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Woman found dead in Nangloi
Woman in live-in relationship killed by brother
Haryana Congress gears up for elections
Assembly Poll |
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Malhotra attacks Sheila govt; says it is anti-poor
Family of Sept 13 blast victim gets compensation
Mental illness biggest health risk by 2010, but who cares?
Celebrate wellness of mind, body and soul
IGNOU to use mobiles to impart education
JNU language school to celebrate foundation day today
Two-day education fair from Nov 1
Music transcends borders, say Pak singers
Delhi gets its first apartment hotel in a mall
2 held for cheating
Hotel staff caught for threatening customers
Harassed
for dowry, woman burns self
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Woman found dead in Nangloi
New Delhi, October 30 Although a case of murder has been lodged against unknown persons at Nangloi police station, Anju’s husband Sanjit and his father Baljit have been arrested after Anju’s family expressed their apprehension regarding the involvement of the two in their daughter’s death. The victim’s family alleged that Sanjit often fought with her and pestered her to get more dowry. However, it was Sanjit who had informed the police about his wife’s death around 7 pm. Sanjit’s neighbours said that Sanjit had returned from work at around 6.30 pm last evening and that was when they had heard him shouting that someone had killed his wife. After hearing him, the villagers rushed to his house and saw Anju lying in a pool of blood. The investigating team reached the spot and has sent the body for post mortem. Further action will be carried out only after the police receives the post mortem report. However, the police said that it had not found any past incriminating record against Sanjit. Anju was married to Sanjit four years ago and has a two-year-old girl. Sanjit runs a public school along with his mother in the area and also deals in property. While Anju’s father-in-law Baljit Singh is a government employee, her father Satyawan works in the ministry of external affairs. |
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Woman in live-in relationship killed by brother
Ghaziabad, October 30 Priyanka, 27, was shot thrice by her brother Sonu in Hapur town of Ghaziabad district late on Wednesday. “We are making efforts to arrest Sonu who is involved in several criminal cases of heinous nature at various places in western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi,” said Jagdish Sharma, superintendent of police (rural), Ghaziabad. “He (Sonu) was angry over his sister Priyanka’s affair with a boy in Dehradun with whom she started living in a pre-marital relationship, while he was in jail,” he added. Priyanka had gone to her maternal uncle’s home in Asora locality of Hapur on Wednesday afternoon to observe Bhai Dooj with her cousin brother. At about 10 pm, Sonu reached his uncle’s home and shot her thrice with a countrymade revolver after an argument with her. The police has registered a case of murder against Sonu, who is absconding. — IANS
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Haryana Congress gears up for elections
Faridabad, October 30 According to sources in the Haryana Congress, the party was fine-tuning its poll strategy. On the other hand, the BJP-INLD combine, which is trying as much as the Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) to emerge as an alternative, has decided to launch its election campaign in the name of National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) on its November 1 Sonepat rally. The workers of the BJP and the INLD are already showing poll combativeness during their ongoing mobilisation campaign for the rally. The X-factor which appears to be goading the BJP-INLD workers is the fact that apart from L.K.Advani and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chuatala, Punjab and Orissa Chief Ministers Prakash Singh Badal and Naveen Patnaik respectively, are also slated to address the rally. Efforts are on to rope in Gujarat and Bihar Chief Ministers also so that the rally is a success and captures the spirit of the NDA. With regard the HJC (BL), the possibility of it aligning with thw BSP was receding as the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP supremo was apparently not inclined for an alliance. The party, meanwhile, is busy in galvanising support for its December 2 Bhiwani rally. It will make preparations for the rally after assessing people’ response to BJP-INLD Sonepat rally. The reason for such importance being attached to the BJP-INLD’s rally is the fact that it will be the first rally after the re-alliance of the two parties in the state. Also, HJC (BL) wants to occupy as much of the anti-Congress votes as possible. Hence, any increase in public support for the BJP-INLD would be at its cost. The Congress leaders on the other hand appear much happy with the coming together of the BJP and the INLD. A senior functionary of the Congress opined that with the BJP inviting INLD for an alliance, it now had a greater chance to jack up its prospects. The party will now simply make the elections a fight between Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Om Prakash Chautala. Besides, the comparison of the functioning of the earlier INLD government and the present Congress government will work in favour of the Congress. Also, with the fast approaching Lok Sabha election and the subsequent Assembly election in the state, the role of former minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Gulchain Singh Charak was being invoked. Charak was appointed as the coordinator and in charge of Haryana affairs by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for the last parliamentary election. The general feeling in the Haryana Congress was that the strategy devised by the Congress leadership ranging from selection of candidates to election strategy paid rich dividends enabling the party to win nine out of 10 parliamentary seats. In the subsequent Assembly elections, too, he had provided inputs to the central leadership which also turned out to be a hit. A section of the Congress leaders wish his re-induction for the coming parliamentary elections. |
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Assembly Poll
New Delhi, October 30 According to sources, Vijay Jolly, Bobi Tripathi and Neera Shastri are being considered. Being the daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Neera Shastri may be a strong contender to face Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. She had been seeking ticket from Patparganj but the party is considering her for the New Delhi seat. Vijay Jolly is an MLA from Saket. But after delimitation this seat was merged. The senior leader is likely to file his nomination from Malviya Nagar, which is represented by Congress MLA Kiran Walia. Ram Bhaj, Sunil Vashisth, Kulwant Gupta and M.K. Gandhi are the other applicants who are seeking the BJP ticket from Malviya Nagar. The BJP is in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) for the coming elections. Jangpura is a controversial seat from where Akali Dal is insisting to field its candidate. Despite this, the BJP has scrutinised four names – Mahendra Dikshit, Shri Ram Chopra, Manoj Jain and Rajbir. Akali Dal may give ticket to Kuldeep Singh for Bhogal. The BJP has scrutinised Jai Gopal, Poornima Sethi and Rajpal Singh for Kalkaji which is represented by senior Delhi Congress leader Subhash Chopra. According to sources, Poornima Sethi has bright chances. Delhi power minister A.K. Walia is contesting from Lakshmi Nagar on Congress ticket. The BJP has received three applications against him. These are Murari Singh Panwar, Santosh and Naveen Kumar. Last time Naveen Kumar had contested from Lakshmi Nagar but was defeated by a heavy margin. Moti Singh, Kala Solanki, Chandra Kant Bansal, Suresh Chhabra and Shri Bhagwan Sharma have been scrutinised for Ballimaran against Delhi transport minister Haroon Yusuf. Three BJP activists — Jitu, Shyam Agarwal and Kalpna Jain are seeking tickets against education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely in Gandhi
Nagar. |
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Malhotra attacks Sheila govt; says it is anti-poor
New Delhi, October 30 Addressing mediapersons, Malhotra alleged that the Congress had been misleading the people of Delhi for the last 10 years. The poor are the worst affected. He assured that if the BJP was voted to power, it would construct multi-storeyed flats for slum-dwellers in collaboration with private developers. The party would provide flats and plots to the residents of JJ clusters every year on regular basis. Malhotra said that the Sheila government had made a false promise by announcing that her government would provide flats to slum dwellers. He alleged that the Congress government had been wasting public money in advertising campaigns. Malhotra said that the poor slum-dwellers who sweated out in scorching heat for hours without food and water were brutally lathi-charged by the police. He said that around 40 lakh people who live in 1,500 odd JJ clusters had played an important role in the Capital’s development. But the Congress had always treated them as mere vote-banks. The Congress always sheds crocodile tear in the name of poor and weaker sections but has never made any honest attempt to improve their lives. Had the Congress government been honest to its electoral promises, it would have provided shelter to at least some of the people living in JJ clusters, Malhotra added. |
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Family of Sept 13 blast victim gets compensation
New Delhi, October 30 The compensation amounts were handed to him at the Daryaganj district revenue office here on Thursday evening. His brother Muhammed Quasim, a cycle-rickshaw puller, was killed in the September 13 blast at Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh. Hassan was forced to bring Quasim’s widow Masrat, 23, and her year-old daughter Munaja down to Delhi so they could give proof about themselves as Quasim’s heirs. “We have been given a cheque for Masrat and fixed deposit for Munaja of Rs 1,70,000 each. For my mother too, a cheque for Rs 1,60,000 was given,” Hassan said. The compensation was processed after a month of shuttling to and fro between Delhi and his hometown Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir. Hassan is still concerned about how he will access the sum. “We don’t have bank accounts; they (officials) say that they will open an account in Jammu and Kashmir Bank. But what is the guarantee that the sum for Munaja will be made available once she turns 18?” Hassan enquires. The case, according to officials, was difficult to process because there were multiple heirs to the compensation amount of Rs 5,00,000 from the government. In addition, the heirs were not residents of Delhi. “In many cases there are multiple claimants to the compensation, and a policy catering to that has not been made. At a higher level they were working out whether to give the entire sum to one member or distribute it proportionately,” Yash Pal Malhotra, district revenue officer, said. Quasim’s is the first case where the entire sum has been proportionately divided among his relatives. Hassan, who plied cycle-rickshaws for 14 years in the Capital, now wants to leave as he fears another terror strike. “Walking down the road, images of the dustbin blowing off to bits near me flash in my mind. No, I don’t feel secure - for this I hold the government responsible,” he said. At least 26 people were killed in the September 13 serial
blasts. — IANS |
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Mental illness biggest health risk by 2010, but who cares?
New Delhi, October 30 According to the National Human Rights Commission, which released a report last month on mental health, morbidity on account of mental illness is all set to take over from cardiovascular diseases as the number one health risk in India in the next two years. The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences further says that over 20 million Indians suffer from serious mental ailments and 50 million more from milder forms. Thus, a shocking 70 million people suffer from mental ailments and yet, 50-90 per cent of them are not able to access corrective services. Awareness of mental health, experts say, is just not enough. “Mental illness may become the biggest health risk in the next two years, but the awareness is still not there. The stigma attached to mental illness is so great that people just refuse to address the problem,” said Praveen Thapar, chairperson of Sanjivini Center for Mental Health. Therefore, instead of addressing such problems like panic attacks, depression, obsessive behaviour or hysteria — which are mild forms of mental illnesses — Thapar said that people just ignore them. “The danger of this kind of attitude is that things can sometimes get out of your hand. Therefore, address it when you can,” said Thapar, who is also a counsellor at Sanjivini that specialises in emotional crisis-interventions. Abhijit Sen (name changed), a 30-year-old, for instance, visited his doctor nearly 10 times last month. The reason? Every time he is in a chaotic situation on the road, he gets a panic attack and calls home, saying that he is unwell and needs to be taken to a hospital. “Initially his family believed him and thought that he must be really suffering from some disease. But every time the reports were negative. Three months later, he realised he needed help to get over his panic attacks. “When he finally decided that he needed counseling, we unearthed that it was an offshoot of a difficult childhood, of an alcoholic father and a strict mother. He is now coping well with it,” Thapar said. So, when does one realise that one needs help? Psychologist Akhila Srivastava explained with an example. “Feeling sad and depressed over a particular incident for a few days or weeks is natural. But if the feeling of depression, of not wanting to meet people or losing appetite, continues for more than three to six weeks, and talking to friends and family has not helped, then you need professional help,” Srivastava said. Talking about the rising number of suicides among youngsters, mostly in metros, the experts said that more than youth, it is their parents who need counselling. “Parents have to learn not to push their children too much. It is a very competitive world as it is. If a child is brought up in an atmosphere where he is allowed to develop his talents, instead of being pushed into doing something he is not interested in, he will not only excel but also learn how to handle stress because there is a fallback system,” Thapar maintained. “In 95 per cent of the cases of adolescence stress, it is an issue of the parents and not the child itself,” she added. And, although the experts admit that a rising number of people are seeking professional help to handle stress in this increasingly competitive world, they say problems like alcoholism and depression are also escalating.
— IANS |
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Celebrate wellness of mind, body and soul
New Delhi, October 30 Keeping this in view, Life Positive Expo — 2008, a body-mind-spirit festival, is being held at Federation House, FICCI, Tansen Marg here from October 31 to November 2. ‘Celebrating Wellness’ is the theme of the expo. It presents an opportunity to examine the options available in India for the wellbeing of one’s body, mind and spirit, an organiser of the expo said. It offers a platform to deal with the current stress and strain. Besides, it answers questions about success, relationships and communication through 12 workshops. It aims to imbibe hope, optimism and positive energy in every participant. Speaking at a press conference, chairman of Life Positive magazine Aditya Ahluwalia said, “The expo is a zone of positive energy, optimism and possibilities, where amazing transformations happen.” Twelve of India’s best and most reputed trainers will hold half-day workshops at the expo. Among them are Arindam Choudhury, Newton Kondaveti, Jiten Bhatt, Blossom Kocchar, Sri Samadarshini and others. The evenings will conclude with a discourse by three spiritual teachers. Dadi Janki, the spiritual head of Brahma Kumaris will speak on ‘Truth’ on October 31. Pranav Pandya, the spiritual head of Gayatri Parivar will speak on November 1 and Swami Nithyananda, founder of Bangalore-based Dhyanapeetam, will hold a discourse on November 2. The expo will also have an exhibition area where visitors can discover a range of products and services that will help them achieve healthy bodies and minds. They can also enjoy three days of fellowship. |
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IGNOU to use mobiles to impart education
New Delhi, October 30 “Looking at the mobile phone penetration in our country, we thought of using the medium to impart education. Its called M-education,” said V.S. Rajasekharan Pillai, vice-chancellor IGNOU. “Education and technology cannot be seen separately. Taking education, especially vocational education, to rural India will soon become easier through mobile handsets,” Pillai said. IGNOU believes in imparting quality education. These easily accessible modules would be implemented in collaboration with the Communication and Manufacturing Association of India (CMAI). “The courses will be offered through text, video and graphics mode. We will start by imparting education on music, dance, art and crafts. We are sure people will latch on to it,” the vice-chancellor said. He said the central government would soon provide wireless and broadband connection to all colleges across the country. “And our programmes will become more popular and easy to access,” he added. “3G mobile is becoming popular in India and we will soon have mobile TV. These courses and this mode of education then will become a huge hit. What we are going to start is a revolution in the Indian educational scenario,” he added. Pillai said IGNOU would provide public health course capsules on nutrition, public health, AIDS awareness and other contents. “Mobile phone will prove a new paradigm in imparting knowledge to far-flung areas in the country and assist in bridging the divide using wireless and mobile technology,” CMAI chief N.K. Goyal said. — IANS
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JNU language school to celebrate foundation day today
New Delhi, October 30 An alumni meet will be organised on this occasion. Besides, a seminar on ‘Common Traditions of Hindi and Urdu Language and Culture’ will be held. S.R.
Kidwai, the first faculty member and the first chairperson of the centre, Namwar Singh, will be
honoured. A poetic meet will be the other attraction of the day. Savitri Chandra Shobha and S.R. Kidwai were the first to join the centre as faculty members in 1974. Namwar Singh joined the centre as its first chairperson in November the same year.
Chaman Lal, chairperson of the centre said, “Since then the centre has had 20 chairpersons and many of its alumni have reached high positions in fields of education, culture and
administration.” Lal added that starting with courses in Hindi and Urdu, the centre has included Tamil in its
academic programmes. |
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Two-day education fair from Nov 1
New Delhi, October 30 According to Global Event & Expositions Pvt. Ltd, the organisers, education is one of the most important assets which every child needs to acquire. Studying in the best institution is a dream of every student, but only a fraction of them are actually able to realise this dream due to lack of proper information. ‘Education Worldwide India Fair’ has realised that there is an opportunity to deliver complete information to students to explore the options available in India and abroad. The fair will provide a wonderful opportunity to the students to interact one-to-one with a large number of institutions under one roof. |
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Music transcends borders, say Pak singers
New Delhi, October 30 “We receive so much love each time we perform here! It’s amazing - there is no difference in the applause we receive back home and here. In fact, one of the reasons we come here is for the respect and love that is bestowed upon us by listeners,” Zaki Taji Qawaal, the senior most member of the group. The group on Thursday serenaded music lovers here with what it termed “authentic qawaalis” under the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) banner. The artistes belong to the prominent Sikandarabad gharana (school) and are descendents of court singers to the Mughal emperors of the 18th century. Zaki Taji Qawaal alias Zaki-uz-Zanian is the son of Mian Shafi-uz-zinan, a renowned artiste of the Sikandrabad gharana. Zaki, with his sons Shah Zaman and Muhammad Zaman, orchestrated the qawwal group, which performed alongside Indian qawwals from Delhi led by Chanchal Bharti. Qawwali is a form of music practised by Sufis. Sufism is a school of Islamic thought where truth and divine love are achieved through personal experience.
— IANS |
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Delhi gets its first apartment hotel in a mall
New Delhi, October 30 Svelte-Saket is for long-haul travellers who look for temporary homes with the advantage of professional hospitality. Delhi-based Tristar Hotels Pvt Limited formally threw open the doors of the high-end 83-key all-suite extended stay hotel at the Select Citywalk Mall in Saket last week. They have tied up with Sterling Resorts’ Preferred Group of Hotels for the venture. Svelte-Saket is the company’s flagship property. The tariffs range from Rs 14,000 to Rs 30,000 (without taxes) per night. “We are targeting groups like MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), business, relocation like the diplomatic corps and medical tourists - segments that are characterised by brisk mobility. Our clientele is niche, mostly groups from Iran, Europe, Africa and Japan, who stay for any lengths between a couple of weeks to two years,” George Abraham, CEO of Svelte, said. The suites are spread across five floors and in two categories — executive and royal suites, and are fitted with furnished kitchenettes, dresser, drawing-cum-dining room and bedrooms like self-contained apartments, designed tastefully with all amenities that a star property offers. The high point is the kitchenette, which has a micro-oven, refrigerator, cutlery, storage and cooking space. The fifth floor that opens out into the terrace is occupied by a roof-top swimming pool. Abraham said since the hotel is located in a mixed-use zone, in this case a mall, guests can avail themselves of all facilities that the entertainment arcade has to offer. “It offers multi-options like food, shopping facilities and theatres. The ambience is vibrant. A hotel located in a mixed-use zone also adds to the product portfolio of the property developer and helps the hoteliers attract guests on the strength of its strategic location. The suites at Svelte are modelled on the Oakwood Serviced Apartments in Bangalore,” Abraham said. The hotel is modelled on serviced apartments that are fast replacing hotels across Indian
metros. — IANS |
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Tempo drivers held for looting passengers
New Delhi, October 30 Rahimuddin, Chand Mohammad, auto-rickshaw drivers Noor Mohammad and Jafaruddin were arrested last night near Sibbal Cinema in Badarpur. Noor Mohammad and Jafaruddin looted passengers after drugging them. They mixed drug in the eatables that they offered them. Deputy commiccioner of police (crime) Neeraj Thakur said that an information was received about some auto-rickshaw drivers’ gangs that were involved in looting passengers after drugging them. The gangs operated in Dhaula Kuan, Sarai Kale Khan and ISBT Kashmiri Gate areas. Six mobile phones, drug tablets and cloth bags were seized from their rented accommodation in Badarpur. Six cases of robbery that took place in auto-rickshaws have been solved with their arrest. Jaffaruddin has previous criminal record. The deputy commissioner of police has appealed to people to refrain from hiring an auto-rickshaw that has passengers already sitting in it. besides he advised people never to accept eatables from an unknown person. |
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2 held for cheating
New Delhi, October 30 Ghanshyam Sharma of Sangam Vihar posed as an Income Tax officer while, his accomplice Ramesh runs a photostat shop at ITO. The two were arrested after an investigation of the fake identity proof papers that they provided to some people. Thirty-five PAN (permanant account number) cards, some cheque books and some driving licenses were found from their houses. Ghanshyam even attested the documents of people. He had the seals of an Income Tax officer. |
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Hotel staff caught for threatening customers
Noida, October 30 According to Ashok Tripathi, Noida superintendent of police (city), on Tuesday evening around 11 pm, four persons, including a senior IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, were having their dinner at the hotel in Sector-18. While eating, they noticed a hair in the dal after which they went to the counter and complained about it to the restaurant staff manager Gyan Prakash and assistant manager Vibhu Wadhawa. But the two, instead of accepting hotel’s fault, shouted at them and threatened to kill them if they stayed at the counter any longer. “Though the waiters were okay, the executive staff of the hotel misbehaved with the customers to such an extent that we had to arrest them,” SP city added. The two hotel officials had to spend the night in Sector-20 police station lock-up and were granted bail on Wednesday morning. |
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Harassed
for dowry, woman burns self
Faridabad, October 30 Premvati was rushed to Badshah Khan Hospital, where she died. Her two sons and brother-in-law also received burnt injuries while trying to save her. Premvati, who belonged to village Kalwal in Palwal district, was married in 1999. The police has registered a case against Premvati’s husband and three of her in-laws on the complaint of her father. Her father alleged that her daughter had been constantly subjected to cruelties by her in-laws for dowry. However, the police was yet to make arrests in the case. |
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