New Delhi, September 1
Two employees of Muthoot Finance company were killed while two of their women colleagues injured when a security guard opened indiscriminate fire at them before committing suicide in southeast Delhi this evening.

According to the police, the incident was reported around 7.20 pm from the Govindpuri Extension area of Kalkaji police station. "Security guard Vishram Singh, who later shot himself in the head and died on the spot, opened fire at four employees of Muthoot Finance company identified as Anu Goli, Nidhi Ghai, Krishna and Jomesh. They were rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre where Jomesh and Krishna were declared brought dead. The women employees are undergoing treatment and are in critical condition," said a senior police official, adding that the police team is still on the spot conducting investigation.

The sound of indiscriminate firing in the office could be heard by people in the market and according to them, all went quiet within five-seven minutes. However, no one entered the office due to fear until the employees themselves came out after Vishram Singh shot himself dead.

"The employees had fallen over each other to avoid bullet and were hiding behind desks and doors. They were in a state of shock and the police arranged for vehicles to drop them home," said Rajnish who reached the office soon after the incident.

According to information, Vishram Singh was disturbed regarding his duty schedule and had expressed unhappiness about it to his bosses, but no one paid heed.

"He was about 25 years old and had a licensed gun. Preliminary investigation has revealed that he was not happy with his duty hours compared with the other guards and often complained to his bosses. But they did not care," said a police official close to investigation.

Vishram Singh was a resident of Etah (UP) and had been working with the company for the past four months.

New Delhi, September 1
The south-west district police has arrested three persons, including two contract killers, for murdering Manjeet (20), after his mother Rajesh struck a deal for Rs 2 lakh with them to kill him.

The police arrested contract killers Umesh (32) and Mahender (22) on the Najafgarh-Bahadurgarh road on August 29.

During interrogation, they said they had murdered Manjeet in Sangrur, Punjab, on January 29. In January, Rajesh, a resident of Jharoda village, had contacted Mahender, who stays in the same locality, and complained about her son's conduct.

Mahender said Rajesh had an extra-marital affair and her son was to opposed it because of the family's reputation. In addition, several people used to visit their house in the absence of her husband and son.

"However, Rajesh was in no mood to mend her ways. Finding it difficult to reach a compromise with Manjeet, she decided to clear him from her way. Thus, she contacted Mahender and asked him to kill her son.

Mahender contacted his friend Umesh and introduced him to Rajesh. The deal was struck and Rajesh paid Rs 2 lakh to them to kill her son," said Anil Kumar Ojha, DCP, (south-west).

Manjeet was acquainted with Umesh and Mahender. On January 29, Mahender contacted Manjeet and asked him to accompany him to Punjab on the pretext of meeting a girl. The three boarded a train to Sangrur. In the evening, when they reached Lehra, Sangrur district, they consumed alcohol. When Manjeet became intoxicated, Umesh and Mahender took him to an isolated place and assaulted him with bricks and knives. They also smashed his face with stones to conceal his identity.

"The episode was corroborated by the police of Lehra and it also confirmed that an FIR dated January 30, 2011, was lodged at the Lehra police station," added Ojha.

New Delhi, September 1
Two occupants of a speeding Maruti Omni van were killed on the spot when it rammed a stationary Mahindra dumper under ITO flyover in the wee hours this morning.

According to the police, the deceased have been identified as Manveer (25), native of Bulandshahr (UP) and Dharmendra (20), native of Gorakhpur (UP).

"The accident took place around 3.20 am, about 60 meters from IP Estate police station. Manveer was driving the van while Dharmendra was sitting on the front seat.

“According to eyewitnesses, the van was speeding over 100 km and hit the dumper which was parked on the extreme left side of the road with indicators on," said a police official, adding that the impact of the collision was so strong that the front portion of the van was completely destroyed and it took over 2 hours to extract the bodies.

The victims worked as contractual employees in the circulation department of a Hindi newspaper and were transporting newspapers to New Delhi railway station from the newspaper’s printing office in Noida.

New Delhi, September 1
The police arrested a driver for shooting at a mobile shop owner in a case of road rage in the Rohini area last morning.

Sunil, alias Nittu, was arrested last night after the police managed to trace the vehicle (Scorpio) by the help of registration number provided by victim Pradeep.

"The chain of ownership of Scorpio car No DL-4C-NV-1560 was obtained and it was revealed that the vehicle was in the possession of Sunil, a resident of Barwala village. He was apprehended from Sector 24, Rohini, with the vehicle used in the offence," said BS Jaiswal, DCP (outer).

Another person identified as Vijender, who was travelling with Sunil at the time of the offence, is yet to be arrested.

The incident was reported around 9.25 am when Pradeep, a resident of Pooth Khurd village, was riding a motor cycle on way to his shop. Sunil and Vijender were in a car and tried to overtake him but when Pradeep did not allow them, Sunil shot at him in a fit of rage and fled.

According to the police, Sunil is working as a driver and got involved with anti-social elements at a young age. He was earlier booked in a kidnapping-cum-murder case as well under the Arms Act.

A car, a countrymade pistol and a live cartridge have been seized from him.

New Delhi, September 1
The monsoon session of the Delhi Assembly continues to be marred by disruptions by the opposition party, the BJP.

The Assembly today suspended the MLAs of the BJP for three days for disrupting the proceedings by demanding a discussion on the financial irregularities in the projects related to the Commonwealth Games.

Speaker Yoganand Shastri ordered 24 BJP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition VK Malhotra, to be marshalled out after the House reassembled to initiate the proceedings following a 30-minute break compelled by the pandemonium caused by the saffron party members.

The proceedings of the House were adjourned for half an hour when the BJP MLAs trooped to the Well, shouting slogans against Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and the Congress-led government.

Following the din created by the BJP, education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely proposed the removal of the opposition MLAs from the House, which was accepted by the Speaker.

The BJP MLAs questioned Speaker's decision to allow Dikshit to speak on the allegations in the CAG report on the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday when they were not allowed to speak on the issue. They blew a conch inside the House and shouted slogans against the government and Chief Minister.

Two Congress MLAs moved a privilege motion against Malhotra for leading the ruckus in the House, saying that as per the rules of the Assembly, no MLA can shout slogans and bring banners inside the House.

In turn, the BJP moved a privilege motion against Dikshit, alleging that it was not right on her part to make a statement in 
the House when the Speaker rejected their demand for a discussion on corruption.

Replying to Dikshit's remark, accusing him of involvement in financial irregularities related to the Games, Malhotra said no enquiry committee had taken his name.

"I was not involved in any decision. The CM was part of the GoM that monitored the progress of the projects," said Malhotra.

New Delhi, September 1
The parking fee at the Metro stations will be dearer at the various routes from September 8.

The fee that a Metro traveller has to pay for parking each month will be Rs 625 for car, Rs 300 for motorcycle, scooter and autorickshaw and Rs 30 for cycle-rickshaw.

"The fee that DMRC charges is quite less compared to those levied by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Besides, we would

be offering monthly passes to all the regular commuters using smart card at select Metro stations," said a DMRC official.

He added these passes will be issued to all the commuters who have used their card for a minimum of 20 days in August. To avail this facility, the Metro commuter has to give a request and submit copies of driving licence, registration certificate and smart card at the 18 earmarked stations.

The stations are: Dilshad Garden, Jhilmil, Shahdara, Seelampur, Tis Hazari, Pulbangash, Pratap Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Inder Lok, Kanhaiya Nagar, Rohini West, Rithala, GTB Nagar, Patel Chowk, RK Ashram, Moti Nagar, Janakpuri East and Uttam Nagar East.

New Delhi, September 1
The benevolent elephant-headed god made a grand entry into the Capital today with 22 Maharashtrian mandals installing colourful idols of Lord Ganesha for an 11-day ritual of prayers and festivities.

Delhi is home to 2.5 lakh Marathi people, who celebrate the festival with fanfare.

Ganesh Chaturthi, when Ganesh idols are installed, is the beginning of the festival, which ends with the immersion of the idols on Anant Chaturdashi.

Some of the most popular Chaturthi carnivals are held in Uttam Nagar and Lakshmi Nagar in the Capital.

The carnivals thrive around a "puja mandap" - which is made of an ornate marquee that seats the lord. The idols are crafted from a special variety of clay found only in Maharashtra.

This year, two ethnic shopping and culture hubs - the Dilli Haat at Pitampura and near INA - have joined the festivities with special prayers, cultural shows and traditional Ganeshotsava platters of food.

A member of the Maratha Mitra Mandal in Karol Bagh said "the celebrations at Dilli Haat will be special attraction for revelers from all communities and regions because of the open nature of the venues".

Feasts are essential to the invocation of the elephant-headed god, who loves food. A traditional Chaturthi delicacy is the "modak" - a dumpling with a filling of fresh coconut, dried fruits and jaggery.

Celebrations at the Sree Vinayaka Mandir at Sarojini Nagar began on August 31 with a Vedic rite - Sama Veda Upakarma. A ceremonial idol of the deity for the four-day ritual was installed today at the temple. At the Marathi Mandals, on the 11th day the idols of Ganesha will be taken out for immersion in Yamuna.

Historians cannot trace the beginning of the festival. The scriptures cite that Ganesha was "deified" because the elephant headed son of Shiva and Parvati - who was endowed with a sharp intellect, wisdom and occult powers - was declared the most superior among the gods by Shiva.

The Chaturthi Pooja was known to be held during the reign of Satavahanas, Chalukya and Rashthrakuta kings.

In Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi is said to have been initiated by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja to promote culture and nationalism.

Over the years, the festival has spread across India with large-scale migrations from Maharashtra to take on a pan-Indian flavour.

A multi-million dollar industry of gifts and goodies operates around the 11-day festival. As the icon is a fashionable household artifact, lifestyle stores in the Capital stock Ganesha miniatures which are made of a variety of materials like crystal, glass, gemstones, porcelain and ceramics, and even silver.

Episode, a boutique lifestyle store in N-Block Market of Greater Kailash-I, is selling 'Silver Grace', a seated icon of the deity priced at Rs 5.8 lakh. Another version of the icon, Divine Blessings, a three-foot tall Ganesha crafted by potter Anju Kumar at Ayaan on MG Road is priced Rs 18,500. The 'Presiding Deity', a colourful icon embellished with Swarovski crystals and gemstones, costs Rs 2.25 lakh.

"Business is brisk in Ganesha icons. This is the time when the Capital, like the rest of the country, opens its purse strings," said a spokesperson for Jay Strongwater, a boutique store at DLF Emporio at Vasant Kunj. -- IANS

New Delhi, September 1
A look in the mirror started giving nightmares to Renu Sharma. Her lips were growing bigger, facial features were getting distorted, eyes were bulging out -- she'd begun to dread her own reflection. After a visit to a cosmetologist and a physician, she was diagnosed with brain tumour.

"It was in June that I started noticing changes in my facial features. Thinking this was because of heat, the first thought that came to my mind was consulting a cosmetologist," Sharma, a homemaker, told IANS.

"But then I was advised to go to a physician. An MRI was done," Sharma, 33, said.

In a report that shocked her, it was revealed that Sharma had benign tumour in the pituitary gland of the brain.

"The tumour is known as Pituitary Adenoma. Excessive production of the growth hormone in the pituitary gland leads to changes in physical features," Sudhir Tyagi, senior consultant of neurosurgery, told IANS.

The pituitary gland is responsible for the production and release of hormones such as growth hormone.

It was not just changing physical features that hinted at Sharma's deteriorating health condition, she also complained of piercing headache and weakness in limbs.

Experts term the condition as acromegaly. The metabolic disorder, which causes enlargement of body tissues, has a rare occurrence of six per 100,000 adults.

The mother of two was recently operated upon at Apollo Hospital and is now back at her Noida residence.

"We rarely see tumour cases resulting in changes in the facial and physical features of the patient. The patient was immediately taken for a minimal invasive skull-based surgery where we made incision through the nose to remove the tumour," Tyagi explained.

The surgery costs around Rs.200,000 in India.

"The difficult part is that we have not been able to ascertain the cause of the tumour. The patient slowly regains old features if diagnosed on time," the doctor said.

In cases where the diagnosis is done late, the distortion of the face can be permanent, apart from causing vision loss.

For Renu, life is limping back to normalcy after almost a month in hospital. She looks more or less her previous self, picks her 10-year-old son from school, cooks for her family, and plans to live life to the hilt.

"Life had come to a standstill. I used to think I will die any minute because of the abrupt change in my appearance. There was swelling in limbs as well," Sharma recalls the dreadful moments.

"All I knew was that I have to live for my children," says Sharma, with eyes welling up. -- IANS

New Delhi, September 1
The best teacher that an artiste can have is his parent. The guru-shishya or master-pupil tradition in Indian classical music finds a resounding echo when the beats of percussion maestro Bickram Ghosh and his father-teacher, the eminent tabla exponent Shankar Ghosh, combine.

They share a fine chemistry on stage that merges two diverse eras in Indian percussion. Bickram, 44, is aggressive while father Shankar, 75, is more subtle,and yet the blend works and transcends time.

"The beats of the 'tabla' in my life have flowed from my father," Bickram says. "He was my first teacher. We have a great time when we play together on stage though we are completely different as musicians."

The duo will play 'jugalbandi' in the capital on Saturday at the Legends of Music showcase after a decade. "We usually play classical tabla on stage," Bickram said.

Classical might be their choice but it glosses over the fact that Shankar was an early pioneer of fusion. He taught at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Francisco for nearly two decades and gave India one of its best drum orchestras: the Calcutta Drum Orchestra - an ensemble of 25 Indian and western percussion instruments.

Recalling his father's contribution to his career, Bickram said, "Like any master's son, I was introduced as a child to tabla at home by my father. He would surround me with a cordon of tabla so that I did not crawl around. Instead of wriggling out of the 'chakravyuh (trap)' of instruments, I would bang on them, my mother (Hindustani vocalist Sanjukta Ghosh) says."

That was the beginning for Bickram.

"At 23, after I post-graduated in English literature, my father wanted to know whether I wanted to teach or take up the family vocation," Bickram said.

He chose the tabla.

"Over 10 years, I mastered my skill, toured with Ravi Shankar, learnt Carnatic 'taala' system from 'mridangam' maestro S. Sekhar, collaborated with musicians like George Harrison (in album Brainwashed) and honed my abilities as a new age Indian percussionist," Bickram said.

"When I was 33, my father told me that I was ready to play with him," he recounted.

The conversation resulted in a three-and-a-half-hour concert in Kolkata.

"Our relationship is based on mutual 'guru-shishya' friendship, flamboyance and respect for individual styles. I echo him, but in a different way," he said.

The percussionist, who has composed a special tribute, Vande Mataram, for the 65th Independence Day, will play in a UNESCO concert this year to commemorate poet Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary. He has recast several songs by Tagore in a new-age fusion sound-scape, "Tagore Lounge".

Bickram's Indian soul is his father's gift, says Shankar, whose decision to return to India from the Ali Akbar College of Music was prompted by Bickram.

"I brought him back to Kolkata and admitted him to La Matiniere's Boy School," Shankar recalled. "Bickram learnt from me for 12-15 years. We may differ in our styles, but people say our tabla sings on stage... maybe, because we are from the same 'gharana'."

Shankar, among those early pioneers who brought tabla solo to the classical mainstream, said: "Four different schools of music - the Farrukhabad gharana, Punjab gharana, Lucknow gharana and Banaras gharana - come together in this genre of music."

Shankar himself had four teachers - Gyan Prakash Ghosh, Feroz Khan, Sudarshan Adhikari and Anath Bose - representing four styles. I composed my own rhythms from ancient classical ragas and I also dabbled in fusion.

Bickram was influenced by the drums like the Doumbek (Egyptian) that I collected for my Calcutta Drum Orchestra," Shankar Ghosh said.

The father and the son are unequivocal that "the instrument has come a long way".

"Tabla is one of the most popular eastern percussion instruments worldwide. It holds its own in the changing world of music," Shankar said. -- IANS