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Lokpal Bill useless, says team Anna
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Nine booked for Noida family's deaths
IInd day: Footfall increases
at Ramlila Maidan
Varsity official jailed for corruption
Man gets seven-year jail for robbing phone worth Rs 1,000
Delhi to miss Metro Man, says Dikshit
Rs 67.94-lakh relief for
4 killed by DTC bus
Ramjasgate: Cops zeroing in on key link
2 crushed to death at Geeta Colony
Three held for using fake cheques
Some respite as temps rise slightly
FORTY WINKS: A man outside the Boat Club on a sunny day on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal
50-year-old woman killed
Ex-soldier shoots at driver for not
giving way
MCD razes, seals illegal portions in 47 properties
Complaint against ex-municipal chief in Lokayukta court
Help for civil services aspirants from minorities
Delhi govt vows to promote sports
IGNOU student shot at
Fake Ayurveda drugs: 2 held
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Lokpal Bill useless, says team Anna
New Delhi, December 28 "This is not the Lokpal that people are demanding. This will be just another government organisation made for non-government organisations. We will continue to push for our demands," said Prashant Bhushan. Prashant said giving constitutional status to the Bill would not bring much difference. "If the intention of the government is weak, constitutional status to the Bill will not add much value to it," he said. Bhushan said the Bill was weak as it did not include the investigative agency under its ambit. "Either the Lokpal should be given an independent investigative wing or the CBI must be completely freed of the government for corruption to be checked," he said. Talking about support from the political front, team members said the parties would be judged according to their stands on the Lokpal. "Whatever the BJP is saying on Lokayukta is half true. We will critically review the parties and then decide who we want to oppose," said Shanti Bhushan. "Public money is being siphoned off and natural resources are being looted. Instead of using the CBI to bring the corrupt to the book, the government is using the agency to shield its party members," he alleged. Meanwhile, despite the presence of Kiran Bedi on the stage today, Team Anna's protest against the "weak" Bill remained a less enthusiastic show for the second day also, as few supporters showed up in the morning. However, the number did increase by evening. The protest elicited a lukewarm response yesterday as well, with the programme starting with a low turnout of only 500 supporters. The protest this time is in sharp contrast to the one that was held here when Anna Hazare had fasted in August. As many as 30,000 to 40,000 people had poured in then. Hazare's two other fasts at Jantar Mantar in the past eight months had also witnessed a large turnout.
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Nine booked for Noida family's deaths
Noida, December 28 "On the complaint of Deva, the police has registered a criminal case against the nine persons. Due to the stress caused by these persons, Shiva might have taken this extreme step," said Noida (city) police superintendent Anant Dev. The accused have been identified as Kishan, alias Nenu, Shankar, Sandeep, Chhotu, Sanjay, Mumtaz, Neetu, Mayank and Yogi. Shiva committed suicide after administering poison to his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Akriti and strangled his wife Hina. The deaths were discovered yesterday when the neighbours noticed the door of the family's residence closed till late in the morning. The family was found dead on the first floor of their house (No. E-225) in Sector 27 of Noida. Shiva used to work at a call centre in the city but had been unemployed for quite sometime. - IANS |
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IInd day: Footfall increases
at Ramlila Maidan
New Delhi, December 28 Today amongst the 1,000 odd supporters, especially youngsters, listened intently to all the developments all day long on the Jan Lokpal Bill. However, Anna's announcement to call off his fast disappointed the supporters a great deal. Ever since morning, thin crowd at the Maidan has been disappointing team Anna. The Maidan looked nothing like when Anna sat on a fast here back in August. The crowd grew a bit stronger with Kiran Bedi also coming to the podium. However team Anna said that it was wrong to judge the support to the movement by the numbers present in the Maidan. "A lot of people watch us over their television sets. The online response is just remarkable. Just because they cannot make it here, doesn't mean they are not with us," said Kiran Bedi. However, the spirits further evaporated when the announcement of Anna calling off his fast arrived. The unexpected announcement did come as a shocker to the supporters at the Maidan as they asked the volunteers on duty, what the matter was. "We were waiting for the weekend when we could have shown our support to Anna during the jail bharo andolan. We were waiting for Anna to come to Delhi. But the protest today will be the last day until any further notice," said Imran Saifi, a student of Zakir Hussian College, at the Maidan today. Others said that they understood why the strategy was changed and that whatever Anna decided, people would still support him. "The government's bill has many loopholes. Anna has been fighting for a stronger Lokpal Bill, but with hardly any results yet. The movement is still to go a long way. But I am glad that Anna is breaking his fast today. His body needs rest, he had been recently hit by viral fever as well," said Alok Sharma, a city-based sales executive at the Maidan, soon after Anna announced in Mumbai that he is ending his three-day fast early. Volunteers at the Maidan also agreed with Anna's decision. "The ending of the fast should not be thought of as the end of this movement. If it has been decided to change the strategy and postpone the jail bharo andolan, there has to be some specific reason. We and all of Anna's supporters respect his decision. We still stand by him and every thing he does," said one of the volunteers on spot. |
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Varsity official jailed for corruption
New Delhi, December 28 Sharad Kumar, who was working on deputation in the university was sentenced to two and half years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 by special judge BR Kedia. "Cancer of corruption has spread its tentacles in the social life to such an extent that faith of common man on the institutional work is obliterated," the court said. In July 2004, Mukesh Choudhary lodged a complaint with the anti-corruption branch against Kumar for demanding Rs 1 lakh for admitting his sister Mona. He said his sister was ranked 2,033 in BEd entrance examination in 2004 and the university had called the candidates up to 2,600 rank for counselling in July. Mona's counselling was scheduled for July 9, 2004, but she came to know about it only the next day. They then met Kumar, who was dealing with the BEd admission, in his office on July 12. He called them after two days and on their visit told them the counselling has already been closed but he can help them if they agree to pay Rs 1 lakh. On Choudhary's request, he agreed to accept Rs 20,000 and take the balance at the time of admission. Choudhary lodged a complaint with the anti-corruption branch. A trap was laid and Kumar was caught. Kumar was convicted and sentenced under Section 7 (demanding and accepting illegal gratification) and Sections 13 (2) read with Section 13(1) (d) (criminal misconduct by public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. — PTI
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Man gets seven-year jail for robbing phone worth Rs 1,000
New Delhi, December 28 The court also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on Mohammed Rafiq, who had robbed the labourer by threatening him with a blade near the New Delhi railway station. "Incidents of robbery in central Delhi, specifically around railway stations, are rampant. Poor migrant workers and hapless women are being victimised by miscreants repeatedly," additional sessions judge Surinder S Rathi said. The incident took place on January 16. Naushad Ali's cell phone was snatched by Rafiq just after he alighted from a train. According to the prosecution, Ali was stopped by Rafiq who asked him to hand over all his belongings by threatening him with a sharp-edged blade. Rafiq snatched Ali's mobile phone and ran away. He was caught by policemen after Ali raised the alarm. Refusing to accept the submission of Rafiq that he was implicated in the case, the court said there was nothing on record to show that the victim had any personal grudge against him. "The victim was a stranger to the accused and had alighted from a train shortly before the incident and was going to his work place when he was robbed," the judge said. PTI
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Delhi to miss Metro Man, says Dikshit
New Delhi, December 28 "It is Sreedharan who has given us 190-km Metro network in Delhi and NCR. He has worked as director of the DMRC for the last 16 years. He is a man of great vision and impeachable integrity who has given Delhi a new identity. The people of the city will miss him," the CM said. Sreedharan has transformed the public transport scene. Now people prefer to travel in Metro rails, leaving buses and their own vehicles. It has reduced the distances of the Capital. People used to avoid going to Dwarka and Rohini. Since Metro has gone there, the rate of property has increased at both the places. Now the Delhi Metro is considered the fastest growing Metro network anywhere in the world. It currently ferries over 16 lakh passengers on week days through 2,500 trips. Talking to reporters, the Chief Minister said, "The whole city will miss him. My government will miss him. I do not have words to offer our gratitude to him for giving us a wonderful Metro network which is now being followed as a model network by various world cities." Sreedharan who is 79 now had joined the DMRC in 1995. He has been given four extensions. Earlier this year, he had written a letter to Dikshit asking her to find his successor well ahead of his retirement in December. On his recommendation, the government has selected his junior Mangu Singh to succeed him. He had worked with Sreedharan in Calcutta Metro.
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Rs 67.94-lakh relief for
4 killed by DTC bus
New Delhi, December 28 Additional sessions judge Raj Kumar Chauhan has directed the National Insurance Company, with which the offending DTC bus was insured, to pay Rs 67.94 lakh to the family members of Praveen Kumar, Dharampal, Rakesh Kumar and Rajan Singh, who lost their lives in 2006 when the bus collided with their car. "I am of the considered opinion that the petitioners (family members of the deceased) have succeeded in proving that the accident had occurred because of rash and negligent driving of the DTC bus driver," the judge said. While deciding the compensation amount, the court said that the loss of love, affection and company because of the death of husband, father and son of the petitioners was immense and the same could not be compensated in terms of money. All the victims were working in the same firm, AIR Grip Footwear Pvt Ltd, and were going for a business meeting when the accident happened on July 9, 2006 near the Rohtak road. The DTC bus had suddenly taken a right turn without any indication and after jumping the red traffic signal, ended up hitting the car. The driver was caught by a passerby and handed over to the police. The court took into consideration the age and background of the victims, awarded different amounts of compensation to them. It awarded Rs 37,56,000, Rs 12,91,400, Rs 11,43,488 and Rs 6,03,350 to the family members of Praveen Kumar, Dharampal, Rajan Singh and Rakesh Kumar respectively.
PTI |
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Ramjasgate: Cops zeroing in on key link
New Delhi, December 28 The police has not disclosed the names of the detained persons as it would hamper the investigation. A source said, "After the police made four recent arrests--Kuldeep Khapara, Raje Singh, Ashwani Rajput and Vardhan Choudhary, a person was called for questioning. At that time, his involvement in the scam was unknown. At present, two people have been detained. They have disclosed the name of this 'big fish'. When he was called again for questioning, he went missing." This undisclosed person is a missing link in the chain of the arrested people involved in the scam, according to sources. Sources further claimed that the police had raided his residence, but he was absconding. Police teams have been sent to different places in Delhi and neighbouring states to nab him. He has also switched off his mobile phone. The police has arrested 15 people in the case so far. Two staff members of the college, Subhash Chand, a botany lab assistant and Raje Singh, an office assistant, were former students of Ramjas College.
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2 crushed to death at Geeta Colony
New Delhi, December 28 The deceased, Rahul (20) and Moolchand (35), died when they were crushed between their two trucks, according to a police official. The police said that Rahul was sitting with his father, Chotte Lal in one of the trucks, which was being driven by the latter. Moolchand was driving the second truck. Both the vehicles belonged to Lal, who is a transporter based in Ashok Nagar. "One of their trucks broke down at Pusta Road in Geeta Colony about 3 am. Rahul and Moolchand were fixing a rope to it in order to tow it away. They were standing in between their two vehicles. A third truck crushed them when it rammed into the rear of one of the stationary vehicles," added the official. They were killed in the accident. Lal who was sitting inside one of the vehicles survived. The bodies have been taken to the Sabzi Mandi mortuary for a postmortem. The police is searching for the third truck driver who fled the spot after the accident. Investigations are also being conducted to ascertain the owner of the speeding truck.
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Three held for using fake cheques
New Delhi, December 28 Aman Tiwari, a resident of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested yesterday and Sagar, a resident of Najafgarh in west Delhi, and Rajpal, who hails from Haryana, were taken into custody on Monday from Prashant Vihar, the police said. The accused used fake cheques to withdraw money from the accounts of companies. Rajpal and Sagar were arrested after being alerted by the bank manager of ING Vysya Bank in Prashant Vihar. The two had gone to the bank to withdraw Rs 81 lakh using a fake cheque. "These people were also involved in encashing a fake cheque amounting Rs.22.5 lakh. During interrogation, we came to know about some incriminating documents that were also recovered," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Chhaya Sharma. She said the police was ascertaining the exact amount of money the three accused have defalcated and added that the figure may run into many lakhs of rupees. The three revealed that they would collect forged cheques from Aman Tiwari, who had his base in Agra, she said. They divided among themselves the money withdrawn from companies' accounts using forged cheques, the police said. — IANS
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Some respite as temps rise slightly
New Delhi, December 28 According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhiites can expect a similar warm day tomorrow. Even as the city may witness some fog during the early morning hours, the sky is expected to clear out very soon. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle around 24 and 7 degree Celsius, respectively," said an IMD official. The weather department said the minimum temperature today settled at 5.2 degrees, two degrees below the average for this time of the season. It was higher than yesterday's 4.1 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature was recorded at 23.9 degrees, three degrees above the average for this time of the season. The humidity level oscillated between 97 and 45 per cent. The visibility level at the IGI airport remained stable, with no delays reported due to weather conditions. However, eight flights were delayed due to bad weather at the destination while one flight was cancelled, said an official statement from the airport.
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50-year-old woman killed
New Delhi, December 28 The deceased, Charan Kaur's family alleged that the relatives of her daughter-in-law Rachna assaulted and killed her. The killing ensued after a verbal brawl between the two women. The police is awaiting the post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of hte death. Sources said that Rachna and Balbir eloped last year and got married. They both were neighbours. A couple of months after the marriage, the couple developed strained relations and would often fight. Rachna thereafter left him and went to live at her parent's place. She came back after a few days to take away a gas cylinder. Kaur, however, refused to give it to her. An argument ensued between them. Their families also got involved. Balbir was not present at home at that moment. Kaur during the argument fell unconscious and was taken to hospital. Doctors declared her brought dead. The police is further investigating the matter. |
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Ex-soldier shoots at driver for not giving way
New Delhi, December 28 Ranvir Singh Malik (42) opened fire around 10.30 pm yesterday on Ring Road in west Delhi. Malik was arrested with a 7.65 mm pistol. The victim, Khalid, who lives in Mewat in Haryana, told the police that Malik overtook his truck and fired at him, according to additional commissioner of police V Renganathan. Malik, now working as a male nurse, said he was drunk and got irritated when the truck driver did not give him way. — IANS
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MCD razes, seals illegal portions in 47 properties
New Delhi, December 28 The building department of the MCD carried out the action with the help of local police. While portions of
40 properties in Rohini, Sadar Pahargunj and Najafgarh zones were demolished,
seven properties were sealed completely in Nagafgarh zone, The areas where the demolition action took place included Lahori Gate, Azad
Market, Nabi Karim, Hauz Qazi, Paharganj, Trinagar, Rishi Nagar and Adarsh Nagar. The sealing drive
was carried out in Mahavir Enclave, Shyam Vihar and Old Kakrola.
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Complaint against ex-municipal chief in Lokayukta court
Ghaziabad, December 28 Former chairman of the civic body Suresh Sharma and official Satendra Kumar Tiwari had misused funds of the state finance commission by carrying out works in a village out of the jurisdiction of the corporation, complainants Suresh Sharma and Bhupendra Bhardwaj alleged. They said the office bearers gave their nod to two construction projects worth Rs 25.76 lakh and Rs 4.5 lakh in areas outside the purview of the corporation, making it a misuse of government funds. Sharma, however, has denied the allegations, claiming that he will give an appropriate reply to all the charges soon and will come out clean.
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Help for civil services aspirants from minorities
New Delhi, December 28 Chairman of the trust, Bhupinder Singh Suri who is from a poor background, but now running petrol pumps across Delhi and Delhi Minorities Commission member Pushpinder Singh in a joint statement said the trust would provide the facility to only 30 students initially --15 Sikhs and the remaining from other minorities. The trust has made an arrangement with the BYJU's study centre for teaching the aspirants. BYJU charges Rs 1 lakh for each student,but the money will be paid by the trust. To select 30 students, the trust will conduct a test on January 7. A notice would be sent to DU, Jamia Millia Islamia, Guru GGSIPU and JNU asking them to recommend their students to take this
test. — TNS |
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Delhi govt vows to promote sports
New Delhi, December 28 Having achieved this laurels, the government has decided to encourage the budding players, said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit while inaugurating the 57th National School Games at Chhatrasal Stadium today. Dikshit said one could learn discipline and other good habits in the field of sports that helped in bringing positive attitude in the life. Involvement in sports also improves ones concentration that is key to success, she added. To encourage sports, the government is providing nutritious diet and scientific training to budding players. The government has also made mandatory for every student to take part in one of the sports, she said. There would be no dearth of money for sports training. The government would continue to encourage youngsters and budding sports persons.
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IGNOU student shot at
New Delhi, December 28 Sources said that the incident occurred about 10 pm when the victim, Sachin, was at home with his mother. The unidentified person knocked at the main door and asked Sachin to call his mother. When Sachin turned around, he was shot at. The bullet grazed the right side of his body. After the assailant fled, the police was called. A case has been registered at the Kalyanpuri police station. Investigations reveal that it was an act of vengeance, according to sources. Sachin is pursuing a bachelor's degree. |
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Fake Ayurveda drugs: 2 held
New Delhi, December 28 The police arrested Vaish, an MCom from Aligarh Muslim University, from near the Red Fort and recovered 30 boxes of spurious Regulin Forte and 60 boxes of spurious Recharge Plus from his possession. Vaish disclosed that he had procured these capsules from a manufacturing unit in Bareilly and Singh was arrested during a raid there.
PTI |
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New Delhi, December 28
