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Fake education loan firm busted, 8 held
Poll official held for bungling in counting
Deputy commissioner suspended
for graft |
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NGO office ransacked in Gurgaon
Horror of Indira’s murder recreated
BJP women protest against Arundhati
Cong, INLD to rally supporters for battle supremacy
INLD rally today
Vintage beauties cheer onlookers
Bridge opened at Jasola
Metro station
Poetry on canvas
Mayapuri shoe factory gutted
City ready for safe Divali
Cabinet to discuss cluster
bus service today
Rajghat plant may be shut
Four get life term for murder, robbery
Chatterati Integrity by medicos sought ’84 riots victims to protest today
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Fake education loan firm busted, 8 held
New Delhi, October 31 The accused have been identified as Varun Sardhana (24), his two school friends-- Himanshu Sharma (21) and Sunny Pal (22)-- and five girls aged between 19 and 27 years. The arrests were made after investigation was taken up on a number of complaints received against the gang. On October 28, the gang was apprehended red-handed from their office in Parmanand Colony, Mukherjee Nagar. "The gang was found operating through 26 mobile phones and 16 bank accounts taken on fake IDs. The banks include State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, Union Bank and Axis Bank. During the past one year, the gang carried out transactions worth more than Rs 1 crore," said a senior police official. The police has seized 25 unused Vodafone SIM cards, 32 unused Idea SIM cards, 18 ATM cards, 13 registers with details of transactions, a laptop, computer and other documents from their office. The gang leader, Varun Sardhana, is a former employee of a multinational bank, additional commissioner of police (crime) Neeraj Thakur said. "The gang advertised extensively in local dailies of the NCR offering easy education loans. The victims, who called up for details, were convinced by the girls who would ask them to deposit a fee in their bank accounts," Thakur added. According to Thakur, Sardana allegedly hit upon the idea of floating a fake education loan firm when he was working in a multinational bank in Delhi. He left his well-paying job and recruited his school friends, Himanshu and Pal, to run the racket in Delhi. He hired a few girls and trained them. He taught them how to sell the story of easy education loan to gullible callers. "His modus operandi was very different. When a client called, the girl would ask him to first deposit an amount between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 as processing fee in a certain bank account. After depositing the money, the victims were asked to send all relevant certificates through email," said a senior official. The victims were fleeced by the gang by saying that more money was needed to rectify deficiencies in their certificates.
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Poll official held for bungling in counting
Greater Noida, October 31 Yoginder has been accused of transferring hundreds of votes received by a candidate Ravinder Bhatti to the account of his rival Balkishen during counting on Friday. Bhatti had lodged a complaint with the officials concerned on Friday night. Bhatti said he had received 252 votes at booth no. 33, but the count showed only 52. Similarly, according to him, at booth no.91, he had secured 103 votes, but the result showed only one vote. After receiving Bhatti's complaint, district magistrate Deepak Agrawal ordered CDO Sarika Singh and SDM Vishal Singh to count the votes again. On Saturday morning, both the officers recounted the votes in the presence of all candidates. On recounting, Bhatti's allegation was found to be correct. At booth no. 51, Balkishen was shown as having pulled 20 votes, but on recount, he was found to have got only two votes. At this, SDM Singh reprimanded Yoginder, saying it was grave carelessness. Though Yoginder apologised, the Dankore police was ordered to arrest him on the spot itself. The DM sternly told officials to be impartial while counting votes. Yoginder is a junior engineer with the public works department.
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Deputy commissioner suspended
for graft
Noida, October 31 Singh was caught red-handed while taking a bribe Rs 1 lakh by a vigilance team from Meerut on October 13. Another Rs 3 lakh were recovered from his car. He was presented before a vigilance court on October 14. Soon after landing in jail, Singh had complained of pain in chest and was shifted to a hospital. After spending four days in hospital, he was presented in the court, which sent him to judicial custody for 14 days. Achal Singh, proprietor of Savitri Consultant, an engineering group, had bribed Singh for some favours, it is learnt.
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NGO office ransacked in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, October 31 In a complaint to the Gurgaon police commissioner, the NGO president, Rajeev Yadav, has stated that the head office of the NGO, located at House No. 27 P, Sector 10-A, Gurgaon, was ransacked during the wee hours this morning. Yadav alleged that the miscreants had ransacked the office with the sole motive of threatening them to discontinue their campaigns. "The files were searched, while the other fixtures like television, dish and other equipment were not even touched," he maintained in the complaint. He added that the miscreants had also taken away some crucial original as well as photocopied documents. Yadav pointed out that based on their complaints, enquiries/FIRs had been ordered in various matters of public interest. He asserted that they had also sought police protection in view of the threat perception, but of no avail. He pointed out that the head office of their NGO was located at a stone's throw from the Sector 10 police station, and yet the miscreants managed to flee after ransacking the office. Yadav has urged the police commissioner to get the matter inquired by an IPS officer and provide police protection as he and his team faced a threat to their life.
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Horror of Indira’s murder recreated
New Delhi, October 31 The book will be published by HarperCollins-India in November-end. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards in the Indian capital. In the ensuing riots, thousands of people, mostly Sikhs, were killed across the country. According to the author, "'The Avenue of Kings' is a collection of three novellas, each set in a span of few days in the capital and the not-yet Kolkata." It recreates the brutal chaos in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's killing, the fading dream of her son Rajiv Gandhi and the tragically-altered mindscapes from the demolition of the Babri Mosque - events that changed the course of Indian politics in many ways. Chakravarti, known for his books, "Tin Fish" and "Red Sun", journeys back in time to capture the mayhem and riots following Indira Gandhi's brutal murder, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and the Babri Mosque demolition in a fictionalised account. The "Avenue of Kings" is his fourth book, a spokesperson for HarperCollins-India said. The tales are interlinked and the characters, Brandy Ray and his friends Suya, Dipi and Porridge (evolved to Mike) and PT Shoe (now Pat) are drawn from the book, "Tin Fish", the spokesperson said. The novella about the assassination of Indira Gandhi begins with the riots in the capital after the former prime minister's brutal killing. "A Sikh man, we called them Surdies, ran towards us from the east, the direction of Eros cinema, with a small mob behind him...He wasn't making much speed, wearing rubber slippers and all," Chakravarti writes. "You should have worn jogging shoes, I screamed silently. I was so afraid I felt like pissing....'He's dead, he's dead,' Veggie Man muttered to himself," he adds. "...The Surdie started to come apart. His slippers went first, this way and that...The guy's turban came undone, the long sky-blue cloth trailing, before someone in the yelling crowd, ever closer, stepped on one end and yanked the unravelling turban off his head," the writer goes on to describe. "...The Sikh boy-man was screaming. 'What have I done?' he kept asking over and over as he ran," Chakravarti conjures up the horror. The book subsequently allows the reader to witness the terror of the violence as Brandy and his friends live through it, scarred though as the politics of India changes irrevocably with the demise of its first Prime Minister. -- IANS
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BJP women protest against Arundhati
New Delhi, October 31 They also condemned the government's decision not to register a case of sedition against Roy, who has often thrown her weight behind the Maoist and secessionist causes. Scores of BJP's women activists led by its Delhi unit chief Sikha Roy chanted slogans as they took out a procession. Cops had to rush to her residence to ensure that the protestors did not take law in their hands, but they said the agitators had dispersed before they arrived. The Booker Prize winner has been in the eye of a storm since she attended a seminar, 'Azadi, the only way', in New Delhi along with Islamist Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a Kashmiri separatist who favours the region's merger with Pakistan. "Legal experts have said she could be booked on sedition charges. Then why the government has not registered a case against her," asked Maya Sharma, a protestor.
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Cong, INLD to rally supporters for battle supremacy
Faridabad, October 31 The Haryana Janhit Congress appears to have gone down the slide and faced a rude jolt, a few days ago, with a number of its youth leaders joining the INLD in Faridabad. The Congress and the INLD, the two dominant political forces in Haryana, have pitted themselves against each other with both of them organising a rally tomorrow on the occasion of "Haryana Day". While the Congress' rally will be in Sonipat the INLD's "Samman Diwas" rally in Gurgaon. Significantly, while the Haryana Congress, as usual was banking heavily on Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for the success of its rally, the INLD cadre has been invoking the name of party's patriarch and former Deputy Prime Minister, the late Devi Lal during their mass mobilisation campaign. Significantly, the theme song of Congress rally was pegged on the achievements of the state's sports personalities in the just concluded Commonwealth Games. The Congress and its government will felicitate the sports personalities on the occasion. The Congress would try to drive home the point that the eye-catching performance of the sportspersons was on account of the progressive policies followed by its government and the keen interest taken by the Chief Minister in the subject. The Chief Minister, who will address the rally, is expected to announce policies to promote sports in the state. According to the Congress leaders, the state's politics was divided between their party led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda versus others. The INLD, on the other hand, has been alleging that the Congress failed to deliver on its poll promises. Besides, expecting a good turnout in the proposed rally, the INLD will try to present that it was indeed a party in waiting to bounce back in power.
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INLD rally today
Gurgaon, October 31 The stage is all set for the rally - which coincides with the Haryana Day - to be organised on the Leisure Valley grounds here. INLD workers and party supporters are leaving no stone unturned in their endeavour to make the rally a grand success. Veteran as well as young leaders of the INLD have been going door-to-door to invite people for the rally, holding public meetings and personally distributing pamphlets at marketplaces. INLD MLA and party's national general secretary Ajay Singh Chautala, besides state INLD president Ashok Arora, have personally inspected the rally venue. The party leaders have asserted that although the state government was trying to derail their rally, it would be a smash hit.
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Vintage beauties cheer onlookers
New Delhi, October 31 Many of these cars were a majestic presence on Indian roads before Partition and at a time when New Delhi was not yet built. They retained a regal aura for decades. A participant, who drove a vintage car bought by his grandfather in 1938, regally sat behind the wheel and said it was an unparalleled joy to drive it. "I never miss the vintage rallies. You no longer enjoy driving on Delhi roads. It is occasion like this you relish most," he said. These cars rolled their way through Chanakyapuri, Mother Teresa Crescent and India Gate while a large number of people enjoying a lazy Sunday found a pleasant surprise. "It is so fascinating to see all these classics. It seems like we are transported in another era," Surinder Sharma, who was with his family at India Gate, said. Many of these vintage cars are older than the Lutyens' Delhi which was still under construction in 1920s and when some of these cars were moving around. Close to 200 vintage cars took part in the rally which traveled a distance of over 28 km. Organisers said they had partnered with the Heritage Motoring Club of India, which is dedicated to preservation and passion of vintage and classic automobiles. "These cars create a very nostalgic impact on people and bring back old memories. They are a great piece of work and tell the story of their times. Most people have seen them only in movies so it is great feeling for them to see these cars being driven live," an official said. Many of the participants were car connoisseurs who have cultivated a taste and passion for vintage cars and have a fleet of them in their garage. For many of them, it is a hobby as they went about purchasing these classics from their owners and restoring many rundown cars to their original selves. "Let me tell you it's a very, very expensive hobby and one needs to have a natural love for these automobile to pursue it," the official said.
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Bridge opened at Jasola
Metro station
New Delhi, October 31 It is a 60 m long and 4 m wide pedestrian bridge situated at a height of more than 5.5 m above the road level and has been constructed in two moths, said the DMRC spokesperson. It will also have a lift and an escalator attached with it, which will be installed on the Apollo Hospital side along the staircase. A special lift shaft is also being constructed near the staircase and orders have been placed for the procurement of a lift and the escalator, confirmed DMRC officials. Meanwhile, the DMRC is also planning to provide two more foot overbridges at Sarita Vihar and Mohan Estate Metro Stations before 2011. The Jasola-Apollo Metro Station falls on the recently opened 15-km Central Secretariat-Sarita Vihar corridor (Line 6) which will be further extended till Badarpur border very soon immediately after receiving safety clearance from the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS). runs are going on between the 5 km long Sarita Vihar-Badarpur stretch, said an official of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. |
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New Delhi, October 31 Her first solo exhibition of acrylic and oil paintings, under the title "That Freshness", was held at Stainless Art Gallery. Altogether 50 large canvases were on display. In addition, there were over 15 installations, including sofas, chairs, paint brushes and even a ladder. One of Trishla's stated objectives is to make art accessible. "People think that 'art will go over my head'," said the self-taught young artist. "That's precisely why I have added some of my poetry with the canvases. People relate more easily with words. I thought the poetry will give an entry into the paintings. I would like art to be appreciated by one and all." And she did win much appreciation. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh found it "reflective" and "deeply inward looking", junior petroleum minister Jitin Prasada was impressed by the "riot of colour" even though he was self-confessedly "ignorant about art". Minister of State for IT Sachin Pilot was moved by the poetry. - IANS
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Mayapuri shoe factory gutted
New Delhi, October 31 "The smoke was dense. They saved themselves while the fire raged and destroyed the goods," he said. Though the fire did not cause any injury, it took 16 fire tenders several hours to douse it. Fire officials suspect short-circuit as the main reason for the incident, but said that they were still probing. Shops in Mayapuri, which is heavily congested with haphazardly built factories and overhanging electric wires, often catch fire and traders have often protested against it.
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City ready for safe Divali
New Delhi, October 31 Apart from the PCR van, Quick Reaction Teams and SWAT teams will be deployed across the city. While the police has strengthened its presence , the firefighters are positioning fire engines outside crowded malls and markets, senior police officials said today. "We are keeping a vigil and have deployed police personnel across the city. A strict watch is also being kept at market places, malls and shopping complexes as they are the most vulnerable targets," a senior police official said. Besides, the police has also asked market associations to cooperate with it, asking them to watch the surroundings and inform the officials on any suspicious thing or person. The officials also appealed to shopkeepers to have fire extinguishers. Taking note of the fact that crackers can cause problems, a senior fire official said they will deploy fire engines in markets which do not have fire stations nearby. "Ninety-nine per cent of our personnel will be on duty on Divali day," the official said. The police has also decided to intensify tenant and servant verification drive and checking at borders. Last year, the city's fire fighters received 267 calls related to fire on Divali day. In 2008, the figure was 270 and in 2007 it was 150.
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Cabinet to discuss cluster
bus service today
New Delhi, October 31 Official sources told The Tribune that two private companies were selected for the cluster bus service - Indraprastha Logistic Private Limited and A. B. Green Spirit - the select one would be given responsibility of particular areas where they would run a cluster of buses. These companies had applied for the cluster services in June and the government selected them on the basis of low rates per km offered by them. The sources said that Logistic will run 232 buses while A.B. Green Spirit 450 buses on clusters 2, 3, 4, 5. They will start operating just after getting the cabinet's nod. Cluster one has been given to Star company that will operate in November-end or in the first week of December. The DTC will pay them Rs 30.88 to Rs 36 per km and with this rate, the cluster bus companies will be paid Rs 26.33 crore while the DTC's annual revenue is just Rs 25.16 crore. However, an official of the DTC said that once the cluster bus service is brought, the annual revenue of the DTC will be increased up to Rs 33 crore per annum. |
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Rajghat plant may be shut
New Delhi, October 31 They said they were exploring the possibility of connecting the stadium with the Bawana power plant, which has a capacity of 1,500 MW.
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Four get life term for murder, robbery
New Delhi, October 31 The court also directed the authorities concerned that Shambhu and Dharmender should not be considered for any remission until they serve 20 years behind the bars. "The manner in which the crime has been committed by Shambhu and Dharmender reflects extreme depravity, bringing their case into the category of rare cases, if not 'rarest of the rare'," Lau said. The duo was also sentenced to a 10-year jail term under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC, which they will have to undergo consecutively after serving 20 years. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 40,000 each on Shambhu and Dharmender. While the two other convicts, Aditya and Babu, were fined Rs 30,000 each. Out of the total fine amount, Rs 1 lakh would be paid to the family of the victim. For the judgment, the court relied on the testimony of the victim's six-year-old daughter, whom also the convicts allegedly tried to kill. The court held the accused guilty on account of the girl's testimony and the recovery of stolen jewellery and cash from their possession. According to the prosecution, Shambhu, a carpenter, had worked in the house of the victim whose husband Naveen Kumar is a junior in the CPWD, under the Bindapur police station here. On April 16, 2008, he along with others entered the house and after killing Garima, decamped with cash and jewellery in broad daylight. They also made an attempt to kill Garima's four-year-old daughter by strangulating her. Thinking that she was dead, they dumped her inside the box of the bed. The girl, however, survived and identified the convicts.
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Chatterati
As the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States, arrives in Delhi next week, the city is gearing up for his visit. He is going to stay at the Maurya Sheraton Hotel, which is now out of bounds for all. The Maurya has hosted former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton. It is also Hillary Clinton's favourite hotel. Heavy duty security personnel and the F.B.I. have already started making round of the places that Obama will be visiting. Mr Obama and his much more popular wife Michelle first stop will be at the Humayun's Tomb. The Humayun Tomb is the 16th century epitome. This Mughal architecture is a world heritage site and is in good condition now, as in 2004 The Aga Khan Trust did a lot of restoring work on it. Obama's reception at the Maurya would be done by girls dressed as "Brides" of India. The floor that Obama will be staying in has a personalized gym and the bathroom has mother-of-pearl accessories. Obama will be addressing the two Houses of Parliament where security will not allow any visitors. Michelle in the meantime will go shopping to 'Santushti', the favourite of all dignities. Hillary Clinton always makes a visit there, so do all the visiting first ladies of the countries who have travelled to Delhi. As India looks forward to welcoming the President of the United States, one cannot help notice how the ratings of this President have fallen so low, so fast. In America where I was last week, no one, from the cab driver to a senior executive has a good word for Obama's policies. Recession is nowhere gone and Obama really needs to thank his high stature made by different agencies doing his publicity. Today the once-charismatic Obama's credibility is at stake and he needs to act real fast and boldly to put his house in order. Fashion fatigue
As the fashion week concludes in Delhi, there is obviously a fashion fatigue. For the people of Delhi, it's become a usual affair where numerous fashion weeks take place. First it was two a year. Those of Rohit Bal and Ashish Soni are of course most well attended. Their collection is impeccable with chic cuts, drama, attitude and panache in every show. But, in the last two years fashion week has much more to offer than just fashion shows. It's the parties after the shows at different pubs mostly sponsored by some liquor company which are wild and what you can call in modern language "cool". This is where most socialites, models and the wannabes hang around. Over the years, our models have become more confident and happily carry off a bikini on the ramp. There was a time when socialites were given preference over buyers to sit in the front row, but now it's buyers who mostly sit in the front row. In Mumbai, it is always the film stars and especially in the last two fashion shows it is the 30+ actresses who are more out of jobs like Preity Zinta and Sushmita Sen who are either sitting in the front row or are the showstoppers. Our Indian designers are no doubt of international quality but with the international brand easily available in India, they sure have very tough competition and need to work extremely hard. Fortunately there were no cat fights this time, or tantrums. The buyers and designer went off happily and content. This season one saw lots of colour, bold prints and lace with metallic really in vogue.
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Integrity by medicos sought New Delhi, October 31 He highlighted the importance of effective management of the medical waste to minimise health risk and enhance safety of the healthcare workers. The conference was attended by experts, doctors, nurses, healthcare planners and administrators who contributed richly to the deliberations.
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Gurgaon, October 31
The vintage car rally was organised by General Motors, the world's biggest car manufacture until a few years back before it filed for bankruptcy last year in the USA, to commemorate the 100 years of Chevrolet, one of its most successful and popular brands.
