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Cylinder blast in sweets shop
No hike in property tax
Infighting in BJP delays candidates’ list
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DU exams from April 6
3 of family killed in mishap
Want to register as voter? Go to college
Hospital helps staff quit smoking
Honour Killing
Lakhs await voter ID cards
Court snubs lokayukta over low-floor buses
Realtor’s staff robbed of
Rs 5 lakh
Missing cop found dead
Temple priest stabbed, ornaments robbed
Constable beaten
Family of missing boys fears kidnapping
Woman, servant in suicide pact after doomed affair
Boy drowns in deep pit at Noida
Speeding van kills man
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Cylinder blast in sweets shop
New Delhi, March 13 The blast took place on the first floor of Brijwasi Mishthan around 8:15 a.m. after which fire engulfed the shop, leaving five persons critically injured while two others sustained minor injuries. According to fire officials, three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The situation was brought under control by 9:05 a.m. According to sources, the explosion took place when an injured worker ignited the burner of a cooking stove in the morning. Leakage of gas is said to be the reason behind the blast. The five who are critically injured were initially admitted to the nearby Ambedkar Hospital. Later, they were referred to the Safdarjung Hospital. They are in the age group of 20 to 50 years and have been identified as Narendra with 90 per cent burns, Azad with 70 per cent burns, Madanlal and Rakesh with 80 per cent burn injuries each and Uday Shankar was also seriously injured. While two others who had sustained minor injuries were discharged after the first aid. The sweet shop is located in a residential area. The blast caused people in the locality come out of their houses fearing a bomb blast. The intensity of the blast was so severe that walls of nearby buildings developed cracks. A scooter parked nearby was burnt due to the explosion. Windows of many cars parked near the spot also broke. According to eyewitnesses, the window grill of the room where the blast took place was blown about 60 metres away. They further said that there were two blasts and not one. The shop was using a domestic cylinder instead of a commercial one. Meanwhile, the police is investigating the cause of fire and has sought an explanation from the shop owner. “We are investigating the matter and cannot say anything as of now,” said a police official. |
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No hike in property tax
New Delhi, March 13 The opposition party Congress today accused the BJP of violating the code of conduct and said that it would file a complaint against the party with the Delhi Election Commission. The Congress said that the BJP was trying to woo voters by intentionally bringing a proposal to increase the property tax and then rejecting it to project a public-friendly image. The proposal to increase 24 per cent property tax, which was introduced by municipal Commissioner K.S. Mehra, was today rejected by BJP leader and chairman of the Standing Committee Vijender Gupta. However, according to BJP leaders, the proposal was brought without taking them into confidence. “We are against the augmentation of property tax and had no information about it. This simply implies that the municipal administration is working under the pressure of Congress party,” said Vijender Gupta. Though the proposal was rejected today, the Congress said that the BJP would implement it after May 2009. “They have rejected it now because of the elections. Once it gets over in May, the BJP will implement the increased tax,” said Jai Kishan Sharma, Leader of Opposition.
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Infighting in BJP delays candidates’ list
New Delhi, March 13 Sources said that differences cropped up while deciding the candidate for the New Delhi constituency. Former union minister Vijay Goel wants to contest from the seat, but a section of senior leaders are backing the candidature of Hema Malini. They want Goel to fight from Chandni Chowk, from where he has already contested and enjoys good support. But Goel wants to shift from Chandni Chowk to New Delhi because post-delimitation, Chandni Chowk seat now includes Outer Delhi and Sadar constituency areas. Likewise, lobbying is being done for Northwest reserved constituency, for which former MP Anita Arya, Meera Kanwaria and a few others are in the race for ticket. Sources said that there were differences over South Delhi seat also, as a section of party wanted Parvesh Verma to fight from there. But, Parvesh Verma has refused to contest from South Delhi saying that it is a Gujjar-dominated constituency, while he is a Jat leader. Others in the race for ticket for South Delhi seat are Ramesh Bidhuri, Solanki and Nasib Singh. Another factor that caused the delay in finalising the names of candidates was decision on caste representation. |
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DU exams from April 6
New Delhi, March 13 Exams of B.A. (Programme) (new course) and B.A. (Pass) (old course) will begin from April 8, while the students of B.Sc. (General) (old course) will have their first paper on April 11. Detailed date-sheets can be downloaded from www.du.ac.in. |
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3 of family killed in mishap
Greater Noida, March 13 Passengers of the tractor trolley were going for pilgrimage to Baba Mohan Ram’s place in Rajasthan. The accident took place when a child suddenly came in front of the tractor and the driver, while trying to save the kid, lost control over the vehicle. According to SP (Rural), Surinder Kumar Verma, about 24 people from Javer’s Karoll village were going for Baba Mohan Ram’s darshan in Rajasthan’s Kholi area after the festival of Holi. While the tractor trolley was climbing Dam Road near Puranpur village, a child suddenly came in front of the vehicle. Trying to save the child, the driver lost control of the vehicle, and the tractor trolley rolled down. Nagwati (45), her daughter-in-law Biduthi Devi (20) of Karoll and Nagwati’s brother Ram Das (30) of Bulandshahr died on the spot, while rest of the passengers were seriously injured. The three were crushed under the tractor trolley as it turned turtle. Some villagers of the area informed the police. The police with the help of local people rushed the injured, including Neetu, Hadesh, Badam Singh, Janwati, Rachna, Priyanka, Rani, Kalicharan, Roop Ram, Jai Singh and others to Gurukul hospital in Palwal. Of the injured, Santa Devi, Anita Devi, Prem Singh, Sandeep and Hari Ram were reported to be in a critical condition. The police has handed over the bodies to relatives of the deceased, as they did not want the post-mortems to be conducted. |
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Want to register as voter? Go to college
New Delhi, March 13 In a meeting with the representatives of six universities, Delhi's chief electoral officer today proposed that such centres should be set up immediately to encourage the youth to come forward and vote. "According to a survey, as on February 20 the number of electors in the age group of 18-19 were 403,914 but the city's population in this same group was much higher at 725,600. This shows that youth in this age group are highly under-represented," Satbir Silas Bedi, the chief electoral officer, said at a press meeting here today. "Therefore, we decided to meet the officials of various universities and make them a medium to spread awareness among the students, as well as the teachers, to come out, register themselves and vote," she said. The general election for the next Lok Sabha will be held in the seven seats of Delhi on May 7. The universities which participated in the meeting were Delhi University (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jamia Hamdard, Indira Gandhi National Open University and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. For the huge chunk of outstation students living in university hostels and elsewhere, Bedi said that their address can be verified by the college authorities so that they get registered in the electoral roll here. "However it should be ensured that if a student is already a registered elector in his or her native place, then they cannot register here - even if they don't vote there. Only by cancelling their registration in their native place can they register here," Bedi said. Besides the facilitation centres, representatives of the universities suggested various other means to create more awareness among the student community. "We can rope in the students union to create mass awareness about the importance of voting. Also, inclusion of the same in the university's official website and prospectus will start a movement of some sorts for better turn out in the future," Kalpana Bhrara of DU told IANS. S.K. Vasan of Jamia Milia Islamia added: "'Nukkad nataks' (street plays), seminars and workshops can also create a great awareness. Roping in teachers in the process will help reach across to their families in turn as well to the students." Bedi said: "From our experience in the last Delhi elections in November, four million people in Delhi did not vote and 2.5 million of them had valid voter identity cards. This time in the general elections we want the scene to change and want the youth to bring about that transition." — IANS |
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Hospital helps staff quit smoking
New Delhi, March 13 In consonance with the government’s resolution against tobacco, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is organising workshops with organisations wherein employees who smoke will be given treatment to kick the habit. The hospital would provide a structured tobacco cessation workshop, in which addicts would be provided with intensive psychotherapeutic interventions in a group setting, along with medicines to reduce the urge. Sajeela Maini, tobacco cessation specialist at Ganga Ram Hospital said, “It is a step-by-step intervention to make the quitting process easy and less discomforting. The smokers would be taught yogic exercises to help them expel toxins and revive their lungs.” The treatment is followed after a detailed assessment. The addicts would be trained to check relapse once they give up the addiction. “Tobacco-free workforce would increase energies and enhance morale, leading to higher productivity and profits for the organisation,” said BK Rao, chairman, Ganga Ram Hospital. First in the series, the hospital is organising a five-day workshop with the employees of Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited. |
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Honour Killing
New Delhi, March 13 A division bench of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Aruna Suresh upheld the life term of Darshana and her daughter Rajani and stated, “It is our social thinking that forces Indian community to take such steps.” “The duo had taken this step to save their family’s respect and killed their own blood,” said the bench. According to the prosecution, the duo killed Raji, 20, while she was asleep on the night of April 16, 2002, in Uttam Nagar here when the girl’s father was away in Punjab to attend a wedding. A total of 50 knife wounds were found on the body of the deceased. The trial court had found the two guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment in 2004. — IANS
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Lakhs await voter ID cards
Greater Noida, March 13 A campaign for making voters’ identity cards has been under way in G B Nagar district for the last five months. But out of a total of 8.50 lakh voters in the district, over two lakh voters have yet to collect their cards, which are not ready yet. Even the photographs of many voters have not been taken yet. A large number of people from various Noida sectors and villages had complained to the SDM that they had not been issued with voter’s photo identity cards. Some had even complained that their name had been struck off from the voters’ list. The reason for this situation is reportedly the indifferent attitude of officials entrusted with this duty. There is nothing like a coordinated approach on the part of officials who do not maintain a good rapport with the public. Voters have lodged complaints with the district administration many times. Meanwhile, deputy election officer Shrikant Diwedi claims that 95% voters’ cards have been made available. But RWAs and voters deny this claim.
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Court snubs lokayukta over low-floor buses
New Delhi, March 13 Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, while setting aside the order, also asked the lokayukta to thouroughly examine Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Vijay Jolly’s petition alleging corruption in purchase of the buses. The petition alleged hat the buses were bought at an inflated price of Rs 2.5 million each as compared to the purchases made by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Chennai. The court also asked the lokayukta to follow proper procedure while summoning government records. — IANS |
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Realtor’s staff robbed of
Rs 5 lakh
New Delhi, March 13 According to police, the victim Mukesh Kumar, who works with property dealers, Brij Kishore and Co., was on his way to Karol Bagh to give Rs 5 lakh to someone his employer had named. However, four men on two motorcycles stopped him on the slip road near Shakarpur and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not hand over the bag. “The men threatened Mukesh, snatched the bag and fled from the area,” said a police official. According to statement given by the victim to the police, the robbers came on motorcycle which had a registration number of UP. A case of robbery has been registered at Shakarpur police station. |
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Missing cop found dead
New Delhi, March 13 “Ashok was promoted this year and was posted at South West district line. A passerby who noticed his body informed the police. We have sent his body for autopsy to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital,” said a senior police official. Ashok, a native of Bahadurgarh, is survived by three children and a wife. “Prima facie it appears that he might have consumed some poisonous substance that caused his death,” added the official. However, the police is investigating whether it is a case of suicide or somebody administered poisonous substance to Kumar. Meanwhile, a case has been lodged at Nangloi police station. |
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Temple priest stabbed, ornaments robbed
New Delhi, March 13 According to information, the incident took place around 2.30 am. Four youths reached the temple complex and asked priest Subhash Giri Maharaj (66) to open the temple door on the pretext that one of their friends was not well, as some soul had taken over his body. As soon as the priest opened the door, they attacked him with a knife. “The priest has a knife injury in his hand. According to him, they were four people and they took away some gold ornaments from the statues,” said a police official close to investigation. The villagers came to know about the incident early in the morning when injured priest was taken to a doctor. Hundreds of villagers reached the temple as the news spread. Subhash Maharaj has been with the temple since last three decades and is highly regarded by the villagers. Police officials investigating the case believe that it is the handiwork of local youths as one of the assailants had called the priest by name. |
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Constable beaten
New Delhi, March 13 According to sources, the victim Omkar Singh (52) was on duty at B-1 block in Nand Nagri when he had an altercation with some unidentified men. The angry men attacked Omkar with sharp-edged weapons. He suffered injuries in the head, hands and legs. The assailants managed to flee with Omkar’s service revolver. The injured head constable was rushed to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. He was later referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) trauma centre. “Omkar along with constable Sulekh Chand was patrolling in the area on motorcycle. Near Pehalwan Dhaba in B-1 block Omkar alighted from the bike to have water when he was attacked,” said a policeman. It is believed that Omkar knows the assailants who seemed to have some past enmity with him. Meanwhile, Omkar is not in the position to give any statement. A case has been lodged. Around a dozen suspects have been detained. Omkar was posted with Nand Nagri police station around two years ago. |
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Family of missing boys fears kidnapping
Greater Noida, March 13 On Holi, Ankur and Vijay were playing outside their house in Alpha-II. But after sometime when their parents did not find them around, they lodged a missing report at Kasna police station. They fear that the children might have been kidnapped. It may be recalled that on December 22, 2008, Updesh, a student of Pragya School, had gone missing from Alpha-II. His family had lodged a missing complaint. The child was freed after his family paid a ransom of Rs 2 lakh. Later it was found that one of the kidnappers worked in a restaurant near the boy’s house. |
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Woman, servant in suicide pact after doomed affair
Noida, March 13 Sudesh Rani, 30, and Gulab Singh, 27, tried to commit suicide late on Thursday night by consuming pesticides. Both were rushed to the Kailash Hospital, where the servant succumbed while Sudesh’s condition was said to be critical. According to a hospital official, she was in the ICCU and on life support systems. An unsigned suicide note was also found on the spot, the police said, adding it was being verified. According to Anil Samania, station officer of Sector-39 police station, Sudesh fell in love with Gulab, who was working for her in-laws for the last 15 years, soon after her marriage and had a relationship with him for the last 12 years. Sudesh had married Satveer Singh (32) of the Sallarpur area on Dadri Road in 1997. Her elder sister Rekha (35) was also married in the same family — to Satveer’s elder brother Sukhvir Singh. Sudesh first met Gulab, for some household work and both developed a liking for each other. Their feelings for each other soon turned intense and they even wanted to marry, Samania said. However, no one in the family suspected their relationship. —
IANS |
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Boy drowns in deep pit at Noida
Noida, March 13 Vikas and Pintoo were playing near their house in Khajuri Colony in the Chhalera area when they fell into the pit carved out by Noida Authority to draw water from a nearby stream for construction purposes. Though the access to the stream had been cut off sometime back, the pit had not been closed. The two boys cried out for help. While six-year-old Pintoo was rescued, Vikas could not be saved. By the time he was pulled out, he had died, a police official said. Pintoo was admitted to hospital and his condition is said to be stable. —
IANS |
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Speeding van kills man
Noida, March 13 Kumar, who worked as an ad-hoc sanitation worker with the Noida Authority, was going to Hoshiarpur around 3 a.m. when the van hit him. The 35-year-old died on the spot and the van driver fled, the official said. —
IANS |
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New Delhi, March 13
