New Delhi, November 8
A 28-year-old married woman was critically injured after she was shot thrice at her residence in Dwarka, this morning. The police is suspecting the involvement of her first husband (name withheld) in the case.

Victim Gita stays with her second husband, Sanjiv, at Bhartal village in Dwarka's Sector 23. Sanjiv is a property dealer in the area.

The police received a call regarding the incident at 9.45 am. According to it, locals had tried to catch the assailants, but they managed to escape.

Gita has been admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital.

"She was shot at thrice and has been admitted to the ICU. We are suspecting the involvement of her first husband," said the official.

"Gita's first husband, during their marriage, had suspected her of having an affair with his cousin and divorced her for this reason. She recently married Sanjiv, which probably made her first husband jealous, leading him to shoot her," said the official.

After he divorced Gita and she went on to marry Sanjiv, her first husband realised that she did not have an affair with his cousin, say sources.

According to reports, the first husband has a criminal record and has been to jail once.

Gita is a native of Haryana. She has two children from her first marriage. The children stay with her first husband, claimed a source.

A case for attempt to murder and under the Arms Act has been registered at the Dwarka Sector 23 police station.

New Delhi, November 8
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member this morning allegedly attempted to commit suicide outside the residence of the senior party member and the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, at Ashoka Road.

The politician has been identified as Sunil Goel, the president of the BJP Mandal of the Jhilmil ward. Goel has blamed Jaitely for a rift in the party.

"There has been a fighting in the party. Jaitley and his personal assistant Om Prakash are responsible for the feud. This was why I attempted suicide around 11 am. I sprinkled kerosene and tried to set myself on fire outside Jaitley's residence. But some police officials prevented me from doing so," said Goel.

A guard at Jaitley's residence witnessed the incident.

"The man was threatening the policemen outside Jaitley's residence that he would set himself on fire. But the police nabbed him and took him away in a PCR van," said the guard.

New Delhi, November 8
A dengue breeding checker of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) died after he slipped and fell from a waterpipe, while trying to check a water tank at Ryu Vigyan Apartments in Defence Colony today.

The deceased has been identified as Mahesh (40), who is a resident of Loni, Ghaziabad.

Sources said that he was at Ryu Vigyan Apartments to conduct a routine check on possible dengue breeding.

"Mahesh had already checked 54 apartments. At about 12 noon, he was trying to reach a water tank at the roof. He was climbing a waterpipe, but he slipped and fell down. Mahesh was lying unconscious, until a guard found him and informed the police," said a source.

Mahesh was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Center, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Sources said that a postmortem was conducted. The body was given to his family.

Mahesh is survived by his wife and four children.

New Delhi, November 8
A 22-year-old youth allegedly killed his mother by thrashing her with a wooden utensil, when she refused to give him money.

The incident occurred at their residence in Nihal Vihar, west district, today.

The accused has been identified as Titu. He had beaten his mother, Kiran (45), with a wooden utensil.

He had asked her for money, but she refused his demand. Sources said this caused him to start beating her with a wooden utensil.

Titu fled the house after his mother collapsed on the floor.

He had also injured his younger brother, Deepak, who intervened to stop the violence inflicted on his mother.

The victims were rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.

Deepak sustained injuries near his eyes. He was discharged after receiving first aid.

Sources said Kiran was severely injured on her face and head.

The police said the incident took place around 11 am at B-23, Block C of Nihal Vihar.

A manhunt has been initiated to nab the accused. A case of murder has been registered at the Nihal Vihar police station.

Sources said Titu was unemployed and this was the cause that initiated arguments between him and his mother. Kiran would often tell him to gain employment.

Kiran's husband Prempal is a mason. He was not present in the house when the incident occurred.

New Delhi, November 8
The Supreme Court today adjourned by two weeks the hearing on a plea seeking directions to the Central and Delhi governments to raze buildings constructed on the flood plains of the Yamuna for the 2010 Commonwealth Games Village.

An apex court bench of Chief Justice SH Kapadia, Justice AK Patnaik and Justice Swatanter Kumar adjourned the hearing on the petition by NGO Foundation for Indian Wetlands.

The petition, moved by NGO president MK Balakrishnan, said the apex court in its earlier judgment had held that buildings constructed on wetlands would be demolished and the area would be restored to its original form.

The petition said the Central and Delhi governments had illegally constructed the buildings for the sporting event on the flood plains of the Yamuna.

"Now the Commonwealth Games are over, but the illegal buildings remain on the flood plains of the Yamuna," the petition said. - IANS

Noida, November 8
The gender ratio in Gautam Budh Nagar district has shown improvement, according to the latest electoral roll revision.

"The number of women voters has increased to 750 per 1,000 men voters as against 730 during the last assembly elections," according to the district magistrate, Hridesh Kumar.

In the rural areas, the ratio is quite less compared to the urban areas.

In Harola booth, there are 643 men voters while women voters are 308. Sorkha Jahanabad booth has 721 men voters and 444 women voters. At Yusufpur Chipiyana, the figures are 258 and 180, respectively.

At Birondi village booth in Greater Noida, there are 571 men and 444 women. At Aichhar village booth, the number of men voters is 434 to 349 women.

In Noida sectors, however, the number of women voters outstrips the men voters. At Jalvayu Vihar booth, men voters are 499 and women are 497. In another booth here, the figures are 368 and 349, respectively. At Arun Vihar Sector 37 booth, men voters are 375 and women 336.

The electoral roll revision work is still going on. New voters can get their names included by filling a form by November 11.

New Delhi, November 8
Seeking to dissolve the protests against the ban on mobile phones and laptops in the hostel, Daulat Ram College has decided to work towards lifting the ban soon.

Indu Bahadur, acting principal of the college, has announced that the ban on the use of laptops and cell phones in the college hostel would be soon removed.

"I have decided to allow the use of mobile phones and laptops inside the hostel. I plan to discuss this with the administration," Bahadur said.

Students said they were told they needed to put their demands on paper for officials to take any action on their grievances. Although the students were fearful of retribution, one of them said, "We are united and we submitted a memorandum to the authorities today. We hope the matter is resolved in our favour soon."

According to the students, the demands include a stop on random checks of rooms and body search, as well as amending the rules to allow students to keep cell phones and laptops.

The decision may take some time to come as it will have to be put to a committee in the administration for a change in the official rule. But the acting principal's announcement signals a change in attitude that must have come as a great relief to the hostel students.

The hostellers have been has been facing a lot of problems over the last few months. The rules and regulations have been stricter and different than other girl hostels in the university including colleges like Miranda and Lady Shri Ram College.

The hostel rule book prohibits students from using gadgets such as mobile phones and laptops. Though the students were unhappy with the ban, it was the manner in which the rules were being enforced that riled them. They alleged that they were regularly frisked, their luggage checked for hidden cell phones and laptops and their gadgets were confiscated.

The hostel accommodates about 200 students. Most of them are upset over warden Sushma Tandon's manner of enforcing the rules, students claimed. "We are basically being harassed. It feels like we're living in a jail, not a hostel," said a student, who did not wish to be named.

"We have no latches on the doors and no privacy. They randomly come in anytime, even in the middle of the night, to check our rooms for phones. This is no way to run a hostel."

Students alleged that their rooms are searched even in their absence. "We are not allowed to lock our rooms. When we go out, our rooms are checked. If any laptop or mobile phone is found, it is seized. We feel threatened. If someone goes out, she is bodily frisked," another student said.

New Delhi, November 8
A heritage walk has been started in the city to explore its rich historical legacy and sensitise residents towards protecting and preserving them.

The walk will cover seven historic gates of Shahjahanabad (Walled City) and make people aware of the history, art, culture and different aspects of the monuments, including their eras and the emperors who built them.

Today, the walk, organised by the Shahjahanabad Re-development Corporation (SRDC), covered the Khooni Darwaza and the City of Ferozabad near the Feroz Shah Fort, adjacent to the Feroz Shah Cricket Ground.

"A large number of people from all walks of life, including senior citizens, tourists and schoolchildren, participated in the walk," said a senior Delhi government official.

Naveena Zafa, the story-teller consulted by the SRDC, and chief programmer Pooja Trehan narrated the history, backgrounds, significances and other aspects of the monuments, including the architectures, cultures, eras and emperors.

The Khooni Darwaja was constructed during the era of Sher Shah Suri and it was used to execute people by beheading them. The bodies of Bhadur Shah Zafar's sons were exhibited here during the first war of independence in 1857.

Ferozabad, the fourth city of Delhi, was created by Tughlaq ruler Feroz Shah Tughlaq in the 14th century. Among the ruins of the city left is the Ashkoan Pillar quarters of the king, a step well and the Jami Masjid.

The managing director of the SRDC, Rita Kumar, said that the government had planned to undertake the heritage walk towards the seven gates, leading to Shahjahanabad.

"After the Khooni Darwaza, we will proceed towards the other gates and apprise people about the history and significance of these gates," said Kumari.

Kumar said after seeing the overwhelming response of the people, the organisation was planning to expand the scope of the walk to involve more and more people.

New Delhi, November 8
After a 12-year-old girl told the court she wanted to live with her father, the Delhi High Court transferred her custody while the mother has been granted visitation rights.

The judge took the girl, a student of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, aside in her chamber and spoke to her before passing the order. The mother, who runs a number of a real estate businesses, had appealed against a trial court order, which had ruled in favour of the father.

"The child is mature and fairly intelligent; her thoughts are coherent and consistent," said Justice Indermeet Kaur in an order delivered last week and made available to IANS today.

"The custody of the child aged 12 years has been transferred from the mother to the father, the mother has been granted visitation rights," the court said.

The parents of the girl are neighbours in New Friends Colony.

The couple got married in 1997, but due to some personal problem the woman left her matrimonial home in 2004 along with her daughter.

"In 2005, the man filed a divorce petition, which is pending before the court till date. However, he sought custody of his child, which was allowed by the trial court," said Raj Shekhar Rao, counsel for the girl`s father.

"The girl's mother came in appeal against the trial court's September order, giving custody to the father," said Rao. The father runs a software business.

Thereafter, the mother approached the high court filing an application under the Guardians and Wards Act, seeking her daughter's custody, he said. The girl was staying with her mother since 2004, but got to meet her father.

"The girl expressed her desire to remain in permanent custody with her father with permission to visit her mother as and when she desires," the court observed, to which the parents agreed, keeping in view the desire of the child.

"For a period of the first three weeks of the month, the child shall remain in the custody of the father, thereafter, in the last week of every month the child will shift to the residence of the mother. This arrangement shall be adhered to and will continue till further orders," said the court.

Justice Kaur said that both parties were open to this arrangement and there was no dispute to the fact that the child was free and open to interact with either of the parents as and when she desired, "but the custody arrangement, as noted herein, shall continue till either of the parties wants the order to be varied because of change of circumstances".

The child told the court she wants to share her vacations equally with her parents. In accordance, the high court ruled: "The next vacation which is to fall due is scheduled in the month of January 2012. It will probably be a 10-day break, the next ensuing vacation would be a session break in March, then again the summer break probably for about two months. As per the desire of the child, as on date, she desires to share her vacation half and half between both the parents." - IANS

New Delhi, November 8
Following a review meeting to discuss the status of approved/under-construction hospital projects today, the Delhi health and family welfare minister, AK Walia, told the Public Works Department (PWD) to fast track the construction of new hospitals.

The minister also underlined the need of commissioning more hospitals at the earliest in the capital in view of the increasing influx of patients and the consequent over-burdening of the existing public hospitals.

Directing the PWD to initiate construction of the new hospitals which have been cleared by all angles and are awaiting construction, he said the hospitals had been facing difficulties in providing healthcare facilities to the patients.

He directed that the construction of an upgraded modern diabetic block at GTB Hospital be initiated at the earliest and the pending issues with the MCD be resolved within two to three days.

"There is a dire need of an advanced diabetic centre in east Delhi as the number of diabetic patients is going up. An advanced treatment of diabetes would go a long way in providing relief to the patients," said Dr Walia.

The minister instructed to expedite the work of the hospitals at Sarita Vihar, extension of Lal Bahadur, extension of Pooth Khurd and extension of Guru Govind Singh, besides expediting the projects relating to 200-bedded Ambedkar Nagar and Burari hospitals as these have been taken out of the ambit of PPP mode.

New Delhi, November 8
A delegation from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a globally renowned think-tank, today called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, minister of home affairs P Chidambaram, HRD minister Kapil Sibal and national security advisor Shiv Shankar Menon,.

The delegation, led by Sir Richard Giordano, chairman, included Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman & group CEO, Bharti Enterprises and Member of the Board of Trustees, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Jessica Mathews, president, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, "Carnegie is eager to explore the creation of a South Asia centre here."

The centre is likely to come up in New Delhi.

The endowment, founded in 1910, is a private, non-profit organisation.