New Delhi, October 30
Delhiites will now have to pay more for Mother Dairy milk, as it has increased the price of its full cream milk by Rs 2 and that of toned milk by Re 1, per kg. Earlier, the full cream milk was available at Rs 26 per kg and toned milk at Rs 21 per kg. From tomorrow, full cream milk will be sold at Rs 28 per kg and toned Rs 22 per kg. However, there is no change in the rates of loose milk.

When asked why the rates of loose milk were not hiked, a senior official of Mother Dairy said the prices of packed milk were increased because of the increase in the cost of plastic.

“Plastic has become costly and this has affected the production cost of the milk,” he said.

Reacting to the hike in prices, Anamika, a housewife living in the Patparganj area of east Delhi said, “Prices of all essential commodities are increasing. This is unfair for the citizens of the Capital. This is second time in a year that Mother Dairy has increased the rates of its milk. Just seven months earlier the price of Mother Dairy milk was increased by Re 1. People should protest against increasing prices otherwise it would be difficult for poor people to survive in Delhi.”

Manju Shrivastava, a consultant with a government agency, said, “The Congress government in Delhi is showing its actual face. Mother Dairy is the biggest milk supplier in Delhi and that is why it is taking advantage of its position. When private dairies existed in urban areas, people had options, but they have been shifted to the outskirts of the city and now we have no choice but to depend on Mother Dairy.”

When asked to comment on the hike, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that Mother Dairy was a corporation and she could not comment on its decision.

Criticising the government, BJP leader Vijay Goel said that during elections the Congress had propagated itself as a party for the “Aam aadmi” (common man’s party), but the way the prices were being increased it seemed the government had a hidden agenda to make Delhi a city of elites.

New Delhi, October 30
One of the most-wanted criminals of North India carrying Rs 7 lakh prize money on his head, Prem Prakash Singh, alias Munna Bajrangi, was today brought to Delhi from Mumbai by a team of the special cell of the Delhi police. Munna was nabbed in Mumbai yesterday evening.

According to the police, Munna was apprehended along with an accomplice Mahender from the Malad area where he was staying for the past few years since he went underground in 2002.

“He is involved in 18 cases of murder, attempt to murder and robbery in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. A reward of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh have been declared by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the UP police, respectively, for his arrest,” said Alok Kumar, DCP (special cell).

Munna was nabbed on the basis of an input received on September 16 that he was trying to extort money from a businessman in Delhi.

“A case was registered under the appropriate sections of law and efforts were made to locate Munna Bajrangi. After systematic analysis of every possible clues related to his movements and modus operandi, we realised that Munna was hiding somewhere in Malad,” said DCP Kumar.

Hailing from the Janupur district of UP, Munna Bajrangi, a well-known extortionist announced his arrival on the UP crime scene in mid 90s when he gunned down BJP leader Ram Chander Singh and his bodyguard in Jaunpur.

In 2003, he killed the then BJP MLA from Ghazipur Anil Rai and four others, including his bodyguard in Varanasi. Bajrangi’s signature style of killing was targeting his victims in moving cars.

Krishnanand Rai, an MLA from Mohammadabad constituency in Ghazipur district was shot dead along with his seven supporters near his native village Goundour on November 29, 2005.

According to information, Munna Bajrangi was in 1998 arrested by the UP and the Delhi police in a joint operation after a shootout on the GT Karnal Road.

While an accomplice of Munna had died in the firing, he and a Delhi police constable were injured. However, he was granted bail. But he jumped his bail and was declared a proclaimed offender on May 20, 2002.

New Delhi, October 30
The attacks on North East girls and boys in Delhi has proved that the national Capital is not just hostile towards women but to specific communities as well.

The increasing incidents of racial profiling have indicated the futility of “zero-tolerance policy” of the Delhi police, while representatives of North East communities have alleged that people from the seven states feel as vulnerable in police station as they do on the streets.

Figures provided by the North East Support Centre prove that 86 per cent of the people from North Eastern states face some kind of discrimination on a daily basis in the Capital.

Even as around 4,000 students from North East take admission to various courses in Delhi University every year, the city has not come to terms with their presence. The centre alleged that around half of the women sexually harassed in Delhi and NCR were from the North East community.

In three recent incidents of severe assault against girls from the community, 19-year-old Ramchanphy Hongray was sexually assaulted and killed at Munirka in south Delhi.

Hundreds of students and social activists gathered outside her residence in the area today and took out a silent march across Munirka.

“Most North East girls and boys stay in urban villages here as the rents are less in these areas. However, no initiative is being taken to make these places safe for women,” said Amrita, an organiser of the protest.

Calling Delhi the ‘rape capital’, she said figures proved that one woman was raped in every 29 minutes while one was molested in every 15 minutes in the city.

“When Indians are attacked outside the country, they make a lot of hue and cry about it. But we overlook the discrimination meted out to a community in our cities,” said Amrita.

Women’s organisations also came out to support the cause of North East girls. “It is very disturbing to come across cases based on regional, gender and moral prejudices,” said Sudha Sundararaman, general secretary, All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA)

She added the community must be provided with appropriate security.

Apart from this, some organisations held another protest at Jantar Mantar demanding immediate redressal of the problems faced by the North East community living in the Capital.

“We want justice. Incidents of violence are on an increase and no notice is being taken of the problem,” said Lansinglu, president, North East Support Centre.

Alleging that the Delhi police was hardly serious about stopping violence against students from the seven states, she said, the directives issued by the police were an eye-wash.

“The fact that the organisation or other related bodies have to intervene even to register a complaint shows that victims are not comfortable approaching the police,” stressed Lansinglu.

However, the police maintained that keeping in mind the vulnerability of students from North Eastern states, special circular was issued to the police officials.

“We keep updating the directives. Three DCPs in areas dominated by North East population have been made in-charge of special committees for addressing their problems,” said Delhi police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat.

About the steps taken to address violence against North Eastern population, DCP (north) Sagar Preet Hooda said an area security committee was formulated in Delhi University. It comprised representatives of North East community, teachers and police officials.

“We are trying to sensitise our staff towards women. Efforts are being made to make the city safe for North East students. DU is under my jurisdiction and I encourage more North Eastern students to participate in our committee meetings and forward their complaints and suggestions,” said Hooda.

New Delhi, October 30
Sikhs in the Capital have planned protests over the coming two days, as they observe the 25th anniversary of the anti-Sikh riots that followed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

“We are planning a protest outside the Kakardooma court in view of the Tytler case hearing scheduled for tomorrow. Sardar Simranjeet Singh of the Shiromani Akali Dal is also planning a protest, after which a memorandum will be presented to president Pratibha Patil,” Karnail Singh, president of the All-India Sikh Students’ Federation, told IANS.

The pact demands are based on findings of an RTI (right to information) query, which claims that there has been no investigation into the nature and numbers of the killings during the riots. Over 3,000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and other northern cities following the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards.

“We will demand that there should be a detailed census that tells the number of Sikhs, who were killed in the fist week of the riots here. We are also going to ask that charges be filed against all those in cases where eye witness statements are with the investigating agencies like Central Bureau of Investigation,” Singh added.

On November 1, Sikhs will also take out a ‘march for justice’ from Bangla Sahib Gurudwara.

“We will also circulate a memorandum to all MPs with testimonies showing the injustice to our community during and after 1984. All this goes against our basic constitutional right as a citizen of a democracy,” Singh added.

Faridabad, October 30
A woman was today allegedly raped by two youths in a moving vehicle on the Delhi-Mathura National Highway in the Palwal area, about 30 kms from here. The incident took place around 10 am.

The alleged rape happened when the victim, Seema (changed named), was waiting for a bus at the Palwal bus stand to go to her in-laws’ place in Bhamni Kheda village, about 13 kms from Palwal. She was returning from her parents’ house in Cherawata village.

Seema had come to the Palwal bus stand from Cherawata in a three-wheeler.

While she was waiting at the bus stand, two youths, one of them allegedly known to her, approached her and said that they were going towards Bhamni Kheda and could give her a lift.

According to the police, soon after Seema boarded the car, the youths drugged her and then raped her in the moving car on the Delhi-Mathura highway. They then dropped her in a semi-conscious state on the side of the highway.

After regaining consciousness, Seema went to her in-laws’ and narrated them the entire incident. The in-laws then approached the police.

The police has initiated investigation into the matter, but the two accused are reportedly absconding.

Noida, October 30
Additional director general of police A.K. Jain has directed the Noida police to identify leading inter-district and inter-state criminals and gangs who keep shifting from one district to another after commiting crimes. Ghaziabad, Noida and Bulandshahr are the safe havens for criminals.

He said this after reviewing the law and order situation in western UP.

Jain asked the SSPs, SPs, DSPs and police in-charge to identify criminal gangs in their areas and book gangsters under the NSA, Gangster Act and Goonda Act. So that it became difficult for them to be out on bail once jailed.

Jain added the state government gave maximum importance to crime against woman and Dalits.

Jain said the Meeraut police had done some work to combat crime.

Saying that a large number of people from other states shift to Noida and Ghaziabad on a regular basis, Jain said Bangladeshi migrants and junk dealers add to the police woes. They are responsible for many criminal activities in the area.

However, he assued that the state police would ensure strict law and order and make proper security arrangements during the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Jain informed that new recruitments were taking place for the purpose.

He, however, maintained that the police’s position was the same today as it was in 1994. Nothing much seems to have changed. When asked if there is any punishment for SHO or SO who refuse to register an FIR, which is subsequently registered on order of senior police officials like the SSP or on courts’ order, he said there was none.

New Delhi, October 30
Now, people with disabilities (PWD) want to be the custodian of their lives, dreaming of a journey into a dignified world.

They have taken up the task of scripting a new Act, “The rights of Persons with Disabilities (respect for dignity, effective participation and inclusive opportunities) Act, 2010”.

To the PWD section, the latest amendments to the extant Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, suggested by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment seem to be a hasty job. And to avoid any dilution, the PWD held a two-day national consultation here and unanimously called for a new law with a “rights-based approach” at India Habitat Centre today.

Most disabled-rights’ activists from India feel that the current law is not doing justice and not in alignment with the current times and urged for a forward-looking law in sync with the tenets of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

The director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), Javed Abidi said: “The present act has become archaic. It has run off its course, and the changes brought in are as bad as in the existing Act. As India has ratified to the UNCPRD in 2007, the amendments have to be in letter and spirit of the UN convention.”

Pointing out that the ministry has omitted 18 articles of the UN convention, denying the PWD the rights that the Constitution guarantees them, Javed said the section had given minister Mukul Wasnik a letter on August 29 intimating him its position—“No amendment”.

The Section maintains that there are many lacunae in the disability legislation, starting from the definition to the implementation level. Javed outlined: “Years back when the law, based on a welfare-model was set, the disability movement was at its nascent stage. But even after 14 years, India has failed to safeguard the interests of the group. Punitive measures are lacking.”

The highest offices in the country, like Parliament House and Supreme Court are inaccessible to the PWD, and the Tenth-Five Year Plan mandate of allocation of three per cent of the annual funds for the welfare of PWD under every ministry remains unfulfilled.

Also, to avoid segregation and affect transparency and effective delivery, the activists called for a unified law. They want the present four laws—PWD Act, 1995, Mental Health Act, 1987, National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability Act, 1999, Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) Act, 1992 to be brought in under one umbrella.

Executive director of Action for Ability Development and Inclusion, G. Shyamala, said, there is merit in a generous combination of all resources. “An integration of human resources and financial allocations would enable in improving the outcome of the law. But, perhaps there is a fear among the bureaucracy,” she stated.

Ketan Kothari, who is visually-impaired and is employed with a UK firm Sightsavers International, feels that change will generate friction, but it would lead to better results at the implementation level.

The chairperson of Saarthak, an NGO dedicated for people with mental illnesses, Dr Achal Bhagat, said: “A new law has to focus on training rehabilitation professionals to attend to the special needs of the differently-abled. Currently, in most states, there is a dearth of trained people for the mentally challenged people. The Mental Health Act does not aid in fulfillment of the entitlements to the targeted.”

Adding that there is a need to address the attitudinal barriers, Dr Achal said, presently the RCI has registered only 45,000 people under the mentally disabled section, denying accessibility to many others across the country.