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INLD sees snap polls due to Spectrum row
Noida cops make travel safe for BPO women
Police chief calls on Girija
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Jilted lover molests girl in car
Bluelines to go by Jan-end
With Chinese PM in city, be ready for traffic curbs
Court reserves order in Quattrocchi case
Clamour for readmission of 300 Jamia students
Students suffer as radioactive ban delays exam
Hasnain likely to be JNU V-C
Minor rescued from brothel
Man tries to kill aunt for property
Rs 41-lakh looted goods seized
Pleasant day in store
Varsity teacher’s wife found with throat slit
Bandits targeting Gzb docs
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INLD sees snap polls due to Spectrum row
Faridabad, December 14 The ruling Congress in
Haryana, however, was unmindful and ready to call the bluff of the INLD. The Congress is in the midst of organising rallies in the district— December 17 at Badli
(Rohtak) and December 25 at Sirsa. INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala, who was here, expressed his feelings of snap poll in the face of the opposition parties unitedly demanding a JPC probe into the 2-G Spectrum. The logjam in Parliament between the opposition and the treasury benches continued during its just-concluded session.
INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala, according to sources, was in touch with the NDA leaders at the Centre and understood to have given his concurrence to be part of the great NDA umbrella witnessed during the time when Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. The INLD had parted company with the NDA as had a number of its old allies. The exercise to bring together the old allies in the NDA again was set in motion recently and Chautala has been contacted by senior BJP and other NDA leaders, including the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok
Sabha, Sushma Swaraj. Sources say that the INLD was likely to attend a public meeting to be organised by the NDA in Delhi. Although the date for the proposed meeting has been tentatively decided for December 22, a final call was yet to be taken on the issue. The idea is to corner and marginalise the Congress on the national scene. Significantly, the Congress government in Haryana has also affixed December 22 for honouring the successful players of Asian Games at a public function in
Panchkula. The Congress aims to convert the occasion in a kind of public meeting. |
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Noida cops make travel safe for BPO women
Noida, December 14 In a meeting with BPO operators, SSP Amitabh Yash said that a number of steps would be taken to ensure the safety of women working in call centres. Each office cab ferrying women between 6 pm and 8 am will be accompanied by a security guards. While the first pick and the last drop will be monitored by the guard. Drivers will not be allowed to stop midway, even if they are not ferrying women. Besides, GPS device will be installed in all cabs. The drivers and security guards must ensure that women are dropped right at their doorsteps. Yash said, "I have met BPO operators and discussed the safety guidelines for women employees laid down by the Delhi police recently. We have adopted some measures and are making our own arrangements." All security guards accompanying the staff and cab drivers will be verified. A database will be prepared. No driver will be allowed to let an unauthorised person board the car. "If the driver notices anything suspicious, he has to stop at the nearest police picket and dial 100. Cab drivers, guards and women employees in the BPO industry will be briefed separately." "No cab would be used as a taxi or as a private car. Only registered cabs will be used to ferry BPO workers," the SSP said. |
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Police chief calls on Girija
New Delhi, December 14 Vyas submitted a list of 12 demands which she said would go a long way in addressing the concerns for women safety. The demands include more police patrolling on the roads and a 24-hour desk at all the police stations to deal with cases of harassment to women. “It will deter the criminals and also sensitise cops towards women’s concerns. It will also speed up the police response to their problems,” said an NCW official. The demands put forth by Vyas also included checking speeding cars and those with tinted glasses. She also called for ensuring that the BPO cabs, which ferry thousands of women employees at night, have GPRS installed on them and that a woman security official should accompany them. An official said the friend of Mizo woman, who was abducted from Dhaula Kuan last month and raped by five persons, had approached the cops, but the police reached the spot late due to communication problems. “Efforts should be made to see to it that cops are trained to deal with such cases,” she said. |
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Jilted lover molests girl in car
New Delhi, December 14 The police said that the 19-year-old victim was waiting inside her friend's car outside PVR Prashant Vihar where she had gone to watch a film. "The girl had come to the cinema hall with one of her friends and was waiting in his car. Her friend had gone to collect the film tickets when Akash spotted her," said a senior police official, adding that the keys of the car were left behind in the ignition. Akash got inside the car and before the victim could realise, he drove past. The victim's friend who owns the car informed the police about the incident. The city police which is under the scanner after couple of gangrapes in moving vehicles sent a wireless message stating the car's registration number. The car was traced within 40 minutes from the Bawana area. According to sources, Akash told the police that he just wanted to talk with the girl and had not molested her. "He claimed that he knew the girl from the past two years and was friends with her. But the fact that he drove past with someone else's car without permission was enough to book him. The girl charged Akash of manhandling and molestation. Akash has been booked accordingly," said the official, adding that investigation is on. |
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Bluelines to go by Jan-end
New Delhi, December 14 Of 2,041 buses, as many as 823 buses will be phased out now and 389 buses phased out on December 31. New permit would not be given to any Blueline bus. The remaining buses will be phased out till January 31. The transport department will issue notice to transporters and individual permit holders that their permits for operating buses under the Blueline scheme will not be renewed, he said. When asked about the transport service conditions, the minister said that in 2008, the transport department had 3,200 Blueline buses and 2,800 DTC buses. Now DTC alone has 6,300 buses. Besides, there are RTVs and 4,500 gramin sewa vehicles in rural areas. To improve the transport services further, RTV and gramin sewa routes will be increased. He said that DTC would be asked to increase its routes in the areas where the Blueline buses are being phased out. It's time schedule will also be improved. When asked about the cluster bus service, he said that tender notices for five clusters had already been given. Six months later, the cluster buses can be seen on Delhi roads. Transport commissioner R.K. Verma said that there might be some problem in the first cluster, but it would be a smooth affair afterwards. |
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With Chinese PM in city, be ready for traffic curbs
New Delhi, December 14 The Delhi traffic police today issued an advisory asking people to keep 15 minutes extra time to meet the deadlines of their appointments. "Traffic on both the carriageways will be closed during the movement of the visiting dignitary," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police traffic) while addressing a press conference. According to him, the Chinese premier will reach Delhi tomorrow and would be going straight to a hotel at SP Marg from the airport before moving with his various appointments in the city, including a function at Tagore International School in south Delhi. On Thursday, Jiabo will be visiting Rajghat to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. "Congestion is expected in the vicinity of Rajghat including Ring Road, Delhi Gate and ITO in the morning hours of Thursday. Later, traffic circulation at India Gate will be changed for 30 minutes when traffic coming from Rajpath will move to inner circle of India Gate and exit at Tilak marg area," Garg said, adding that there will be no movement from Ashok Road and K G Marg to India Gate during the movement of the premier. Garg appealed the general public to avoid Rajghat in the morning and New Delhi areas on Thurday. "If the movement is really essential in these areas, people should keep 15 minutes extra time to reach their destinations," Garg advised. Meanwhile, with Tibetan protestors likely to stage demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy in Chanakyapuri during Jaibo's three-day visit beginning tomorrow, security has also been stepped in Chanakyapuri with extra police forces to check any intrusion. |
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Court reserves order in Quattrocchi case
New Delhi, December 14 Chief metropolitan magistrate Vinod Yadav has fixed the matter for January 4. In the application, additional solicitor general P.P. Malhotra said, “The continuance of prosecution against Quattrocchi will be unjust. It is considered expedient in the interest of justice that the proceedings against him should not be continued and be withdrawn.” To buttress its point, the CBI referred to two judgements of the high court which had quashed all charges against the other key accused in the case. Meanwhile, the court directed advocate Ajay Agarwal, who is opposing the CBI’s move, to either file his written arguments or advance oral submissions before January 4. Agarwal had challenged the CBI’s move to withdraw the case on October 3, saying it was trying to close the “politically-sensitive” case despite having “sufficient evidence” against him. On October 3, the CBI had moved an application before a court here to quash all charges against Quattrocchi, saying that the case could not be kept pending forever as attempts to extradite him have failed in the past. “The continued prosecution of Quattrocchi is unjustified in light of various factors, including the failed attempts to extradite him,” said P.P. Malhotra, who is appearing for the CBI. The CBI counsels had submitted that “publicity and politics have no role to play in such matters and such a petition cannot be entertained. The petitioners (advocates) are strangers to the investigation and prosecution. They, therefore, have no locus standi”. Agarwal had countered their plea by saying that the Supreme Court of India had already accepted his locus in the Bofors case by accepting an appeal filed by him against a Delhi High Court verdict. Meanwhile, another advocate Jitender Soni had also moved the court, opposing the CBI’s withdrawal of the case against the Italian businessman. In November last year, the agency had asked the Interpol to take Quattrocchi’s name off the Red Corner notice. Quattrocchi has never appeared before any court in any country. |
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Clamour for readmission of 300 Jamia students
New Delhi, December 14 The protest was organized by the All India Student Association (AISA). Jamia Millia Islamia had recently expelled some 300 of its first year students at the varsity for being unable to meet the attendance requirement. The university authorities inform that the rules mentioned in the admission prospectus clearly state that students who fail to meet the required minimum attendance of 75% will be barred from sitting for the first semester examinations and will not be allowed either to seek readmission into the second semester. The university had recently introduced the semester system in the academic session 2010-11 for all its postgraduate courses. Agitated students from Jamia have threatened to intensify their protest if the students whose admission has been cancelled are not reinstated soon. Sajid, a postgraduate student of Jamia, said, "This act by the administration follows a typical autocratic pattern in which university authorities are denying the democratic rights of students at Jamia. It is unreasonable to throw out 300 students simply because they have fallen short of attendance. The students have been barred from taking the semester exams. They are not allowed either to go to the second semester. Taking such a harsh step for a simple matter like shortfall in attendance is quite unreasonable." AISA Jamia unit secretary Sandipan said, "We demand that these students be readmitted and their exams rescheduled. If required, the students will sign undertakings to complete the required percentage of attendance.” |
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Students suffer as radioactive ban delays exam
New Delhi, December 14 "Our needs for radioactive substances in labs were documented by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). We were asked to appoint one faculty member as a safety officer in each college lab where radioactive substances would be stored. But there has been no further talk on the front," said a physics department faculty member, requesting anonymity. "Students are suffering as several practical evaluations had to be postponed this semester. Some important practical experiments were arranged in smaller labs outside the university. But the cost and time required for such trips jeopardises a lot of things," he added. Laboratory experiments in the university's physics department have been badly hit for the past six months due the ban. Even as some initiative from the AREB was seen last month when a three-member team visited the university to inspect science departments that require radioactive sources, nothing concrete has come up as of now. The inspection took place just two days after Dinesh Singh took charge as the institution's vice-chancellor. The ban on radioactive experiments has crippled laboratory work of two DU programmes, especially - M.Tech. in nuclear science and technology and M.Sc in physics (nuclear science). "The final year students of the two courses have managed to complete their practical curriculum for the first semester at Inter-University Accelerator Centre in Vasant Kunj. But around 300 first year students have not conducted a single experiment based on radioactive sources since the new session started," said Shamit Tandon, a nuclear physics teacher Some faculty members argue that some conditions of the AERB have yet not been fulfilled by the administration and that might be responsible for the delay. "All departments were supposed to send a detailed report on their stock of radioactive sources to the board. The AERB also wanted DU to appoint a radiation safety officer soon. The university had to return the sources that it did not require. But many colleges are still in the process of submitting the reports, which might be the reason behind the delay," said a source. |
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Hasnain likely to be JNU V-C
New Delhi, December 14 Sources in the Ministry of Human Resource Development gave indication that Hasnain's name had been accepted for the position and was set to be recommended for selection. The procedure is to form a panel of three or four experts and make a recommendation to the President, whose decision, as the Visitor of Central Universities, is final. The Ministry is likely to recommend Hasnain (56) for succeeding Prof BB Bhattacharya as the JNU Vice-Chancellor. His term as the head of University of Hyderabad ends this month. Hasnain took his doctorate from JNU and earlier while working at the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, was appointed as the first Director of the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, (CDFD), Hyderabad. In less than seven years, he made CDFD a gold standard for DNA analyses services and research in basic biology. Having made extraordinary contributions to molecular infection biology and epidemiology of mycobacterium tuberculosis, the TB causing bacterium, he has over 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals of high impact, and a dozen patents. He has mentored over hundred PhD, MD and post-doctoral students, four of whom received the Indian National Science Academy Young Scientist Medal. Internationally, Hasnain is a recipient of the prestigious Humboldt Research Prize, awarded by the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation, Germany as well as the very exclusive Robert Koch Fellowship of the Robert Koch Institute, Berlin. He received the Padma Shri earlier. |
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Minor rescued from brothel
New Delhi, December 14 The girl told the police that she hails from Magrahat village of 24 Pargana district of West Bengal. "A person brought her to Delhi on the pretext of sightseeing, but sold her. She was forced into prostitution by one Salma and when she refused, she was threatened," said Vivek Kishore, DCP (Central), adding that Salma has been arrested. According to him, efforts are being made to apprehend other alleged persons who were also engaged in bringing and selling her for immoral trafficking. |
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Man tries to kill aunt for property
New Delhi, December 14 Chauhan strangulated his aunt Sunita, wife of Arvind, yesterday around 8 pm when she was alone in her house. "Sunita was alone in the house when Chauhan attacked her from behind and strangulated her with a helmet lock. When she did not respond, Chauhan left her thinking to be dead and called the police," said a police official, adding that the accused is suffering from depression and his mental state is questionable. "Chauhan is suffering from depression. Sunita was rushed to the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital where she is undergoing treatment. Her condition is said to be stable," the official said. A case of attempt to murder has been filed against Chauhan in the Mangolpuri police station and he has been arrested. |
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Rs 41-lakh looted goods seized
New Delhi, December 14 According to Chand, there was a breakthrough in the case after a16-year-old boy, who was part of about dozen burglars, was apprehended from Jahangir Puri on Saturday. "Following the boy’s arrest, we reached the receiver Irshad (35), a scrap dealer, where the stolen goods were dumped at his shop in Adarsh Nagar," said Chand, adding that other members of the gang are at large and efforts are on to nab them. The gang had looted a factory in Anand Parbat Industrial Area after locking the factory guard inside a room. |
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Pleasant day in store
New Delhi, December 14 The maximum temperature settled at 23.2 degree Celsius today, one degree below the average for this time of the season. According to an official of the India Meteorological Department, the city will witness a shallow fog in the early morning hours tomorrow. "The cold winds will cause the temperatures to dip in the evening and the maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 22 and 7 degree Celsius, respectively," said a Met department. |
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Varsity teacher’s wife found with throat slit
Greater Noida, December 14 Singh left home at 8 am for invigilation duty and when he came home he saw his wife Varsha lying dead with her throat slit and wrapped in a cloth. "It is a mysterious murder. We have registered the case and are attempting to solve the mystery at the earliest," said Greater Noida police superintendent Atul
Saxena. — IANS |
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Bandits targeting Gzb docs
Ghaziabad, December 14 Dr Sharma is serving in a Delhi eye hospital. The bandits took away Rs 30,000, jewellery worth Rs 2 lakh and two mobile phones. The criminals locked the doctor inside his house. Dr Sharma lives with his wife Gudiya and two sons. The bandits had got in to the house around midnight by uprooting a window. They overpowered Dr Sharma at gunpoint and demanded Rs 6 lakh from him. On being refused, the intruders gagged his mouth, tied his hands and feet and bundled him in a blanket. |
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