New Delhi, November 18
The Standing Committee meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today saw pandemonium over the issue of unauthorized constructions in the city after the collapse of a building in east Delhi on Monday evening.

The meeting disclosed that the MCD received 9,568 complaints about unauthorised constructions since October 2008 and took action on around 5,000 of them. In the same period, action was taken against 10,000 ongoing constructions, said municipal Commissioner K S Mehra.

The blame game continued between the municipal leaders of both the BJP and Congress as they held heated discussions as to who should be blamed for the incident. Even as the opposition Congress in MCD accused the ruling BJP of not taking any action even 72 hours after the disaster in Lalita Park, it emerged that the corporation acted in only half of the complaints it had received about illegal buildings in the last two years.

The Congress and BJP traded charges at a meeting of the MCD Standing Committee which had to be adjourned in half an hour after sloganeering by the two sides.

While the Congress demanded dissolution of the MCD for failure to check proliferation of illegal constructions, BJP members sought resignation of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and urban development minister A K Walia, saying the building collapsed due to accumulated flood water in the basement which was not drained out by the Delhi government's Flood and Irrigation Department.

"If anyone from the MCD is found guilty, action will be taken against him," said standing committee chief Yogender Chandolia in a press conference held after the meeting.

He accused the Delhi government of trying to shield the guilty by ordering a probe that will take three months. At the same time, he admitted that political pressure often works in allowing unauthorised constructions.

"If politicians work with honesty, such things can be prevented," he said.

However, Congress leaders said the MCD did not take any action after the collapse.

"Checking unauthorized construction is MCD's responsibility, but they (BJP) are unnecessarily dragging the Chief Minister and Walia into this. They are playing petty politics," said Leader of Opposition J K Sharma.

New Delhi, November 18
Even as the arrangements for the relatives and victims have been criticised at the local community centre in Lalita Park, residents of nearby buildings who were asked to vacate their houses are complaining about poor arrangements.

Residents of the adjacent building to the one that collapsed, also built by Amrit Singh, were asked to vacate soon after the officials realised that lives of those living in that building were at risk. While most chose to go back to their villages, others went to the houses of their relatives. There are nearly 10 families left now who have been shifted to the government school's community hall in Ramesh Park.

Till late this afternoon, there were no arrangements for drinking water and toilets for the families. While breakfast was not provided, lunch had to be procured from the community centre almost a km away where the victims' families have been given shelter.

"We stayed in the park for two days after we had been asked to vacate our houses. We have not been allowed to take out our entire luggage. Our TV set and washing machine have been stolen. I have been wearing the same clothes since the day the adjacent building collapsed. We are not allowed to enter the building, and have been thrown on the streets. We cannot work, so how do we eat? We did not lose anyone in the incident, but we are no less affected," said Naginder Sharma, who lived with his family in the adjoining house.

"We used to pay Rs 2,000 for a small room. Five of us stay there. But at least we had a means to survive. After this incident, we will have nowhere to go. Our stove, cylinder and CD player have been stolen. There is no safety for us," said Pinky who is also in the committee hall at Ramesh Park.

Narayan Sharma, who lived on the third floor in the building, is also unhappy with the arrangements at the committee hall. "Our electronic items have been stolen. Much of my household goods are still in the building. The police is not ready to listen, let alone entertain our worries. Some provisions must be made so that we can recover them. When the building collapsed, people lost everything. Our building has not even collapsed and we have ended up losing everything," said Narayan.

New Delhi, November 18
Nursery admissions promise to be different this year as the Department of Education guidelines are being drawn up precisely according to the requirements of the Right to Education Act.

Officials within the DOE say that the guidelines will be circulated among schools before December 15, but the exact date has not been finalized yet.

A DOE official said, "The guidelines for nursery admissions have already been made ready, but will be announced most likely in the second week of December. Further, the guidelines have been drawn in accordance with clauses laid down in the RTE Act and as such have been devised to accommodate the influx of poor children into government and private schools in the Capital and across the country. The endeavour is that all the children regardless of their backgrounds get access to good education whether in government or private schools."

A new criterion for admissions has been put together by the DOE. The point system has been made almost redundant in the new guidelines.

The DOE official said, "In the current guidelines which are still being finalized, the criterion for admissions has undergone a major change. Under the new system, no screening of either the child or its parents is being allowed and the point system which was so far used as the criterion for admissions is no longer relevant. Instead, the only criterion that will work now is the neighbourhood factor and sibling presence in the school. Admissions may well be decided on a first come, first served basis."

With screening becoming irrelevant, factors like the education of parents, professions of parents, alumni among a host of other factors will no longer count for admissions in either government or prestigious private schools. Instead to accommodate RTE, neighbourhood factor and siblings are probably the only criterion which will have relevance to nursery admissions now.

Amita Mulla Wattal, principal of Springdales School, Pusa Road, said, "We have had no intimation from the DOE on the guidelines so far and these are eagerly awaited. I am aware that screening of parents and students, interviews and tests are no longer going to work. I expect to get a copy of the guidelines soon."

New Delhi, November 18
Relatives and friends of victims at Lalita Park continued to struggle today to find their loved ones.

More than 21 facial pictures of the dead were stuck outside the community centre to help people identify their kin. However, it was worse for those who could not identify their relatives in the morgue, as the faces of the bodies were badly disfigured and without clothes.

"It would have been easier to identify, if there were clothes on the body. The faces of the bodies are hardly recognisable. We asked the doctors what to do, but they had no answers. They were not even letting us look at the bodies properly. We were being rushed out, as if we were in a 'langar'," said Karamlal Yadav, who still cannot find his younger brother Phoolesar Yadav and brother-in-law Foulten Yadav.

Karamlal's youngest brother Valmiki Yadav's body was identified only yesterday. After receiving no positive assurance from local officials today, he seems to have lost all hope.

Among others who thronged the community centre opposite Lalita Park was Archana Haldar who still has not found her relative Meera and sister-in-law Anita. She has already lost her sister and her niece Mausami Haldar in the mishap. Her nine other family members are admitted in hospitals.

"The family has fallen apart. But now what? That is what we keep wondering. Our lives have changed forever. My sister who died had purchased 5 tola gold for her daughter's marriage. The almirah in the house was lying in the debris, but the gold is gone. There are hundred other examples. But the behavior from the staff at work, be it hospitals or the community centre, is least hospitable. They are helping us because they have to. If the government will not take care of us, who will? Where will we live now," questioned Archana.

Niranjan (20) has cremated nine of his family members in the last two days. Still, three of his family members are missing. "I visited the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital and the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital today to find my missing cousins Arjun, Raivati and their sister-in-law Ashtami. The bodies are in such a condition that they cannot be identified. My hopes are now on the rescue operation that is still on, maybe we find them. I wonder what we will do if we fail to identify the bodies. No one is bothered to answer our queries. I do not even have the strength to ask anyone about where we will live after this temporary accommodation at community hall. I need to find my cousins for now," said Niranjan who has suffered minor injury in the tragedy.

New Delhi, November 18
A city court has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping his 4-year-old neighbour in 2009.

Terming the crime as an "indelible mark on the psyche of the victim which will keep haunting her", district judge Sunita Gupta convicted Rajinder Kumar, after holding him guilty under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC.

"A gruesome act has been committed by the convict. He has not only defiled the body of the prosecutrix (girl), but also put an indelible mark on her person that shall haunt her throughout life," the court said.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Kumar.

The court relied on the victim's testimony, saying, "Her testimony is trustworthy, consistent and inspires confidence.

In view of judicial pronouncements, it becomes clear that her testimony does not require corroboration."

In June 2009, Kumar ravished the girl at his home in a north-east Delhi area when she was playing outside her residence.

He was caught from the spot by the victim's mother. She came to know about the brutal act, after she heard her child crying.

New Delhi, November 18
With the arrest of a Nigerian national, the Delhi police crime branch has busted a black dollar racket. The accused has been identified as Leonard Amaechi, alias Jackson.

The arrest was made after investigation was taken up on the complaint of a woman, originally from Manipur, working in a private firm at Guragon. In her complaint, she alleged that she had been cheated of Rs 6.5 lakh by Antonio Livigi, an Italian based in Iraq. She came in contact with him on Internet chatting.

Antonio Livigi expressed a desire to marry her and so he arrived to Mumbai airport. Within minutes, another person named Alphonso called her.

He informed her that Antonio has been detained by the Mumbai airport authorities for carrying $50,000 unauthorisedly. He added that Rs 72,000 would have to be paid for his release. He gave an account number of Citibank where she transferred the money. Subsequently, between October 18 and 25, Antonio and Alphonso asked her to transfer Rs 50,000, Rs 1,85,000 and Rs 3,40,000 in two bank accounts, one of Citibank and another of ICICI Bank.

On October 28, Alphonso informed the complainant that a person named Jackson would come to deliver $50,000 to her.

On November 16, Jackson told her that the black dollars were ready but he needed Rs 3 lakh to procure chemicals for treating black dollars

so as to transform them into genuine US dollars.

On November 16, a trap was laid and Leonard Amaechi, alias Jackson, was apprehended from B-6, DDA Market, Safdarjung Enclave, when he came to deliver black dollars and collect Rs 3 lakh for the purchase of chemicals.

The police has seized two mobiles, five SIM cards and 20 bundles of black dollars from his possession.

New Delhi, November 18
The Delhi police has arrested two persons for allegedly being involved in several cases of vehicle theft, the police said today.

The accused have been identified as Lezo John (36) and Ravinder Singh, alias Ravi Pahari (35).

With their arrest, the police claims to have busted a gang of thieves who used to dispose of the stolen vehicles to various receivers in Nepal.

The arrest was made, after investigation was taken up on the information that movements of Lezo John have been noticed in south Delhi areas. Intelligence was developed and John was arrested on November 10. At his instance, his accomplice Ravinder Singh was arrested on November 14 from Vasant Vihar.

During interrogation, it was found that John was born in a middle-class educated family in R.K. Puram. Initially, he indulged himself in petty offences. Later, he came in contact with extortionist and underworld don Fazal-ur-Rehman. John is a bad character of R.K. Puram and has been declared a proclaimed offender in two cases of attempt to murder and theft.

The police has seized two tool boxes, two laptops, two rubber stamps to generate fake R/Cs, battery-operated drilling machine, three original R/Cs of cars stolen, numberplates of stolen cars, pencil-sized torches, row keys, woolen gloves and flash light used to facilitate smooth passage of stolen car.

Ghaziabad, November 18
Two bikers who had snatched a gold chain from a woman went ballistic when they realized it was an imitation chain.

Shafford was walking in Sector - 2 Vaishali on Wednesday evening. As she reached the main road, two bandits on a Pulsar bike came from behind and snatched the chain she was wearing. Shafford raised the alarm, but the bikers disappeared in traffic.

After about 10 minutes, the snatchers returned, abused and slapped her, "You should be ashamed of wearing imitation jewellery. You tried to fool us." Throwing the chain on her face, they sped away. This left the woman dumbfounded as she stood rooted to the spot for a while.

Another woman Basanti Rao and her daughter, tried to block the bikers' way while they were slapping Shafford, but they could not stop them. Instead they became poorer by Rs 8,000 as the bikers snatched her purse containing the cash and sped away.