New Delhi, April 3
The protest by the Sikh community against a clean chit by the CBI to the senior Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case continued the second day today in the Capital.

While five members of the SGPC attempted self-immolation in a city gurudwara this afternoon, hundreds of Sikhs gathered in the Fateh Nagar area of West Delhi and shouted slogans against the central government.

Hundreds of Sikhs led by Kuldeep Singh Bhogal, member, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, today gathered at the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara in the heart of the city around 11.30 am and condemned the ‘latest betrayal’ by the Congress government.

As per pre-declaration, Bhogal along with four other volunteers Ravinder Singh, Maninder Jeet Singh Sirsa, Avtar Singh Heeto and Jasbir Singh were to immolate themselves.

However, even before they could put their plan into action, policemen in plain clothes caught hold of the five men while they were breaking the bottles containing kerosene. The five were taken to Parliament Street police station and detained for almost four hours.

“We were taken by surprise as police had posted Sikh constables in plain clothes in the area. They pounced upon us and took us away when we tried to burn ourselves,” said Bhogal.

Earlier raising slogans against the Congress for nominating Tytler and Sajjan Kumar for the Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Bhogal said their nomination should be withdrawn to respect the sentiments of the Sikh community.

“Congress has always treated Sikhs as secondary citizens of this country. While the accused in the Indira Gandhi murder case were hanged within a couple of years, the Sikh community which lost more than 10,000 men is yet to get justice even after 25 years,” said Bhogal. He assured of further protest till the CBI decision is reverted by the court on April 9.

In another incident, about 500 workers of Delhi Pradesh Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and their supporters gathered today at Fateh Nagar to protest on the issue.

Addressing the people, the Delhi Pradesh president of the party, Manjit Singh said that the candidature of both the leaders should be immediately withdrawn.

“After the PM Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had maintained that the 1984 carnage was wrong, the clean chit to Tytler and Sajjan Kumar has come as betrayal to the Sikh community. The community would fight until the two men are punished,” said Manjit.

The concern was shared by several Akali leaders who demanded justice and accused the central government of being unjust and indifferent to the community.

New Delhi, April 3
The Delhi police has arrested three persons in connection with the murder of a Delhi police constable in the Jehangirpuri area of the capital last month.

Those arrested have been identified as Kuldeep (22), Sanjeev (39) and Rajender (30). According to the police, constable Vijay Singh was shot by the accused because of Kuldeep’s enmity with him and also to acquire his service revolver and cartridges to commit further crimes.

“The accused had fired two bullets at Singh’s forehead and had then slit his throat with a knife,” said deputy commissioner of police (North West Delhi) N.S. Bundela.

The police has recovered the weapons used for committing the crime. Constable Vijay Sigh was with the Jahangirpuri police station and was deployed as a beat constable at the CD Block in the area.

On the intervening night of March 1-2, Singh had gone missing and did not report back to the station. When a search was launched to trace Singh, it was learnt that he was seen with Kuldeep around 10.30 on the night he went missing.

The police yesterday picked up Kuldeep, who, during interrogation accepted that he, along with his two friends, had killed Singh.

Kuldeep said that Singh had once slapped him in public, and since then he had been looking for an opportunity to avenge the humiliation. The three had dumped the body of the constable in the Sahibabad area of Uttar Pradesh.

New Delhi, April 3
Rajinder Vadera (69), the father-in-law of Priyanka Gandhi Vadera, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a Hauz Khas hotel of South Delhi this morning.  

According to sources, Rajinder was found hanging by a room attendant of the City Inn Hotel in theYusuf Sarai area of Hauz Khas around 9.30 am today.

When Rajinder did not respond to his repeated callings, the room attendant informed other members of the staff who opened the door with a master key and found him hanging.

“Rajinder, who allegedly hanged himself with cloth-iron wire, was taken to Max Hospital in Saket area where he was declared brought dead. His body was then sent to Safdarjung Hospital for postmortem,” said the sources.

According to the sources, Rajinder had been staying in the City Inn hotel for the last two years. He was undergoing treatment for some liver disease at the Max Hospital and he was discharged from the hospital only about 15 days ago.

The cremation of Rajinder Vadera was held this evening at the Lodhi Road crematorium and was attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and others. The last rites were performed by his son Robert Vadera.

Rajinder Vadera used to reside in the civil lines area of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh and ran brass and wood handicrafts business from there. However, he stayed sometimes at the City Inn Hotel during the last two years.

“He stayed in the hotel as he was undergoing treatment for some liver disease at the Max Hospital. In fact, he was discharged from the hotel only a week ago,” revealed a source.

Around eight years ago, Robert Vadera sent a notice to his father and elder brother, Richard accusing them that they used his relationship with Priyanka Gandhi to try and get people appointed to the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee and the Moradabad District Congress Committee.

Rajinder, who was separated from his family, in an interview denied his son’s allegations. His daughter Michelle died in a car accident some years ago.

New Delhi, April 3
Come ballot day, many maids, small shopkeepers and other migrant workers in the city will be going home to vote, as they have done in the past. But this time, many others will not, thanks to the economic meltdown.

Latika Das, 45, works as a part-time maid at Chittaranjan Park. She said she has written to her family in Purulia district of West Bengal that she would not be able to come for the Lok Sabha elections.

“Every election, local leaders, mostly from the CPI-M tell my family about the election dates in advance so that I can book my rail tickets. But this year I cannot go because I am sustaining myself on just two jobs now. My son does not work and I do not have enough money to go home.”

In wake of the economic meltdown, many households in and around Delhi have dismissed their maids.

“I lost my job after my employers went abroad last month,” said Zeenat, a maid in Mayur Vihar. Her former employers used to work in software firms, but both husband and wife were laid off recently.

Zeenat, a native of UP, will not go home to vote. “I have told my family that I will be home later this year,” she said, though she feared someone might cast a false ballot in her name.

Priya Ganguly, a journalist, is happy. Her maid is not going home in West Bengal to vote. Ganguly felt it had nothing to do with the meltdown.

However, some others are on their way home. A group of 12 cooks, domestic helps and fish sellers from Chittaranjan Park, Vasant Kunj and Gurgaon are leaving for their homes in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on April 8 though the election will be held a month later.

“We will vote in early May,” said Sukumar Das, a cook. His friend Lakshman Bhuiyan, who sells fish, will leave for his village at Midnapore in West Bengal on April 5.

“We have to travel for three days to reach home,” he said. The CPI-M, he said, will reimburse their travel expenses. “It is a good time for an annual holiday,” he grinned.

At a high-rise construction site in Nehru Place, some daily wage labourers from villages near Jharkhand capital Ranchi are preparing to go home. They are mostly tribals, brought to New Delhi by a Haryana-based construction firm.

“Every election, we vote and make it a point to go home. Booking (train) tickets is difficult. We would like to reach our villages by mid-April,” said Nathu Ram, a Santhal. He has been in Delhi for six months with his sons. Traditionally, they are supporters of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

While the daily wage earners from Jharkhand are eager to vote, primarily because they have a state of their own, Jagjeet Yadav, an auto-rickshaw driver from Bhojpur in central Bihar, is not planning to go home.

“I had to sell my old auto-rickshaw and purchase a new one on loan. It is a heavy
burden. The steep prices of everything weigh heavily on my shoulders. I have
parents in the village. I have to support them. I have a wife and three children in
Delhi. I make only Rs 3,000 a month. I don’t think I will go home this election,” he
said. — IANS

Ghaziabad, April 3
The daughter of a Delhi police sub-inspector was allegedly burnt alive by her in-laws in Ghaziabad on Thursday for not getting dowry, her family members said.

The police is investigating the case. Babli (26), daughter of sub-inspector Atar Singh, was married to Dev Raj on June 18, 2004.

While Atar Singh’s family stayed at Indirapuri colony in Loni, Dev Raj lived at Balramnagar in the same area.

On Thursday morning, the police was informed that Babli was lying dead in her husband’s house with extensive burns. Babli’s parents were also informed and they reached the spot.

Babli’s husband and in-laws were missing from the house when the police reached. Babli’s brother Rishi Raj said his sister was constantly being harassed by her in-laws for dowry.

He said Babli had been turned out of her husband’s house many times in the past to bring money and various articles from her father.

She had called her father on Wednesday night and told him that her in-laws were conspiring to kill her, he said.

Babli’s father filed a complaint at the Loni police station but the police was yet to register a case till Thursday night.

However, senior officials assured the family and the media that the police was
taking action.

“We are looking out for the girl’s husband and his family. They would be taken to
task. The matter is under investigation,” Anant Dev, superintendent of police (city),
said. — IANS

Ghaziabad, April 3
Four unidentified armed motorcyclists robbed Rs 5,00,000 from two recovery agents of a security agency on Thursday in this Uttar Pradesh district.

Ranveer Singh and Sunil Mishra, recovery agents of the security firm, Brinks Arya, were returning to Noida to deposit the cash at Sector-51 ICICI Bank after collecting the amount from clients of the company in the national capital.

The two were on a bike when they were intercepted by four robbers on National Highway-24 near Indirapuram.

P.K. Soni, manger operations ICICI Bank, said the agents were carrying Rs 5,00,000 when they were robbed.

The robbers at gunpoint snatched away from them the bag containing the cash, the police said, adding it is verifying the amount looted.

A police picket stands just 100 metres from the spot but apparently there was no policeman at the time of the incident.

“We are investigating the matter and verifying the exact amount of cash,” district police chief Akhil Kumar said. — IANS

Faridabad, April 3
The Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) will announce the names of its remaining candidates for the Lok Sabha election in the state within five days, according to its chief Kuldip Bishnoi.

Kuldip Bishnoi, who addressed a series of public meetings in Faridabad parliamentary constituency today to canvass support for his HJC (BL) nominee, Chander Bhatia, said that his party would make public its manifesto along with the names of its remaining nominees.

The HJC has already announced the names of its nominees from three out of the 10 parliamentary seats in Haryana.

In response to a question, he indicated that former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, and patron of HJC (BL) would contest from Hissar parliamentary constituency.

To another question, he said that he would also contest from Bhiwani/Mahendergarh seat if his party gave the green signal.

Bishnoi showed irritation when asked about the possibility of an alliance between his party and the BSP. He wondered why queries to this effect were often made when both the sides have made it clear that they would contest the elections alone.

He said that his party would organise a public meeting of the Third Front by May 5. He clarified that his party had joined the Third Front to keep equidistance from both the Congress and the BJP.

Out of a number of meetings addressed by him here, the one organised at Ballabgarh by his party leaders was comparatively well attended.

He was critical of the functioning of the Congress government in the state and said that the election would be a trailer for changes in the political scenario in Haryana.

He said that his party would have “change” as its campaign plank and asserted that the INLD had lost its base in Haryana.

Noida, April 3
A Noida fast track court sentenced two persons who had killed a man in a land dispute to life imprisonment.

In the second case, three realtors had murdered their fourth partner over a dispute in property deal commission. The three of them were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The court also slapped a penalty of Rs 5,000 on both the accused in the first case and Rs 8000 each in the second case.

Failure to pay penalty will result additional imprisonment of one year and six
months, respectively.

There was a dispute on the land of Dani Singh and Jagan Singh in Niloni Mirzapur with Dharamveer and Sohanpal. Dani Singh’s son Naresh had given evidence in court in a criminal case against Chanderveer and Harveer of the same village.

As a result, besides Dharamveer and Sohanpal, Chanderveer and Harveer also became their enemy.

On June 15, 1997, When Dani Singh, his son Naresh and brother Jagan Singh
were going on a motorbike near village Makanpur, a Maruti car overtook them
and blocked their way.

Dharmveer, Sohanpal, Chanderveer and Harveer came out of the car and after surrounding Naresh, Chanderveer and Harveer shot him dead in indiscriminate firing.

In the second murder, the court imposed a penalty of Rs 8,000 each on the three accused who had killed their friend. Failure to pay the fine will result in imprisonment for six more months.

According to prosecution chargesheet, Rajneesh of Phaphunda village of Meerut and Feroze Saifi of Nai Basti and Dharminder and Ranveer of Samastipur village were in property business jointly. On a commission amount, Feroze Saifi and the rest of the three friends fell out.

To teach him a lesson, the three called him in the jungle of Ghodi Bachhera village in the afternoon on July 25, 2007.

The body of Feroze who had been stabbed to death was recovered from the jungle the following day.

On a written complaint by Feroze’s wife, the police arrested the three and
registered a case. The police also recovered a motorcycle and weapon of
murder from the accused.

Greater Noida, April 3
No election slogans are heard nor any political flag or banner is seen at Ghodi Bachhera village in Greater Noida.

The villagers have not forgotten the death, in police firing, of six farmers in their struggle for land compensation.

The village with 6,500 votes is once again in the headlines but a deafening silence seems to have descended on the village as to who the villagers will vote for.

The voters from this village have always played a decisive role in Dadri assembly constituency.

Surinder Nagar of BSP, BJP’s Mahesh Sharma and Varinder Singh Bhatti of Samajwadi Party, have all visited the village and asked for voters’ support.

Ramesh Tomar of the Congress has yet to make an appearance in Ghodi Bachhera village.

Youth Kisan leader Gopal Rawel said farmers had first agitated for bonus, now they would have to launch a struggle for its payment.

On August 13, 2007, six farmers of Ghodi Bachhera were killed in police firing in the village. Later, the government accepted the farmers’ demand for land compensation in eight villages, including Ghodi Bachhera, Saini, Dabra, Surajpur, etc.

“I have lived here for 14 years. I used to stay in Vasant Kunj. Coming to Delhi is like homecoming for me,” said Sen. — IANS

New Delhi, April 3
Protesting against the retrenchment of 72 safai karamcharis, students and workers in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) held a rally today on campus.

The students alleged that the “victimisation” of the workers has been continuing since April 1, when a new contract signed by the JNU administration with Zeb Private Limited became effective.

“It has been an established practice in JNU that existing workers are always retained, even if there is a change in contractor.

However, in this case, the existing workers are being asked to leave and a new set of workers have been brought in by the new contractor,” said Sandeep, president, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU).

Over the past few years, the workers in JNU have been demanding minimum wages and other mandated workers’ rights. As a result of their sustained struggle, some of the anomalies have been sorted out.

“The JNU administration has corrected some of the contracts it had signed in order to ensure minimum wages and workers’ rights in some cases. However, till date, the issue of ESI and PF has not been satisfactorily addressed,” said Shephalika Shekhar, vice-president, JNUSU.

The students alleged that the retrenched workers have been in the forefront of the struggle for workers’ rights and active in uniting the workers.

New Delhi, April 3
Underlining twin objectives of dissemination of core scientific knowledge-base and encouragement of interaction between clinicians from various specialties of treating tumors, a group of multi-specialty doctors today gathered at the inaugural national conference of Neuro Oncology Society of India (NOSICON-9) at the India Habitat Centre here.

“It is becoming increasingly obvious that the presently available modalities have been exhausted and we will have to look for breakthroughs in the fields of neurobiology, neurogenetics and perhaps newer modes of drug delivery. This conference hence becomes a tool to reach out to the specialists so that they can make use of the latest developments,” said Dr Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, president of the Neuro Oncology Society of India (NOSI) and director of National Brain Research Centre (NBRC).

During this three-day conference, an array of topics pertaining to promotion and advancement of scientific knowledge and research in tumors of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves would be taken on the floor.

The benefits of the latest trends and developments in neuro-oncology should be passed on to the patients and their families.

Dr A K Singh, director of neuro-sciences of Fortis, enumerating the broad distinctions between neuro-cancers and cancers of other parts of body explained, “The brain tumors are graded on the basis of the count on how rapid the tumor is replicating, on the other hand, the tumors elsewhere are graded in the four categories as per their site of occurrence or confinement.”

Meanwhile, the conference, which was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, is also looking forward to the launch of a North India chapter of Brain Tumor Foundation of India.