New Delhi, April 17
Delhiites woke up to a pleasant Sunday morning after a sporadic spell of showers overnight and a cool breeze swaying across the city since last night kept the city's atmosphere soothing. The next two days are also expected to remain partly cloudy.

However, seeing a hot and humid weather, with the maximum humidity remaining at 84 per cent, the city residents preferred to delay their shopping plans until evening when the city further received relaxing spells of rain.

Thus, even as the day started on a wet note, with the weather department gauging a rainfall of 1.5 mm until 8:30 in the morning, it went on to progress as a sunny afternoon, with the mercury level reading a maximum of 36.4 degree Celsius, normal for this time of the season.

As further rain fell in the city and NCR, many of those with plans to go to the city's markets were left disappointed.

According to the Met officials, the rain in the city and NCR is owing to the upper-air cyclonic circulation in central Rajasthan and neighbourhood apart from the usual western disturbance that blows over the northwestern part of the country.

"Delhi has witnessed light showers after a spell of dry weather and the average rain recorded until 5:30 in the evening stood at 1.3 mm and it is normal happenning due to the western system that comes from Jammu and Kashmir and adjoining Pakistan. The impact is also due to the low-pressure in the areas of Rajasthan," the weather official said.

The minimum temperature for today settled at 22.6 degree Celsius, a departure of one degree. For tomorrow, the city is going to witness partly cloudy sky and the high and the low temperatures are expected to oscillate between 32 and 21 degree Celsius respectively, he added. 

New Delhi, April 17
The election of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee is due, though the voters have yet to get their ID cards.

They are of the view that the government is delaying the preparation of voters' list. No awareness campaign has been launched so far. Only those who visit gurdwaras regularly are aware of the election. A number of people in the gurdwaras of south, central and west Delhi areas voiced their opinions to The Tribune correspondent today.

R. P. Singh, a resident of Greater Kailash-I, said that residents are facing difficulty in getting their names registered for the ensuing Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee election as it requires many documents. Some of them have shifted to other places. They do not have evidence to prove their residential address.

G. K. Arora of GK-II, who also visited Pahari Wali Gurdwara, said that he did not have an ID card to cast his vote in the gurdwara election.

The government direction is that the officials deployed for the job will visit every house to make the cards. But they just visit the gurudwara offices for a couple of hours to distribute forms, said a gurdwara official.

In some cases, they have distributed forms, but they have not turned up to collect them. Greater Kailash ward has around 2,500-3,000 voters, but so far only 500 voters are listed.

Defence Colony ward has 1,000 voters, but hardly 150 voters have submitted forms to get their names registered, said an official of the gurdwara office.

Amrik Singh, who lives near a Karol Bagh gurdwara, said that the government has no interest in getting the election held on time. According to the old list, the Karol Bagh ward has 8,000 votes. The new list has not been prepared. The officials of the Delhi gurdwara election department have given some forms for registration, but they have not turned up to collect them so far.

However, the situation in Tilak Nagar gurudwara is different where most of the Sikhs have got their election cards.

The government officials visit the gurdwara every day for two hours in the evening and two hours in the morning.

The position in Paschim Vihar gurdwara is also somewhat better, though some people are still not aware of the preparation of election cards.

An employee of the gurudwara said that around 5,000 voters have been issued cards.

Delhi minister of gurudwara elections Arvinder Singh Lovely and his secretary were not available for the comment. 

Now that the World Cup hysteria is over and the Assembly elections campaign is also over, the cocktail circle in the Capital is busy discussing Hazare ki hazar Khwahishein. Anna Hazare's topic rules the Delhi's elite circles whether it is a wedding reception or a small dinner party. Sharad Pawar had to give into pressure and resign from the GOM on corruption. Controversies and criticisms are a part of Pawar's life, but Anna's potshots at the Maratha leader have got Pawar's PR managers working overtime. From the NCP members and his friends in the political circles or industry are all out to criticize the UPA high command giving in to Anna Hazare. Delhites think the lawyers turned politicians still treat the TV studios and the evening drawing rooms as court rooms and this is across party lines.

The Maharashtra leaders are surprised as to how Anna became a mega star in Delhi. The likes of Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde have successfully handled the veteran activist in their state without making him into the Mahatma Gandhi of today.

New Delhi, April 17
A group of students from Ousedale School, Grove Newport Pagnell, Britain, called on the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda here this evening.

They have come under the Educational Exchange Programme between two schools of India and United Kingdom. They have visited Motilal Nehru School of Sports Rai, Sonepat in Haryana. The exchange programme is going on since 1982 and every alternate year 15 students and two teachers of these two schools visit each other.

This group consists of eight boys and five girls, who have come with one male and one lady teacher.

Mr Hooda asked the children, as to how have they felt in India. They said they are very happy. Some students narrated their experiences and said that they have tried to learn Hindi also. When asked by Chief Minister, one student spoke a sentence in Hindi.

A group of students from Motilal Nehru School of Sports Rai will go to Britain this year in June-July.

The Chief Minister wished the students a bright future. 

Gurgaon, April 17
International pop star Akon threw open his black shirt and his black vest just the way our own star Salman Khan does in movies and on stage.

What followed thereafter, was a sight to behold! Hundreds of boys ended up removing their t-shirts and shirts and swayed it in the air, as the Senegalese-American singer sang Take it off at his grand concert here Saturday night.

"If you are a true Akon party animal, take off your shirts!" Akon shouted out to all his fans.

Seconds later, a whole lot of men in the 2000-plus crowd bared their chest, and waved their shirts and t-shirts in the air in sync with Akon.

There were yellow, red, black, white, blue shirts in the air all over the HUDA Grounds here.

The girls were only going crazy as Akon stripped down to a fit, toned bare chest.

As if the excitement wasn't already enough, Akon threw his shirt, and several people jumped to catch it. His vest followed and everyone seemed to want to grab the sweat-drenched piece of his clothing.

Akon set his Indian fans in a party mood as he belted out popular hits like Don't matter, Ghetto, Smack that, I Wanna love you, Dangerous and Beautiful, among others.

The pop star turned 38 on Friday, and was in full mood to party hard. He went crowd-surfing in a transparent balloon, and later all by himself, letting his fans get a full feel of the Akon magic.

After all this acton, he was quite tired and demanded water too. But Akon was considerate enough to offer water to his fans as well - but in a different way.

He threw open at least 20 bottles of water and splashed it all over the crowd that stood right in front of the stage, and later even shared the cake he cut for his 38th birthday at the venue.

Thanks to the concert, Akon has left behind memories of being a people's person - and said he would love to return to India next year.

And in a way he lifted the spirit of music lovers who were disappointed after the cancellation of Bryan Adams concert here a few months ago. "Delhi, you're all party animals!" he admitted before leaving.

He will perform in Bangalore on Sunday. —IANS

Noida, April 17
Noida is 36 years old today and to commemorate the big day, New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida Authority) made befitting arrangements and drew elaborate programmes.

During its existence, the sleepy area comprising half a dozen villages has metamorphosed into one of the most fast developing metros not only in UP or India but the world over. It has become a centre for industrial production, an educational hub, a mecca of software and information technology, a hub of media and entertainment industry with an array of modern multi-speciality hospitals.

With multinational giants, F1 racing rack, Noida today spells the last word in modern town planning with broad roads, flyovers, underpasses and a Metro rail connection with the country's capital.

Sprawling malls and buildings are interspersed with lush green vistas all around. Shortly a night safari, an international airport and the Yamuna Expressway to Agra will add to Noida's glory. Noida today represents the flourishing of the urban, ambitious entrepreneurial growth. Noidaites insist that it is better planed and better connected than its rival Gurgaon in NCR.

It is another matter that Noida still has some problems like increasing population and social tensions with a large chunk of its unemployed youth taking to crime.

Another aspect that has escaped the attention of the social scientists is the fact that a large amount of cash received by the farmers as compensation is impacting the social fabric in an adverse manner. The neo-rich young men squander the easy-gotten cash.

As per the latest Census report, the rise of population is also adding to the problems of the city. Increasing number of vehicles, chaotic traffic, lack of tolerance-all add to the problems.

For the big day, from sports tournaments to poetic symposia, music and dance competitions, cultural programmes and comedy shows were arranged to mark the day by Noida Authority. Even celebrity artistes like popular Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas, famous Ragini singer Rajbala of Bahadurgarh were roped in.

The celebrations began on April 7 in which 16 sports teams participated. The cultural shows began on April 13 with a kavi sammelan and mushaira during the day and a comedy show put up by TV star Bharti and Kapil Sharma at the stadium in the evening. Nearly 300 stalls sold handicraft items at the stadium .

A wrestling match was also held after which the Ragini singer Rajbala performed. A sports competition between NA officials and various residents welfare associations was also held. 

New Delhi, April 17
A 26-year-old labourer was stabbed to death allegedly by his friend after he refused to share a cannabis joint with him, the police said today.

Ram Babu, who hailed from Bihar's Begusarai, was stabbed to death when he was smoking ganja or cannabis with his friends in a park in central Delhi's Daryaganj on Friday, a senior police official said.

This is the second case of murder for trivial reasons in the national Capital this week after a 50-year-old man was bludgeoned to death in his sleep on Thursday in Ashok Vihar allegedly by his neighbour over selling 'jalebis' outside his residence.

"Babu was smoking ganja with his friends. One of his friends Suresh also reached the spot. He asked Babu to give him a smoke. Babu refused and this led to an argument," a senior police official said.

The argument led to a scuffle, during which, Suresh allegedly stabbed Babu in the stomach and shoulder.

Suresh was arrested from the Aruna Asaf Ali Marg area yesterday and the knife allegedly used in the murder seized.

Earlier, Veer Bahadur, a sweetmeat seller, was sleeping outside his house when he was hit with a boulder.

His neighbour Ram Surat, who was arrested in connection with the case, told the police that Bahadur had been selling "jalebis" from a makeshift shop just outside his house for over a month and he had objected to it several times.

"Bahadur also started sleeping outside his house which enraged him further. When Ram Surat found Bahadur sleeping outside his house last night, he repeatedly hit him on the head with a boulder in a fit of rage," the official said. -- PTI

Greater Noida, April 17
Three cases of murder for dowry were reported in the Dadri police station area on Saturday. In two of the cases, the victims were burnt alive while in the third case, the woman was poisoned.

The Dadri police has registered the cases on the complaints lodged by the families of the victims and investigations are in progress. However, none of the accused has been nabbed so far.

According to the police, the first incident took place in Nai Basti village. Prakash, a resident of Daula Kuan in Delhi, married his daughter Archana on June 20 last year to Sachin, a resident of Bai Basti village in Dadri.

A few days into the marriage and Sachin started demanding a bike from his in-laws. Archana's father-in-law and elder brother-in-law supported Sachin in the demand.

Archana's family alleges that when their demand was not fulfilled, Sachin and his family members torched Archana after sprinkling kerosene on her. She succumbed to her burns during treatment.

On Saturday, Praksh lodged a report against Sachin, his father Rajveer and brother Anil.

The second tragedy took place in Ghodi Bachhaira village. Akil of this village married Lalita of Khurja in 2009. Lalita's father Dhiru Lal Sharma alleges that her in-laws had demanded some cash and a car in dowry. And when he could not fulfill their demand, they burnt Lalita on April 6.

On Sharma's complaint, the police has registered a case against Akil, his father Hari Sharma, mother Sanju Devi and uncles, Bhagwat and Pawan.

The third incident took place in Dadri's Teachers Colony. According to Karamchand Upadhya, his daughter Manya was married to Ajay of Faridabad. Ajay had demanded Rs 7 lakh as dowry. When the demand was not met, Manya was given a glass of milk laced with poison on March 29. Dadri police circle officer (DSP) Ambesh Chand Tyagi has assured that the accused in all the three cases would be arrested soon.

New Delhi, April 17
Terming dowry as a "big slur" on the society, a Delhi court has sent a man and his mother to life imprisonment for burning his wife to death in 2006 after she failed to bring more cash as demanded by them.

"The dowry system is a big slur and curse on our society, democracy and country. It is incomprehensible how such unfortunate and condemnable instances of dowry killings are so frequent in our society," additional sessions judge (ASJ) Nisha Saxena said.

The court, in its judgement, even compared the social evil of dowry with terrorism.

"In-laws are characterised to be outlaws for perpetrating terrorism which destroys the matrimonial home. The terrorist is dowry and it is spreading tentacles in every possible direction," the court said.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on Wasim Hassan and his mother Amir Jahan for setting ablaze Rehana after pouring kerosene on her in the kitchen of their Gautam Vihar residence in April, 2006.

Three days later, Rehana succumbed to burns at a hospital here.

However, she made a statement before the SDM concerned, indicting the duo for the offence.

Rehana was married to Wasim in 2004 and had an 11-month-old child, the victim had said, adding that it was her mother-in-law and husband who set her ablaze.

The convicts used to harass her for not bringing enough dowry and demanded Rs 7 lakh for buying a house and a vehicle, the court concluded. -- PTI

New Delhi, April 17
A Delhi court has awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment to two habitual child kidnappers, including a woman.

The court also said that punishment for child abduction should be enhanced to meet the challenge of growing number of kidnappings.

Ritu Kapoor, 41, and Mohammed Jiyaul, 26, were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and fined Rs.5,000 for "kidnapping in order to murder".

Additional session judge Kamini Lau also sentenced them to another seven years and fined them an additional Rs.2,000.

"Both sentences shall run concurrently," the judge said on April 13. The public prosecutor said the convicts were habitual child lifters and were involved in five other cases of similar nature.

Two of the abducted children had been recovered from Kapoor's residence in north Delhi after her arrest.

Kapoor kidnapped a month-and-half-old boy of Anita from her house at Mukherjee Nagar on November 13, 2008 with Jiyaul's help. Kapoor had pretended to be a government representative.

The court said: "The convicts being habitual child lifters, any leniency shown is likely to be misplaced under the given circumstances when the child itself is not traceable.

"Kidnapping has become a major problem in our society. It is a profitable business, if the victim is an infant belonging to a poor family.

"Physical appearance of the child aged a few months frequently changes, making it difficult for even family members to identify after a long time.

"The situation becomes all the more difficult when the victim belongs to a poor family and the child's family is unable to provide any identification proof in the form of photograph etc," the court observed.

The judge said: "Delhi has one of the highest numbers of missing children, and the country has no central data on the number of children who go missing or what has happened to them.

"As many as 60,000 young children below the age of 18 were reported missing in 2009 across India compared to 44,000 in 2004. And 40 per cent of them were traced through the individual efforts by parents."

According to Alliance for Peoples' Rights, at least seven children, mostly from extremely poor families, go missing every hour. This amounts to 165 a day. About 10 per cent or 6,000 children who go missing are infants-less than a year old. — IANS

Ghaziabad, April 17
A man was shot at by his friend after he refused to drive his car in the Rajnagar area here, the police said today.

Ram Prashad (27) and Dheeraj Chaudhry (30) consumed liquor last night following which Chaudhry asked Prashad to drive his car which the latter denied.

Later, Chaudhry shot Prashad.

Prashad was rushed to a hospital where he is stated to be out of danger, the police said.

A case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against Chaudhry, who is absconding after the incident. -- PTI