New Delhi, June 8
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today sealed commercial spaces at Inderlok Metro station claiming that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had not adhered to the rules and had been commercially exploiting the space given to it by the civic body.

Renu Krishnan Jagdev, deputy commissioner of the Sadar Paharganj zone, said the MCD had sealed 59 points at 47 entry gates, including the outlets of Comesum, McDonald’s, Doeacc Society, Raymond and Big Bazaar.

While Parsavnath Developers, a private company, in its reply to the MCD had said that the ministry of urban development and poverty alleviation had allowed the DMRC to generate resources through property development, the MCD officials said even if the government had permitted the usage of space for commercial purposes the company needed to get its building plan approved by the local authorities.

“They neither took the MCD’s permission before constructing the structures, nor were their building plans sanctioned by the civic body. Hence, the company is responsible for violating the provisions of municipal building bye-laws,” she said.

“A show-cause notice was also issued to them in September last year on the grounds of carrying out unauthorised constructions at Inderlok Metro station. After considering the written submissions of the company and several personal hearings, we finally issued a sealing order in March,” said the official.

However, the DMRC officials insisted that their stand was right and added that DMRC managing director E. Sreedharan had written a letter to the MCD commissioner to de-seal the properties today.

“Property development activities are undertaken by the DMRC to raise alternative sources of revenue without which the Metro fares would have to be raised thus, causing hardship to the public. The DMRC has been permitted to undertake such activities, including leasing and concessions, without any restriction as per the approval of the group of ministers (GoM) and the ministry of urban development. As the shopping complex at Inderlok is part of an operational structure of the DMRC, it does not require prior permission from civic authorities,” said the statement issued by DMRC.

New Delhi, June 8
The principal of a private school in the East Vinod Nagar area was reportedly found murdered on the school premises today.

The victim, Jagat Singh Chauhan (67), was reportedly found dead on the first floor of Sanjay Memorial Public School. He lived alone in the school with his servant. His missing servant has emerged as the prime suspect.

According to the police, Chauhan’s body bore several external injuries. He was allegedly attacked several times with some sharp-edged weapon.

Chauhan’s servant Hira from Badayun in UP is reportedly missing. Some locals told the police that they saw him leaving the place with three bags around midnight. Over Rs 50,000, jewellery and other valuables are reportedly missing. “Circumstantial evidence suggests that he was killed by his servant for money and valuables,” a police official said.

Chauhan was a widower and did not have any children. His nearest kin lived in Mamura village in Noida but he stayed alone in the school.

As the school was closed for summer vacation, the cleaning staff did not think much about Chauhan’s absence for many hours. Around 1:25 pm, they went to his room only to find him lying in a pool of blood. They called up the police and the locals. Many who send their children to the school gathered in large number.

The police is probing if more persons were involved in the incident. “The servant is the clear suspect. The motive is obvious,” a police official said.

New Delhi, June 8
Even as organisers have been running against time to meet the deadline for many Commonwealth Games (CWG) projects, work on a project related to housing facilities for foreign athletes at Games Village near Akshardham Temple was stopped for three days. It is learnt that the work started yesterday.

The work stopped after a contractor entrusted with the electrification task snapped supply to the area due to non-payment of bill.

The main contractor of the Games Village site is EMAAR MGF. It had given sub-contract to Ahluwalia Construction Company, which was making an expansive basement near Akshardham Temple. However, the contractor responsible for maintaining power supply disconnected the service as his dues had not been cleared for the past 15 days. Even the workers were not paid. They were given money only for meals, project officials said on the condition of anonymity.

Paucity of fund meant that the construction company could not get the supply of cement and labourers killed time at the site.

Ahluwalia Construction Company officials, two of whom identified themselves as Manish and Raghunandan, suggested approaching senior bosses of the company.

Meanwhile, a senior government official said the DDA was responsible for the construction of the village. “The government had sanctioned money to EMAAR. Now this is their duty to distribute money among the contractors,” he said.

DDA spokesperson Neemodhar expressed his ignorance over the matter.

New Delhi, June 8
A city court today awarded three years' jail to Congress MLA from Rajouri Garden Dayanand Chandila and his three associates in a case of attempt to murder. The other three convicts are Megh Raj, Manoj and Nawab Singh.

Additional sessions judge V.K. Bansal also imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 on each of the convicts. However, they were released on a surety bond of Rs 30,000 each.

The four, including the MLA, were convicted on Friday. The conviction may have been an indictment of his criminal conduct but Chandela seemed defiant and unrepentant.

"I cannot say anything against the court's order. But I am innocent," he said. After his conviction, Chandela said it to be a political conspiracy.

Complainant Sudesh Chandela who had lodged an FIR on December 11, 2003, at the Tilak Nagar police station said the accused had attacked him with sword. The accused persons were reportedly supporting the man who was not repaying the loan taken from Chandela.

A resident of Khyala village in west Delhi, Chandela worked as a commission agent at a vegetable market and had lent Rs 50,000 to Sufi. Sufi allegedly absconded with the money. Chandela then locked Sufi's house. After some time, Manoj, a close aide of the MLA, put his own set of lock on Sufi's house. This led to a fight between them. Chandela alleged that the MLA came with the three other accused to kill him.

The MLA has three months to appeal against the verdict or he could be disqualified from his Assembly membership.

Gurgaon, June 8
A Youth Congress leader was shot dead by unidentified men in his car at a busy crossing here, the police said on Tuesday. The incident sparked protests in the area with his supporters blocking the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

The victim, identified as Raj Kumar, alias Dharmpal, was the vice-president of the youth wing of the Congress in the Badhshapur area.

The shooting occurred on Monday night when Kumar, who is a businessman, was going in his Ford Endeavour car and reached the Sector 4-7 crossing in this suburban town.

“Around 10 pm, Raj Kumar reached the crossing in his car. He was stopped by bikers, who asked him to come out of the car. As soon as he came out, the men fired bullets at him,” a senior police officer said.

Kumar was later rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Deputy commissioner of police Ved Prakash said: “We have not found any eyewitness and the killers are still unidentified. We are taking the statements of the victim’s family members.”

Kumar’s supporters took to the streets and blocked the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway shouting slogans against the police. The blockade led to huge jams on the expressway.

“The police has failed to identify the attackers so we have no choice but to protest,” said a supporter. — IANS

New Delhi, June 8
Doctors at the Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital (GBPH) have almost given up on a 21-year-old Chandni Chowk resident, Golu Smriti, who is in coma for the past three months, after their every attempt to cure the rare neurological disorder afflicting her failed.

Smriti had visited several hospitals, including Sant Parmanand Hospital and AIIMS, before coming here.

“The patient came to us with autoimmune neuro disorder in which there are antibodies against the brain tissues in the lymbic area. Her prognosis has been very poor,” said Dr M. Mehndiratta, head of the treating unit at the neurological department of GBPH.

With the patient living on life support system, doctors seem to be non-committal about her recovery.

According to experts, lymbic encephalitis progressively affects neurological system, damaging memory, behaviour and consciousness of the patient.

Smriti’s father, Dharamveer, said he would now shift her to a private hospital.

About 15 days ago, the doctors at the hospital had asked her parents to take her back, as she didn’t require any active medical intervention. Besides, in hospital, she could be more prone to infections, they said. However, they later kept her.

The first symptoms of Smriti’s disorder emerged in April, 2009 when she began running fever and her parents took her to Sant Parmanand Hospital, from where she returned after general medication. But August onwards, Smriti started showing loss of appetite, dementia and loss of eyesight, all symptoms of neurological disorder.

However, never did her parents realise that Smriti was heading towards an uncommon autoimmune neurological ailment, which is believed to be a recent entity surfacing in India.

Also, when Smriti was taken to AIIMS, the psychiatrists there failed to identify the disorder and continued to treat her instead of referring the case to the neurological department.

“It was only around October 17 that we took her to GB Pant, where she was admitted on November 15 and was discharged on three days later on. However, it was towards the end of December that the doctors told us that her brain had shrunk (atrophy),” said Dharamveer.

New Delhi, June 8
The organising committee (OC) of the Commonwealth Games will keep a fleet of 1,500 sponsored cars to ferry athletes during the mega sports event.

The OC has invited bids from companies to provide the cars. Three big motor companies— Tata Motors, Maruti and Mahindra— are said to be among the top runners for the bid.

The cars will be provided to the OC free of cost, as the chosen company would bear the entire cost of operating the cars, including the taxes.

The depreciation value of the cars will be paid in the form of marketing cost.

“We have adjusted the depreciation cost of the cars against the marketing cost, as the company will be given the right to advertise on the vehicles. So in a way, we will get the cars for free,” said a senior official of the OC handling the transport section of the Games.

Tata Motors have bid for its three models— Indigo, Safari and Manza—, while Maruti had pitch in for SX4 and Ecco and Mahindra for its Xylo. The cars will be handed back to the company after the event is over and will be sold after deducting 20 per cent depreciation cost of the car.

There will also be dedicated buses to carry athletes and team officials to competition and training venues and back to the Commonwealth Games Village.

Their designated primary routes and secondary routes, in case of an emergency, have already been identified.

“The OC has asked the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to provide 500 low-floor AC buses. These buses will cater to an estimated 7,500 athletes and their support staff, 1,250 technical officials and 3,000 media persons,” he said.

The security agencies, OC and DTC would be working in close coordination at the airport and there would be a dedicated parking area for the Games vehicles at the Indira Gandhi International Airport to avoid traffic glitches.

There is also a transport hub coming up near the Millennium Park for the Games vehicles and a transport mall at the Village.

The officer added that there would be a 24-hour control room manned by the traffic police, DTC officials and OC volunteers who will supervise all transport operations through GPS (global positioning system)-based vehicle tracking system.

New Delhi, June 8
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today inaugurated a 20-day transit camp for pilgrims departing from Delhi to attend the annual urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti at Ajmer Sharif. 

All facilities have been provided to the pilgrims in the camp.

The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Delhi police, health department, Delhi Jal Board, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Power Limited and other government departments have rendered their cooperation in providing facilities at the camp. 

The government has made arrangements for free stay of pilgrims at the camp, the Chief Minister said. 

A number of ambulances have been deployed at the camps that also have CCTV cameras. 

A total of 195 mobile public conveniences have also been stationed at the camp. 

The DTC is also offering its Delhi tour buses for the convenience of the pilgrims. 

All daily need items are also available at the camp.

New Delhi, June 8
Rail traffic will reportedly be disrupted for a month at Nizamuddin Railway Station as an elevated road on railway track near the station is to be constructed. The public works department (PWD) is preparing a proposal for the purpose to be submitted to the Northern Railway.

Project manager Sarvagya Kumar Srivastava said the work would be carried out from 12 pm to 2 am and on alternate days for a month. He said no train movement would be possible for the two hours.

He said fixing of the segment work on the flyover had to be finished before the beginning of the monsoon. The work was being carried out on marshy land and it would be difficult to carry the segments once the rains set in.

He added that Barapula is a drain in which rain water flows from Cantonment to the Yamuna. Due to the construction, the drain is full of mud. And it is the PWD’s duty to desilt the drain before the monsoon sets in.

The project manager said after completing the segment fixing work, coal tar carpeting would be carried out on the flyover to make road. If it rains, the government would arrange for a blower to dry the road.

Northern Railway spokesman Ramesh Negi said so far no such proposal had been received. However, he added the railway would cooperate with the Commonwealth Games project and would divert the traffic.

Ghaziabad, June 8
Two persons were shot dead in a car near Chirodi village here yesterday. The victims’ bodies had three bullet marks each. The police has recovered liquor bottles, glasses, three mobile phones and a pistol from the car.

SSP Raghuveer Lal and other senior officers visited the site and have set up three teams to nab the culprits.

The police said the murders appeared to have been committed from enmity angle or over property dispute.

The Loni police yesterday afternoon received information that two bodies were lying in a car near Chirodi village on Mevela Batti Road and that both the victims had been shot dead. The bodies were found on the front and rear seats of the car.

On the basis of the call details of the phones of the victims, the police has identified them as Prakash Chand Khanna (55) and Sanjeev Sharma (40), residents of Shalimar Garden. Khanna was a property dealer.

According to the police, at the time of the murders, there must be two more persons along with the victims in the car.

SP (city) Awdesh Kumar Vijaita said the police had gathered some vital clues about the murders.

Sanjeev Sharma was sent to jail in connection with the murder of a realtor, Upendra Pal, in December last year and had come out of jail only three days ago. Besides Sanjeev, two other men— Sanjay and Manoj Gautam—were also allegedly involved in the murder. Manoj had absconded while Sanjay was arrested. Sanjeev has been murdered as soon as he came out of jail and so the police is investigating the case from the angle of enmity.