New Delhi, May 6
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has completed its two-month long preparations for the smooth conduct of Lok Sabha elections in Delhi.

Municipal commissioner K.S.Mehra has instructed the deputy commissioners to personally monitor all poll arrangements. They have been directed to be in the field till late night today and throughout the day tomorrow to ensure that all the arrangements are in place and no inconvenience is caused to any poll official or voter.

“All the zonal deputy commissioners are supervising the works related to setting up of the polling booths and voter assistance booths,” said Deep Mathur, director of press and information, MCD.

The MCD has set up 11,000 polling booths all over the Capital. All these booths have been properly barricaded for the security and convenience of the voters. Voter assistance booths have also been set up at each booth.

The civic body has provided furniture, glass tumblers and earthen pitchers.

Nearly, 50,000 MCD staff is on election duty. The officials have been deputed as sector officers, presiding officers, polling officers, assistance booth personnel, receptionist for counting centres and other miscellaneous duties.

The staff deputed comprises 15,000 principals and teachers of schools, 5,000 Class-IV employees, 2,000 miscellaneous staff and 200 assistant engineers. Another 22,000 safai karamcharies, 6,000 ministerial staff and 700 inspectors would work at polling booths tomorrow to ensure sanitation and upkeep of the premises.

The badges and booklets of instruction and other materials printed at municipal press have been issued to all the staff on duty.

New Delhi, May 6
A city court today sent the principal and the peon of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) to a 14-day judicial custody for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a man to admit his daughter in the school.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team arrested R.K. Dass, principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya at Dwarka, and Shiv Lakhan, the peon, on Monday.

The two were produced before the court of special CBI judge S.P. Garg today who remanded them to judicial custody till May 19.

A case has been registered against the two under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.

According to the CBI sources, the agency had received a complaint from Vipin Kumar Gupta alleging that Dass had demanded Rs 50, 000 to admit his daughter Khushi in Class I.

New Delhi, May 6
In a major breakthrough, the crime branch of the Delhi police today claimed to have arrested three persons for supplying spurious liquor that caused over 30 deaths in the past two months in the Rajouri Garden area of west Delhi. According to Satyender Garg, joint-commissioner (crime branch), the arrests were made on the basis of the information gathered by police teams sent to UP and Gujarat.

According to the police, the accused, Gautam (36), was involved in the crime along with his wife Maya (35) and mother Manjeet Kaur (55). They used to supply spurious country-made liquor after obtaining it from illegal manufacturers.

Spurious liquor had caused the deaths of several labourers in the Dabri and Khyala area of west Delhi and had led to wide protests from people.

The three accused are also involved in various cases of Arms and Excise Acts violation.

According to the police, seven arrests have already been made in the case.

Ghaziabad, May 6
In separate incidents, a money lender and a woman were shot dead by unidentified assailants here on Wednesday, the police said.

Ajay Sharma, 32, engaged in money lending business, was shot dead by assailants just outside his Vaishali Sector-3 home in Ghaziabad when he was returning from Mandawali in Delhi.

At about 5.30 a.m. on Wednesday some unidentified assailants shot at him. Sharma died on the spot.

Sources say Sharma ran a financing business with office at Mandawali in Delhi. He had two wives - one of whom stayed in Mandawali and the other stayed in Vaishali with his family.

Sharma’s family told the police that he had lent Rs.30 lakh to a businessman Pramod Gupta and the latter was refusing to pay back the full amount.

“Pramod Gupta owed some money to Ajay Sharma and was not paying him back. We have sent police teams to Mandawali to nab him,” Jitendra Kalra, station officer Indirapuram police station said.

A case of murder was registered at Indirapuram police station against Gupta and three others.

In the second incident, a woman in her early 20s was shot at by unidentified men near Silver City Cineplex on GT Road near South Side Industrial Area in Ghaziabad.

“A woman in her early 20s who is still to be identified was waiting to board a three-wheeler. She was with her two-year-old son. As she tried to board an auto, some assailants came and shot her in the head,” said superintendent of police (city) Anant Deo said.

She was rushed to the hospital where she succumbed to her wounds, the police said.

“The child is with us. He is too little to speak anything,” Deo said. — IANS

New Delhi, May 6
“Whether it is a hot sunny day or it rains tomorrow, I will go and exercise my right to vote. I want a good Prime Minister who can serve my country well and a government which can work for the benefit of a common man. I want to see every citizen of my country shine. So, I will vote,” says a 72-year-old Venu Das as he finds his way with a stick in the old age home, Gharaunda at Mehrauli.

Venu Das is a Delhiite and has been living in Gharaunda for the last nine years. He met with an accident some ten years back in which he lost his eyes and after that his son dropped him here. Still happy and cheerful, Venu has decided along with his companions to cast votes.

They have collected enough information about the candidates.

Living in Gharaunda for the past three years, Preeti Singhal, 60-year-old says, “One day all of us were sitting and watching television. It was political news all around. Then Venu said that even we should vote. We all started poking fun at him, but he persisted and asked our manager who finally permitted us to go.”

The senior citizens at Gharaunda were too excited to vote tomorrow. Their helper, Sheetal said, “I was amazed to see their interest especially at an age when people hardly take interest in politics. We even contacted the family members of some people here, who did not have their voter ID cards. Now, all of them are ready to vote.”

Encouraging them further, the manager of the old age home said, “Our owners have arranged conveyance for all of them so that they do not face problem. This is a big initiative taken by these people and is certainly going to influence other residents in the city.”

Sitting on her wheel-chair, Sarita Kumari says that when she being physically challenged can go and cast her vote for a better future, every citizen should make sure that they fulfill their duty to the nation.

“Generally we sit and blame the government for misrule. Now, we have the power to change the system. So vote for your country for a better tomorrow,” appeal the golden oldies at Gharaunda.

New Delhi, May 6
On the eve of election day, most of the candidates kept themselves busy in meeting with their party workers, polling agents and managing other things.

But Vijay Goel, BJP candidate from the New Delhi seat, relaxed and exercised in a gym. His counterpart Ajay Maken was not tense either or so it seemed.

It is said that the BJP West Delhi candidate is in a strong position, but he spent the whole day in briefing his party workers on how to manage things tomorrow.

He had a huge gathering of party workers of his area who belonged to different colonies and villages. Goel also met local BJP leaders.

Meeting with polling in-charge and election agents, Congress candidate Mahabal Mishra planned everything very minutely.

East Delhi Congress candidate Jai Prakash Agarwal looked very confident yesterday after taking the BSP candidate in his fold. But he did not take rest today. He kept himself busy in the constituency making tomorrow’s planning.

One of his party workers said he had left the house in the morning and till afternoon, he did not come back.

But BJP candidate in the constituency, B. L. Sharma Prem was busy in reading books.

In North West, both the candidates of BJP and Congress met their workers and planned arrangements outside the polling stations.

As far as South Delhi is concerned, Congress candidate Ramesh Kumar’s brother Sajjan Kumar has taken charge. He met party workers, election agents and made all arrangements outside the polling stations.

BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri managed everything himself. He met BJP MLAs and councillors of the constituency and briefed tomorrow’s planning.

Noida, May 6
The GB Nagar district administration has made all arrangements to ensure peaceful polls in the area on Thursday.

SSP Navin Arora has been made the in charge of security arrangements in Noida, Bulandshahr and Khurja.

A total of 6,500 policemen have deployed in the district.

In all 55 barricades has been set-up. Special attention is being paid on bikers. Their documents are being checked. Suspicious persons are also being frisked and interrogated.

A total of 20 zonal magistrates have been stationed in the district, including one each in Khurja and Bulandshahr. Besides, 90 sector magistrates and 50 mobile teams have been deployed. The mobile teams will patrol around polling booths for 10 to 15 minutes.

One control-room has been set up each in Noida and Surajpur. Besides, one sub-control-room has been set up each in Khurja and Dadri to monitor the poll process.

Those coming from Ghaziabad are being checked at all entry points.

The administration has identified Okhla Barrage, Chilla Post, Model Town, Jhandpura, Haridarshan and NIB police post as points where jams are anticipated.

Meanwhile, the SSP has asked people to cooperate with the police and has requested them to inform the police if they came across any suspicious person.

New Delhi, May 6
The Delhi High Court today pulled up Prasar Bharati CEO B.S. Lalli for allegedly bypassing the public broadcaster’s board and making it virtually redundant.

“We will not let the CEO work in this manner. Some eminent persons are on the board and he cannot bypass the board,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Neeraj Kishan Kaul said while asking Prasar Bharati to file a response on the allegation.

“The board has become virtually redundant because of the CEO’s conduct. There has to be some accountability. You file a detailed affidavit by the next date of hearing,” the bench ruled.

The court’s observations came while it was hearing a public interest petition seeking its direction to the central government to remove the CEO whose tenure has been extended.

It was alleged that Lalli, who was appointed in 2006, was to retire in April this year after attaining 62 years of age, but his tenure was extended after the government applied an amendment with retrospective effect.

The petitioner, the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, an NGO, also sought an independent investigation into the allegations of financial irregularities by the CEO.

“He is acting with complete impunity and disregard for the directions and concerns raised by the board regarding the instances of financial irregularity and his autocratic functioning,” advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, said. — IANS

New Delhi, May 6
A 16-year-old boy was crushed to death by a speeding dumper in the Shahabad Dairy area of Outer Delhi today afternoon.

The incident took place at around 1 p.m. when the victim was, reportedly, cycling to his office after taking lunch at his home. According to the police, the victim identified as Vicky, a resident of Swarna Jayanti Park, was killed when the dumper hit the cycle. The impact was such that he fell on the road and sustained severe head injury. He was immediately rushed to the Babu Jag Jivan Ram Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Meanwhile, the police has impounded the dumper and looking for the errant driver who fled after accident.

Vicky used to work in a petro-chemical factory.

In the other such incident, a 24-year-old man was killed while his friend suffered injuries when the motorcycle they were riding on skidded and hit a road divider in the Mangolpuri area of Outer district last evening.

According to the police, the accident took place at around 4 p.m. near Sri Ram Jewellers when the two were returning home after withdrawing money from an ATM.

The victims have been identified as Pawan and his friend Raj Kumar (21). Pawan died on the spot. While Raj Kumar has been admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital.