New Delhi, March 13
A shoot-out took place in broad daylight today between robbers and the special cell of Delhi police in east Delhi’s Bhola Nath Nagar near Shahdara Metro station. Three robbers were arrested after the gunfight, police said.

The operation cell of central district Delhi police received information that a gang of robbers had come here from Meerut to rob a bank. The incident took place when the police reached the area around noon.

The robbers first fired on the police which started the gunfight. As many as 15 rounds of fire were exchanged, confirmed a senior police officer.

The robbers belonged to the Gulu Jaat gang, the officer added.

According to police, three robbers were nabbed. Two were identified as Sandeep and Danny while the third robber who was injured could not be identified. The remaining two, including the gang leader Gulu, are absconding.

Sources said a constable has also been injured. The injured are being treated at the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital.

“We were sitting on the terrace when we saw the police team roaming in the lanes. We had no idea about what was happening. I saw that the robbers first opened fire on the police. In the exchange of fire, a criminal got a gunshot in the leg,” said Raj Kumar, an eyewitness.

This is a very congested area. When the firing started, the residents came out to see what was happening. As soon as they realized that an encounter had taken place, everybody went inside their homes.

“It was as if a curfew had been imposed on the area. We came out of our homes only when everything became normal,” said a resident of the area. 

Noida, March 13
A 20 per cent hike in circle rates of property in Noida is expected by April 1. Buyers will have to pay more after this date for registry of property.

District magistrate Deepak Agarwal has reportedly approved this decision in a meeting with officials of the department concerned. It will hike circle rates in Noida and Greater Noida by 20%. Besides, there is a possibility of a hike in circle rates for villages and rural areas.

To date, there are more than 9,000 properties which have not so far been registered in Greater Noida. These include 3,760 (agricultural sector), 2,806 (individual houses), 1,250 (group housing), 224 (industrial), 66 (institutional) 450 (builders) categories.

At present, circle rate in Noida ranges from Rs 18,000 to Rs 40,000. In Greater Noida, circle rates vary from Rs 14,000 to Rs 17,000. From April 1, the minimum circle rates in Noida will be Rs 20,000 while the maximum will be Rs 46,000.

In villages, circle rate at present are from Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000. After the hike, it will be between Rs 9,000 and Rs 10,500

The district magistrate said a meeting in this connection has been held with the stamp and registry department. A decision to hike circle rate up to 20 per cent has been taken. The registry of property will be done as per the revised circle rates from April 1, the district magistrate said.

New Delhi, March 13
Delhi Metro managing director E Sreedharan today inspected the first standard gauge line of India, which is 15.10-km-long Inderlok-Mundka line of Phase-II, and expressed satisfaction over the progress of the section and the operational preparedness of all the stations.

He said they were making all efforts to open this line in this month after getting all the necessary statutory safety clearances.

During his inspection, Sreedharan visited the new Inderlok Metro station and assessed the work on its integration plan with the existing Inderlok Metro station of Line-1 and other Metro stations on this line which are Ashok Park Main, Punjabi Bagh (East), Madipur, Paschim Vihar (East), Peeragarhi, Nangloi Metro stations, among others.

New Delhi, March 13
The Medical Council of India has asked the Union ministry of health and family welfare to remove the blanket ban on doctors for receiving gifts from pharmaceutical companies and, instead, recommended a graded approach to deal with the malaise.

The MCI has, in a letter to the ministry, called for varying degrees of penalties for doctors who accept gifts worth Rs 1,000 or more from any pharmaceutical or allied healthcare concern. The punishments range from censure (for accepting gifts valued at between Rs 1,000- Rs 5,000) and removal from the Indian or state medical register for a period of more than one year in case the doctor is found guilty of accepting gifts worth more than Rs 1,00,000.

The MCI has also taken up other controversial issues like sponsored traveling and lodging of medical practitioners participating in conferences, monetary grants and clinical research funding.

Ketan Desai, president, MCI, said the modifications suggested by the body were expected to bring clarity in the interpretation of the regulatory clauses, which were earlier ambiguous.

“Though we have recommended for modified monetary limits and punitive clauses for violators, there would be stricter implementation of the regulations. Once the modified regulations are in place, all the stakeholders have to ensure that the regulations are implemented in letter and spirit,” he said.

So, if the ministry gives its go-ahead, MCI would come out with the amended version of the regulations in a few days, said Desai. 

Noida, March 13
No vehicle can be parked on roads, lanes or vacant plots in Sector-18 commercial hub from April 1. If a vehicle is found, its owner will be challaned and the vehicle towed away.The Noida Authority said in its recent announcement.

The Noida Authority is developing a big parking lot opposite the Raddisson Hotel in Sector-18. The new parking lot on plot number L-2 will be ready by the end of this month.

This, along with the existing parking lot L-1, would be the only authorised parking space in the sector.

The decision has dismayed traders who feel their clientele might face inconvenience or sales might dip. They allege it to be a move for the benefit of rich groups.

“The Noida Authority had constructed a parking lot in front of Centre Stage Mall. The malls and hotels do not need parking lots. Ideally, they should have their own parking arrangements,” said Kidar Bansal, president, Sector-18 Market Association.

“The parking lots are required for small shopkeepers who cannot have any parking space. Both the existing parking lot and the one coming up are far from the main shopping area in the sector. No shopper will be interested in parking his vehicle and then come to our shops. It will kill our business,” said Yoginder Singh, executive member of the association.

Greater Noida, March 13
The Kasna police has arrested three persons for running an illegal gas company from a posh office in Alfa-1 commercial belt here.

The accused allegedly fleeced people, who would line up for the corporation’s dealership, worth lakhs of rupees. The company has fleeced people worth Rs 23 crore.

The Kasna police has registered a case against five persons, including the company’s MD who is absconding. The office of the illegal gas company has been sealed.

The company – Bharat Oil and Gas Corporation — was reportedly functioning for the last 6 months in Greater Noida.

After receiving a complaint against the company, SDM Sadar visited its office as a prospective client. He called the city magistrate and a police team from Kasna Kotwali there and the records of the company were confiscated.

An FIR was filed against company MD Suresh Katyar.

Company employees Amit Shukla, S.P. Kapoor and Kulbir Thakur were taken into custody.

Suresh Katyar is absconding. The Kasna police has also registered a case of cheque bounce against Katyar.

As to how they used to cheat people, SDM Sadar said they would accept a dealership form with Rs 1,000, after which a demand draft of Rs 5 lakh was taken. Then the applicant was asked to arrange for an office, a godown and delivery vans within six months.

According to the SDM, when some prospective dealers were able to fulfill these conditions, he was asked to shell out another Rs 10 lakh.

New Delhi, March 13
Their royal forefathers had met 99 years ago and they met again today to recreate that majestic Delhi Durbar of yore. And as they assembled in their regalia and splendour in the Imperial Hotel and remembered the good old days amidst flowing champagne, you could have almost regretted the loss of monarchy.

And to recall those times of opulence and magnanimity was the idea that brought together the descendents of Bikaner, Gwalior, Varoda, Jodhpur, Kapurthala, Rajpipla and Patiala to the Imperial Hotel.

Amrita Gandhi, an avid watcher of royal families, who is also hosting a show, Royal Reservation at the Imperial, for a private channel, said there might be many royal places in the country known to everyone but the history and the stories about them are not known. And the bringing together of these blue-blooded families was a giant step in this direction.

One such interesting story was told by a member of Jaipur gharana, who said the Taj Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, home to generations of royals, was in fact built in 1835 for a queen’s favourite handmaiden, Kesar Badaran. Royal twists and turns converted it into the palace of the Maharaja of Jaipur in 1925. And it was in 1972 that Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces took over its reins.

Maharani Divya Kumari of Bharatpur turned nostalgic at the assembly. “The royal network is still interconnected. But meeting everyone under one single roof is a rarity. We have grown up hearing of such royal gatherings. The fact of the matter is, even though times have changed, the royal aura will never phase out. It has lived till now and will stay on for years to come,” said the Maharani.

Surrounded by photographs and memorabilia of their ancestors who attended the Delhi Durbar in 1911, the royal families also gathered for a portrait session by noted photographer Mait Pasricha. 

Noida, March 13
Two robbers, who pretended to have turned police informers, were on Thursday night held from Sector 63 in connection with an incident of loot.

The two were arrested by the Sector 58 police. After their arrest, the police discovered that they had pretended to turn informers just to win its confidence and that they had never mended their criminal ways. In fact, the accused committed a number of loots in the past one-and-a-half month.

The two have been identified as Bhisham and Narinder, both hailing from Secunderabad.

The accused hatched the plan to fool the police after they were once arrested in connection with thefts and loots and sent to jail.

After coming out of jail, they won the confidence of the police by pretending to have turned police informers, but under its garb continued committing loots and thefts.

According to the police, the two committed robbery in Sector 62 on February 2. They waylaid a youth and robbed him of his cell phone, watch and thousands of rupees. Further, on March 3, they beat up one Sunil in Sector 63 before robbing him of two mobile phones, Rs 2,000 and other valuables.

New Delhi, March 13
Policing in the national Capital could see improvement if Amendment Bill in the Delhi Police Act is passed in Parliament. The Bill recommends that senior officers should be posted for at least two years as this is necessary for them to understand the crime situation of their area.

Former commissioner of Delhi police, Ajay Raj Sharma who was one of the panelists to prepare the draft for amendments in the Delhi Police Act, said that senior police officers, including police commissioner, are generally transferred in less than two years. Within the short period, they are unable to understand the law and order situation.

If the Bill for amendment in the Delhi Police Act is passed, the senior officers will not be transferred before two years which will help improve the crime situation in Delhi.

Ajay Raj Sharma said that he and Dr K.K. Paul were the two police commissioners who had stayed in Delhi police for three years. Others were transferred within two years.

If an officer is to be retired in a year, he should not be given the post of police commissioner as within one year he cannot understand the crime scenario of the city. He will spend this period preparing for retirement, Sharma added.

The amendments also call for an imposition of fine of Rs 5,000 on residents if they do not get the verification of their servants done.

New Delhi, March 13
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said that after privatisation of the power sector, losses due to power theft had come down from 50 per cent to 18 per cent and that it is expected to go further down to 16 per cent this year. 

Dikshit said this at the concluding session of a two-day national seminar on power sector reforms, retrospect, realities and prospects.  

The Chief Minister said that power distribution companies (discoms) in Delhi were now competing with each other to provide the best possible services to their customers. 

“The discoms have provided supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system and online payment facility. Their functioning is monitored by the government. Also, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) and Public Grievance Committee have been put in place to safeguard the interests of the customers,” she said. 

The Chief Minister exhorted people to come forward and support its power conservation drive.