New Delhi, May 2
Three days after the Delhi University (DU) vice-chancellor Deepak Pental said there were unknown loopholes in the chemistry department’s scrap auction which disposed of the radioactive irradiator, evidence suggests that several committees approved the auction.

What initially looked like a case of simple negligence, it is now learnt that many senior science professors and administrative officers had approved the auction items.

Some documents obtained by Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), a copy of which is available with The Tribune, clearly state that some of the senior professors of chemistry department signed a letter, saying, “We strongly support that all the obsolete items stored in several rooms and laboratories of the department be disposed of as requested by our HoD (Prof.V.S.Parmar) as soon as possible.”

The same letter sent to the vice-chancellor also proposed an eight-member committee of teachers from different science departments to be constituted to look into the auction.

“The incident of selling containers with radioactive material as scrap by a committee of professors of the science departments of a premier university cannot be treated as a mistake or miscalculation as claimed by the vice-chancellor,” said Shaswati Mazumdar, faculty at DU and president of the DTF.

The committee constituted to look into the waste material lying in the department included the head of the department of chemistry, dean of faculty of sciences, head of department of botany and several other senior professors from various science departments.

As reported by The Tribune earlier, the documents substantiate that the first meeting of the committee was on February 10 and the permission to dispose of the items was given by S. K. Tandon, pro-vice-chancellor on February 15. The auction took place on February 26.

“Not only was the committee of professors of the science departments approved by the vice-chancellor and pro-vice-chancellor, approval was also granted for the actual list of items to be disposed of,” said Rajeev Kunwar, secretary, DTF.

Kunwar alleged that the unseemly haste of the process shows that there were no serious deliberations on the issues and neither the committee members nor the approving authorities even considered that auction of the gamma irradiator to a scrap dealer would be in flagrant violation of rules for disposal of hazardous radioactive waste.

In the first letter from the chemistry department to the vice-chancellor, it has been mentioned that the disposal had to be done soon “because one block has to be demolished immediately for construction of new T.R.Seshadri Block of the department” and hence the waste had to be cleared.

New Delhi, May 2
Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) will hold a protest on the varsity campus on Wednesday seeking an independent probe into the radiation leak in the capital that has killed one person and injured seven, officials said.

The teachers want President Pratibha Patil, who is the visitor of the university, to constitute a committee to examine the case, a DUTA official said today.

DUTA will hold the protest near Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental’s office Wednesday (May 5).

“The vice-chancellor of Delhi University should step down immediately and an independent inquiry should be ordered for enabling a fair probe, these are the two main demands of our protests,” DUTA president Aditya Narayan Misra told IANS.

“As the human resource development ministry is not recommending an independent inquiry, our association has already written to Patil, seeking a visitorial inquiry,” he said.

“The president, as the visitor of the university, should constitute a committee of experts to examine the case and fix the blame,” he added.

A radiation leak was reported from a scrap

market in Mayapuri area of west Delhi a fortnight ago.

Eight people were affected by radiation poisoning from radioactive gamma cells which were placed in a lead shielded flask.

The cells were sold as scrap by the university’s chemistry laboratory.

Pental apologised on Thursday and took moral responsibility for the incident.

“The incident occurred due to sheer negligence and carelessness of Pental as purchase or disposal of any kind of equipment takes place only after his permission.

“Taking moral responsibility is not enough. He should resign as this incident has earned disrespect not only to the university but to the country,” Misra said.— IANS

New Delhi, May 2
The national Capital continued to be under a tight security cover on the second day today with a large number of Delhi police personnel deployed almost everywhere especially at crowded market areas.

The markets, including Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk, Greater Kailash, Lajpat Nagar and Sarajini Nagar, were under security today.

“Extra police force has been deployed today as risk is more on Sunday,” said a police official outside Sarojini Nagar Market.

“We are being checked closely. The metal detectors are working. It is good to see that the Delhi police is working hard,” said Ritu Jha, a resident of Lajpat Nagar.

Security presence has been enhanced in crowded places like shopping malls, cinema halls, markets and transport infrastructure. Meanwhile, in Connaught Place too, people can witness a thick security blanket. Delhi police officials were deployed at every suspected corner of the streets.

“We are not scared. We are ready to face whatever happens to our country. I am happy to see so many policemen guarding us. It feels safe,” said 19-year-old Rini, a college student.

The police has also appealed to the public to be vigilant and cooperate with them and inform the nearest police station or dail toll-free number 1090 on noticing any suspicious object, person or vehicle. Security checks were upgraded yesterday after several countries, including the US and the UK, issued advisories warning its citizens of a terror attack.

More policemen were deployed on the streets as soon as the advisories were issued and the top brass of the Delhi police was out on patrolling duty, said a senior police official. “The Delhi police is taking appropriate measures,” said Rajan Bhagat, a police spokesperson.

New Delhi, May 2
As thousands of visitors are expected in the city during the Commonwealth Games, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is taking a number of measures to instil better civic sense among its commuters.

“Thousands of foreign visitors are expected to use the Metro system during the Games scheduled in October, and Delhi Metro wants to maintain world-class civic standards in its trains and stations to welcome them,” said Anuj Dayal, spokesperson, DMRC.

Delhi Metro authorities are now cracking down heavily on commuters found spitting inside the trains or defacing Metro property. Four special flying squads consisting of Metro officials have been created which are conducting surprise checks almost every day on different routes to catch erring commuters.

In March this year, 195 cases of spitting were detected, while there were 62 cases of defacement of Metro property. The station staff have been specifically directed to keep a tab on commuters indulging in spitting, littering or defacing the Metro premises, said Dayal.

The station managers and controllers authorized to realise penalty from the offending commuters have already been issued with ‘Authorised For Penalty’ identity cards.

“The volunteers of the Metro Citizens’ Forum have also been requested to promptly report cases of commuter misbehavior to the Metro authorities,” he said.

Besides the helpline number of the Metro, the volunteers have also been given the mobile numbers of many senior officials so that they can directly contact them, if needed.

New Delhi, May 2
With the launch of an Express Bus Service, Delhi public transport system will become world-class, claimed Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit while flagging off 200 modern low-floor buses on the lawns of India Gate today.

The Chief Minister described this as an important milestone in enhancing passenger comfort as this will discourage people to use their personal vehicles. With less number of personal vehicles on roads, the Capital will have a substantial relief from pollution, she said.

Flagging off the Express Bus Service, the Chief Minister said that the buses inducted into the DTC fleet include 54-AC and 90 non-AC.

The fare structure of the service is reasonable with Rs 20 per trip in non-AC and Rs 30 per trip in AC buses.

She added that 72 routes have been identified for the chartered bus service so that the new service could be offered in almost all major localities of the city. The buses on the express routes will ply on week days—Monday to Friday, and these buses will not be available on gazetted holidays.

For the convenience of regular passengers, monthly passes will be offered at the rate of Rs 900 in case of non- AC buses and Rs 1,100 in case of AC buses. The DTC intends to provide free newspapers and magazines to the commuters in the buses.

The service will be available during mornings and evenings. The four trips on a route will start between 8 am and 9 am and two trips in evenings between 5.30 and 6 pm. The routes will cover government office complexes and commercial hubs, including CGO Complex, Central Secretariat ITO, AIIMS, ISBT, Connaught Place and Nehru Place and originate from colonies—Dwarka, Vikas Puri, Rohini, Shalimar Bagh, R. K. Puram, Vasant Vihar, Hauz Khas, Mehrauli, Nand Nagri, Sarita Vihar, Mayur Vihar, Vivek Vihar and Anand Vihar.

The service will also cover Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida in NCR.

The passes will not be issued for the buses covering NCR towns and fare will be applicable as per interstate service.

Singh added that the DTC will provide 600 buses for Delhi police, 300 for school volunteers, 300 for shuttle service and 1,300 for spectators during the Commonwealth Games. 

Attendants in Delhi University’s (DU) chemistry department are a shocked lot. They cannot believe that the innocuous-looking machine lying in their department building for as long as they could remember had turned out to be source of lethal radioactive radiation.

Sharing their experiences, one lab attendant said their gang stealthily smoked right next to the store where the machine was kept for many years.

“I could not believe when I read in the papers that it was behind the Mayapuri incident. Some of our colleagues did mention that there was something dangerous about it but it was just like that,” said the shocked lab attendant.

New Delhi, May 2
Four young men of a family died when their speeding car turned turtle after hitting a divider near Ansal Plaza shopping complex in south Delhi early today, the police said.

The accident took place around 12:30 am.

The four youths were travelling from Panchsheel Marg towards August Kranti Marg in their Hyundai Accent car when the incident took place. One of the victims died on the spot, while others were rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre, where they succumbed to their injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Sarabjit Singh (23), Amarjit Singh (30), Taranjit Singh (26) and Gurlin Singh (24). Taranjit Singh was a resident of Jalandhar in Punjab, while the other victims belonged to Gautam Nagar in Delhi.

A police official said that the victims were relatives. The driver lost control of the car and it hit the road divider, flipped over and turned turtle.

However, the police did not say if the men were under the influence of alcohol. 

New Delhi, May 2
With the arrest of three persons, the Delhi police has busted a gang involved in illegal slaughtering of cattle.

The arrested accused have been identified as Idrish Ahmed (36), Shahnawaz (20) and Zahid Ahmed (19), all from Bijnore district in Uttar Pradesh. They were apprehended four days ago on a tip-off from the Defence Colony area of south Delhi, said DCP (south) H.G.S. Dhaliwal.

The police has also seized a jeep loaded with 1,076 kg meat.

The accused disclosed that they regularly supplied cattle meat to Walled City areas, Meerut, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad and other towns of UP.

“The illegal slaughtering of cattle mainly takes place in villages of Karehali, Hussainpur, Hatain and Neendru of Bijnore. The chopped meat is then supplied to Delhi and UP,” Dhaliwal said.

Idrish has been in the trade for many years but he was never arrested. His associate Shahnawaz got involved in the trade recently. Zahid used to drive the vehicle used for transporting the cattle meat, the police said. 

Ghaziabad, May 2
The Loni police has seized two lakh litres of duplicate petroleum products like diesel, petrol, kerosene and mobile from four factories at Krishna Vihar colony early this morning. A diesel tanker and a JCB machine were also seized.

The fake petroleum products were seized during a police raid on the four factories under the supervision of circle officer (border) Rajeev Kumar. Officers from the food and civil supply department have collected samples of the seized products and sent them for lab test. Later, the police destroyed the products in a 14-hour operation and sealed the factories. However, no arrest could be made from the sites.

Het Ram and Lalit Goel of Delhi are reportedly the proprietors of the factories.

The police is trying to trace the areas where these duplicate products were being sold.

Ghaziabad SSP Raghuvir Lal confirmed that the raids were conducted under circle officer Rajeev Kumar in four factories of Sewa Dham colony, Krisnha Vihar, Loni on a tip off.

During the raid, the police found both underground and overground storage tanks in which petroleum products were stored.

The SSP added that last year too large quantity of petroleum products were seized from these factories. A case was also filed against the owners of the factories— Het Ram and Lalit Goel. He added that the owners would be booked under the Gangster Act this time.

SDM Sadar and circle officer Rajeev Kumar would jointly probe the matter. Departmental action will be taken against any government employee found involved in the activity.

According to sources, such illegal activities could not flourish at a large-scale without the connivance of the local police.

New Delhi, May 2
Two bike-borne men allegedly robbed a woman of her golden chain after opening fire in the air outside Mayur Vihar Phase-I Metro station in east Delhi this afternoon.

The incident took place around 2:15 pm.

According to the police, victim Anju Sethi of Pandav Nagar was on a rickshaw with another woman when two men on a motorcycle came near them and opened fire. They then snatched her chain.

“The snatchers brandished firearms to scare the women and opened fire in the air. They then snatched Sethi’s chain. The women had come to the Metro station to board a train,” a senior police official said.

After snatching the chain, the motorcyclists fled, the official added.

However, eyewitnesses noted down their bike number and handed it over to the police.

Faridabad, May 2
The opposition parties, especially the principal opposition party in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, the INLD, will soon mount an attack on the ruling Congress in Haryana and its government in the state.

The timing would begin sometime in July.

The top leaders of the non-Congress parties in Haryana, especially its arch rival, the INLD, are credited with the view that the continuation of Bhupinder Singh Hooda as Chief Minister for the second term was injurious to their political interest. The INLD has been traditionally strong in the rural areas and Jat peasantry sections of society in Haryana. This had given them leverage in western Uttar Pradesh where about 120 Assembly seats are dominated by the Jat section. It also had stakes in some areas of Delhi and Jat-dominated areas in Rajasthan.

According to political observers, the immediate plan of the INLD is to regain its lost base in Haryana, and then make its presence in national politics as was done during the time of Devi Lal. The INLD leaders have fond memories of politics of the late 80s when the consolidation and mobilization of the non-Congress forces started from Haryana, with Devi Lal in the vanguard.

The opposition coalition defeated the Congress then led by Rajiv Gandhi. The INLD had also captured power in Haryana which helped Devi Lal emerge as Deputy Prime Minister. The INLD would like to go in for an encore.

On the other hand, the Haryana Congress dismisses the talks of the possible agitation by its opponents saying that they are bereft of issues. The president of the Haryana Congress, Phool Chand Maulana says that the forces opposed to his party’s government are trying to orchestrate issues and create public hype. He cautioned that the Congress cadre under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and youth power behind the general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC), Rahul Gandhi, was ready for any challenge thrown at it.

Maulana, who met Sonia Gandhi, yesterday, told TNS that the Congress cadre in Haryana are traditionally silent and have democratic approach to issues. They feel confident on account of the public works done by the Congress government as well as the “decent” and “public man” image of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

A brief interaction with leaders of various non-Congress parties revealed that they were busy with bolstering their organizational structure. The president of the youth wing of the INLD, Baldev Singh (Aliwal) said that his party has almost finished revamping its frontal cells at the district and Assembly levels.

The BJP would complete its organizational elections by June-end. The BSP and the HJC are also busy giving teeth to their organisations.