New Delhi, September 30
At least two people succumbed to influenza A (H1N1) in Delhi on today, taking the death toll in the capital to 13, health authorities said.

While one person died in a private hospital, a 22-year-old man died at the Safdarjung Hospital. Though the details of the first person were unavailable, the second patient was suffering from pneumonia and respiratory distress and was under ventilation.

Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia said the “situation is under control” and there is “no need to panic”. She advised people to consult a doctor at the earliest if they have any symptom of swine flu.

The capital also reported 58 new cases of swine flu, including those of 29 children.

Walia said that till date 2,739 cases have been detected with the contagious virus. “More than 90 per cent patients have been successfully treated and discharged.” — IANS

New Delhi, September 30
Congress youth hero Rahul Gandhi left a mixed impression at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where he delivered a lecture last night.

University students, infamous for hooting at big politicians in the middle of their lectures, did not look very impressed with Gandhi’s wits, though the event saw a full house.

Gandhi tried his best to be student-like and shed his VIP status to get closer to the students, but the students said the tents and carpets put for his meeting were not quite in sync with Congress’ austerity drive.

“JNU has seen many big leaders addressing the students at hostels in the night. It is not a big deal here. The likes of Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechuri come and talk to students in the mess often. So why was Gandhi’s lecture made out to be such a big affair when his party itself propagates austerity?” questioned Roshni from the School of Social Medicine.

Some students said that the NSUI had chosen a wrong leader to address them.

“They could have called someone who knows Indian politics inside-out. JNU had long back rejected the culture of glamour-based politics. Also Gandhi Gandhi was getting confused with the questions,” said Vega, a student of the School of Languages.

Gandhi’s lecture went quite well. However, students bombarded him with questions that included hard figures. To a question on the Right to Education Act, Gandhi said he did not know the figures. While most of the students sitting in the front row seemed quite impressed with Gandhi’s ideas on economy and growth, there were some who decided to play spoilsport and hooted at him all through the lecture.

“It was a fun show. We do not get to see such things in JNU very often. I liked the way he (Gandhi) said ‘good question’ for every question asked from him,” said another student, who appeared excited about Gandhi’s presence.

Meanwhile, some students alleged that NSUI activists cut off the power connection thrice to force students to come out of their hostels and attend the meeting.

“The meeting is so crowded because they are constantly disconnecting the electricity in the hostels,” said Manoj, a student.

Rahul’s presence at JNU became such a talked-about event that it was even discussed on social networking site Facebook, where some students have requested that he be invited to JNU for Holi.

Some years ago, JNU students had blocked the entry of VHP leader Pravin Togadia and attacked his car when he tried to enter the university campus for a public meeting. Later, the then minister Lalu Prasad was denied entry on the campus. Recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not allowed to finish his lecture as the students started sloganeering in the hall.

New Delhi, September 30
There are many factors that cause the slow pace of construction of 8-km elevated road on Barapulla drain. To begin with, this is a first road of its kind in the national Capital requiring special technology, said Commonwealth Games Project, Circle CW 11, manager, Sarvagya Kumar Srivastava.

“This kind of road is given at least three years for construction. We have been given just 18 months. We have to complete the project till March 2010 and we will do it,” he assured.

The elevated road is being constructed on a drain that is full of sludge. The latest technology is required to construct it. After the project was given a go-ahead, it took six months to plan its design and manage the latest machine to dig earth. Only 12 months were left to construct the road. It was a challenging job for the engineers and labourers engaged in the project, he said.

Criticising the media and others who say that the project is behind schedule, Sarvagya Kumar said that just after the project was started, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) raised objection that the elevated road should not damage the 400-year-old Barapulla Bridge located near Nizamuddin railway station.

Second, this Commonwealth Games project should not affect the view of Khankhana Tomb. Besides, there were hindrances on Lala Lajpat Rai Marg, Mathura Road, Nizamudin Railway Crossing and Ring Road.

“To overcome all the obstacles, we have to raise the height of the road to 20 metres,” the project manager said.

This is a public works department (PWD) project costing Rs 400 crore and so far a sum of Rs 190 crore has been spent. Once the elevated road is completed, the PWD will construct a service road at Lala Lajpat Rai Marg near Defence Colony.

It will also beautify the open land on both sides of the drain, the manager added.

New Delhi, September 30
By giving up her career as principal in a private school, 52-year-old Asma Khan probably chose the most challenging job of that time.

After the 2002 riots in Gujarat, many children were not just rendered homeless, but were also suffering from emotional vacuum that made them most susceptible to developing religious hatred.

Some volunteers, who went to deliver clothes and food collected from Delhi to the victims of Gujarat violence, realised that it was emotional stability that these children needed more than anything else. These volunteers came back with 27 children to Delhi and assigned the job of looking after them to Asma.

“There were no clothes, no accommodation or any basic set-up for keeping these children. And, they were so devastated. But eventually everything materialised and I quit my job as principal to start looking after these children full time,” said Asma, who now cannot stay without the children even if she is unwell and needs some rest.

Their new house “Fatima Girl’s Hostel” is located at Okhala Vihar in South-East Delhi on top of a hospital. The narrow stairway that leads to a world of laughter and fun on the roof of an otherwise silent hospital symbolically demarcates their world.

“As the girls were growing, we had to look for a separate place for them,” said Asma with some amount of discomfort. “Now we have 25 girls in the hostel for girls. Of them, around 20 are from the families of Gujarat victims.”

The main objective of the Zakat Foundation, which Asma is a part of, is to provide resources to the children coming from economically weak sections or disturbed social backgrounds to study and grow up in peaceful surroundings.

Gulfasha was eight when she arrived in the hostel from Himmat Nagar in Gujarat. Now at 13, she studies in class VI in an English medium school where all these girls are enrolled.

Now in class VIII, another girl Nazma came to the hostel in 2002. “I used to live in Punsari near Ahemdabad. Because I love studying, I would want to become an IAS officer and then go back home to my parents,” she said.

Asma said initially the children, who came from Gujarat could not speak any other language. “It was difficult to converse with them. But we managed; everyone understands the language of love,” said Asma.

After sever years of its inception, today the hostel admits needy children from other states as well. Recently, two sisters of Shano Khan, who was killed after a teacher punished her in a government school on the outskirts of Delhi, Bawana, also joined the community.

Seven-year-old Shahnaz remembers her sister’s fate. “She could not tell the English alphabet, so the teacher punished her. My sister asked for water and her teacher kicked her so hard that blood started coming out of her head,” said Shahnaz.

Asma said people came to them for adoption, but she wanted these girls to study and not get distracted in anyway.

“I don’t want them to feel like orphans. We have made sure that the traces of the violence that they have witnessed are permanently erased. These children have so many more people supporting them and looking forward to see them achieving their goals,” said Asma.

She said even though the children could do with some voluntary contributions of bags and slippers, none of the basic needs have ever been left unfulfilled with the support of sympathisers.

For herself, she said all her actions were being watched and an account of them was being kept by the god.

New Delhi, September 30
In a bid to promote peace in an increasingly violence-prone world, a group of children today learnt some lessons on peaceful coexistence.

Participating in a special dialogue and thinkers’ forum, organised by the United Nations in the Capital, the children were clearly excited about this programme. They were largely from schools of NGOs, Deepalaya and Abhas. These schools for low-income children are focused on bringing quality education to slum children.

Rajni, a girl from a Deepalaya school, says, “I am very excited to have come for this function. We are learning about the advantages of living together peacefully.”

Another girl from an Abhas school, says, “This is not the first time that I have come here. We are learning so much here. I like hearing about peace. There should be no fighting anywhere.”

Neelima Basu from the Indian Alliance for Child Rights, says, “In this forum we are focusing on what peace means to children and how Gandhian philosophy can be applied to enrich this experience for children. Children are also being exposed to their rights and the responsibility that comes with them.”

“The whole idea is to empower children to look at peace and tolerance with a fresh and different perspective.

The idea is to teach them that they can do something peacefully about the issues that trouble them,” says Razia Ismail Abbasi from the NGO Trans Asia Alliance.

Razia was talking at the ‘Children’s consultation and thinkers forum’, organized by the UN Information Centre on Wednesday. The forum will be running till October 2. The programme was organized on World Day for Non-Violence.

A group of eight NGOs got together to deliberate with children on an extremely meaningful matter—learning to live together with peace and respect.

Razia says, “The theme we are taking up with children is learning to live together with tolerance. We are also looking at some Gandhian examples to understand how people can live peacefully.”

Razia adds, “Children are being provided with important insight into the personal dimension and our idea is to awaken them to thinking for themselves on constructive lines. They are also being encouraged to question what they encounter in day-to-day life and they are also being taught to analyse.”

This forum offers children many opportunities to learn, share and move forward. The programme has been specially designed as an interactive dialogue on peace and tolerance between children and participating NGO members.

New Delhi, September 30
Frustrated and depressed with unemployment, a 38-year-old man allegedly strangled his wife to death and then poisoned his 11-year-old daughter before consuming insecticide in the wee hours of today inside his house in southwest Delhi.

According to information, the suicide came to light when Arvind Kumar was found screaming for help by a neighbour from the basement of his under-construction house in Mahipalpur. He had brought his wife from her parents’ house on Monday while his daughter, who studied at Mount Abu School, had come a day earlier.

The matter came to light around 3.30 am when passers-by heard Arvind Kumar shouting for water. He had come up to the door but could not open it, a police official said, adding that he had consumed ‘salphas tablets’, an insecticide.

“He was screaming for water. Some people passing by woke up his neighbours, who then called the police control room and broke open the door of his house,” a police officer investigating the matter said.

“He had locked the windows of his house and played the music on high volume. He then strangulated his wife Mamta (34) and gave poison to his 11-year-old daughter Abhishi,” he added.

Hoping to counter the effects of the poison, Arvind Kumar’s neighbours made him drink “desi ghee” before rushing the family to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). However, all three were declared brought dead at the hospital.

According to the police, Arvind had been unemployed for a year. He had worked with the department store Vishal Mega Mart and then with a bank.

Apart from unemployment, the police has also learnt that Arvind did not share an amicable relationship with his wife. “He was not sharing good relations with his wife, whom he had brought back on Monday from her parents’ house after two and a half months. He also brought back his daughter from a hostel in Mount Abu on Tuesday. It seems that Arvind called his wife and daughter home after he had already planned killing them and himself,” said the police officer.

Greater Noida, Sep 30
Some farmers have alleged that over Rs 42 lakh have been illegally withdrawn from their bank accounts with the Dankore branch of the State Bank of India.

The angry farmers on learning about their loss held a demonstration in front of the bank. In fact, one woman protestor was so upset that she attempted self immolation. She was later rushed to a private hospital.

District magistrate Deepak Agrawal has ordered an inquiry into the matter. The withdrawals came to notice when a farmer called Malkhan and his wife Tamseer from Derin village went to the bank to withdraw money. They were shocked to learn that Rs 18 lakh was missing from their account.

On hearing this, Malkhan’s wife fell unconscious. On regaining sense, she got so agitated that she attempted self-immolation by sprinkling kerosene on herself. She was somehow saved by the people present at the spot and was rushed to a hospital in a badly charred state.

Another account holder, Shameena, a widow, said she had deposited Rs 3.80 lakh in her account after selling her house, but her account showed a balance of Rs 800 only. Shameena also threatened self-immolation if she did not get her money back.

Besides, Atta Fatehpur, a resident of Sukhan, accused bank staffers Raj Kumar and Aslam for the fraud. He said he had given Rs 18 lakh and a filled-in form to them for putting the money in a fixed deposit. But neither the money was deposited nor was it returned to him.

This is not the first incident of illegal withdrawal of money from this branch. It has been learnt that earlier also Rs one crore was fraudulently withdrawn from this branch.

Three farmers— Parhlad, Rakesh and Fath Mohammed— a few days ago learnt that someone had fraudulently withdrawn about Rs one crore from their accounts.

On contacting the bank it was learnt that the branch manager was on leave and the staff members said they had no knowledge about the withdrawal of the money.

District magistrate G.B. Nagar Deepak Agarwal said it was a very serious matter. Such large amounts of money could not be withdrawn without the involvement of bank staff.

The matter will be thoroughly investigated and culprits will be given exemplary punishment, the DM added.

Greater Noida, Sep 30
A wholesale trader of refined oil was on Tuesday afternoon allegedly robbed of Rs 4.25 lakh and a scooter by armed criminals in Dadri under Badalpur police station. After the heist, the criminals reportedly walked away brandishing their weapons in the air.

The Badalpur police is trying to nab the robbers after having registered a case.

The trader, Vijay Jain, a resident of Bajarya Mohalla in Ghaziabad, was on his way back on his scooter after collecting payments from his customers in Dadri when the incident took place.

Near Nandan Farm on G.T. Road, three criminals on a motor bike overtook him and blocked his way.

One of them put a revolver on Vijay’s ear-pit while the second one took out cash from the scooter. After the loot, one of the robbers escaped on Jain’s scooter.

Vijay immediately reached the Dadri police station, but was shooed away by the policemen who said the site of the loot fell under the jurisdiction of Badalpur police station. Vijay then went to Badalpur police station along with some relatives and got an FIR registered.

The police could not trace the bandits till Tuesday evening.

Ghaziabad, September 30
A 17-year-old boy shot dead a 15-year-old girl at her residence here today and then turned the gun on himself after she had allegedly spurned his advances, the police said.

The boy went to the victim’s house in Mahendra Enclave locality, which falls under Kavi Nagar police station, and shot the girl dead with a pistol he stole from his employer. He then shot himself also, a police official said.

“The boy stole the licensed pistol of his employer Anil Kumar Rawat and reached the girl’s house in Mahendra Enclave in the morning. At that time, the girl was in the living room while her sister-in-law was in the kitchen,” a police official said.

The sister-in-law suddenly heard two shots from the living room and rushed there. She was stunned to see both lying on the floor with a pistol near them, he added.

She called the police and rushed them to hospital where doctors declared the girl dead.

“The boy is critical since the bullet has passed through his head,” said Circle Officer Rajesh Bharti. The chances of his survival are slim, he added.

According to the police, the boy was angry because the girl, a Class 6 student, had spurned his advances.

She had apparently stopped meeting him after her brother objected to their closeness. — IANS

New Delhi, September 30
A twenty-year-old student of a hotel management institute in Noida has alleged kidnap and rape for a month by her acquaintance. A case has been registered at the Tilak Nagar police station after medical examination of the victim confirmed rape. The accused is still at large.

According to information, Sonu (name changed) had gone missing on August 31 and returned almost a month later on September 26. Resident of Hari Nagar in west Delhi, the family of Sonu has also lodged a missing person complaint with the Hari Nagar police station the day she went missing.

However, on return, when Sonu revealed the rape incident, the family decided to lodge a separate complaint in this regard.

According to information, Sonu was on her way to Noida on August 31 when one Amit Nagar, resident of Greater Noida, picked her up in his car. Amit was introduced to Sonu by one of her colleagues at the institute.

“Instead of going to institute, Amit took her to a friend’s place in Noida and raped her. He detained her in the flat for quite some time and later took her to Dehradun and Mussourie, said a police official close to investigation.

Sonu has also alleged that the accused took her nude photographs during the stay. She managed to flee from his clutches on September 26,” added the police official.

According to information, Amit could not be arrested till now as he was absconding.

New Delhi, September 30
The Delhi High Court has denied admission to a Meerut girl in a university in Delhi on the ground that her study centre for the B.Ed course for teachers’ training was not here.

The court, in a ruling this week, agreed with the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University’s decision to deny admission to Nisha Shokeen, who pleaded that she had been denied admission in the M.Ed course as her study centre for B.Ed was in Meerut.

Nisha contended that since she had cleared the entrance exam and stood first in the OBC category and 35th in the general category, the varsity’s grounds of denying admission was against the rules.

However, the university contended that under admission guidelines, it was clearly stated that the sanctioned intake of students from Delhi was 85 per cent and 15 per cent from outside the Capital.

Nisha stated that she should have been considered a Delhi candidate and not from outside because she had done her B.Ed. from the Delhi-based open university IGNOU. She said her study centre was in the Delhi region II under which Meerut falls.

Justice Anil Kumar said, “This is not disputed that petitioner was enrolled with IGNOU for her course.

Dismissing Nisha’s plea, the court said: “The fact that the study centre of the petitioner at Meerut was under regional centre II which is located in Delhi (region) does not make the study centre in Delhi. The study centre in the system of open learning is equivalent to a school or institution where the candidates attend classes under the contact programme.”

“Since the study centre - which is equivalent to an institution of the petitioner for the course of B.Ed - was at Meerut, the petitioner cannot be considered as a candidate of the Delhi Region ,” the court said. — IANS

New Delhi, September 30
A 21-year-old girl was crushed to death by a Blueline bus in central Delhi today, the police said.

“The accident took place at around 3 p.m. when the victim, Simranjit Kaur, was trying to board the Blueline bus of route number 218 in Dev Nagar area,” said a police officer.

“She fell down from the bus and got crushed under its wheels. She was a resident of Tilak Nagar area of west Delhi. The bus driver has been arrested and further investigations are on,” the officer added. — IANS