The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood

	Elderly couple evicted from government house Household articles thrown out Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 4 A senior citizen couple living in a government accommodation in Pushp Vihar, Saket area of South Delhi, were today forcibly evicted by the officials of Estate Office and their household articles thrown out of the house. According to the couple, Eva Rani and Girja Shankar Gautam, the duo had been living in the house number 1854 of sector 3 in Pushp Vihar for past 27 years after Eva got a job in the Delhi government. After retirement, Eva was asked to vacate the house, but she requested for some more time till an alternative arrangement was made. “My wife is a heart patient while I myself am suffering from several old age-related problems. The officials of the estate department treated us like criminals and flung our articles out of the house. They did not even let me wear my clothes and did not allow me inside the house,” said Girja Shankar Gautam, who came to The Tribune office in his undergarments. Girja said that he was dismissed from the post of education inspector in UP after he accused some officials of being involved in corruption. He met the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and told her about his problems and the financial crunch that he was facing as his case was in court. “Indira ji gave my wife a job and also made sure that a house was allotted to us. We have lived here all our life now. Since I had no income and with my wife’s income, we could barely make both ends meet, we could not buy any house. Now we do not know what to do,” said Girja. When he had initially received the notice to vacate the house, he met urban affairs minister Ajay Maken. “The minister deferred the evacuation of the house till further inquiry. However, today these people came and threw us out,” he said. The couple plan to sit on fast onto death if the authorities do not take notice of their condition.
	Opposition decries price rise Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 4 Opposition parties today criticised the Centre for the “unjustified” hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG. The Delhi unit of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) would hold a demonstration against the price hike of petrol products at Jantar Mantar tomorrow. Delhi unit BJP chief Harsh Vardhan said that by increasing the price of cooking gas by Rs 50 per cylinder, the Congress and the Left have exposed themselves before the common man. The UPA government has no moral, social or constitutional right to continue in power. The UPA government that has been making tall claims about decreasing the price spiral for the last two years has hard hit the common man. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Prof Jagdish Mukhi said that increase in the price of petrol, diesel and LPG was the highest in the country’s history. This will affect the prices of goods used by ‘aam aadmi’, as they would be sky rising. CPI (M) central committee member Hari Singh Kang said that the government should realise that in a global contest where the price of crude oil is reigning high, the only sustainable solution lies in restructuring duties on petro products and having a transparent pricing policy.
	Arushi Murder Dr Talwar not cooperating: CBI Parmindar Singh Noida, June 4 While taking Dr Rajesh Talwar on remand for two days, CBI sleuths told the Ghaziabad CBI court of Ms Sapna Mishra that accused, Dr Talwar, father of the slain girl, Arushi, was not cooperating with the investigating agency. Though the agency had requested the court for five day’s remand of the dental surgeon to recover the weapons of murder and the cell phones of the victims, the court had allowed CBI only 48 hours to question him. The agency later said that the killer of Arushi Talwar and Hem Raj could have been wearing surgeon’s gloves. It is being interpreted that the agency has not so far met with much success in finding any reliable clues. The killer in plastic gloves naturally would not have left any fingerprints. A senior CBI officer said that there were inconsistencies in the statements of Dr Talwar and those of his wife Dr Nupur Talwar. But these differences were not major and could act as corroborative evidence later if agency happens to find some concrete evidence against Talwar. The CBI sleuths also tried to find out if duplicate keys were used to gain entry into the flat and if it was a forced entry. If it was not a forced entry and somebody had come from outside, it must have been then a friendly entry. The CBI has also questioned the doctors who had performed autopsy on Arushi’s body. The CBI asked Dr Sunil Dohre and Dr Naresh Raj about the time of Arushi’s death. These doctors had respectively performed the autopsy on Arushi and Hem Raj. In an hourlong questioning, the CBI had tried to find out the time of death of both Arushi and Hem Raj. The CBI is also getting the sewer connecting Talwar’s flat searched for murder weapons. Also the investigating agency is planning to get the forensic test reports of the viscera of both the victims to ascertain if any other unusual elements were traced in the viscera. Death by slitting of throats has been ruled out by experts who said Arushi had died with first hit on the head while Hem Raj died with second blow. According to experts, it would be a difficult task for the CBI to nail the killers unless Dr Talwar cooperates with it or it stumbles on the killers if they are outsiders. The time lag of 16 days period from the day of murders has added to agency’s difficulties, they say.
	In 2 months, 45 kids of Ghaziabad, Noida go missing Ravi Bhatia Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 4 More than 45 children in the age group of 12 and 18 years, a majority of them girls, have been reported missing from the neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad and Noida during the months of March and April this year. This revelation was made by volunteers of the Naujavan Bharat Sabha, a non-government organisation (NGO) working among the residents of slums in the National Capital Region. A spokesman of the NGO said their volunteers had carried out a survey after many families reported that their young children went missing. Most of these children belonged to the “below the poverty line families” living in slum clusters. While a total of 36 children were reported missing from Ghaziabad, another nine had allegedly disappeared from Noida. Tapish Maindola, an office-bearer of the NGO said the most striking aspect of this was the total apathy of the police. He said despite reports having been registered, no action was taken to trace the missing children. He said this could well be the tip of the iceberg as many families contacted by the volunteers claimed that they did not report the missing children to the police as they were certain that this would not be encouraged by the police. Some of the families alleged that they were abused and intimidated by the police when they insisted on filing their complaints, he added. The office-bearers of the NGO feared that these children could well end up in the clutches of gangs engaged in human trafficking for organ trade, child pornography and paedophiles or forced into beggary and bonded labour. Demanding a high-level probe into the disappearance of these children, the NGO suspected that this turn out to be another Nithari. However, officials of both the Ghaziabad and Noida police while confirming the disappearance denied any foul play in this. They claimed that most of the children had run away voluntarily to look for work and to escape from the squalid conditions. Some of them were even encouraged by their parents to run away as they were unable to feed them. These police officials also denied any apathy on their part and insisted that once a report was lodged all efforts were made to trace the children. Hue and cry notices were issued and wherever possible the photographs of the missing children were flashed to all the police stations and police forces of the neighbouring states.
	GGSIPU medical CET on June 8 Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 4 Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University’s (GGSIPU) MBBS common entrance test (CET) for stage — I will be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m on June 8. Earlier, the test was to be conducted on the same day from 2 p.m. Over 17,572 students will appear for the test. It is for the first time that the university is conducting CET for MBBS programme in two stages. This year stage — I will be held in eight cities including, Delhi, Noida, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Jaipur and Jalandhar, whereas, stage — II will take place only in Delhi on June 28 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The test will be of 600 marks. There will be 200 objective type of questions from Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology. Each question will be provided with four alternatives. Each question will carry three marks. There will be negative marking for incorrect answers. One mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer. The result for the Stage — I will be declared on June 15 on the university website. While the result of stage — II will be declared on July 7. The counselling will commence from July 22.
	NDPL denies report on employee strike Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 4 The North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) today claimed that it was not aware of any association or section of its staff having threatened to go on strike from June 5. The company was reacting to a news item published in these columns on Monday, June 2, quoting the NDPL Call Centre Employees Welfare Association. A spokesman of the NDPL said that the discom had cordial relations with all its employees who were perfectly satisfied with the working conditions. The spokesman also claimed that their inquiries have revealed that the Call Centre Employees Welfare Association did not exist and Gaurav Sharma, the person quoted in the report, was in fact a loyal employee of the company. This person has also denied that he had issued any such statement or even approached the media. He claimed that some mischievous elements might have used his name in order to tar his reputation.
	DUSU counselling rooms attacked Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 4 DUSU’s (Delhi University Students Union) activities facilitating admission processes in the university suffered a severe setback on Wednesday with the MCD men attacking and shutting down DUSU-run water booths, counselling rooms etc. An agitated DUSU president Amrita Bahari informed The Tribune, “All our activities have been stopped by the MCD and students will suffer because of this. The ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) is behind this as they appealed to the Mayor, Aarti Mehra, to put a stop to our activities and she instructed the MCD to do so. The MCD men have destroyed everything we put up to help students with admissions like water booths, stopped the buses from plying, ripped apart the counselling chambers and destroyed all our maps and other materials that we were distributing among students.” Bahari adds, “There is dirty politics behind this and students are being dragged into what is increasingly becoming a Congress vs BJP fight. Now we at DUSU condemn this move as it vitiates the atmosphere at DU and will cause immense confusion among students grappling with admissions. Right now we have not thought of our next move but we will not take this lightly.”
	AC buses for BRT corridor New Delhi, June 4 Delhi transport minister Haroon Yusuf on Tuesday announced that the government would launch eight air-conditioned buses on the BRT corridor (Abedkar Nagar to Moolchand) and the Mudrika route. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will flag off the buses from India Gate. The fair of these buses will range from Rs 10 to Rs 25. — TNS
	Plan to provide DTC parking to pvt buses Syed Ali Ahmed Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 4 The transport department has tabled a proposal before the Delhi transport ministry to provide parking facilities to private bus operators at DTC depots and they should also be allowed to fill CNG at DTC filling stations. There is also a plan to phase out the Blueline buses. The private bus operators generally park their vehicles on roads resulting in traffic jam. Last year Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and the transport minister had announced to phase out Blueline buses as the operators did not have experienced drivers. Blueline buses were reported to be involved in fatal accident cases every day. Since the government had planned to improve the public transport system in Delhi before the Commonwealth Games 2010, new low flour buses are being purchased by the DTC. So far 190 buses are being plied on Delhi roads. The Blueline buses will be banned in Delhi before the Games. There are total 7100 buses, including DTC vehicles. Of them DTC owns only 3100 buses. The rest are owned by private operators. The minister had a meeting today with the senior officers of transport department and DTC to chalk out a plan on phasing out Blueline buses. According to sources, the government has planned to ask the Blueline bus operators to drive their buses on inter-state routes. New permit to Blueline bus in Delhi has been banned. The government has planned to issue tenders inviting big business houses to drive buses on Delhi roads. The companies which offer lowest rate will be given contract. There would be at least two operators in one district. Each operator has to own at least hundred buses. Blueline bus operators can also fill up tender forms provided they afford to own 100 buses and follow new rules of the Delhi transport department, sources said.
	Crime File Property dealer gets life term for wife’s murder Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 4 A city court today awarded life term to property dealer Vijay Pal for plotting his wife Rajni’s murder. Additional session judge Vinod Kumar also awarded life term to Vinod, the sharpshooter hired by Vijay to carry out the killing. The duo were held guilty by the court yesterday. Rajni, 26, was murdered on August 13, 2001, barely four months after their marriage. Rajni was shot in a Honda City car while she and Vijay were returning from her parent’s house in Ashok Vihar. According to the prosecution, Vijay and Vinod shot Rajni. However, Vijay had contended that he had no role in the killing and she was shot by Vinod when he tried to rob them. Vijay Pal, at the time of the killing, ran a property dealing shop in the Aya Nagar area of Mehrauli. Man held for killing brother The south district police has arrested Chander Pal (40), resident of Etah district of UP, for killing his younger brother Kishan Pal. The accused had reportedly developed illicit relations with the wife of the deceased. According to HGS Dhaliwal, DCP South, the accused has confessed to the crime and the weapon of offence, a spade, has been recovered on his insistence. Kishan Pal was a rickshaw puller and lived with his wife and children in a plot in Neb Sarai, Sainik Farm, near St. Mary School Mehrauli. Chander Pal who was unmarried and was working as a security guard was also living with them. Kishan Pal suspected that his wife was having relations with Chander Pal. He used to quarrel with her on the issue. She told the police during interrogations that on May 11, Kishan Pal came home drunk. He abused and beat her up and then left the house. Around 11 pm, he again came back and found his brother Chander Pal at home. He had a quarrel with him as well. Chander Pal then planned to kill his brother that very night. Sunita told the police that Chander Pal then took out a spade and hit his brother on the neck while he was asleep on his rickshaw as a result of which he succumbed to the injuries. Chander Pal dug out the land in the corner of the plot and buried the body. Chander Pal also took out the clothes of the deceased and burnt them in the boundary wall of the neighbouring plot. He threatened Sunita not to disclose the incident to anyone, else she would also suffer the same fate. The body of the deceased was exhumed at the instance of Sunita from the corner of the plot. Fake friendship club busted, 6 held With the arrest of Sushil Kumar Bhamri and five girls last night, the crime branch of Delhi Police has busted a fake friendship club being run from a rented office in the Naiwala area of Karol Bagh. According to the police, the gang also ran a massage parlour. Seven mobile phones, 4 notebooks, 7 debit cards and 1 laminated copy of fake driving license have been recovered. Sushil Kumar Bhamri, 42, is the kingpin of the racket. He has a criminal record as more than half a dozen cases are registered against him in Delhi. The arrested girls disclosed that they used to lure men about giving a massage from them if they joined the club and paid membership fees. The gang regularly advertised in newspapers in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Bhamri disclosed that he had started this fake friendship club over 9 months ago. He used to pay salary of Rs 4,000 to the women employees along with perks. They got 5% of the amount for luring prospective clients. The club had a simple modus operandi. According to Anil Shukla, DCP (crime), they would advertise in the leading Hindi dailies in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab promising good friendship and massage. The contact number of the club was also mentioned for the clients to call up. He assured that if the client deposited Rs 4,000, he would be given the contact numbers of women who belonged to affluent families and were interested in friendship and massage. After the client deposited Rs 4,000, he was given a contact number that was attended by a woman. The woman would act coy and lead on the caller. When he wished to meet her, she would ask him for the ‘code number’. When the client asked the friendship club for a code number’, he was asked to deposit another Rs 25,000. After the caller deposited Rs 25,000, both the woman and the friendship club did not pick up the calls. If the caller tries to locate the phone number or the address of the bank account, he fails as both were obtained on a fake name and address. “Four bank accounts being used by the racketeers have been traced. The bank statements of the accounts have shown deposits of more than Rs 40 lakh since January 1, 2008. Roughly, more than 1,000 people have been cheated,” said DCP Shukla. One shot at Jitender Lamba, 35, was shot at around 11 p.m. at Sector – 16 in the Dwarka area due to some financial dispute. Jitender Lamba used to give loans on interest. Sushil and Satbir of Dwarka owed Rs 70,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively to him. The two had been evading for quite sometime, as they could not arrange for the money in spite of Jitender’s repeated reminders. According to the police, last night the two called Jitender on the pretext of returning the money. They had a heated argument with Jitender after which they shot at him with a countrymade pistol. Jitender was taken to a hospital. He, reportedly, is out of danger. Sushil and Satbir are absconding. A complaint of attempt to murder has been lodged and efforts are being made to nab the accused.