New Delhi, April 14
The northwest district police today arrested two retail sellers of ganja, one of them a student of class XII, for murdering a supplier of ganja, Vikas Sahu (30) at Samastipur (Bihar) in January this year. The two had murdered Sahu to avenge the arrest of the elder brother of one of them, also a drug trafficker, who was nabbed after Sahu tipped the police about his movement.

According to the police, the arrested duo has been identified as Shyam Kishore and Gulshan Kumar. They were arrested from the Shalimar Bagh area. "Shyam and his accomplice were involved in the murder of Sahu as his tip-off had helped the police to arrest Shyam's elder brother Radhey Shyam with six kgs of ganja. Gulshan is Radhe Shyam's nephew," said Meenu Choudhury, DCP (northwest).

Shyam revealed that Radhey Shyam used to work in a factory in Noida, but lost one of his hands in an accident in the factory. Shau bore the expenses of Radhey Shyam's treatment on the condition that Shayam Kishore would supply ganja to Delhi and Noida on his instructions.

About one and a half year ago, Shyam Kishore had gone to Nepal to collect a consignment of ganja. There, the supplier detained him and asked him to pay Sahu's outstanding payment of Rs 90,000. However, despite knowing about it, Sahu did not bother to get Shyam Kishore released from the clutches of the supplier in Nepal.

"Finally, Shyam Kishore arranged some money through his friend Aitbari Singh and got himself released. On reaching Noida, Shyam Kishore asked Sahu to clear the dues of the supplier, but he refused. Instead of clearing the dues, Sahu got Radhey Shyam arrested with ganja," said Chaudhary.

It was then that Shyam Kishore decided to kill Sahu

New Delhi, April 14
Complaints running into the thousands have been pouring in with the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights under the RTE (Right to Education) Act. Over 11,000 complaints have come for violation of the act so far. Harassed parents have been approaching the DCPCR in large numbers.

A DCPCR official said, "There have been many cases of denial under the economically weaker section (EWS) quota, corporal punishment and mental harassment, among others. Parents have been coming to the commission, complaining of violation of the act by a number of schools in the Capital. Surprisingly, this is the case with many leading schools also."

The official added, "The commission has so far registered a total of 11,725 cases regarding violation of the RTE Act in Delhi."

DCPCR monitors the implementation of the RTE Act in Delhi and sources within the agency said that they have registered many cases which involve violations of diverse kinds like corporal punishment, admission denial under the EWS quota, mental harassment, screening tests before admissions.

Many parents have complained that schools simply chose not to give them admission forms, saying they have finished.

The official said, "Due to denial of admissions under the EWS quota by a large number of city schools, many parents have turned to the DCPCR for justice. In one case, a school in South Delhi did not issue forms to a number of EWS parents fobbing them off with excuses. The agency intervened in this case and got the harassed parents admission for their child. There were other parents who were simply not invited for the draw of lots. There have been cases where after the admission, children have been molested and severely beaten up."

The official added, "There was also a case of molestation of a girl child in a government senior secondary school in Srinivaspuri in south Delhi. The commission issued a notice to the school, after which the education department conducted an inquiry.

The charges were proved and both the erring teacher and the principal were suspended. Over 3,000 children have been admitted to schools after the DCPCR's intervention," said the official. 

New Delhi, April 14
The Delhi BJP today said that the resignation of five Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) members who resigned yesterday as municipal councillors has not been accepted yet.

Delhi Baharatiya Janata Dal (BJP) chief Vijender Gupta expressed confidence that the differences will be resolved soon. "We are looking into the matter and hope it will be resolved," the BJP added.

Angry with the BJP, five SAD members of the Municipal Corporation Delhi (MCD), where the BJP is in power, had resigned their seats in protest.

The protesting SAD councillors are Avtar Singh Hit, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Mandeep Kaur Bakshi, Jatinder Singh Shunty and Captain Inderpreet Singh.

The SAD complained that the BJP took a decision on candidates for the two posts as well as for three vacant positions in the MCD Standing Committee without 'adjusting' SAD councillors.

The head of the local unit of the SAD, Manjit Singh GK said, "We were being ignored and not consulted in the formation of committees."

He said the party president Sukhbir Badal has been informed and he has backed us.

He added that the SAD adjusts the BJP in Punjab in all the committees and on the same lines, the BJP should reciprocate in Delhi.

In the national Capital, Sikh votes are crucial in large pockets in south Delhi and northwest Delhi.

In a letter to the BJP Delhi president Vijender Gupta, the SAD chief said, "By its action, the BJP has broken the trust and sanctity of the alliance."

"Our party high command has conveyed to you and the BJP regarding the dispersal of various positions," the letter added.

Nobody from the BJP took the initiative to discuss the matter with the SAD before announcing a decision.

"Even after declaring the final list, the BJP did not inform SAD," the letter said.

The decision to ask the councillors to resign was taken at a party meeting yesterday.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa, one of the councillors who resigned, said, "The alliance dharma needs to be respected."

The Municipal Corporation Delhi has a total number of 272 seats of which 172 are from the BJP, 74 from the Congress, 16 from the BSP and ten are independent candidates.

New Delhi, April 14
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) announced that it will provide 20,000 houses to its safai karamcharies working in the city.

The announcement was made on the occasion of 120th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar and would be applicable to only those sanitation workers who do not own a house in Delhi.

The proposal would be initiated in a phased manner under the Dr Ambedkar Housing Scheme.

Yogender Chandolia, chairman, Standing Committee, said that the process for allotment of 254 completed houses at concessional rates has started from today.

"Under the scheme, 20,000 houses are to be constructed through funds provided by the government of India. In this series, the allocation would be made by a lottery system," said Chandolia.

Out of the total 254 houses, 13 houses would be made available to the widows of safai karamcharies and 13 would be given on the basis of medical certificates while 39 houses allocated to those safai karmacharies who are due to retire in three years. The rest 75 per cent or 189 houses have been set aside for safai karamcharies under general category, said Chandolia.

He said that 193 houses have been constructed in C-block of Nandnagari.

"The area of each house is 30.35 sq. metre and its cost has been kept at Rs 7.50 lakh. In Rohini, 16 houses are made available at a cost of Rs 7.75 lakh each. In Nandnagari-Sundernagari, 30 houses are being provided at Rs 7.05 lakh each. Fifteen houses are being made available at a cost of Rs 6.30 lakh each in the Jahangirpuri area," he said.

Chandolia suggested that those interested in these houses should contact sanitary inspectors of their zones where brochures would be made available. 

New Delhi, April 14
An engineer on his way home from work in Noida was allegedly brutally beaten by two CISF personnel and some Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials after he dared to indulge in an argument with them over change money.

According to information, the incident was reported last night from Karkardooma Metro station.

The victim, Swastik Kant Jain, who is undergoing treatment at a city hospital, has alleged that he was taken inside the security room of the Metro station and beaten up.

The police has received his complaint but has not registered an FIR as it is awaiting his medical report.

Meanwhile, CISF spokesperson Rohit Katiyar said that two guards of the CISF had only tried to pacify the other party but a departmental enquiry had been ordered against them. However, the DMRC has taken action and suspended its two employees involved in the incident. Senior officials refrained from naming the culprits.

A technical engineer with a Noida-based firm, Jain boarded a Metro train at Akshardham station.

"Jain purchased a ticket for Karkardooma station and gave a note of Rs 500 at the counter. Not having enough change, the man at the counter gave Jain a smart card and told him that after getting off the train, he should give the smart card to a customer care official of the DMRC and he would return him the balance money," said a police official.

Jain reached Karkarduma station around 7.15 pm and gave the smart card to a customer care official. However, the official asked him to take the balance money some other day as he too did not have change. This led to an argument between the two. Some other officials of the DMRC and CISF guards also joined the fight.

"One of the officials used abusive language for Jain, after which they pulled him inside the security room and bashed him up," said a police official.

Greater Noida, April 14
The district planning board here has approved Rs 54 crore for the development of Gautam Budh Nagar in the current year. The fund will be remitted to the 36 departmental accounts by the state government, which will be spent in a planned manner, it is learnt.

Maximum funds have been allocated for panchayati raj, health, social welfare, potable water and village and road development.

Ramveer Upadhya, state electricity minister, who is in charge of the district, said no slackness would be tolerated in developing Gautam Budh Nagar district. Bias or partisan approach would not be tolerated in the development works, Upadhya said.

For the use of the fund, members of Parliament, legislators and panchayats will give the district administration a list of the areas that require development.

"People's representatives will also keep an eye on the quality of the material being used in the work. There would be no compromise in the quality of construction. Those found guilty on this count, will be dealt with stringently," the minister said.

He urged the public representatives to meet people, know their grievances and tell the district administration about them. Public representatives should take people's suggestions seriously, he said.

District magistrate Deepak Agarwal said as against the last year's budget provision of Rs 43 crore, this year, the budget is higher by Rs 11 crore.

"Panchayati raj will get Rs 7.5 crore, Rs 10.61 core will be given for social welfare, Rs 7.13 crore for health, Rs. 3.37 crore for drinking water, Rs 2.47 crore for the public works department, Rs 2.39 crore for village development, Rs 1.27 crore for animal husbandry, Rs 1.50 crore for basic education and Rs 1.35 crore for forest department," the district magistrate elaborated.

Noida, April 14
The two sisters who locked themselves inside their Noida house for over seven months till they were rescued on the verge of death two days ago did not suffer from any financial problem that could have forced them to go off food and water for days, the police said today.

Looking for clues into why the Behl sisters, Anuradha and Sonali, decided to lock themselves away from the world, the police said the sisters were financially well off.

Their brother Vipin Behl, who is married and lived separately, has claimed that he had given up his share of the property - the Noida house - to his sisters and also the fixed deposits to them.

The elder sister, who was suffering from severe malnutrition, died of multi organ failure on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Dr Sanjay Mahajan of Kailash Hospital, where the sisters were admitted, said the condition of Sonali was stable.

"Her body immunity has gone down to zero level and blood pressure is derailed. But we are hopeful that she would regain her health, but it will take a long process of treatment over months," he told reporters. Sonali, 38, has been kept under constant observation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Kailash Hospital public relations officer V.B. Joshi said.

The Noida district magistrate has ordered a magisterial enquiry to be conducted by city magistrate Sanjay Chauhan..-- IANS

New Delhi, April 14
With the arrest of 11 persons, the north district police has claimed to have busted a gang of bus robbers. According to the police, the leader of the gang Charanjeet, alias Daboo (40), is involved in more than 47 criminal cases.

Other accused have been identified as Suraj Pal (45), Tinku (28), Bhagwan Das (34), Imtiaz (28), Mahesh Kumar (45), Rakhi (33), Deen Dayal (41), Ram Chander (45), Vinod (33) and Inderjeet (35).

"Three country-made pistols and four cartridges have been seized from the accused. Charanjeet was arrested in the wee hours of yesterday from near Ritz Cinema, Kashmere Gate. His arrest led to the arrest of other accused from near Nigambodh Ghat," said S. S. Yadav, DCP (north).

During interrogation, Charanjeet revealed that his brother Kamal Jeet, alias Bitto, and his accomplices were facing trials in several criminal cases registered in Delhi and UP.

"He along with his gang members travelled in a Maruti Echo car near bus stands and railway stations in the wee hours to commit pickpocketing and robberies on running buses," said Yadav.

New Delhi, April 14
The southwest district police has arrested three youths for allegedly killing an elderly woman without a legal heir to usurp her property.

According to the police, the accused have been identified Mukesh Rai (20) and his accomplices Neeraj Tyagi and Kishore Kumar. Rai was victim Bimla Devi's (65) tenant.

According to the police, after Rai learnt that Bimla Devi lived alone in her Palam Colony house, he moved in as her tenant and after building faith, killed her in November last year. Members of the society had lodged a complaint about the victim going missing, where upon the police took up the investigation.

"They informed us that Mukesh, who was a tenant, was also untraceable. Then some people came to the woman's house, claiming that they had bought the house. We became suspicious of Rai and finally managed to nab him from the New Delhi railway station after a tip-off," said a senior police official.

He added that on interrogation, Mukesh confessed to having murdered Bimla Devi.

According to the police, on November 16, 2010, the accused took a woman resembling Devi to a sub-registrar's office and got the property transferred to Mukesh's name.

Nine days later, they murdered Devi, stuffed the body in a plastic bag and dumped it on the outskirts of Gurgaon.