also filed their nominations. When Congress Party was in power in the corporation, Razia Sultana was elected as Deputy Mayor. During reign of the Congress in the civic body Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Standing Committee Chairman were changed every year. Woman, high caste, scheduled castes, backwards and minorities all were given chance. But the BJP changed the practice by continuing Mayor, Standing Committee Chairman and Leader of the House. Sources in the BJP said that this decision had been taken by the party keeping in view the assembly elections in November, this year. Arti Mehra, Vijender Gupta, Chairman of the Standing Committee and Subhash Arya, Leader of the House are strongmen in the corporation. They can manage the things in a better way and the corporators can play an important role in the elections. The Congress had changed its Mayor and Standing Committee chairman every year and in the last Farhad Suri was elected as Mayor thinking that he could play minority card in the corporation elections. But this policy of the Congress had failed to yield the result, the sources said.
	Festival of BR Chopra films New Delhi, April 19 A three-day film festival dedicated to Hindi film industry doyen and legendary producer-director BR Chopra got off to a nostalgic start yesterday. The younger brother of veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra inaugurated the film festival here. The jamboree, being jointly organised by Film and Television Producers Guild of India, ASSOCHAM and Time Broadband Services Group, opened with the screening of ‘Insaaf ka Tarazu’, a film that had dared to question the existing practices in law and courts in 1980. Yash Chopra, going down the memory lane, said, “BR Chopra has always been like my father, my brother, my guru (teacher) and my source of inspiration. Without him I would not have been what I am today. Whenever the annals of contemporary history of Indian cinema are compiled, one name that will have a place of importance will be that of BR Chopra, who has continued to make films that are socially relevant at a time when the industry is looking around for saleable models. ‘’There was a time when the films made by my elder brother were given the thumbs-down by the industry pundits even before their release, but he always stuck to his guns and the products he had come up with. And he proved them wrong by his sheer mastery, finesse and his belief in himself. He has always been a man of conviction and determination,’’ he added. BR Chopra, who has made films such as ‘Hamraaz’, ‘Waqt’, ‘Ittefaq’, ‘Nikaah’ and ‘Gumraah’, will turn 94 on April 22. Nine of his masterpieces will be shown during the three-day initiative titled ‘guild greats’. Ravi Chopra, son of the legendary filmmaker, said, ‘’I respect my father’s immense contribution to the Hindi film industry which I think has no parallel. — UNI
	Four die in road mishaps Our Correspondent Greater Noida, April 19 Four persons lost their lives while 25 others were injured in three road accidents in the Greater Noida area between Thursday and Friday. A youth died on the spot when his scooter hit a trolley in front of the Kailash hospital in Greater Noida on Thursday night. On Friday a Qualis car carrying a marriage party hit a trailer, killing one and injuring five of the marriage party. In the afternoon a canter full of persons capsized in the Javer area. Two persons were killed on the spot while 20 others were injured in this accident. Injured were rushed to Bulandshahr and Noida hospitals. The scooterist who died near the Kailash Hospital was identified as Deepak, 24, S/o Harish of Shastri Park, Delhi. He had hit a trolley which had broken down in the middle of the road. He was on his way home after closing the shop in Alfa Commercial Belt when he was killed. The second accident which took place near village Kot where a Qualis (No HR-55-9864) ferrying a marriage party was smashed as it went under the trailer. In the accident, D. D. Tyagi, 58, died on the spot. The five injured were rushed to the Narinder Mohan Hospital in Ghaziabad. In the third accident, Chatter Pal, resident of Kher town in Aligarh district along with his family members was going to Palwal for a Gode Bharai ceremony in a 407-Tata. Due to a tyre burst, 407-Tata turned turtle. Chatter Pal Singh and Pappu were killed on the spot. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Palwal and Bulandshahar.
	10-fold increase in plan outlay for higher education proposed Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is planning to enter into a new era in education in the XI plan, particularly in the post- school higher education. Vice-chancellor VN Rajasekharan Pillai has proposed an unprecedented 10-fold increase in the outlay for higher education. The current plan seeks to achieve the target of increasing the higher education to 15 per cent by 2012 from the current 10 per cent. In addition to enhanced access, the plan also lays much emphasis on skill, capacity building, training, employability, life long education and continuing education. “Open and distance learning is recognised and accepted as an important mode for achieving many targets from the XI Plan,” said Ravi Mohan, chief public relations officer, IGNOU. “In relation to contributing to social and economic development, distance learning plays a decisive role in the creation of a knowledge based society.” The open education system in the country, comprising the IGNOU, 13 state open universities, over 150 distance education institutes in conventional universities, the national institute of open schooling and other institutes have significant pedagogical, developmental, organisational and economic implications. “In 2007, our annual, fresh enrollment crossed 5 lakh and our cumulative student strength is about 1.8 million now,” said Ravi Mohan. “This amounts to about 15 per cent of the total student population in the universities in India.”
	DUJ seeks Maya’s intervention in scribe’s arrest Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) has expressed concern over the arrest of Mehruddin Khan, veteran journalist, poet and storywriter. Khan was arrested for a report that he had written on the alleged high handedness of the police in Muzzaffar Nagar. “We have called upon the Mayawati government to intervene in the matter,” said SK Pande, president, DUJ. “According to the reports, Khan has been in jail for ten days and his health is rapidly deteriorating.” The DUJ has informed Union home minister Shivraj Patil about the matter telegraphically. The Press Council and the National Human Rights Commission are also being moved for suo moto action. The DUJ would hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday and chalk out further course of action. Meanwhile, the Janwadi Lekhak Sangh has condemned the Muzzafar Nagar police for harassing Mehruddin. MMP Singh and Chanchal Chauhan, general secretaries of the Sangh, in a joint statement said that Khan was suffering because he had filed a report in the local Shah Times against the Muzzafar Nagar police. Infuriated at this, the police has detained him and his son.
	Rain water harvesting project launched Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 Subhash Chopra, Congress MLA from Kalkaji, today launched a rain water harvesting (RWH) project at the Aravali Apartments, Alaknanda, in South Delhi on the occasion of World Earth Day. This is one of the largest water harvesting projects in a residential colony in the Capital. The project will be accomplished in partnership with the Aravali Apartments Welfare Association, FORCE, an NGO dedicated to the cause of water management and Coca-Cola India under the technical guidance of Central Ground Water Authority. This project is expected to be completed in the next three months, before the onset of the monsoons. Subhash Chopra said that since fresh water was a global challenge and needed urgent attention of all stakeholders. Rain water harvesting has emerged as a viable option to redirect rain water into the ground, which otherwise goes waste. Other residential societies should be encouraged to take up the project, he said.
	UP minister detrained for ticketless travel Parmindar Singh Ghaziabad, April 19 Uttar Pradesh minister of state Sehjal Islam Ansari, travelling in the Lucknow Shatabdi Express in AC executive class without ticket along with his attendant, was detrained at Ghaziabad and fined Rs. 2,980 by Railway authorities. On his refusal to pay the fine, he was detrained at Ghaziabad station, in spite of his flashing his minister’s Identity -card. In 2003 Lucknow –Delhi AC Shatabdi Special, the Waqf minister of state was occupying berth No. 37-38 in executive class compartment along with his attendant. His reservation was from Bareilly to New Delhi. The minister produced a fax copy of the ticket with PNR No. 261-0574841 from the HAR before the ticket-checker. Chief commercial inspector, MC Tyagi and chief ticket examiner Balkrishan had boarded the train from Hapur. Rejecting the fax copy of the ticket, they demanded a fine and the minister refused to pay. The Railways staff informed the control room. The control room ordered the Ghaziabad RPF and ticket examiners’ to challan the minister who was later detrained at Ghaziabad railway station.
	Over 1,000 tyres burnt in Agra fire Agra, April 19 Over 1,000 tyres were destroyed in a fire that broke out in a tyre depot in Agra late on Friday and raged until early Saturday. Fire fighters from the fire brigade, the military, the Central Ordnance Depot and later from the Mathura oil refinery battled the massive blaze that engulfed the three-storey structure in Transport Nagar. “It was only around 5 a.m. that the fire could be contained,” said a police official. There was panic in Transport Nagar, on the highway to Delhi, where hundreds of shops sell motor parts, rubber tubes and tyres. Arvind Choudhary, who owns the tyre depot, says that the losses could be over Rs 5 million because over 1,200 tyres were burnt and there was also loss to the property. Fire brigade sources complained that the depot was virtually sealed from all sides and there were hardly any escape points or windows. “The fire fighters had no way to enter the building,” said an official. The wall of the depot had to be demolished to make their way in. — IANS
	Caddie’s death: Court summons 3 doctors New Delhi, April 19 A city court today issued summons against three doctors of the Safdarjung Hospital to ascertain reasons for a young caddie’s death in police custody last month. Metropolitan magistrate Kuldeep Narayan asked Ajay Kumar, Arvind Theogaonker and Alexander F. Khakha to appear before it April 24. The court had expressed displeasure over the postmortem examination report stating that it did not mention the reasons for Vicky Arya’s death. It also asked the officer in-charge of the Delhi Cantonment police station to submit a video cassette of the autopsy report two days before the doctors’ scheduled appearance in court. Vicky, a caddie in a local golf course, was taken into custody by the special staff of South West Delhi Police on March 13 as a suspect in a case of chain snatching. Vicky, in his early 20s, had died in police custody after complaining of stomachache. Appearing before the court, his mother Babli Devi had alleged that a senior police officer had beaten Vicky to death. — IANS
	Big B turns a blogger New Delhi, April 19 Actor Amitabh Bachchan has now become closer and more accessible to people by sharing his views and replying to queries on his personal blog. “My blog will allow me to express myself, share and reflect my emotions, thoughts, opinions and listen to what people have to tell me,” Amitabh said in a press statement. The users can access the superstars’ blog at www.bigb.bigadda.com. The actor has promised that he will reply to his viewers if they write to him on his blog. He believes that this medium will help him connect to masses. “This would help me to show the audience the real side to my larger-than-life image that they usually see through the media. Here, I can control and share my unedited thoughts,” Amitabh stated. He added, “Now, I can share consequential replies to inconsequential gossips that keep doing the rounds. My adda (blog) will be the only destination where I’ll openly state my views and also discuss the same with all.” Rajesh Sawhney, president, Reliance Entertainment, under whose aegis BigAdda.com works, said, “We are happy that Amitabh has chosen our site to express himself and connect with masses.” — IANS
	Warrant for Brijesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 A city court today issued warrant for UP gangster Brijesh Singh in connection with an extortion case. The court has asked him to be presented before it on May 17. Chief metropolitan magistrate Sanjeev Jain issued the warrant after the Mumbai Police failed to present him before the court today. Singh is accused of demanding Rs 5 million from a business rival here. A case was registered against him in October 2007. The Mumbai Police had sought Singh’s custody on February 4 so that he could be tried in a court there for his alleged involvement in the 1992 JJ Hospital shooting case. Brijesh Singh had allegedly come to the hospital with his accomplice in police uniform and had shot rival gang members. After evading the police for almost two decades, Singh was apprehended by the Delhi Police on December 31 from Bhubneswar. He has allegedly worked for Dawood Ibrahim in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast.
	2 get life for abducting minor Our Correspondent Noida, April 19 Additional Session Judge Mangal Das has awarded life sentence to two persons for abducting an 18-month old girl and demanding Rs. 5 lakh ransom for her. The judge has also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each of the accused, ruling that the guilty had committed a serious immoral crime. On November 11, 2005 ,Sonu, alias Ravinder had come to a shop in Jaipuria Plaza ,Sector-26 Noida ,posing as a customer. A one and half year daughter of a shopkeeper, Ankur Behl was playing in the plaza. Ravinder abducted her. Later he demanded Rs. 5 lakh ransom from Behl.He called him to a lonely spot on Saidpur Road on November 15, 2005. Here the police had nabbed an abductor’s friend who led them to Ravinder later. The court found Sonu ,alias Ravinder and Satbir guilty of abduction of the child and awarded them life imprisonment and fine.
	Residents beat up robber Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 The timely intervention of locals in the Farsh Bazar area of East Delhi helped in foiling a robbery attempt in the house of Vasant Singh, manager, UCO bank, Shimla. Singh’s two daughters were returning home from the market , they saw two persons in front of their house. When they inquired from them their purpose, the duo forced them inside the house at pistol point. They forced the girls to part with their chains and ear rings and other valuables. As soon the robbers left the house, the girls came out of the house and shouted for help. The locals chased the robbers. One of them escaped, the other was caught and severely beaten before the arrival of police. The police got the suspect admitted to the GTB Hospital in a critical condition. The police has started a search for the second suspect.
	Students’ body for including creamy layer New Delhi, April 19 A student body today urged the government to frame guidelines to accommodate ‘creamy layer’ students of the Other Backward Classes if other OBC students do not fill up the 27 per cent reserved quota. “We would urge the government to frame guidelines to ensure that 27 per cent of the OBC quota is filled up. If the government fails to do so, the reserved seats for OBCs would never be filled completely,” said Vikas Bajpai, a member of the Progressive Medicos and Scientists’ Forum (PMSF). — IANS
	IPL match causes traffic jams Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 After the Olympic torch relay on April 17 that caused heavy traffic jams on the Capital’s roads, it was the turn of IPL match today. Commuters had to face a lot of inconvenience, as special traffic arrangements had been made in view of the IPL cricket match between Delhi DareDevils and Rajasthan Royals at Feroze Shah Kotla ground. Though traffic on Saturdays is usually half as compared to working days, many commuters were forced to take diversion causing traffic jams.