New Delhi, January 21
The Delhi High Court has disallowed a fresh plea seeking permission to allow more than 10 people to offer Friday prayers at a mosque that was demolished by the authorities after being termed illegal.

"This land does not belong to you anymore. Therefore we cannot allow your plea," justice G.S. Sistani said dismissing the petition by Noor Charitable Trust for prayers at the mosque in Jangpura in south Delhi that was demolished on January 12.

"We have already asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to reclaim the land and build a boundary wall around it and allow 10 people to offer namaaz."

DDA demolished the illegal structure constructed on public land in the Jangpura area, leading to protests and stone-pelting by angry people. However, the court on January 17 directed the DDA to allow 10 devotees to offer prayers for the next two months at the site.

"We have allowed 10 persons to pray there for two months because you have admitted before this court that within that time you will find a permanent solution," he said. — IANS

New Delhi, January 21
The Delhi police has made elaborate security and traffic arrangements in wake of the Republic Day Parade on January 26 and full dress rehearsal to be held on Sunday. According to Satyender Garg, joint commissioner (traffic), thousands of security personnel have fanned out in the Capital to thwart any untoward incident.

"All security arrangements are in place. More than 150 companies (15,000 personnel) from paramilitary and other state forces will be deployed besides Delhi police personnel. Another 1,500 traffic policemen will also be on the streets," said Garg while speaking to the media today evening.

According to information, a massive ground-to-air security apparatus has been put in place for the parade. Snipers will be deployed at high-rise buildings while around 100 CCTVs will keep tight vigil on people's movement between Rajpath and Red Fort, the route of the parade which showcases India's military might and cultural diversity. Mobile hit teams, anti-aircraft guns and sharpshooters of the National Security Guards will be deployed at various places while paramilitary and Delhi police commandos will keep a close watch along the route of the parade.

A multi-layer security ring is already in place at Rajpath, where President Pratibha Patil will unfurl the tricolour and take salute of the marching contingents.

"Emphasis is being laid on anti-sabotage checks, access control measures and intelligence coordination. The entire route of the parade will have special security and anti-terror arrangements," said another police official who is involved in the security arrangements.

Besides the air defence measures, helicopters of the Indian Air Force will hover around Rajpath and along the route of the parade. Patrolling in crowded market areas has been intensified and checking in Metros and at railway stations and bus terminals has been tightened.

Security at IGI Airport has already been strengthened in coordination with the CISF. Checking has been intensified at all entry points, with the police setting up barricades to keep a vigil on all those entering the Capital.

New Delhi, January 21
Art lovers may get to savour M.F. Husain's paintings at the India Art Summit here after all. Organisers had removed them from the event following threats, but now the works are likely to be displayed as the police has assured full protection.

An official from the Delhi Art Gallery, which will be showcasing Husain's works at the summit, said they are in "the process" of bringing the paintings back. "We are in the process of bringing the paintings back to the exhibition," the official said.

The art summit is being held from January 21-23 at Pragati Maidan.

"We are abiding by whatever the organisers are saying. The paintings were removed last evening," she said.

The decision to bring back Husain's work was taken after a reassurance from the Delhi police on providing full protection to the exhibition. The summit had received threatening e-mails from Pune and Mumbai against displaying the artist's work.

The painter has been living in exile for the past five years after threats from Hindu rightwing extremists in India who claim his paintings offend the community's sentiments. He has been conferred Qatari citizenship.

The organisers had feared that the art summit would be vandalised over Husain's paintings. "Vandals may come in and there could be a stampede because we have received around 20 odd e-mails from various groups from Bombay and Pune," the organisers had earlier told the media.

The organisation Sahmat, which has been backing Husain, welcomed the decision.

"The paintings are coming back as the police has assured full protection to the exhibition," said social activist and Sahmat member Ram Rahman.

"We welcome the stand of the Delhi police that it is assuring protection to the exhibition, and we also appreciate the summit organisers and the gallery for displaying Husain's work," he said.

Rightwing extremists have previously vandalised painting exhibitions displaying Husain's works, accusing him of insulting Hindu goddesses through his paintings. — IANS

New Delhi, January 21
Services of the Delhi Metro will be partially curtailed on Sunday and two stations in Lutyens' Zone will remain closed for over six hours in view of the full dress rehearsal of the Republic Day Parade.

"In view of the full dress rehearsal of the Republic Day Parade on January 23, the services of Metro will be partially curtailed as per the advice of the Delhi police due to security reasons. Train schedules of Line -2 (Huda City Centre -Jahangirpuri) and Line- 6 (Central Secretariat - Badarpur) have been modified in this regard," said an official statement from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

On January 23, Metro services will not be available at Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan stations of Line - 2 and Central Secretariat station of Line-6 till 12.30 pm. The trains on Line-6 will be available for passengers from Badarpur to Khan Market section till 12.30 pm. However, interchange of trains between Line-6 and Line-2 will be permitted at the Central Secretariat station during this period.

At 12.30 pm, normal operations will be resumed on Line-2 and Line-6. Metro train services on all other lines will run as per the normal schedule.

Trains on all other lines will run as per normal schedule on January 23 from 6 am to 11 pm.

New Delhi, January 21
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) today announced its budget for the financial year 20011-12 and approved the revised budget estimates for 2010-2011. Expenditure for 2011-2012 has been projected as Rs 6,100.74 crore as compared to Rs 3,232.40 crore in the revised estimates for the year 2010-2011.

In the budget projection for 2011-12, there is an increase in the funds for development of land, construction of houses and shops, besides provisions for improvement and development of infrastructure, green development, including bio-diversity parks, community facilities and transportation.

During 2011-12, the authority expects to receive Rs 2,414.92 crore from disposal of land and Rs 1,810.51 crore from houses and shops.

Payments for the next year have been projected as Rs 3,785.01 crore as compared to Rs 3,225.99 crore in the revised estimates for 2010-11.

"We have allocated Rs 1,415.30 crore for a number of new development projects like development of land in Rohini, Dwarka, Narela, Jasola and Mayur Vihar, construction of houses and sports complexes, and infrastructure development. The infrastructure project includes construction of Master Plan road in Rohini, urban extension roads in Narela and express road connecting Narela to Dwarka through Bakkarwala, community halls at Dwarka, Vasant Kunj, Nasirpur, Paschim Vihar, Nangloi Syed, Mahipalpur, Ashok Vihar, Shalimar Bagh, Arjun Nagar," said a senior DDA official.

Under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, 4,060 economically weaker section houses have been planned at Siraspur and 17,780 at Narela, Rohini and Dwarka.

DDA has earmarked Rs 282 crore for the construction of a railway underbridge at the railway crossing near Lajpat Nagar and the covering of drains at Defence Colony and Lajpat Nagar. Further, with a view to providing healthy and better environment to the citizens of Delhi and for the maintenance of the green cover, a provision of Rs 690.07 crore has been made in the budget estimates of 2011-12. The project includes development of biodiversity parks. The DDA has proposed to start development works in Astha Kunj, Sat Pula Lake Complex and Yamuna River Front.

A provision of Rs 5.10 crore has been kept in the budget of 2011-12 for development and maintenance of the Yamuna Biodiversity Park. Also, Rs 84.06 crore has been kept for the development and maintenance of sports facilities.

New Delhi, January 21
The ruling BJP in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today requested new urban development minister Kamal Nath to look into the problems being faced by the residents of unauthorised colonies, unauthorised-regularised colonies and rural and urban villages in the city.

The measures needed to be taken include increasing the floor area ratio (FAR) for old residential properties to 100 per cent and amendments in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act to exempt people in such areas from house tax payment, said Leader of the House, Subhash Arya.

Arya said former urban development minister Jaipal Reddy had recently announced that the Centre had given nod to a law that would allow 100 per cent construction and sub-division of plots measuring up to 250 square metres in unauthorised colonies.

"What was the purpose behind Reddy's announcements when unauthorised colonies have not yet been regularised and sub-division of plots is not allowed?" Arya asked.

"Unless the floor area ratio for old residential properties is increased to 100 per cent, additional construction in those properties cannot be protected from demolition," he said.

"Providing relief in terms of sub-division of plots without increasing the FAR is useless," he said.

Arya accused Central and Delhi governments of taking only 'half-hearted measures' in this regard.

The BJP leader demanded that the urban development ministry should order the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to cancel with immediate effect the earlier FAR for old properties (up to 300 sq yards) and allow 100 per cent ground coverage with a height of 15 metres and FAR of 400 sq yards.

"Unless these steps are taken, the sword of demolition will continue to hang over the heads of Delhiites," he said.

The BJP wants that residential properties in unauthorised colonies as well as rural and urban villages be exempted from property tax payment, Arya said.

Faridabad, January 21
A large number of advocates of the district court today took out a procession and burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under the banner of the legal cell of the BJP in protest against the alleged "failure" of the Union government to control the rise in prices of the commodities.

The agitation, led by the vice-president of the state unit of the BJP legal cell, Shivdut Bashist, culminated with the burning of the effigy.

The agitators later submitted a memorandum to the President, Pratibha Singh Patil, vide the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Faridabad, urging her intervention on the issue of the rise in the prices.

The lawyers took out the procession in the form of a "protest march" from HUDA's main gate to mini-Secretariat, which was the venue of the demonstrations.

The lawyers garlanded themselves with vegetables, including onions, potatoes and tomatoes all along the time of their agitation.

One of the agitators said the vegetables were used to prepare the garlands to drawn the attention of the policy makers of the country about their high price which had created existential problem for the common man.

The speakers on the occasion complained that it had now become difficult for the common man to survive in the face of continued steep rise in the prices of the commodities.

The agitators expressed a sense of frustration at the functionaries of the Union government who allegedly assured the public to bring down the prices, but failed to redeem their commitment.

Now the functionaries of the government have started saying that bringing down the prices was not in their control, which had left the common man numb with despair, they added.

The speakers alleged that they would embark on more strident form of agitation if the prices of the commodities were not brought down forthwith.

Noida, January 21
From February 1 you may have to pay the higher toll rates as Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL) has proposed to hike toll on DND Flyway - a major link connecting Delhi and Noida.

The NTBCL has proposed hike for two-wheelers from Rs 10 to Rs 12. Likewise, a four-wheeler should shell out Rs 25 instead of Rs 20. The tax for commercial vehicles has been proposed to be hiked from Rs 60 to Rs 70.

The toll bridge company has said the traffic volume has gone down by 15 per cent in the last one year. Commercial vehicles opt for Kalindi Kunj Bridge or Sector 62 (NH 24) and Mayur Vihar-Noida Sector 14A links for Delhi-Noida connectivity. The company also attributed decreasing traffic to the ongoing for an underpass at Rajnigandha crossing.

As per an agreement between Noida Authority and NTBCL, the company built the link and can recover toll tax up to 2030. The average daily traffic on the DND Flyway is around one lakh vehicles. It comprises 22 per cent two wheelers, 75 per cent cars and 3 per cent commercial vehicles. The average toll collection per vehicle calculates to around Rs 18 and Rs 19. Though as per a concession agreement the NTBCL is entitled to a 10 per cent annual hike, for the past two years there has been no hike.

Noida, January 21
In a bizarre incident, a 70-year-old man received his death certificate at Noida. Victim Ishwar Chand Sharma, a resident of Sector 22, Chaura Raghunathpur, said, "On January 14, I got a letter by post. I was shocked to see the words written in it i.e. mritu praman patra in bold letters. Then I stopped pulling out the letter. My name, along with my father's name late Tek Ram Sharma and my address, was written on envelop," said Sharma. It claimed that he had died on Augt 18, 2010.

"Earlier, I thought somebody was playing with my emotions. On the second, thought I felt this may be God's inkling about my death which may come soon. I somehow managed to free myself from the tension," said Sharma.

"The certificate has a seal of registrar (Birth and Death Registration) book number mention on the certificate is 208 and serial number 20458. It was a photo copy," said Dev Dutt Sharma, his son.

"I have lodged a complaint at the Sector 24 police station. It may have been done deliberately by someone. Some cases of our land compensation in the village have reached final stage in the Allahabad High Court and a decision is expected in the next few days. If someone submits the certificate in the court, it will take years to prove that he is alive," he said.

"It may be a conspiracy to grab his land compensation share," said investigative officer Lokendra Pratap Singh.

Probe at the district registration office revealed that the certificate was not issued by it. It was a fake letter.

New Delhi, January 21
The police has arrested a 55-year-old man for the with a murder he had committed at the age of 19. According to the police, Joginder Singh "committed" the murder of a co-worker, Surjit, in 1974 but was held yesterday after 36 years.

Absconding ever since, Singh was working as a daily wage painter with Doordarshan and was arrested from the Delhi Cantonment railway station after a tip-off.

According to V Renganathan, DCP (west), Joginder was declared a proclaimed offender in 1975 by a Delhi court, a year after he allegedly murdered his co-worker Surjit in west Delhi's Uttam Nagar, with whom he was not having good relations. He allegedly threw the body in a well after the crime.

According to Renganathan, this was the 'oldest' case with the district and even the jurisdiction of the incident has changed several times to different districts since then.

At the time of the incident, Uttam Nagar was in central district and later went to south-west. In July 1981, it came back to west district and was not worked out. "It was a difficult case. We started the operation afresh and visited Uttam Nagar several times, where the incident took place. As the incident was 36 years old, almost, since then, every thing had been changed. Accused had already sold out his house. People had no clue about his whereabouts," Renganathan said, adding that, during investigation, a head constable received an input that Jogender is working in Prasar Bharti, Doordarshan, at Khel Gaon as a painter. This information led the police to the accused.

New Delhi, January 21
A four-year old boy was killed and his mother injured after a speeding tempo hit them in the Mangolpuri area of north Delhi yesterday evening.

The boy has been identified as Sohail. His mother Washila is undergoing treatment in a city hospital.

According to information, the accident took place around

5. 30 pm when the driver of the tempo took a sharp turn at an intersection near B-block.

"The tempo hit Sohail and Washila who were on their way to pick up Sohail's elder brother from school. The duo was rushed to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital where Sohail was declared brought dead," said a police official.

The driver of the tempo, Anil Kumar (30), was caught by locals and handed over to the police after beating.

New Delhi, January 21
A 26-year-old man is believed to have suffocated to death when his bed caught fire from his cigarette, last night. The victim was in a drunken state when the incident took place.

The incident came to light fromMangolpuri today morning. The victim has been identified as Raj Kumar, an MTNL employee .

The incident came to light when people sitting in a park outside the house saw smoke emanating from Kumar's room. "People from the park rushed to his room and alerted Kumar's mother who was on the ground floor. When Kumar did not respond to the knockings at the door, people entered the room through a window and found him lying on the ground with his bed on fire," said a police official, adding that Kumar was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.

According to the police, Kumar was a smoker and his cigarette probably caused the fire. "His mother told us that he had returned drunk in the night and gone to his room without eating dinner. He probably smoked and in the drunken state, caused the fire. We have no reason to believe any foul play but are still probing the case," said the officer.

Kumar's wife and son were at his in-laws place when the mishap took place.

New Delhi, January 21
With the arrest of two persons, the central district police has claimed to have solved the murder case of a pickpocket, Dalip. A resident of Punjabi Basti, Dilip was found stabbed and shot dead in the Anand Parbat area on the intervening night of January 15 and 16.

According to Vivek Kishore, DCP (Central), those arrested have been identified as Nawal Kishore (39) and Devender (48). They were held from Khurja in Uttar Pradesh (UP) where they had been hiding since the incident. The third accused in the case, Chander, is still at large.

According to the police, the accused had a long standing dispute with Dalip.

"Dalip used to threaten the three accused over some personal matter, and so they wanted to teach him a lesson. On the date of the incident, the trio fired at him and also stabbed him with a knife and fled the spot," said Kishore, adding that Devender and Chander are real brothers.

According to the police record, Dalip was involved in 11 cases of murder, robbery, including cases under the Arms Act.

New Delhi, January 21
The south district police managed another arrest in connection with the sensational robbery of a Tanishq showroom in Chandigarh nine days ago.

As per information, with the arrest of Nadeem (23) from the Rangpuri area, the total accused arrested in the case has gone up to nine. During interrogation, DCP (south) HGS Dhaliwal claimed, he told to the police that the gang leader, Paras Soni, hatched the conspiracy, along with other co-accused, around two months ago.

"Nadeem is a school dropout of Class IX. He was earlier arrested in a murder case in 2006 and remained in jail for 13 months," he said.

The gang of 12 members had on January 12 robbed the Tanishq showroom in the Manimajra area, Chandigarh, and decamped with diamonds and gold jewellery worth around Rs 12 crore.

However, eight of them were arrested three days after the incident and recovered the stolen jewellery. It was dubbed one of the biggest recoveries of stolen articles.