New Delhi, March 5
In a tragic accident last night in the Rohini area of northwest Delhi, three men were killed while three seriously injured when their car chased a Maruti Alto car from the wrong side of the road. It led to a fatal accident with a truck. The deceased include a bank manager, property dealer and president of a housing society. 

They were chasing another car in which some youths were drinking and creating rowdy scenes outside the Akash Ganga Society located in sector 24 of Rohini.

Navin, property dealer, Kuldeep and Parvesh Tomar, bank manager, died on the spot while Pramod Rana, Lal Mani and Ajay have been admitted to Jaipur Golden Hospital in a critical condition. All the six were residents of Akash Ganga Society and the Hyundai Verna car occupied by them was being driven by Pramod Rana.

The accident occurred on the road leading to Aman Vihar police station in sector 20 around 12.15 am. Police has also recovered a licensed revolver from the car which belonged to Pramod Rana.

According to information, some youths in the age group of 20 to 25 years were drinking alcohol amidst loud music outside the Akash Ganga Society last night. President of the society Kuldeep objected to their behaviour and asked them to leave the place. As a result, an altercation ensued between Kuldeep and the youths who threatened to teach him a lesson if he did not mind his business.

“Kuldeep thereafter dialed the police control room. The youths then got into their car and ran off. However, he decided to chase and called his friends in society to go after the youths. The car was being driven at very high speed and moreover on the wrong side leading to the accident,” said a police official from Aman Vihar police station.

According to sources, the youths also manhandled Kuldeep infuriating him to the extent that he decided to chase them down.

According to senior police officials of the district, the medical examination has established that Pramod Rana was not under the influence, although alcohol was found in the blood samples of one of the injured.

Meanwhile, the police is trying to verify the statement and searching for the missing car. Further investigation is on in the case. 

New Delhi, March 5
The South district police has arrested three persons in connection with duping some people of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of providing them with membership of various national and international resorts. The accused include Dharmender (36), Kanchan Kumar Singh (35) and Subhash Badoni (34). They belong to upper middle class families and are all graduates from Delhi University. 

According to HGS Dhaliwal, DCP (South), police had been on the lookout for the gang for quite some time after they had received a complaint from Lt. Col. Susan Johan of Army Hospital (R&R). Johan was duped of Rs 2.04 lakh by the accused on the pretext of giving her the membership of a resort. 

“The lady was neither given membership nor was her money refunded. In fact they even shifted their office from Lajpat Nagar II and the mobiles were found to be switched off,” said Dhaliwal.

A case of cheating was lodged in this regard at Hauz Khas police station in March 2008. After efforts of almost a year, police yesterday nabbed the culprits from the Karol Bagh and Lajpat Nagar area. 

According to police, the accused had also cheated several other people by adopting the same modus operandi. Nine people from NCR had reportedly been duped by them.

According to Dhaliwal, Dharmender and Kanchan earlier worked with Resort Country Club, South Extension as sales managers and later came in contact with Subhash Badoni. After working there for about two years, they got the marketing rights from Country Inn, Bhimtal, Nainital and formed their own company in the name of Time Share Master Vacations Private Limited and started business at C-30, Panchsheel Enclave.

New Delhi, March 5
An 11-year-old schoolgirl was crushed to death and three students were injured today when a speeding mini truck hit them in North East Delhi.

Meena, a class IV student, was knocked down while her two sisters Savita and Suman — both students of class II — and one of their friends were seriously injured when they were returning from their state-run school in the Gokulpuri area around 1 p.m., the police said.

Meena died on the spot. The accident led to tension in the area as residents hurled stoned at the vehicle. They set it on fire even as the driver managed to flee. People continued their protest for two hours and blocked the road.

“We want the driver to be punished and hanged,” Meena’s father Bir Pal told reporters.

The police said it was looking for the truck driver. “By the time we reached the spot, people had already set the mini truck on fire. We are on a lookout for the driver,” said a police officer. — IANS

New Delhi, March 5
Contrary to its image, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to complete the work of four multi-level parking sites in South Delhi in less than a year’s time. It would be a record achievement if it managed to accomplish the project in the said time frame. 

The contract for developing these multi-level parking sites at Hauz Khas, Munirka, Gandhi Nagar and Model Town has been granted to a private company and the work is expected to begin within one week.

“The work has been awarded to a private firm and it has been told to complete the project within one year,” said a senior MCD official involved in the project.

“Generally, 22 days are given to the company to begin its work. But since we aim to complete the work before the Commonwealth Games, work at all these sites will start within a week,” he said.

However, with the work yet to begin on the Kamla Nagar automated parking site for which the foundation stone was laid almost two years ago, it remains to be seen whether the civic agency will be able to complete the projects before the Commonwealth Games.

The stone foundation ceremony near the Hauz Khas market where the three-level parking will accommodate more than 300 cars took place on February 23. It will be built at a cost of Rs 35 crore. Around 100 trees will be cut or transplanted for the four parking projects, said the MCD official.

Besides, the civic agency has planned to create one parking of at least 500 cars in all 272 municipal wards. It has made a provision of Rs 1,000 crore for the development of multi-level parking lots in various parts of Delhi.

However, the opposition Congress party has challenged corporation’s efficiency in undertaking such projects. “They could not complete a single multi-level parking at Kamla Nagar, which was inaugurated two years back,” said JK Sharma, leader of opposition. 

New Delhi, March 5
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) called off its indefinite hunger strike on the eighth day today after the intervention of university teachers. The JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) intervened to break the deadlock between the administration and students yesterday.

The JNUSU had launched an indefinite hunger strike following the rustication of five student leaders.

“The situation was critical when we convened an executive committee meeting and appealed to students to lift the hunger strike and negotiate with the administration,” said Vivek Kumar, general secretary, JNUTA.

However, the JNUTA has denied that the vice-chancellor made any substantial promises. “The main aim of the executive committee was to break the stalemate. We have assured students that the administration would look into the rustication orders and other demands,” added Vivek.

But students seemed apprehensive after calling off the strike. “We respect our teachers and have called off the strike on their intervention. If the administration does not take up the issues, it will face the anger of both students and teachers,” warned JNUSU president Sandeep Singh.

Right after the strike was lifted, the administration constituted a committee to look into the rustication orders.

The committee comprises five professors, including Harjit Singh, Aditya Mukherjee, Rupamanjari Ghosh, S.N. Malakar and Sachidanand Sinha.

“Our organisation called off the strike around 11 a.m. and the other organisations soon joined in. The administration has constituted a committee to look into the rustication order,” confirmed Roshan, secretary, JNU SFI.

“Students have lifted their strike for the smooth functioning of the university. The vice-chancellor has constituted a committee to look into the rustication of five students. The committee has been directed to submit its recommendations at the earliest,” said a JNU spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the university is returning to normalcy and the administration is trying to manage the time lost in admission process.

“For the convenience of applicants, the university will keep its admission counters open on Saturdays too till March 16. On Saturdays the counter will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” informed the university spokesperson.

New Delhi, March 5
Indira Gandhi National Open University and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) are all set to launch a bachelor’s programme in Sign Language Education, BA in Applied Sign Language Studies (BAASLS). This is the first venture by any institution in the world to launch a disciplined academic programme to educate and empower millions of deaf and speech-impaired humanity.

A five-member team of academics and experts in sign language from the UCLan and its centre, iSLanDS, the International Centre for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies, is currently in discussions with the IGNOU think-tank about the feasibility of sustained academic development in the area in India.

The second stage of discussion is slated to take place in the week beginning May 11, which, besides the present academics and experts, educators from UCLan’s quality assurance wing also might join to validate the degree programme and also probably sign a formal agreement.

According to Prof Ulrike Zeshan, director of iSLanDS, “The first batch of students should be able to start their studies in summer 2009.” The pass-outs of the programme will get two degrees, one from the IGNOU and the other from the UCLan. Coordinators also will be two — Prof Ulrike Zeshan from UCLan and Prof Ramanujam from IGNOU.

Applied Sign Language is a new area of study in higher education. The field is posed at the crossroads between applied linguistics and the study of sign languages and deaf communities. Sign languages are natural human languages which are on par with spoken languages at all levels of linguistic organisation.

New Delhi, March 5
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to issue identity cards to the shopkeepers at weekly bazaars. The announcement was made by Subhash Arya, Leader of the House in MCD in view of the problems faced by them in holding the bazaar. 

“We will issue identity cards to the shopkeepers of the weekly bazaars so that they can run their business without fear or harassment,” said Arya. He said that the identity card will also mention the size of the shop and other particulars.

The president of roadside hawkers’ union met Arya to apprise him of the problems being faced by them. They asked him to recognize weekly bazaars.

The culture of weekly markets, which mainly cater to the needs of middle class section, is very old in the Capital, but till today no mechanism has been chalked out for their organisation. Lakhs of shopkeepers who earn their living from these markets face harassment by the local police.

They end up paying a good amount of their earnings to the cops.

The residents feel that the weekly markets are quite useful as they sell a variety of household items.

“The weekly Sunday market that happens in our area is very good as we get small household items nearby. The problem is with the cleanliness and the chaotic nature of these markets as they lead to traffic snarls and sometimes thefts as well,” said Sangeeta Verma, a housewife from RK Puram.

Gurgaon, March 5
The city residents have to face lots of difficulties in getting the voters’ identity card. People seem to be visiting the electoral office daily but have to return empty-handed. Many have applied it more than a year ago and still have not received it. Even the staff of the department have no idea from where people can get there cards.

It is the story of not just one person. Many organisations are also making complaints about the functioning of the election office. With the Lok Sabha election to be held on May 7, the election office has a daunting task of completing the voter list.

Rakesh Yadav, general secretary of Adhikaar-the Rights Path NGO, said that the election office has absolutely no system of working and it is just like a dump yard. It took 45 minutes to get an application form for registration of a voter card and the staff are unhelpful.

He said, “Our NGO had made a complaint to the Election Commission of India for the bias role of election office in Gurgaon to benefit a particular party.”

He added that they would soon meet the deputy commissioner with the people who had submitted the form but their names have not been included in the list.

Lt Col Rajesh Yadav, a senior serving army officer, said that he had submitted the form thrice and is not aware if his name is still in the electoral list.  

When the team of The Tribune visited the electoral department, it found that people were running here and there to get their card but were unsuccessful.

Seventy-year-old J U Akhtar said that he had been visiting the office for many days and the staff there are asking him to visit various places. Even after visiting all those places, he is not able to get his card. “They have even taken my card which was made in Delhi,” he said and added that it is the same with his son’s card also. “Although my neighbour who applied along with me has received the same,” Akhtar claimed.

Prakesh Snehi, 66, said that the department has no record as he was asked to go to the computer section to see his name in the record, but the person sitting there said they don’t have as such record. “Now where shall I go,” he asks.

Ghaziabad, March 5
A day after violent protests erupted against the killing of two local residents by policemen in this Uttar Pradesh town adjacent to the national capital, six policemen were suspended today.

The police had earlier claimed they had killed two “robbers” after a car chase early Wednesday. But the father of one victim said the police picked him up from a bus stop over six hours before the claimed “shootout”.

The complaint against the six policemen, including a sub inspector, was registered Wednesday night and they were suspended this morning, superintendent of police (City) Anant Dev told IANS. The charges against them included that of murder.

Senior superintendent of police Akhil Kumar had ordered the registration of the complaint after meeting senior citizens led by Quazi K.Z. Bukhari, who demanded that action be taken against the policemen involved in the shoout that they claimed was staged.

Abdul Aziz, on the basis of whose complaint the first information report (FIR) was registered, said that he and his son Rahees, alongwith friends Anees and Feroz, were waiting for a bus at about 10 pm on Tuesday at the main gate of the vegetable market when six policemen in a jeep halted in front of them.

The policemen took away Feroz and Rahees, saying that they would send them back after questioning. Aziz identified one of the policemen as sub-inspector H.N. Singh.

Aziz said his son did not return home and in the morning he saw his photograph in the newspaper. The news report stated that the photograph was of one of the robbers killed in a gunbattle with the police.

A magisterial inquiry has also been ordered, said city magistrate Umesh Mishra.

On Wednesday, Akhil Kumar had announced an award of Rs 2,500 each for the “brave” policemen who had gunned down two men who had allegedly robbed and beaten up a businessman.

Dev said the youth were shot dead in the Indirapuram locality adjacent to the national capital around 4.30 am.

He said four criminals travelling in a Qualis car seriously injured a man and robbed him at about 1.30 am. They then dumped the unconscious man near Haj House in Sahibabad.

When the victim, identified as Naushad, regained consciousness, he dragged himself to the main road and was spotted by a police patrol vehicle.

The police had said that on the basis of Naushad’s complaint, they chased the attackers and managed to gun down two of them. The others managed to escape with the money they had robbed from Naushad. Dev said two pistols and a knife were recovered from the Qualis.

The police said residents in the area had identified the two robbers as Salim and Feroz of Islam Nagar locality.

However, the shootout triggered massive protests in the town. Alleging that the episode was staged by the police, a mob went on the rampage, ransacking a hospital, damaging a police post and over a dozen vehicles, and injuring two policemen. — IANS