New Delhi, May 14
Last night’s Academic Council meeting has marked the anti-climax of partial implementation of semester system at undergraduate level in Delhi University (DU).

With widespread opposition to semester system in most departments, the AC’s acceptance looked next to impossible. However, the administration pushed it through.

The meeting has sparked off much drama on the North Campus as around 20 AC members refused to come out of the council hall after the vice-chancellor Deepak Pental walked out of the meeting last night.

“The passing of new syllabi of some science courses is gross violation of university statutes as no debate or discussion was allowed in the meeting,” said Vijaya Venkatraman, AC member.

She said the vice-chancellor made it clear that only suggestions could be taken on the revised syllabi and no dissent was allowed.

The AC meeting was called to pass the syllabi of few undergraduate science courses which were revised to facilitate the implementation of semester system.

Today saw many teachers of DU crowding the vice-chancellor’s office building where the AC members had started sit-in to oppose the manner in which the syllabi were passed.

The teachers maintained that no syllabi were passed in the meeting. “We wish to express our deep concern at the manner in which the AC meeting was closed. According to us, no courses were passed at the meeting, which was abruptly closed at 12.10 am,” said a press statement issued by several heads of departments, including Prof. Vibha Maurya, head of Department of Germanic and Romance Studies, Prof. Bakatullah Khan, head of Department of Geography, Prof. Sumanyu Sathpathy, head of English department.

A note of dissent has also been submitted by the AC members to the administration stating, “AC members condemn the manner in which the vice-chancellor conducted the meeting of the Academic Council held on May 13 and declared the syllabi ‘passed’ totally ignoring the valid objections raised by many members”.

Members alleged that the vice-chancellor brought in altogether different syllabi from the one circulated amongst the members earlier.

“He brought in a fresh amended set of syllabi at 10.30 pm and declared them passed by 12.10 am without deliberation and without even giving members enough time to read the drafts,” said Abha Dev, AC member.

New Delhi, May 14
Environment body Greenpeace today claimed that people are still at radiation risk in west Delhi's Mayapuri after a visit to the scrap yard area where exposure to radioactive material Cobalt-60 claimed one life and caused injuries to 11 others last month.

Noticeably, the government had earlier given a clean chit to the scrap yard and declared it to be safe. Greenpeace has now asked for earliest decontamination of the area by the authorities concerned.

"Despite official assurances that the market is free from contamination, our team found that there is still radioactive contamination which poses a severe health threat to local people. The investigation has identified hotspots in the area with one registering more than 5,000 times natural background radiation," said Karuna Raia, nuclear campaigner, Greenpeace India, while addressing the media today.

A team investigated the shop and its surrounding areas in Mayapuri in which the first radiation leak took place. Two radiation experts, Stan Vincent from Belgium and Jan Vande Putte from the UK, also accompanied our team and investigated the area.

The Greenpeace team, with the help of radiation monitors such as an identiFINDER gamma spectrometer and a RadAlert gamma dosimeter, scanned the area around one of the shops where the cobalt 60 pencils were recovered.

"Survey results show that there are extremely high levels of radioactivity in localized hotspots.

A person squatting in the hotspot area with 5,000 times background radiation would receive the maximum permeable annual dose of 1 milllisievert in just two hours. Only 37 people have been scanned for radiation exposure in the area, which is not enough. Residents of the entire area should be scanned for radiation exposure. Mayapuri area is not a safe zone for human beings to reside in as it still has a high-level of radiation exposure," added the nuclear campaigner.

"While the risk in hotspots is severe, the solution is simple as the hotspot can be decontaminated quickly by properly trained and equipped inspectors," said Vande Putte, Greenpeace radiation safety expert.

"The authorities should immediately decontaminate the hotspots and do a through survey of other shops as well. We have shared all the relevant information with the workers in the areas to ensure that there is no panic," he added.

Police had earlier said the source of the leak last month was a radioactive gamma cell containing Cobalt 60 that was auctioned as scrap by Delhi University's chemistry department two months ago. Six people exposed to the radioactive Cobalt 60 are still in hospital.

New Delhi, May 14
Amidst reports of Delhi University (DU) hostels to be vacated before the Commonwealth Games for renovation, St. Stephen’s College clarified that it would keep the interests of its students on priority.

The college said it could only let out the hostel rooms during the Games when the college was closed.

“During the academic break, our residential facilities would be handed over to the Commonwealth Games Committee for their use during the Games,” said Nandita Narain, spokesperson, St. Stephen’s College.

In our college, residential facilities will be available to students as usual from the start of the first term of new session till the end of the term, said Narain.

“When the second term commences after the academic break, the rooms will once again be made available to our students,” she said. More than one third of the students of the college are from outside Delhi and are given residential facility on campus.

“Displacing our students during the academic term would cripple the functioning of the college and this position has already been made clear to the Commonwealth Games Committee,” she said.

New Delhi, May 14
The Sports Injury Centre (SIC), the only designated health facility that promises to offer specialised care for sports injuries during the Commonwealth Games (CWG), would be ready for service only by August instead of June-end which is the deadline.

The centre is associated to the Safdarjung Hospital (SH) and has gone ahead with recruitment to its 187 posts, but the final nod is awaited from the ministry.

"Sometime back, we have started the recruitment and as of date the selection of 80 per cent of the hospital staff has been completed. A panel, including specialists from Sadfdarjung and hospitals like AIIMS, has been created for the recruitment to various posts of doctors," said Dr N K Mohanty, the medical superintendent of Sadfdarjung.

On the infrastructural front, while the construction of the seven-storey sports centre is over, the procurement of the high-end diagnostic equipment is on and the tenders for outsourcing various hospital-related work-nursing, kitchen, laundry, lab facility and management etc - have already been floated. "With the work being in finishing stages, by mid-June we expect the entire facility to be completed. For specailsed sections like radiology, bids have been invited from interested private parties," said an official from the HSCC India Ltd, wing under the Union ministry of health and family welfare.

The centre, which is going to be inspected by the Commonwealth Games Federation in August for its approval, is believed to fulfill the country's long-felt need of a comprehensive treatment facility for sports injuries.

"The Rs 7-crore project would come up as a boon for sports medicine as currently there is no rehabilitation centre under one roof. Centres with integrated facilities for specialised sports injury treatment are virtually non-existent. We would provide a one-shop solution for all the sports-related injuries," said Dr Deepak Chaudhary, who is the director of the Sports Injury Centre.

Significantly, the centre, which actually started in the form of a clinic in 1997 under SH's orthopaedics department, would remain as a legacy even after Games.

Having 50 beds along with advanced technologies and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment, like isokinetic system, 3-d motion analyser etc, the centre would not only attend to sportspersons during the Games, but would stay on to offer the best of care to the common people, said Dr Chaudhary.

New Delhi, May 14
The Delhi police today claimed to have solved the case of two robberies and the murder of a senior citizen who was gagged to death two days ago in the Kalkaji Extension area of south-east Delhi.

According to the police, four persons— Saleem, Sonu, Dina Bandu Mallik, alias Bengali, and Usman— have been arrested for the crime.

The incident took place on the intervening night of May 11and 12. Two houses in the Block 4 area of Kalkaji Extension were ransacked by a gang of robbers and one Janakraj Likhi (86) was found tied and gagged in his room. He was declared brought dead in hospital. In the adjoining house, one Vidya Gulbani (76) was also found tied and gagged on her bed in an unconscious condition. She is undergoing treatment and her condition is stable. Some jewellery and around Rs 25, 000 was taken away by the robbers. 

According to Virender Singh, additional CP (south-east), the arrest came following a tip-off from an informer about possible involvement of some boys who hang around at Hans Raj Sethi Hathi Park in the Kalkaji area. Based on the information, the police laid a trap and arrested Saleem and Sonu.

“A silver coin bearing inscription ‘Ajay weds Sushmita, June 23, 2004’ was seized from Saleem’s trousers. The coin was robbed along with other items from one of the two Kalkaji houses— House No. 4/1. After initial denial, the duo confessed to their involvement in the case,” said Singh.

Saleem and Sonu confessed that on the said night, they first had alcohol with their other two accomplices and then committed the crime. The duo also described the crime scene. The police recovered a screw driver and pipe wrench used by them to remove the grills of the windows of the houses to gain entry.

“We have also recovered Likhi’s cap, which was robbed along with other articles from his house. The accused further disclosed that one silver teapot and two bowls, which were robbed from the house of Vidya Devi, have been sold by them to one person known as Bengali,” said Singh, adding that Bengali was also arrested.

The fourth arrest in the case was made after Bengali disclosed that he had further sold the silver teapot and bowls to one Usman Kabari in Govindpuri. The police recovered the teapot from Usman and arrested him.

As per the police, it is searching for other accused of the case. Saleem, Sonu, Bengali, Prem and Sushil are all vagabonds.

“They eat at Kalkaji temple and community lunches organised by Bhairon temple and sleep on pavements. They have no permanent residence in Delhi. Bengali and Saleem have rented in a room in Sector 8 in Noida where they would hide after committing crimes in Delhi,” said the officer.

Bengali is an employee of the ministry of defence and works as a peon in the military intelligence wing at the Army Headquarters, New Delhi. He has not reported for work in this month.

According to the police, Bengali holds two government accommodations in his name, which he has rented out.

New Delhi, May 14
All petrol pumps and CNG stations in Delhi, except those owned by the government, remained closed today due to a strike called by the Delhi and NCR Diesel Petrol Pump Association in protest against the hike in Value Added Taxes (VAT) on diesel. According to the association, the hike in VAT on diesel is affecting its sale in the city.

The acting president of the petrol pump association, Ajay Bansal, said Delhi lost crores of rupees in this one-day strike.

Delhi sells three lakh litres of diesel and two lakh litres of petrol every day. But today, only the vehicles of the police, fire services and ambulances were given fuel at private petrol pumps, as we do not want the emergency services to suffer, said Bansal.

He said that this was not the end of their protest.

“Petrol pumps will remain closed on every Monday. The petrol pump association will have a general body meeting to decide about an indefinite strike if government does not withdraw the increase in VAT,” he added.

Meanwhile, senior officers of oil companies— Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil and Hindustan Oil – along with a representative of the petrol pump association met Delhi finance minister A. K. Walia to discuss the situation.

They pointed out that with the hike in VAT on diesel, Delhi lost 40 per cent of its sale.

Walia said he would present their demands before Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as only she had the authority to take any decision in this regard.

New Delhi, May 14
Delhi police commissioner believes that the scare created by a telephonic conversation by a Darul Uloom cleric onboard a London flight leading to his arrest two days ago is a case of miscommunication.

Nurul Huda, a resident of UP’s Saharanpur, was arrested on May 13 from an Emirates flight from Delhi to London at the IGI airport here after a woman co-passenger complained about his “suspicious” talk over phone.

The woman told the cabin crew that she heard the cleric say over the phone that “jahaz udne wala hei, ham udane wala hei” (the plane is about to take off, we are about to blow it up). Following this, he was offloaded from the plane and placed under arrest. The cleric told the police that he only said that the jahaj udne wala hai (plane is about to fly).

New Delhi, May 14
A day after the national Capital recorded the hottest day of the year at 44.4 degrees Celsius Delhiites hardly got any respite from the sweltering heat as the maximum temperature declined marginally to 43.2 degree Celsius.

The maximum temperature today was three degrees above average. Even the minimum settled four degrees above average at 30.2 degrees Celsius.

The weatherman has predicted that the maximum temperature might jump to 44 degrees Celsius tomorrow, while the minimum is expected to rest at 28 degrees Celsius.

According to a Met department official, the city will see a partly cloudy sky tomorrow. There will not be much relief from the soaring temperature. However, there is a possibility thunderstorm in some areas.

Ghaziabad, May 14
Three fleeing bandits who had robbed a utensil trader of Rs 10 lakh in Hapur were nabbed by people. One of the robbers had even fired shots on those chasing them. However, gunfire did not deter the public who pounced on the bandits and thrashed them. The robber with a gun was overpowered by an SI.

It is alleged that the driver of the trader was also involved in the loot. All the four were handed over to Hapur police. SSP Raghuvir Lal said that the members of public and the SI would be rewarded.

Ashok Kumar Goel, a resident of Patel Nagar in Hapur, has a utensil factory in the Kothi Gate area. Ashok Kumar was on his way to Punjab National Bank in Garh Road on Wednesday to deposit Rs 10 lakh. He was accompanied by his accountant Raj Kumar and driver Pradeep.

As Raj Kumar kept the bag containing cash in the car, three bandits atop a bike descended on the spot.

They fired in the air and tried to snatch the bag from the accountant. While Ashok Goel and Raj Kumar raised the alarm, the driver was seen running away with bandits.

When the police circle officer tried to nab them, the bikers again fired shots. SI Munesh Tamancha reached there and snatched the revolver from the bandit. At this point, a shoe trader trained his licensed gun at the robbers which demoralized them.

The public soon joined and thrashed the robbers and the driver.

The SSP said the arrested men included trader's driver Pradeep, Prem Gautam, Mool Chand and Yoginder. The plot was hatched by the driver as he knew that they would be carrying cash to the bank.

New Delhi, May 14
The Delhi police crime branch has arrested a Kochi resident for duping people on the pretext of providing Indian currency for foreign notes and vice versa.

The accused Manikandan Pillai (34) was arrested from Chandni Chowk yesterday with $24,000 (around Rs 11 lakh), three mobile phones, six SIM cards, a forged driving licence, two forged PAN cards and visiting cards.

The police believes that Pillai has cheated people of more than Rs 1 crore.

ACP (crime) Neeraj Thakur said that Pillai used to prepare fake identity proofs like driving licence, PAN card and visiting cards on fake names describing him as a representative of some reputed company.

"Each time he selected a new city and check into a five star hotel. After that, he looked for people who wanted to exchange currency through www.justdial.com or contact them through the hotel staff. When somebody approached him, he would take the currency on pretext of checking its authenticity and then check out," said Thakur.

Pillai has cheated two persons in Delhi and Mumbai and one each in Pune, Bhubaneswar, Chennai and Kolkata.

"After Class X he quit studies and started a business of garments. In 2004, he got married. After some time he suffered losses in business. In 2008, his wife divorced him. In 2009, he came to Chennai and cheated a person on pretext of changing foreign currency worth Rs 4 lakh for the first time," Thakur added.

With this money, Pillai started a cafeteria in Panampilly Nagar, Kochi. He was produced in the court today.

Noida, May 14
Fed up with husband's suspecting nature, a 24-year-old woman committed suicide in sector 12 last night by hanging herself from the ceiling fan.

The victim is identified as Shweta Singh. She was sales manager at HDFC Standard Life in Gurgaon. Her husband Ravinder Patel works as technical leader in a Noida company. They married a year ago.

"Before suicide, the deceased had emailed to her two friends. In the email, she stated that her husband was of suspecting nature and was not happy with her doing job," said V.C.Tripathi, deputy superintendent of police.

"Her husband told the police that his wife was to go for a job interview today so he had come home around 1 pm. When he went upstairs, he found the door locked from inside. When he went inside from the back, he found the body of his wife hanging from the ceiling fan," said Tripathi.

"The deceased's father Rajinder Prasad is teacher at a college in Sasaram Bihar. He has been informed of her death and her husband detained for questioning. We are awaiting her parents to come," added the police official.