New Delhi, February 19
Garden of Five Senses located at Mehrauli-Badarpur Road is one of the best gardens in Delhi, said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit while inaugurating the 23rd Garden Tourism Festival today that would continue for three days.

The tourism Department of the Delhi government has been celebrating the festival for the last 22 years. Earlier, it was held at Talkatora Park.

The theme of the festival is “Commonwealth Games 2010-Green Delhi, Welcomes You”. It has an exhibition of plants, flowers combining aesthetics with comfort and functionality.

The festival’s enriched collection of native plants, colourful flowerbeds, roses, bulbous plants, flowering shrubs and spectacular plants cast a spell on the visitors. There are other kinds of plants, including medicinal, herbal, cacti and bonsai.

The Garden Tourism Festival has various cultural activities for all the three days.

There was cultural progamme organised by Sahitya Kala Parishad. There would be on-the-spot painting competition for children, magic show and cultural programme by Hindi Academy tomorrow. Magic show and the cultural programme by the Punjabi Academy and prize distribution will be on the final day. 

New Delhi, February 19
Apprehensive about the availability of sufficient rooms to house foreign tourists coming here for the Commonwealth Games, the government is exploring options to create extra accommodation.

After the ministry of tourism’s plan to set up luxury tents for the CWG tourists, the Delhi tourism department has initiated a concept called ‘village-cum-adventure tourism’. The government has identified a site near Kanganhedi village in south-west Delhi where luxury tents would be set up along with facilities like cycling, motor boating etc.

“We are developing a site near Kanganhedi village towards Kapasheda for launching a tourist destination which will have the blend of rural as well as adventure in its features. Bicycles would be made available for sight-seeing as the place serves special refuge for a huge number of migratory birds,” said Kulanand Joshi, general manager, Delhi tourism and transport department.

The place will have accommodation for over 400 people and will support village atmosphere with facilities of plays and events for children. “We are looking in to the viability of creating other activities as there is huge space around the site which is very peaceful and perfect for village kind of tourism,” he said.

Joshi said it is a long-term potential project which will not necessarily be completed before the Commonwealth Games. However, he also said that the project is expected to be finished by June this year. “It is long-term project. We have yet to decide whether the development of the site would be outsourced or taken up by the government itself,” he said.

The officer informed that the site is situated near a Najafgarh drain which will have to be cleaned with the help of Delhi Jal Board and Irrigation Department Haryana. “There is a big drain at one side of the area. We have requested the cooperation of irrigation department and Delhi Jal Board for its water treatment as it creates very foul smell. The drain would be converted into lake which can also be used for motor boating,” he said.

An inspection of the site was conducted by officials from the Delhi tourism and Haryana irrigation department in this regard. 

New Delhi, February 19
Senior Delhi police officials today briefed representatives of 11 participating countries on security arrangements being made for the World Cup Hockey tournament beginning here on February 28.

According to information, Delhi police commissioner Y S Dadwal and special CP Neeraj Kumar held a meeting with the delegation of security officials of these countries at the police headquarters this afternoon. Players and hockey associations had apprehensions about the security for the event after Ilyas Kashmiri, HuJI chief, issued a threat to foreign players asking them to stay away from sporting events in India like the hockey tournament, Commonwealth Games and Indian Premier League (IPL).

As per reports, the participating delegations had expressed satisfaction at the ‘four tier’ security arrangements made by the Delhi police. Following the briefing, a senior Pakistani security official expressed satisfaction over the arrangements.

“We are satisfied with the security arrangements for the World Cup. We were concerned about certain aspects and the Delhi police assured us to look into them. They have indeed done very good planning,” said Rana Mujahid from Pakistan.

The Australian delegation also expressed similar views with deputy high commissioner Lacklan Starhn saying that they were “pleased” with the comprehensive security arrangements being made for the event.

“Proper assurances have been given. We are very pleased with the arrangements,” Starhn said.

Besides India and Pakistan, hockey majors like Germany, Britain and Australia are among the 12 teams fighting for the championship to be held from February 28 to March 13.

As per police sources, more than 18,000 security personnel, including 200 gun-toting commandos and 1,000 men of central paramilitary forces will be deployed to ensure a smooth conduct of Hockey World Cup, being held in India after 18 years.

Ghaziabad, February 19
There was festive atmosphere in and around the hospital in the evening and all the patients and hospital staff were quite happy as they were going to take part in a function, the like of which they had never witnessed—marriage in the ICU ward of the hospital.

At the appointed hour, the bride walked in gracefully in a sari with a garland in hand. Panditji recited the usual shlokas. Bride and bridegroom, an ICU patient, then exchanged garlands and the panditji pronounced them man and wife, with all those attending showering flowers and their blessings.

On Phutera Dooj, an auspicious day for weddings when 3,000 couples tied the nuptial knot, the ICU

ward in a private hospital on Vinode Road, Meerut, became the venue of this unique wedding. By eight pm, the ward had been converted into a marriage mandap, tastefully decorated.

Raj Kumar, alias Sonu, one of the patients in flower-bedecked ICU ward, married Renu from Ferozabad. The hospital doctors and management in a sporting gesture had decorated the ward and borne the expenses of the marriage. The faces of all the patients, their attendants, doctors and other staff were beaming with smiles.

The wedding of Raj Kumar of Alinagar village in Bulandshahr was solemnized on February 16. The matrimony was fixed for February 10, but on the same day, Raj Kumar met with a serious accident. He was brought to hospital in an unconscious state and kept on ventilators for two days. On February 15, his legs were operated upon.

When his fiancée Renu came to look Raj Kumar up in the hospital, she said she would marry the man on the date fixed for the event.

Appreciating her strong resolve, doctors allowed the young couple to go ahead and made the necessary arrangement to solemnize the wedding.

New Delhi, February 19 
An MBBS dropout, who allegedly posed as a cardiologist of G B Pant Hospital and cheated more than 100 people out of lakhs of rupees by promising them job at LNJP Hospital and G B Pant Hospital, has been arrested by the south Delhi police.

Ravi Shanker (36) was arrested from Trilokpuri in east Delhi on February 15 following investigations into a complaint filed by one Pramod Kumar who claimed that he had been duped by the accused.

According to police, Shankar who passed Class XII is fluent in English and claims to have done MBBS from Maulana Azad Medical Institute, but dropped out after three years.

According to police, about 21 victims have been identified so far though the accused has cheated close to 100 people.

“More than 100 job aspirants were cheated out of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh on the promise of job in the LNJP Hospital and GB Pant Hospital,” said HGS Dhaliwal, DCP (south). 

He further said that the accused’s mother and brother were working as nursing orderlies in LNJP Hospital and it was after seeing his brother’s interview letter that gave him the idea of cheating people this way. The role of employees of the two hospitals is being probed. Shanker gave the address of an IB officer Virender Mishra as his own to the complainant Kumar and met the complainant posing as a very senior cardiologist of the GB Pant Hospital, residing in Sarojini Nagar.

“Shanker told him that there were some vacancies in GB Pant Hospital for the post of nursing orderly and he could help him in getting the job. He demanded Rs 42,000 for it which Kumar paid. However, when he approached Shanker after three months and demanded the money back as the promise was not kept, the latter dilly-dallied.

When Kumar accosted him again, Shanker gave him a cheque which later bounced. Finally, Kumar brought the matter to the notice of police. 

Police has recovered one Santro car, two computers, fake interview letters, appointment letters, and stamps from the accused.

The investigation of the case is on and efforts are being made to identify more victims.

New Delhi, February 19
The Delhi police today filed a chargesheet against the polit bureau member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) Kobad Ghandy before a Delhi court.

In the 789-page chargesheet filed before chief metropolitan magistrate Kaveri Baweja, the special cell of the Delhi police has said that Ghandy was involved in “anti-national activities” and had been an active member of the banned CPI (M).

Ghandy has been booked under sections 419, 420, 468, 474 and 120 (b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The chargesheet says that 63-year-old Ghandy has accepted that he is an active central committee member (CCM) of the CPI (M). The chargesheet further says that during Emergency, he had participated in various agitations and had worked as a journalist with Hitavada newspaper at Nagpur. In 1994, he joined the Peoples War Group and worked in Maharashtra with two persons— Vishnu and Vikrant— who were arrested from Mumbai in 2007 by the anti-terrorist squad, it said.

The court will take cognisance of the chargesheet on March 4.

In December last year, Baweja dismissed the statutory bail application of Ghandy and granted Delhi police 90 more days to file the chargesheet.

Under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, the investigating agency has to complete its probe within 90 days of the arrest of an accused. But the court, using its discretion, extended the 90-day deadline for filing the chargesheet.

Ghandy has been charged with killing 10 policemen. The policmen were killed by Naxalites and Ghandy was an accused in the killings.

Ghandy had earlier been quizzed by the West Bengal police in connection with a criminal case registered in the West Midnapore district in 2008.

Andhra Pradesh police has also interrogated Ghandy for his alleged involvement in a case under the Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act registered in Karimnagar district in 2008.

According to the chargesheet, Ghandy was residing at a rented accommodation in south Delhi and was trying to set up a base for Maoists in the Capital. He used nine fake names, including Dilip Patel, Narsi, Arvind, Rajan, Katif Ansari, during his about three-year stay in Delhi.

Ghandy was arrested by the special cell on September 20.

An alumnus of Doon School and Cambridge University, Ghandy joined CPI (M) polit bureau in 2007. In 1994, he was allegedly active in floating a forum named the All India People’s Resistance Forum, the chargesheet said.

Ghandy was brought to the court in a special bullet and mine-proof vehicle called ‘Rakshak’. 

New Delhi, February 19
A Delhi court today sentenced a man to life imprisonment for a murder committed in 2005.

Additional sessions judge Vinod Kumar also slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on the accused, Hasan Ali, alias Raju.

The complaint was filed by Shanti Devi, the mother of the deceased, Sanjay. The murder took place in the slum area of CSA Colony.

On June 7, 2005, Shanti’s husband Laxman was abusing her under the influence of liquor. Hasan tried to pacify Laxman, but in vain. In the process, Hasan also manhandled Laxman. Seeing this, Sonu tried to stop Hasan from beating Laxman. In the scuffle, Hasan fell down from the roof and received minor injuries in the head.

Hasan then went away from the spot, threatening Sanjay that he would teach him a lesson. When he came back, he stabbed Sanjay.

During cross-examination, the defence counsel alleged that Shanti was having an illicit relation with Hasan and that Laxman knew about it and so she was trying to implicate Hasan.

However, refusing to buy the argument, the court observed, “It is not acceptable that she would falsely implicate the accused under the influence of her husband because her husband suspected illicit relationship between them.”

Earlier, during arguments Shanti Devi told the court that Laxman used to beat her almost daily, but on the day of the incident he was upset because she had fed Hasan. Shanti added that when Hasan stabbed her son, she was present there. However, she did not notice Hasan stabbing Sanjay, but saw a knife in Hasan’s hand.

“I use to feed Hasan quite frequently because he was of my son’s age,” Shanti said before the court.

New Delhi, February 19 
As the girl in the moving bus was being molested, the driver and conductor asked her to leave the bus instead of coming to her rescue. The incident was reported from Blueline bus number 761 in the Mangolpuri area of outer Delhi this morning.

According to information, Poonam (22) (name changed) had boarded the bus plying between Azadpur and Mangolpuri and while she was on her way to buy the ticket, a man molested her. “The girl and some man argued over some issue. Another man in the bus supported the girl and an argument ensued between them. The girl in her complaint to the police has said that the driver and the conductor asked them to leave the bus,” said Atul Katiyar, DCP (outer).

According to some eyewitnesses, the man who molested the girl even pulled out a knife to scare the public. However, police said no such thing had happened. 

According to police, Poonam in his complaint to the police has demanded action against the driver and conductor.

“She has not mentioned anything about molestation but has demanded action against the driver and conductor. We are working to identify the two and would impound the bus,” said Katiyar, adding that they should have not asked the girl to leave the bus in such circumstances. Poonam is a resident of Rohini. 

New Delhi, February 19 
With the arrest of Sanjay Paswan, the west Delhi police has solved the murder case of a young girl who was found dead on February 16 in a suspicious condition near Adhyapak Nagar in the Nihal Vihar area. 

Sangeeta was found dead with strangulation mark in a plot adjacent to her house.  Sanjay Paswan, her stepfather, killed her after sexually assaulting her, according to the police.

Sangeeta’s mother Rekha had married Sanjay last year She feared his role in the murder. “Rekha had told us that Sanjay had a bad eye for her daughter and he could be behind her murder. More importantly, he was missing since the day of Sangeeta’s murder. We traced him and arrested him from Sultanpuri where he was living with his first wife,” said the police. 

Talking about the motive behind the murder, Sharad Agarwal, DCP (west) said the accused had established sexual relations with his step daughter Sangeeta since past few months and now he could not bear her getting married and leaving the house.

“Sangeeta was to get married on February 17 and on the night before Sanjay called her outside on the pretext of talking. He sexually assaulted her but when she resisted, he strangulated her neck and killed her,” said Agarwal.