Faridabad, May 6
The police has so far failed to make any headway in the sensational murder of a nephew of former Congress MP and party stalwart, Chiranji Lal Sharma, in Sector 3 and his business manager yesterday.

The police, however, in a latest development has suspended the in-charge of police post of Sector 3. Besides, it has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 to those who give any information about the assailiants involved in the case.

The incident has sent shockwaves not only in Faridabad but in various parts of the state, especially in political and business circles. The general feeling is that the police has failed to ensure its authority on the criminals. This incident has taken place even when the dust on another incident of looting of Rs 22 lakh from the employees of a private firm, about a week ago in Nehru Park, was yet to settle down.

The assaillants looted more than Rs 18 lakh after firing several rounds from the close range on Ajay Sharma, relative of Chiranji Lal Sharma, and his manager, Rajinder Sharma, in Sector 3. In the shooting incident, Ajay Sharma received three bullets and Rajinder Sharma, two bullets. Incidentally, Ajay Sharma is also cousin of the working president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, Kuldip Sharma.

Also, Ajay Sharma is son of former additional chief engineer of Haryan State Electricity Board, M.L.Sharma. The family members of the deceased enjoyed a good reputaton in society.

The incident occured in the morning yesterday when Ajay Sharma and his manager got into a car from his petrol refilling station in Sector 3 to go to a bank. Hardly had they gone a few yards from the petrol pump when three youths riding a Yamaha motorcycle hit his car from the rear. They then got down and started firing on the two inside the car. According to family members, the assailiants then verified whether Ajay Sharma was dead. It was only then that they took away the money with them.

While they were fleeing, they were challenged by a passerby who threw stones at the fleeing criminals. They fell down after the motorcycle overturned. Finally they escaped towards village Tigaon.

An employee of the petrol pump rushed the two to nearby Escorts Hospital. The manager was declared brought dead and Ajay Sharma, who was still gasping for breath, was rushed to the

Badshah Khan Hospital (Civil hospital). He is said to have succumbed to his injuries on the way.

The family members of Ajay Sharma are shocked by the development. Kishore Sharma, elder brother of the deceased, said that the sequence of events and the behaviour of the criminals suggest that killing his brother was their primary motive. The other related incidents appear to have been created by the criminals to confuse the public and the police. He declined to make any further comment as the police was investigating the case.

The police authorities have created four teams, two headed by officers of the rank of DSP, to do a follow-up on the case. Informed sources say that the teams conducted several raids last night in various parts of Faridabad.

New Delhi, May 6
A 70-year-old woman was on Tuesday found with her throat slit open with a kitchen knife at her south Delhi home. A young woman who got married five months ago was also murdered in the city taking the Capital murder toll in just six days this month to nine.

The elderly Nirmala Madan’s body was spotted by her daughter-in-law Madhu when she came to the ground floor of the Amar Colony house at 8.15 a.m. Police suspect that a Nepali who was employed last week to run a telephone kiosk near the house and who is missing may have killed her.

The house was ransacked but the family was unable to tell the police what valuables were missing. According to the family, Badal was last seen with two suspicious men late on Monday.

The victim, who had been into real estate business for 20 years, lived on the ground floor with the Nepali. Her daughter-in-law lived on the first floor. The family had rented out the second floor.

Madan’s husband had died nearly 10 years ago. Her only two sons had also died some five-six years ago.

Police said it appeared that the woman was murdered on Monday night. Her body was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

“Initial investigation suggests that the servant, hired without police verification, could be behind the murder,” said deputy commissioner of police (South) H.G.S. Dhaliwal.

In a separate incident, a 22-year-old woman was found strangled at her rented accommodation in west Delhi’s Mohan Garden area late Monday.

The house owner called the police after finding the house locked from outside. The door was broken open. Shazia’s body was found on the floor.

Police are suspecting the woman’s husband Siraj, who is missing. “We have registered a case of murder,” said a police official. The couple had married five months ago.

As temperatures rose in the Capital, so did the murder graph. The month of May began with five murders on the first day followed by a double murder in a south Delhi neighbourhood on May 2. — IANS 

New Delhi, May 6
Hike in property tax has become a major concern. However, Leader of the House Subhash Arya and chairperson of the Standing Committee Vijender Gupta assured that there would be no rise in the property tax.

Leader of the Opposition Jai Kishan Sharma, former Mayor Farhad Suri, municipal councillors Ajit Chaudhary and Rakesh Rajora today in a joint conference claimed that under Section 109 of the DMC Act (amended) no change could be made in the schedule of taxes after March 31. Even anticipatory approval or any other order could not even affect the change. The Congress leaders demanded the extension of the last date to deposit property tax with rebate.

They alleged that the ruling BJP was playing into the hands of inefficient officers and new orders were issued from the assessor and collector department daily.

They alleged that earlier 30% rebate was given to senior citizens, physically challenged and women. But the rebate has been withdrawn without the Corporation’s approval. Moreover, no notice was served before withdrawing it.

June 20 has been fixed to allow 20% rebate to co-operative group housing societies. The timeframe is unjustified, as they maintain services themselves.

Property tax return forms that should have been made available from April 1. They are not available in the concerned office. They were given for printing on April 25. Moreover, the online service for depositing property tax has been non-functional, they alleged.

They feel that many property-related cases pending in courts should be settled soon.

The Congress leaders further alleged that officials of assessor and collector department did not perform their duties properly.

In 2003-06 PRF (scrutiny form) record was prepared. Crores of rupees were spent to computerise 14 lakh properties. The assessment book has to be prepared on the basis of this record under Section 124. Whether it is Section 123 C or 123 D, the properties included in the assessment books are to be legal. They alleged that the public is being harassed under the provision of these sections by 200 inspectors.

Defending the MCD, Subhash Arya said that there was no hike in the rate of property tax. 

New Delhi, May 6
Delhi PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said that there is no plan to construct overbridge on the much-criticised Bus Rapid Transit corridor from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand.

He said that the construction of the flyover near Deer Park could not be related to Bus Rapid Transit as it is at a reasonable distance from it.

The Minister said that the Public Works Department (PWD) was constructing three flyovers at Africa Avenue Marg –Vedant Diksha Marg, Vivekanand Marg – Nelson Mandela Marg – Poorvi Marg and Rao Tula Marg –Benito Juarej Marg intersections on Outer Ring Road.

The flyovers will make the road signal-free and reduce the journey time.

Length of the first flyover would be 900 meter, second 1200 meter and third 800 meter.

The first two flyovers would have double carriageway whereas the third one would have single carriageway.

The foundation stones of the flyovers were laid by the Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on May 9 last year.

The estimated combined cost of the flyover will be Rs 248 crore.

The construction work of the flyovers is in full swing and they would be commissioned before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games 2010. 

New Delhi, May 6
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has detected many cases pertaining to fraudulent appointments. As many as 16 such cases have been registered since 2003.

According to DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal, some unscrupulous persons have been issuing false appointment letters like those of engineers, customer care staff and office assistant to aspiring job seekers. “When they came to join the organisation, they were informed that the appointment letter issued to them were fake,” he added.

The DMRC had also issued advertisements warning people against such appointments. DMRC managing director E. Sreedharan has also been writing to the concerned authorities to expedite action in the matter, informed Dayal.

“Cases were registered at Lodhi Road and Shastri Park police stations and the DCP (South), additional DCP Railways, DCP (North/East) and DCP (North/West) were informed about these cases in 2003 itself. One Mukesh and five others had lodged an FIR with Shastri Park police station under Section 420 of the IPC in March 2008, as Mukesh had been given a fake appointment letter of an engineer in the Delhi Metro. Mukesh belongs to Budh Vihar,” said Anuj Dayal.

The latest case of fraud appointment relates to Deepak Sharma of Shahdara, who was given a fake appointment letter of a token collector in DMRC on April 25 this year. He was asked to join on May 4. The case is being sent to Shastri Park police station.

To ensure that people do not fall prey to such unscrupulous persons, Dayal informed that appointments to the Delhi Metro are notified on its website www.delhimetrorail.com.

“Letters of appointment related to the project wing of the DMRC are issued by the chief personnel officer at NBCC Place, Bhishma Pitamah Marg, Pragati Vihar, New Delhi. The joint general manager (recruitment and training) and senior personnel officer at the office of director operations, Training Depot Premises, Shastri Park, Delhi-52 issue the appointments related to the operations and maintenance wing of the DMRC,” he informed.

He says that candidates are selected for the Delhi Metro through a competitive examination conducted by the DMRC, followed by an interview and a medical test. The list of shortlisted candidates is on the website at every stage. “Candidates should therefore check the DMRC website to check authenticity of any appointment.”

New Delhi, May 6
Delhi food supply minister, Haroon Yusuf today directed fair price shop owners (FPS) to keep the shops open till the 15th of every month and to distribute all the stock of foodgrain by this time. He said that strict action would be taken against the shopkeepers who fail to follow the order.

The decision was taken today at a meeting held with senior officers of the food supply department.

The decision follows a number of complaints received by the department against ration shop owners at the time of issuing of ration cards to above poverty line (APL) and below poverty line (BPL).

In maximum complaints the cardholders had said that the shopkeepers did not open their shops. The ration meant for poor people were not available to them. Instead, the foodgrains issued to the shops from the Food Corporation of India was directly transported to flour mills. A number of trucks were caught red handed.

The meeting also discussed black marketing of food grains, sugar and pulses. The officers submitted the details collected during raids conducted against hoarding in various areas of the Capital recently. Around 40 FIRs were lodged against shop owners, gas agencies and wholesale dealers. 

New Delhi, May 6
Delhi transport department today decided to open 50 new bus depots meant for private buses to be driven on the Capital’s roads by big business houses, sources said.

The government will charge maintenance from the transporters.

The government had decided to phase out the Blueline buses with DTC-owned low-floor buses and buses owned by the corporate houses.

This decision was taken last year when the rate of accident had gone up and Blueline bus operators were warned by the government. 

New Delhi, May 6
In a major effort to clear the backlog of pending cases, a mega Lok Adalat will be held on the premises of the Delhi High Court on May 10.

According to official sources, the Lok Adalat will take up cases pertaining to motor accidents, electricity disputes, labour disputes and company winding up issues. It will also hear issues related to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) service and accidents.

New Delhi, May 6
“My grandmother did not want me to come to India for this visit and kept saying that Indians are very cruel and it is not safe. However, I am extremely glad that I came. It is completely different over here. Nothing of what we have heard prepares us for the reality that we see in India and the massive commonality that out peoples share. I feel that there should be more such peace forums and exchanges where young people can meet as this will help build bridges between the two nations and also help people get rid of their biases,” says Sadia Bibi, an activist from Quetta, Pakistan, at a key interaction to encourage Indo-Pak youth peace and help mend fences between the two nations.

Currently, a delegation of some 24 young Pakistani delegates is in the city and they represent diverse professions like educationists, lawyers, businessmen, NGO representatives, activists and students. The delegates will spend five days in Delhi and then will be travelling to Ahmedabad and Udaipur. The idea behind the initiative is to provide a platform for meaningful exchanges between young “thinking” people of the two nations and gradually bring them closer.

Haider Ali Khan, a lawyer based out of Lahore informs, “What we have set out to do through this platform is to try and find young dynamic people on the other side with whom we have something in common. For example, lawyers want to meet lawyers. Also we want to approach young upcoming parliamentarians on both sides and put them together for dialogue as this could go a long way in reducing longstanding misunderstandings and building confidence between the two nations.”

Delegates inform that the stress is on opening thematic dialogue between the two nations in August and September. A dialogue is planned on intercultural and interfaith issues and two scholars from both sides will meet in Lahore. A business dialogue is being scheduled for December with delegations from both the sides meeting and the dialogue between parliamentarians is expected to take place next year.

Another delegate who works for an NGO along the Indo-Pak border informs that, “we have a lot of things in common as two nations. We lived together. Now this wall has come up. For instance, I did this study along the Gujarat-Raj-Pak border and discovered that yearly during monsoon, farmers plough the land along the border. Of course, they are accompanied by the rangers on the Pakistani side and by the BSF on the Indian side.

The farmers on the two sides converse freely and exchange news of developments the year round while funnily enough neither the rangers nor the BSF understand the language they converse in. So people feel close, people to people interactions will help build confidence and better relations and they are a big learning experience for us.”

“General perceptions in the two nations over the years have been doctored by the media and state, especially by school curriculum,” says Rana Bilal Ahmad Khan, chairman YAHR, Lahore. “It all depends on how state indoctrinates people. This is why people to people interaction is very important. Also I would like to clear that Pakistan is not “fundamentalist” as it is branded, people at heart tend to be secular and the problem lies only in areas touching Afghanistan.”

Interestingly, a delegate from the NWFP, clarifies, “I am from the NWFP and people at large are not against India. There is no real common support for the Taliban and its fundamentalism. It is the media and state interference that has created this impression.”

New Delhi, May 6
The growing needs and rise in the cost of living in the Capital is throwing hither-to unseen scenes on roads. Trying to make ends meet in the wake of the ever shooting inflation worm, the eunuchs these days could be seen begging at several traffic intersections across the national Capital. Traditionally associated with dancing and singing on festive occasions, begging on roads by eunuchs was something unheard of here.

All that is passé now. Meet the new-age eunuchs, working part-time to make extra pocket money. Thirty-seven-year old Varsha at Tilak Marg traffic lights, with mobile in her shirt pocket and ten-rupee notes in her hand does not take lightly if reminded of her traditional job. “What do we do if man like you has lost the power to produce children? And those who can are satisfied with just one baby these days. Where do we go for dancing and filling our stomachs?” shoots back Varsha.

She added that she does dance at the family functions but begs to supplement her income as the cost of living has gone up.

Varsha along with her friend Kanti, arrives at Tilak Marg traffic lights every day around 3.30 pm and leaves the place by 6 pm. “We beg in shifts. After we two leave this place by 6 pm, the other two eunuchs replace us. It is all planned and no clash of interest among us,” told Varsha. She and Kanti manage about Rs 200 to Rs 300 within two hours on these lights and are quite satisfied with the earnings. “We only beg for a little money that we need and are not greedy like you people,” taunts Varsha. Her friend Kanti rather adds sadly, “Who will we leave for if we have the extra money?”

The pair of Ashiani and Sangufta begs at ITO crossing at 5 pm when the office goers are on their way home and easily manage about Rs 300 between them within a few hours. Boarding in a rented accommodation with about 12 eunuchs in Paharganj, these were finding it difficult to make both ends meet unless they chose to beg. “Who likes begging? But do we have any choice? We are not educated, have no job and neither is government giving us anything?

Money makes life easier and if we can gain some by begging here. It should not hurt anyone,” quizzes Ashiani. Her partner Sangufta said that the increasing cost of living in the city is forcing many of her community to take to begging. “Earlier we made enough by dancing at the births but now that proves inadequate. Almost all our colleagues beg whenever they could,” said Sangufta.

However, people have mixed opinions about them. “It is all right if they accept that they are beggars and accept whatever is offered. However, they abuse you if you offer them anything less than a fiver. Try giving them one rupee coin,” challenges a salesman from Noida.

The traffic policemen posted on these crossings too have a soft spot for the eunuchs. “We have scared them off many times but the hunger in stomach brings them back. It is all right with us as long as they behave and are not harassing anyone unnecessarily,” said a traffic policeman. 

New Delhi, May 6
To escape violence and in search of a better future, several Iraqi families living in the Capital are knocking doors of the international community for help.

The Kadhim family, consisting of a couple and three young children, owned an ice factory in Baghdad. They lived on a farm, run by household help and secured by guards.

Like the Kadhims the Saeed family also enjoyed a comfortable life. Saeed, a PhD in Physics, had a successful career. While his wife is a management degree holder. Their son was one of the top architects of the country and their other children were studying.

“When the USA came to the country, many of these families were marked high on the list of desirable resources that could be used to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure,” said Khalid Alansari from Foreign Students’ Association, Jawaharlal Nehru University (FSA-JNU). Khalid has been part of the team of three that conducted extensive study on Iraqi refugees in Delhi.

“Most asylum-seeking or refugee families coming from Iraq to India conveyed that the aid they gave to the American government became a life threatening problem and, thus, they were forced to flee the country,” he said.

However, India did not turn out to be the best resort. “We came to India thinking it to be safe and democratic,” said Shahla. “But I cannot stand it anymore due to my health problems. I am worried about my children’s future. We want to be settled and feel free.”

Shahla’s daughter takes care of the family during her mother’s illness. “We need those people (UNHCR officials) to send our message to every embassy and proceed for resettlement as soon as possible,” she added.

Saeed was a former director general of curriculum in the post-Saddam interim government. Saeed, who had an illustrious career before his arrival in India, lives with his family of three and the Jassim family of four in a one bed room apartment in the Capital.

There are many other Iraqis who need help from all possible quarters. “We have chalked out some recommendations on which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and NGOs can possibly work and bring positive changes in their lives,” said Khalid.

Iraqi refugees have to pay twice the amount that Indians pay for necessities ranging from shelter to food, as it is assumed that foreigners are richer. Sadly, it is not the case with refugees. “Social communication and media can help dissipate prejudice and arouse concern for Iraqi refugees,” he said. “Income generation projects should be identified and carried out.”

“Inflation and the cost of living in the Capital must be taken into consideration when determining a reasonable amount that a refugee could be expected to survive on. The inadequate sum given to refugees at present is not sufficient to meet the bare necessities,” he added.

Another recommendation that came out of the study was to set up refugee hostels. For those who come here, finding accommodation is difficult. Refugee hostels should be made available, at least for a few months, he said. 

New Delhi, May 6
Mira Model School celebrated its 36th Founders’ Day recently. The celebrations were marked by an extravagant evening in which around 500 schoolchildren presented a splendid programme for the audience. The theme of the evening was ‘Water, an elixir of life’ wherein a ballet ‘Jal jeevan adhar’ was put up promoting the importance of rainwater harvesting. ‘Dharti ki Mahima’ dance celebrating nature was performed by primary school students reminding the audience of the importance of water in life.

Mira Model School has been imparting a quality and ethical education to children from all strata of society in West and South-West Delhi since 1972, a press release said.

New Delhi, May 6
A fight between two gangs of Tihar Jail inmates inside a prison van left more than 10 inmates injured. The incident took place yesterday at around 10:30 a.m. while they were on their way to Karkardooma Court.

The trouble started near Ghazipur traffic light when some members of both the gangs began to tease each other. It soon led to a fistfight injuring Ahmed, Sripal, Rakesh, Sushil, Abid, Adnan and four others. The injured were rushed to the Hedgewar Hospital and Chest Clinic near the Court and were discharged after first aid.

According to sources, three of them were grievously injured after being hit by a heavy object.

A case has been registered at Mandawali police station and the culprits have been booked under Section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code.

The police station officials have confirmed the incident.