New Delhi, December 13
Facing criticism from all corners in the wake of increasing spate of crime in the national Capital, especially two incidents of gangrape within the last 15 days, the Delhi police is now working towards procuring additional PCR vans to strengthen its fleet of existing 630 vans. According to a senior Delhi police official posted with the Police Control Room, there had been a long-standing demand for additional PCR vans before the Commonwealth Games, but it could not be materialized as priorities were given to the procurement of armoured vehicles and other equipment.

However, with two incidents of gangrapes in a moving vehicle on the roads of national Capital in the wee hours of November 23 and December 11, the Delhi police has taken the issue of procuring 400 additional PCR vans on priority basis.

"The top brass of Delhi police, including the police commissioner, has realized that the presence of police on roads can go a long way in discouraging criminals. The presence of PCR vans within a little distance of each other will not only make people feel secure but will also decrease the response time of our men during any eventuality. So, the plan to procure more PCR vans has been finalized and we hope to get about 400 more PCR vans by early next year," said the official, adding that with the huge population, traffic jams and distance comprising the national Capital, even 1,000 PCR vans is not enough.

Meanwhile, to test the efficiency of PCR vans and their response time, the Delhi police has launched 'Operation Black Rose'. The senior police officials in various districts are initiating and monitoring the operation with reward and punishment for the duty officers.

The operation is being initiated during the night time in various districts.

"Several complaints about the response time by the PCR vans and the local police have been coming. As a result, the Delhi police has initiated a special drive which will monitor the movement of PCR vans and the local police when a crime has taken place. The time taken by the force to reach the spot will be noted and compared with the parameters after which appropriate measures will be taken," said the officer.

According to him, if it is found that the PCR van has taken less time, the team will be rewarded while strict action could be taken against the 'late-comers'.

New Delhi, December 13
A 32-year-old man was stabbed to death today by four unknown people after a scuffle in west Delhi's Vikaspuri area, the police said.

The incident took place around 12:10 pm opposite the Keshavpuram bus depot.

The deceased has been identified as Hemant Gupta (32) who worked as a loan agent with HDFC bank, a senior police official said.

Gupta, a resident of Vikaspuri, was going to office when a car hit his car from behind at the red light. He came out of his car and entered into a heated argument with the four unknown people inside the car.

Suddenly, one of the four men stabbed him on his hand and chest with a sharp object.

The locals in the area, who saw the incident, did not intervene. Gupta fell on the road while the accused escaped.

It was after sometime two drivers of Vikram auto took Gupta to Sehgal Nursing Home, where he was declared brought dead by the doctors.

"The deceased was attacked through a sharp thing, probably a knife, on his chest which punctured his heart. We are waiting for the postmortem reports," a senior police official said.

"We are interrogating the case to trace the four accused. It could be the work of some business competitors. We have received the registration number of the vehicle and are in the process of identifying the culprits and the car involved in the incident," the officials added.

New Delhi, December 13
The government as well as the police and women organizations must work together to instil a sense of confidence in women and solve cases related to women safety, said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at a high level meeting held today after a number of rape cases reported from different districts of the Capital.

Chairing the meeting to have an open discussion with commissioner of police B.K. Gupta and others, the Chief Minister said that the Delhi police should be more vigilant and prompt to ensure that there is no recurrence of such cases in the Capital.

At the meeting, it was decided to strengthen the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) to enable it to work as a supplementary mechanism to ensure women safety and increase helpline numbers of Rape Crisis Cell under DCW.

The commission also stressed the need for a proper link with the hospitals so that medical examination of rape victims could be conducted immediately. Such cases should be tried by special courts on day-to-day basis.

The police commissioner gave an account of measures being taken like deployment of more women officers, gender sensitization, fast response, deployment of PCR vans in vulnerable areas, setting up of citizen panchayats, putting an end to language barrier by imparting training in English, deployment of 100 Hyundai cars with laptops to monitor patrolling, challans against use of tinted glass and drunken driving, surprise checks during night.

He further stated that the Union government has been requested to amend Motor Vehicle Act so that the police could slap huge fines on use of tinted glass and drunken driving.

Greater Noida, December 13
A three-and-a-half-year-old child was yesterday electrocuted when he touched a live wire jutting out of an open electric panel box in a public park here. This is the second such incident in the recent past. In August this year, a child was killed in a similar manner in another park in Greater Noida.

The latest tragedy happened in a public park at the B-block of Swaran Nagar Colony.

The child, Karan, was playing in the park along with some other children. While playing, he happened to go near the water pump kept for irrigating the park.

The panel box of the pump was open and Karan came in contact with a live wire jutting out of the box.

A neighbour of Karan somehow detached him from the live wire and rushed him to a hospital, but the doctors declared him dead.

The secretary of sector's resident welfare association, Sachin Rajiv Jedya, said he had approached the authorities concerned to repair the panel box many times, but nothing was done.

Kasna police inspector P.P. Singh said he would register a case only on the receipt of a written complaint from the family of the deceased.

Meanwhile, an official of Noida Power Company Ltd (NPCL), which supplies power to Greater Noida, said the park was being irrigated illegally by stealing power.

Assistant manager Samarjit Mohanti of NPCL said after a child died in similar circumstances at a public park in Alfa-1 in August this year, it was decided that power would not be supplied to parks without proper wires and electric metre. Hence, NPCL was not supplying power to this park.

The deputy CEO of the Greater Noida Authority, P.C. Gupta, said after the August incident, the authority had issued strict instructions that no electric panel box in the area should be left open.

The horticulture department had been made responsible for the incident. This incident will be probed soon, said Gupta.

New Delhi, December 13
'Stop becoming a victim, the solution is mirchi jhonk' - a short bursts of red chilli spray! This is the slogan of the Red Chilli campaign launched by a group of medicos in the Capital to teach simple methods of self-defence to women.

Worried over the increasing rate of crime against women in the city, the group which calls itself 'mirchi jhonk' launched the campaign in August this year but it has become active last month.

Women are given some simple tips of self- defence -- carry a pack of red chillies or pepper in the handbag and blind an assailant, always walk on pavements facing the traffic and not along with it, keep all important phone numbers, including that of the police, on emergency dial.

The group has a dedicated team of self-defence trainers, counsellors who train women in the art of self-protection. They have conducted some training camps in Delhi schools and colleges.

"It is a campaign by the women and for the women. People can volunteer for counselling, self-defence training or response team. The motive is that each one of us be a protector of one another," the campaign's director Shalini Malik said.

The group also runs a helpline number, 60606161, that women can call in case of any emergency. And so far, the helpline has received over 150 calls on issues ranging from eve-teasing, stalking and molestation to domestic violence.

Malik, who runs a skin and cosmetic surgery clinic in the city, said she was shocked after the Dhaula Kuan gangrape case last month and decided to push forward the campaign in the Capital.

A 30-year-old BPO employee from Mizoram was abducted and raped by five men in south Delhi on November 24 after she was dropped by her office cab near her home around 1.30 am.

"Delhi has become unsafe for women. Every day, each one of us faces molestation in one form or the other and most of these incidents are never reported," Malik said.

"We just cannot be dependent on police or others and should take the responsibility of our security ourselves," she added.

Malik came up with the 'mirchi jhonk' after many of her female friends and relatives complained about molestation.

"I know it's a small initiative but one has to start from somewhere. So I started with mirchi jhonk. I have got tremendous support from other medicos, the people of Delhi and the police," she said.

"According to official figures, as many as 18 women are assaulted in some form or the other every hour across India. Over the last few months, cases of rape and assault have made it to the headlines with alarming frequency," she said.

"We all know that girls are being molested every day. One can't drive alone because someone might just try and harm, even kill. Isn't this violation of our rights?" she questioned.

The group will soon launch a cab service exclusively for women - to be driven by women drivers only.

They are also planning to conduct some events like awareness walks, fashion shows and kite-flying competitions to spread awareness about safety of women in the city.

So, join the Red Chilli campaign and be safe! — IANS.

New Delhi, December 13
After extreme opposition and repeated delays, the exams for the much-controversial semester system in undergraduate science courses at Delhi University will begin tomorrow.

With the practical exams kicking off tomorrow, students are worried as they are not sure how much will the last-minute preparations help them. Also, they are not fully aware of the marking system. Written exams will begin in January after the winter break.

"Everything has been covered in haste. Syllabus in many subjects has been shortened. Though shortening of syllabus is a big relief, a couple of topics in chemistry still remain untaught. Teachers are trying to compensate for it through notes, readings and extra classes, but those materials need to be learned and mugged-up. It is a tough task as we have learned these chapters just some days ago," said Angela Sharma, a maths student at Zakir Hussain College.

Teachers, on the other end, are busy scheduling their time for exam duties and checking examination sheets over the next month. After the practical examinations begin tomorrow, science faculty in the university will be shuffled to act as external examiners in different colleges.

"I am basically worried about the checking. Though the teachers are in a mood to be lenient, there are some colleges who have been teaching regularly all the while and they may resort to strict checking. We will get ample time to prepare for the next semester, but this time we are definitely in a tight spot," said Kirti Dave, a life sciences student at Venkateshwara College.

Bhim Singh, principal, Kirori Mal College, said teachers had been trying their best to complete the course in time and were confident of good results this semester.

"Our students are confident enough to face the exams. We are not even thinking about failures. Some delay in classes is not a reasonable argument to let students think that mediocre performance will be entertained. We have trained the students well and are hopeful of achieving good results," said Shanta Rao, physics teacher, Hansraj College.

New Delhi, December 13
In a daring daylight incident, some persons barged into the house of an engineer and shot at him in the Mayur Vihar area of east Delhi today morning. According to the police, S.K. Soni (42), employed as a senior engineer at NBCC, was injured when some people fired three bullets at him. He has been admitted to a Noida hospital where his condition is said to be stable. The police believes personal enmity could be the reason behind the attack.

The incident took place around 10 am at house number 24, SFS flats, in pocket-B of Mayur Vihar-III.

According to the police, Soni was about to get inside his car parked within the premises of the SFS flats when the incident took place.

"Soni was about to leave for work when two persons came and fired three bullets at him. While one of the bullets hit his left hand, the other brushed his stomach. The third missed him. The assailants managed to flee," said a police official from the New Ashok Nagar police station where the case has been lodged.

Soni was rushed to Metro Hospital in Sector 11 of Noida.

"The attack wasn't intended to commit robbery. Personal enmity might be the reason behind the attack. We are yet to take Soni's statement and he might be able to throw some light on the people involved," said the official.

Soni lives at SFS flats with his wife Mamta and two children, Jahnavi and Pranjay. Mamta is said to have told the police that they do not have any enmity with anyone.

Greater Noida, December 13
In view of the rising cases of crime, including chain snatching, robberies and ragging in which students are found involved, the district administration has decided to prepare a database of students studying in various educational institutes in Greater Noida.

District magistrate Deepak Aggarwal said on Sunday, "All colleges have been directed to send details of their students. We also want to know where they stay - in hostel or outside the campus and their home/local addresses. Colleges in the city will also provide contact numbers of the parents of the students".

A few institutions have already sent in the details, while notices are being issued to the rest. The data will be put to use by the police when needed. The association of colleges has also assured full cooperation for the police drive.

"The association has appealed to all colleges to cooperate in this drive. This will act as a deterrent for students indulging violence or crime," according to Dr D.K. Garg, president, Greater Noida Engineering and Management Colleges Association.

Parents too feel the police drive would act as a deterrent. However, they feel information on girls should be kept only at the college level. "Girls will be in trouble as chances of data misuse cannot be ruled out", said a parent.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the police registered a case against three senior students of a private institute in connection with a ragging incident reported on Saturday. "The accused are yet to be arrested", said P.P. Singh, SHO, Kasna.

New Delhi, December 13
The BJP may believe that disrupting Parliament, where it is in opposition, was its democratic right, but the saffron party today favoured deployment of marshals to deal with the unruly members in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi where it is in power.

MCD leader Subhash Arya made the statement soon after a meeting of the House was adjourned due to an uproar over the issue of proposed property tax hike.

The proposed five per cent increase in property tax rates in the national Capital had rocked the meeting today and the opposition Congress said it would not allow the hike.

The ruling BJP said that it would not support the hike either and rejected the proposal which was brought in the MCD's 2011-12 budget by Municipal Commissioner K.S. Mehra last week. However, Congress councillors continued with their protests, inviting sharp reactions from Arya.

He said the opposition was creating uproar in the meetings of MCD House and Standing Committee meetings 'unnecessarily' causing adjournment.

He admitted that there was no provision in any civic body for deploying marshals, but the frequent adjournments had made the idea of deploying marshals quite feasible. "Those who frequently disrupt House meetings and create nuisance should be evicted immediately so that the proceedings can go on smoothly," said Arya.

He said the MCD had raised this issue earlier with the Lt-Governor.

"We will meet him again and also write to the Home Minister," Arya said.

As soon as the House met, opposition leader J.K. Sharma raised the issue and his party colleagues started raising slogans against the BJP, accusing it of pressurising Mehra into bringing such a proposal in the budget.

BJP councilllors also indulged in counter-sloganeering, leading to an uproar, a brief adjournment and final adjournment of the House soon after the agenda was passed.

The MCD is under a debt of Rs 2,867 crore and Mehra had said that there was an urgent need to increase revenue and proposed the hike in rates on December 9.

New Delhi, December 13
An elderly mahant in charge of Asa Ram Bapu's ashram and his driver were severely beaten and injured by some unidentified men in the wee hours of today near the ashram located at the Rajender Nagar area of central Delhi.

According to information, the incident took place around 4 am with the police suspecting the role of insiders in the incident.

The victims have been identified as Mahant Manibhai Patel (76), who is in charge of ashram's affairs in five north Indian states, and his driver Shailesh who came to the mahant's rescue when he heard his cries for help.

"The mahant was sleeping when he woke to a knock on his door and opened it around 4 in the morning. When he came out, some persons attacked him with a blunt object. He was attacked on his face and head and fell unconscious. When his driver Shailesh came to his rescue, he too was attacked," said a police official close to investigation. The duo was rushed to RML Hospital where their condition is said to be serious.

After the gatekeepers at the entrance told the police that no one had entered or escaped from the gates, the police is investigating the matter from the point of view of internal rivalry.

"We are interrogating the persons who were present in the ashram during the incident. It could be a job of insider as well," said the police.

New Delhi, December 13
A team of officers of the Crime Branch has busted a visa racket and arrested nine people, including seven women.

According to the police, 30 forged visas of Dubai, one passport, nine visa stickers of New Zealand and Sierra Leone, hard disk, printer cum scanner, 31 passports and other incriminating documents have been recovered.

The police received information from American intelligence agency, CIA that women are being sent to Dubai on forged visas.

According to Ashok Chand, DCP (crime), specific information was received on December 11 that the travel agent involved in forging visas and another agent would meet near the Shanti Palace Hotel, Main Mahipalpur Road.

"A trap was laid and two persons were apprehended. They were identified as Aman Marwaha (31), travel agent-cum-recruiter-cum-forger and Dinesh Sahu (35). We recovered six Indian passports, two forged visa stickers of New Zealand and Rs 50,000 from Marwaha while we got 23 forged paper visas of Dubai and two passports from Dinesh," said Chand.

During preliminary enquiry, they disclosed that seven women for whom they have prepared forged visas of Dubai would depart at 7.30 pm from IGI Airport by Kingfisher Airlines. Information was thus conveyed to AFRRO for detaining them.

Subsequently, the police team reached IGI Airport where immigration officials handed over the detained women along with the documents for further action.

During scrutiny of these documents, it was observed that seven women had two paper visas of Dubai, one original and one forged and they disclosed that they had used the forged visa to clear the immigration.

New Delhi, December 13
The Special Cell of Delhi police has arrested a 50-year-old man for allegedly posing as a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) militant and cheating several people, including priests, on the pretext of pursuing cases of ultras declared proclaimed offenders.

The arrested has been identified as Sukhdev Singh Sukha, who resides in Haryana's Faridabad while he hails from Muktasar district of Punjab.

According to information, the accused was familiar with the way of working of the members of Sikh extremist organization and used it to extort money.

"He claimed he had no respect for priests and decided to extract money from them on the pretext of working for BKI.

He chose to impersonate himself the member of BKI as he knew that the officials of gurudwaras were afraid of 'Babbar'," said Arun Kampani, DCP (Special Cell).

According to information, Sukha even worked as temporary attendant at an Army mess after the Indo-Pak war in 1971.

Sukha was earlier arrested for allegedly duping a person of Rs 20,000 on the pretext of providing a job to his daughter with the Delhi Metro.

New Delhi, December 13
A Delhi court today granted bail to Romesh Sharma, an alleged front man of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, and two officials of the District Jail, Rohini, accused of torturing an inmate inside prison.

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Sunil Chaudhary granted bail to superintendent S.N. Bhardwaj and assistant superinatendent Akhilesh Rathore of Rohini jail on furnishing of bail and surety bonds of Rs 10,000 each.

Sharma, however, was granted bail on only a personal bond of Rs 10,000. "As the accused is already in judicial custody, he cannot file surety bond," the court said.The court has fixed on March 3, 2011 as the date for scrutiny of documents and arguments on the charges.

The court was hearing a complaint filed by Satpal Bedi, a lifer.Bedi, on November 20, alleged that the jail superintendent along with the ward in-charge and other inmates assaulted him inside the jail.

"They called me "kameena" (rascal) and burned me with a mosquito coil. I even have burn marks on my back," Bedi had said.

He had alleged that the jail officials had tortured him at the behest of Romesh Sharma.

Taking his complaint on record, the court had issued summons to the officials and sought their presence along with Sharma, saying that there was sufficient ground to proceed against them.