The appointment of Rakesh Mehta, a confidant of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, as the election commissioner of Delhi has shattered the hopes of a faction of the Delhi Congress opposed to Dikshit.

The rival faction, comprising old guards, was expecting to see her down in the wake of the Shunglu committee report. The high-level committee indicted her on many counts in the Commonwealth Games scams and her rivals thought that the high command would now ease her out.

New Delhi, April 2
Almost after a month the Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama announced his retirement from the political head of the Tibetan government, he today expressed hope with the new would-be-representative to spread the message of peace and harmony around the world.

He was speaking at a panel discussion on "Non-Violence and Spiritual Values in a secular India", which was organised to celebrate the birth centenary of the former President of India, R Venkataraman.

The spiritual leader identified himself as the "chela" (disciple) of India. "I am the 'chela' of this country. I consider myself a messenger of the Indian ancient thought. And as disciple I am very active but I would also like the new representative to need to be more active in spreading the message of non-violence and religious harmony," said the Dalai Lama.

"There is nothing can be taught to the Indians about non-violence and secularism as the country is born with these values but for the younger generation who are more obsessed with the technology and computers, the meaning of these morals are very important to be understood."

Explaining the concept of non-violence, the Nobel Peace prize winner said non-violence was just not related to one's action. "Non-violence is a much broader term. It is not only the act of not harming anyone but also the motivation and thought behind it. One should have a genuine sense of concern for others. For people who look wise but have bad motivations as to exploit or cheat others, would be considered as violence," said the Dalai Lama.

He said even if one had the ability but he restrains from violence was a true preacher of non-violence.

Other panelists included Swami Dayanand Saraswati from the Arsha Vidya Gurukulan, Anaikatti, Coimbatore, water resources and minority affairs minister Salman Khursheed, former Lok Sabha Speaker P Sangma and Laxmi V Venkatesan, the daughter of R Venkataraman.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati said human was the only superior being who was able to make choice of what was right and wrong. "Animals are liberated from the concept of right and wrong because even if they kill some for their own protection, they would not be guilty. But the human being must understand that the way he wants to live without being hurt, others also feels the same way," said Swamiji.

However, the politicians-cum-author Salman Khursheed raised the question as to why secularism came under cloud and was questioned in our country. He said the religious groups in the society needed to do much more to teach the common man, including politicians. "We politicians require much greater education which is why I am here," said Khursheed.

Another special attraction of the programme was the musical tribute of multi-faith hymns by R Venkataraman's granddaughter Tara Venkatesan the Mozart Choir of the Austrian Cultural Forum.

New Delhi, April 2
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today inaugurated three underground reservoir and water boosting stations at Sardar Patel Marg, East Kidwai Nagar and Kali Bari Marg.

The underground water reservoir and water boosting station at Sardar Patel Marg has water capacity of 34 lakh litres and five booster pumps. it will be fed by the DJB line from Palam Reservior.

With this, Chankyapuri, government guesthouses, telephone exchange, post office, Chanakya cinema and embassies at Chanakyapuri, Sardar Patel Marg, Malcha Marg, Chandragupta Marg, Nyay Marg, Panchsheel Marg, Satya Marg, Shanti Path and Niti Marg will enjoy the facility of continuous water supply.

This station has been constructed at the cost of Rs 6 crore within nine months.

The underground water reservoir and water boosting station at the East Kidwai Nagar is of 4.2 lakhs litres water capacity with three booster pumps. This reservoir will be fed by the water boosting station at Jor Bagh. The 784 flats of D and E Block area of East Kidwai Nagar will benefit. It has been constructed at Rs 45 lakh within six months.

The reservoir and water boosting station at the Kali Bari Marg is of 25 lakh litres water capacity with five booster pumps. It will also be fed by the DJB line of Talkatora Reservoir.

It will benefit Gole Market, Baba Kharak Singh Marg flats, Ashoka Road, Kali Bari Marg, Jai Singh Road, Pt. Pant Marg, Sansad Marg, Janpath, Rafi Marg, Raisina Road, RML Hopital area and Maulana Azad Road 

New Delhi, April 2
After the women coaches in the Delhi Metro, a "reserved" staircase for women at Metro stations is making the rounds amongst passengers. The special staircase for the fairer sex has come up at Kashmiri Gate Metro station, one of the busiest stations after Rajiv Chowk.

Similar to the pink tiles at the Metro station platform that indicates the exact stoppage of the women coach at the station, the staircase also has a pink board hanging above the staircase. A special guard has also been assigned to make sure that men do not use the staircase during rush hours, pushing the female crowds.

The staircase directly leads to the platform where first coach of the train reserved for the women halts.

"This move will especially benefit the elderly women who find it hard to make way through the crowds during rush hours. Also, women travelling with young children will find it easier. I just hope such staircases are also introduced at Rajiv Chowk, Anand Vihar Metro station and a couple of other stations which have a lot of interchange traffic," said Bharti Kishwar, a Delhi university teacher who commutes everyday from Pritampura to Vishwavidyalya.

"Keeping in mind that Kashmere Gate caters to nearly two to three lakh passengers everyday and it is troublesome for women at times to get out of the station during peak rush hours, we decided to implement this move at Kashmere Gate station first. If required, it would be done at other Metro stations like Rajiv Chowk as well," said a DMRC spokesperson.

New Delhi, April 2
Delhiites today put all their plans on hold and were glued to their television screens watching the India-Sri Lanka World Cup finale.

While some decided to opt for a gathering around giant screens set up in their localities, others decided to take a day off from work and watch the match at home.

"We have already stocked firecrackers for tonight. India had a huge score ahead of them, we have our fingers crossed now," said Amit Vajpayee, sales executive from the city.

Most bars, pubs and clubs hosted the screening of the finale. By the evening, the fans were left praying as Sri Lanka finished its inning with an enormous score of 275 runs.

"The afternoon had a noisy start but by the time Sri Lanka's inning ended, it was very quiet in the club. Everyone had their eyes on the screen anticipating if India will be able to chase the score," sad Tenzin Puriam, leading bartender at the Hard Rock Café in the Capital.

For corporates, government officials and other office-goers, the day comprised of taking an off from work and watching the match with friends and family over drinks and snacks.

"You can't think of watching India playing the finals while working in office. I think most of the organizations have mutually decided to give their employees a day off for the match. Many offices are also holding screenings while others have specially made arrangements at pubs," said Chhaya Sharma, a senior KPO executive at Gurgaon.

However, there were some not much worried about the result of the match today and just needed a reason to celebrate.

"Our kids have followed every match of the World Cup and indeed there are high expectations attached. But no matter what the result, we will take them to India Gate tonight as promised to celebrate," said Vandana Khavadiya, a housewife.

New Delhi, April 2
A 65-year-old woman and her 15-year-old granddaughter were found murdered inside their house in the Nihal Vihar area of west Delhi this morning.

According to the police, the assailant has been identified as distant relative of victim Krishna Devi. Devi's granddaughter Nancy, who was sleeping with her, was also found dead. While bodies have been sent for the postmortem at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, the police believes that the victims were strangled to death.

The police said the call in this regard was received around 5.50 am from a colony in the Kamaruddin Nagar area. Devi's son Satyapal and his wife had gone to Kurukshetra and she was staying with her four grandchildren identified as Nancy, Reshav, Easha and Ajay.

"While Nancy and Devi were sleeping in one room, the other three children were sleeping in other room. Today morning, Krishna Devi and Nancy were found dead in their bed," said a police official. Dinesh, along with his friend Vicky, visited Devi's house last night and is absconding since then. The preliminary investigation has revealed that Satyapal had loaned Rs 3.5 lakh to Dinesh a few months back and he was not returning despite demanding several times.

"Dinesh is cousin of Satyapal. It seems that Devi too was pressuring him for the money and he retaliated by killing her," said the police official.

A case of murder has been registered and further investigation into the matter is on. Senior police officials of the district visited the crime spot and several police team have been formed to nab the accused.

New Delhi, April 2
A 25-year-old schoolteacher, who went missing from the Khayala area of west Delhi on Thursday, was last night discovered bludgeoned to death in Rohtak, Haryana.

According to the police, victim Vijay Solanki was a teacher in a MCD school at Chand Nagar and had gone missing along with a fellow teacher Arvinder Azad on Thursday afternoon. Azad is untraceable.

According to information, Solanki was found dead close to Fauji Dhaba in the Sampla police station area of Rohtak around 1 am.

"Solanki's head and face were crushed by a stone and it was difficult to recognise the body. It appears the killer hated Solanki deeply," said a police official. He added that a case of murder has been registered at Khayala police station.

According to information, there was a tea party in the school on Thursday to celebrate Azad's five-year term with the school.

Solanki did not eat anything, following which, Azad ordered a juice for him.

"After drinking the juice, Solanki fainted and was taken to nearby Keshavpur Mandi Park Hospital.

From there, Azad took Solanki to another hospital in his car for some tests prescribed by the doctors. However, thereafter, neither of the two returned. A missing person complaint was filed by Solanki's family," said a police official.

He added that Azad was the prime suspect in the case and efforts were on to nab him.

Meanwhile, Solanki's uncle Jai Bhagwan blamed the police for inaction, saying that it failed to trace Solanki or Azad despite having their mobile numbers.