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DU students, teachers protest removal of Ramanujan’s essay
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Ex-IIT don cheats, cools his heels in police custody
‘Show cause’ to JNU student for ‘offensive’ poster
DSGMC poll by May next year, LG told
KGSS ties up with SAD (Delhi-UK)
Dikshit hints at another
hike in power tariff
Help pours in for poor dying AIIMS patient Shehnaz
Bhatta-Parsaul rape: Panel
warns UP
Cancellation of Asadullapur land acquisition
24 dengue cases in 24 hours in Delhi
Metro schedule for
Divali, Bhai Dooj
Man held for rape in Delhi hotel
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DU students, teachers protest removal of Ramanujan’s essay
New Delhi, October 24 After repeated voices of dissent on the removal of the essay by the Department of History failed to move the Delhi University administration, hundreds of students and teachers today joined hands and took to the street. Student parties, representatives from pro-Left organisations, DU teachers, students and teachers from other universities, including JNU, and historians participated in the two-hour protest that started from the Arts Faculty and traversed through colleges like Kirorimal, Hindu and St Stephen's before concluding at the office of the Vice-Chancellor where a memorandum was signed and submitted. An online signature campaign has also been started by the protesting groups, with a dissent note addressed to the Vice-Chancellor. The note has already been been signed by over 1400 people, including Prof Bipin Chandra, Prof Romila Thapar, Prof Mridula Mukherjee and Sanskrit scholar Sheldon Pollock. Mukul Mangalik, history teacher at Ramjas College, today said, "The politics of hurt sentiment cannot be used to curtail civil liberties and our democratic right as a teacher to teach our students every aspect of a subject." "Can we allow historical enquiry to be replaced by assertion of faith? The decision to do away with the essay has not come after a rigorous discussion or debate. It has evolved from existing prejudices and paying respect to those in power, who advocate this politics of hurt sentiment," he added commenting on the Academic Council's recent decision to remove the essay 'Three Hundred Ramayanas' from the history syllabus. About the impact the movement intends to create, Abha Dev Habib, DUTA executive member, said, "Public pressure is not to be undermined. We want the Academic Council to reconsider its decision. People who don't know anything about history are deciding what teachers should be teaching and not teaching. There was no dialogue, no discussion with the teachers. The dissenting members of AC were not even properly heard." The essay, which offers a number of versions of the epic story of Lord Rama, including the Jain, Buddhist and Kannada narratives, had not gone down well with sections of the right wing, some of whom called it "blasphemous", "unacceptable" and "hurtful to Hindu sentiments." Soon after the protest march, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad addressed a press conference and said that it oppose the forcible inclusion of the essay in the syllabus. "The book is available in the library. The article is on the Internet for everyone to see. The information is out there, and we do not mind if anyone reads it. We are not calling for a ban on the content. What we oppose is its inclusion in the syllabus and making it a compulsion for everyone to read," said ABVP state secretary Rohit
Chahal. |
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Ex-IIT don cheats, cools his heels in police custody
Ghaziabad, October 24 The tricksters were able to give themselves a life of comfort and luxury. But their luck ran out ultimately and the crooks landed in the police net. Three of them, who had launched several fake finance firms, travel and film production companies and floated fake websites, were arrested. They operated in nine cities and were allegedly led by a retired IIT professor. Cheques and cash were recovered from the trio. According to SSP (Ghaziabad) Raghuvir Lal, the accused had a huge network and were active in Ghaziabad, Noida, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. "Manish Rajput, a resident of Vaishali; Mahendra Singh, a resident of Jaagriti Vihar; and Arjun Singh, a resident of Vivek Vihar in east Delhi, have been arrested. However, Deepak Kumar Rajput (45), a retired IIT teacher; Narender Paul, a resident of Indirapuram; and one Shakti are still absconding along with four Noida girls who posed as tele-callers," said Lal. Their three-pronged strategy: "They asked the victims to pay Rs 1,000 to register with their tele-marketing website. Subsequently, the victims had to pay another Rs 10,000 to obtain the login and marketing kit. Good work was appreciated and rewards in the form of gold coins, medallions and even cars were freely distributed to the agents. But soon, the accused shut shop and absconded," said Lal. The conmen then opened up travel websites, offering foreign trips at rock-bottom prices. Initially, clients would be given discounts on smaller trips to Southeast Asia, inspiring them to pay willingly for trips to the US and Europe. Once they had enough money, the accused shut down this website also. "They cheated two Chennai-based film directors to the tune of Rs 1.75 crore by promising to give them a break in a Hindi movie. Even a mahurat was held, attended by a Bollywood actor," Lal added.
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Dhanteras shoppers crowd markets,
cause jams
New Delhi, October 24 The festival of Dhanteras marks the commencement of financial year for most Indian business communities. On this day, Hindus consider it auspicious to purchase gold or silver articles or at least one or two new utensils. Shops started bustling since this morning. Many people were seen buying utensils made of brass, copper or bronze. It is believed that new 'dhan' or some form of precious metal is a sign of good luck. The shops were flooded with something new to offer to their customers this season and the buyers had a wide variety of options ranging from utensils to jewellery or metals. Jewellers across the city made huge sales despite rising prices. Dhanteras holds special significance for the business community as high sales are expected due to customary purchases of precious metals. "Divali is not only about bringing in new goods, it also stands for gifting to near and dear ones. So to add to the festive mood and celebration, we went shopping to buy some gifts for friends and relatives," said Uma Srivastav, a bank employee who had come to a south Delhi market. Taking about the festivity, Ramesh Bansal, a businessman, said, "On this festival, people decorated their houses with small 'diyas' or candles. However with the change of time and situation, the diyas have been replaced with LED lights or artificial diyas". The festival also led to huge traffic jams at marketplaces. Finding the parking space was a challenging task. Among the worst affected markets were the ones at Connaught Place, Paharganj, Sadar Bazar and Chandni Chowk. Sadar Bazar was particularly bad in the peak hours as hundreds of families descended to buy firecrackers. Among the areas which witnessed jams were stretches on Ring Road and Outer Ring Road at Vikaspuri, Paschim Vihar, New Friends Colony, Sarita Vihar and Badarpur. "The day is culminated in people adorning the entrances to their homes with lamps and traditional, colourful rangoli to welcome Goddess Lakshmi, hoping that she would bring them wealth and prosperity," said Rashmi Bhardwaj, a housewife in Mayur Vihar. |
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‘Show cause’ to JNU student for ‘offensive’ poster
New Delhi, October 24 Almost two weeks ago, the university saw an uproar after a section of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) students took the All India Backward Students’ Forum (AIBSF) head-on for putting up these ‘blasphemous posters on campus that hurt religious sentiments’. However, even after the notice was served to AIBSF president Jitendra Yadav, PhD student of Centre of Indian Languages today, the AIBSF said that they would still honour Mahishasura by observing “Mahishasura day” tomorrow. They said they were just honouring the “martyrdom” of Mahishasura, who belonged to the backward caste and was a “just and a powerful king”. The notice said Yadav had been found guilty on the grounds of releasing an “offensive” poster depicting a deity “in a derogatory manner which created considerable unhappiness and resentment among a section of students”. An FIR was also lodged at the Vasant Kunj police station due to a tussle between AIBSF and ABVP two weeks ago. That is when the university had stepped in, and called for an enquiry into the matter. The reply on the notice from AIBSF is expected by October 27 and Yadav is being asked to explain “his misconduct and serious indiscipline”. However, Yadav said, “The university is failing to see the real issue. They are favouring the rightwing groups. The article we posted did not intend to insult any deity but was put up so that Dalit and OBC youths get to know of their heroes. There is a magazine that is circulated on campus which had an article on the Dalit view of Durga-Mahishasura. We picked up a portion of that article – Who are the Bahujans Really Worshipping? – in order to use it in the posters that we pasted on campus.” Undeterred, the students of the AIBSF front also organised a seminar this evening on ‘Mahishasur & Macaulay: The Limits of Post-Modernity’ on the eve of the birth anniversary of Lord Macaulay, the 19th century British historian and politician who was instrumental in introducing the English language as a medium of education in India.
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DSGMC poll by May next year, LG told
New Delhi, October 24 The preparations for the elections had begun, he said. He, along with a delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) led by its Delhi unit president Manjit Singh (GK), briefed the LG today. The minutes of the meeting said that the preparation of electoral rolls was likely to be completed by October 31 and the draft rolls would be published by November 30. After considering the claims and objections, for which 21 days have been allotted, the final publication of the rolls will be done by January 1, 2012. The minutes further said that the delimitation of wards would take two or three months. The LG expressed his desire that all parties be consulted for the delimitation of wards. The minutes also said that about 1.88 lakh voters had been registered. However, the delegation informed the LG and other senior officers at the meeting that there were around eight lakh voters in Delhi and the government should register all of them. They suggested that camps should be organised for registering the voters in all 23 zones of the gurdwara elections on Saturdays and Sundays under the supervision of the SDMs concerned. After hearing the suggestions of the delegation, divisional commissioner Dharmendra Kumar said that there were 46 wards and the exercise could be carried out in each ward. The LG suggested that in each of the 23 zonal offices, two-day camps should be organised from 10 am to 4 pm. The term of the current committee will expire on November 7. It was decided that a proposal for the second extension would be put up by the department concerned. However, the LG said that as the committee had become "functus officio", an extension would be provided in a "caretaker" capacity. If any violation of this restriction is noticed, it should be brought to the knowledge of the authorities for appropriate action, the LG added.
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KGSS ties up with SAD (Delhi-UK)
New Delhi, October 24 At a joint conference, KGSS president Tarvinder Singh Marwah and SAD Delhi-UK president Jasjit Singh said that their parties would contest the elections jointly and the division of seats would be declared later. There are 46 seats in the DSGMC. They said that corruption is rampant in the gurdwara administration. The internal condition of all the institutions and hospitals run by the committee is very bad. In schools, teachers have not been given the salaries according to the Sixth Pay Commission report. Students of poor families are not given fee concessions. These problems have been raised many times at many forums by DSGMC members and the opposition parties, but DSGMC president Paramjeet Singh Sarna is doing nothing. The building of Bala Sahib Hospital is ready, but the gurdwara committee has not started the hospital, they said. By and large, the Sikh community in Delhi is against the Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi), the ruling party in gurdwara committee. It has already been defeated badly in Punjab in Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee election last month. It will also be defeated in Delhi gurdwara elections whenever they are held, both the leaders said. |
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Dikshit hints at another
hike in power tariff
New Delhi, October 24 With the permission of the DERC, the government had hiked the tariff by 22 per cent. But discoms were not satisfied with this hike. They kept demanding a hike of 60 per cent. She said that power is still cheaper in Delhi in comparison to other states. However, she did not disclose the percentage of the hike. When asked whether power tariff would go up, she said, "There could be. Yes, certainly." Asked about finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's comment at the National Development Council (NDC) meeting that states should raise power tariff as distribution companies are facing financial difficulty, Dikshit said the statement reflected the real situation. The problems of power rate were discussed in the Union government also and the Centre had admitted the problems of power distribution companies, she said. Mukherjee had said that "states will have to review and revise the tariffs regularly" to ensure the financial health of the distribution companies. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia also said some distribution firms have not raised tariffs for 10 years and their losses are estimated to be Rs 70,000 crore. |
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Help pours in for poor dying AIIMS patient Shehnaz
New Delhi, October 24 Hopes had faded for the Patna-based family after doctors at AIIMS told them to take Shehnaz back home as there was "no hope left for her life". Shehnaz has been visiting AIIMS every three months since 2002. Before that, she was admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) for three years. She had been battling with lung TB that had later developed into bone TB. Her family has been reduced to penury after paying for her treatment. Moved by her plight, readers have emailed from all parts of the country to offer monetary and medical help. "We cannot leave this helpless girl in the hands of fate. Please let us all make a common contributory fund and try to help this helpless family out," wrote Anik Chowdhury from West Bengal. Readers can contact Shehnaz's father Kamruddin, a fruit vendor, on his mobile phone 9801971054. Readers can also recharge his phone as he does not have money even for that. "Hard to control tears...If there is any way that we can help this family to pay its debt, please let me know. I would like to contribute," a reader Sushant wrote. Abhishek, a Patna-based doctor, even contacted Kamruddin, who will be visiting his hospital later this week. "I will do my best to help the family," Abhishek added. Another good Samaritan wrote a mail to the news agency saying: "I am willing to document the girl's medical history and send to all the charitable hospitals and voluntary organisations I know." Arif Mohammed, a reader from Germany, wrote: "I hail from Ranchi, Jharkhand. Please let me know if it is possible to get any kind of contact address or number for her family. It will be great if you could help me in getting touch with the family." IANS
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Bhatta-Parsaul rape: Panel
warns UP
Lucknow, October 24 "If an FIR (first information report) is not registered in the Bhatta-Parsaul case, it means the Uttar Pradesh government officials are indulging in contempt of court," NCSC chairman PL Punia told a TV channel here. "The commission has powers to initiate contempt proceedings. Although the commission has never exercised these powers, but it is willing to do so if an FIR is not registered in the case," he said. Punia's comments follow reports that women from the villages complained that they were raped the day police fired at villagers during a land acquisition protest and FIRs were not registered. Violence erupted in Bhatta-Parsaul in May after farmers protested alleged forceful acquisition of their lands by the state government. On October 10, a court in Noida directed the Uttar Pradesh government to register criminal cases against 16 policemen for alleged excesses they committed on women and others during the farmers' agitation in Bhatta-Parsaul. The order came on complaints of seven women who also swore in affidavits that they were raped. The police had refused to register any case of rape as the allegation was termed as an "afterthought" following the visit of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to the villages.
IANS |
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Cancellation
of Asadullapur land acquisition Parmindar Singh
Noida, October 24 The future of two projects-the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor from Ludhiana to Kolkata, for which a railway station is to be built in the village, and the Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) peripheral highway, which is to pass through the village-is in jeopardy. However, the fate of the third project, the Asadullapur treatment plant, will not be very adversely affected by the rejection of the land. Now, acquiring land afresh for the first two these projects is a challenge for the Noida Authority, says Noida chairman Balwinder Kumar. "It can result in an escalation of cost and time," he said. The UP and Haryana governments have not reached at an agreement for building a bridge over the Yamuna, so the Noida Authority is developing a part of the FNG highway as a wide link road instead of an expressway in its own area. The DFCC project is being carried out with the help of the World Bank and the railway ministry. The Bodaki station in Asadullapur, where the Greater Noida Authority plans to set up a godown, is an important link for the corridor. Also, the station will be the start station for the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor. The western dedicated freight corridor will join the other two corridors at Bodaki railway station. In view of this, an international-standard railway junction is proposed to be set up at Bodaki. Besides, another railway station is being set up at Asadullapur by the GNIDA.
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24 dengue cases in 24 hours in Delhi
New Delhi, October 24 "This is the highest number of cases reported in a day; 24 people tested positive for dengue in last 24 hours," MCD health committee chairman V.K. Monga said this evening. The numbers include the cases reported to the MCD from private hospitals and those from government hospitals. Earlier, the MCD was not accounting for cases reported from private hospitals due to a difference in the method of detecting the disease. While government hospitals do the test through an Elisa test, private hospitals have been using rapid test kits. "From an average of 10 cases per day, we are now getting over 20 cases per day as private hospitals have started reporting their dengue cases," he said. So far, four deaths have been reported due to dengue. An MCD official said they hoped the cases would start going down by mid-November. Last year, 6,229 dengue cases had been reported in Delhi and eight patients died. "As winter sets in, mosquito breeding goes down, so the cases will come down," the official said.
IANS
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Metro schedule for
Divali, Bhai Dooj
New Delhi, October 24 The services will start as usual at 6 am and run normally for the rest of the day. In view of the expected rise in the number of commuters on Friday for Bhai Dooj, the trains will run at the peak-hour frequency from 8 am to 8.30 pm. Also, over 15 trains, which are normally withdrawn from the service during the off-peak hours (12.30 pm to 4.30 pm), will be kept in service, running over 200 extra trips. On Friday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will deploy more customer facilitation agents to help and guide the commuters. If required, additional ticket counters, will also be set up, added the corporation. |
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Man held for rape in Delhi hotel
New Delhi, October 24 The police rushed to the hotel and the accused, identified as Khem Krishna Mitra, was arrested. The victim, a resident of Buddh Vihar in west Delhi who works as a sales executive, has alleged that the man called her to his hotel room and then raped her. "The medical report of the victim confirmed rape, following which we have registered a formal case and arrested the accused. The accused is a native of Nimaj in Madhya Pradesh and was on a tour to Delhi," said a police officer.
IANS |
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Two robbed of
Rs 3.54 lakh
New Delhi, October 24 The victims had collected the amount from a liquor shop located near the Shahabad dairy. They had parked their vehicle at a short distance from the shop. As they reached near the vehicle with cash, the youths came from behind, fired at them and decamped with the cash. The person who was holding the cash sustained minor injury and admitted to hospital. However, he was discharged after the first aid. The police has registered a case of
robbery.
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3 held with Rs 4-crore idols
New Delhi, October 24 Atiar Rehman Sheikh, 27, Firoz Sheikh, 32 and Abdulla Mandal, 39, all from South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, were arrested on Sunday while they were going to sell the idols to a dealer in south Delhi, Deputy Commissioner of Police Chhaya Sharma said. Archeological Survey of India (ASI) officials, who inspected the idols, confirmed the pieces were antique 'ashtadhatu' (made of eight metals) idols, Sharma said.
IANS |
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Cop stabbed to death
Ghaziabad, October 24 |
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