New Delhi, January 21
One person was arrested yesterday for allegedly murdering a taxi driver and stealing the cab. The taxi that they stole was disposed of near Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

The police is trying to trace the driver’s body.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime and railways) Ashok Chand said, “On December 18 last year, two persons went to a transport firm, City helpline travels, at Hazrat Nizamuddin. They hired an Innova car, for Agra.”

The accused gave the owner an ID card in the name of Ajay Kumar, an employee of a company at Sahibabad.

The driver of the taxi was Zulfikar. The car was supposed to return the next day. But neither the car nor the driver returned.

On December 23, the matter was reported to the Hazrat Nizamuddin police station and a case of abduction was registered.

On January 20, the police was informed that Mohammed Sufiyan, alias Daboo (23), allegedly involved in Zulfikar’s abduction was at his home in Sambal, UP. He was arrested.

“Sufiyan revealed that he and his accomplice Parvez Alam came to Delhi on November 17, 2011. On December 18, they hired a taxi on the pretext of going to Agra and gave a fake ID. On the way, they offered tea laced with sedatives to Zulfikar. The driver fell unconscious and died. They then dumped the body near Sasni in Aligarh. Thereafter, the two went to Sambhal and handed over the Innova car to one Zakir for disposing it of,” added the DCP.

Sufiyan had also stolen Zulfikar’s wrist watch and bag containing clothes, which have been recovered. Zulfikar’s driving licence has been seized from Sufiyan’s house. The mobile phone used by the accused in the crime has also been seized.

New Delhi, January 21
Amidst high spirits for the annual national celebration on January 26 and the dedicated efforts being put by the craftsmen from different states to prepare their respective tableaus for the parade, Delhi will miss the grand event this time.

The proposal of Delhi tableau was not selected due to the tough competition among states, said an official in the defence ministry. “We cannot allow more than 23 or 24 tableaus. And there is a very tough competition between the different states. There are two to three levels of scrutiny conducted by the selection panel of the ministry,” said spokesperson for the ministry.

Besides, the Election Commission of India is introducing its tableau for the first time in the parade. The theme of the tableau will be to mark the national voters’ day being observed on January 25. “The tableau will focus on the voters’ participation in the electoral process. The national voters’ day carries the objective to maximise enrollment of voters and thereby enhance the quality of the Indian democracy,” said the official in charge of the tableau.

There will be total 23 tableaus participating in the parade, of which only 13 will be from various states and rest 10 will belong to several Central government departments and ministries.

The colourful tableaus of artistic excellence representing culture and traditions of different states are almost complete and are being given final touches. States like Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Goa will emphasise on promoting tourism.

However, there are states like Bihar which will represent a small village called Dharhara for its unique tradition “daughters of forest” followed through generations. “This village came into limelight this year when it was reported that the families from this village plant a minimum of 10 fruit-bearing trees whenever a girl child is born,” said the official in charge of the tableau. It is said that the trees in turn take care of other problems connected with the upbringing of the girl child like growth, education and marriage. Also, the money collected form the fruits are deposited in the name of that girl, said the official.

The beautiful tableau of Chhattisgarh represents Jhinjhari and Dondaki art of the state. The art form received international recognition through late Sonabai Rajawar of Puhaputara village in Sarguja district, Chhattisgarh.

The Rajasthan tableau is a symbolic of architectural and cultural excellence in the form of Ajmer fort. The front part of the tableau depicts the fort’s entrance gate “Ganesh Pole” and the adjacent the “Suraj Pole” is depicted by the eastern entrance of the fort.

New Delhi, January 21
Strict measures, including the deployment of 25,000 paramilitary personnel, National Security Guard (NSG) commandos and installation of integrated land and air defence systems, have been put in place to create an impenetrable security blanket for the Republic Day Parade.

Sources said the stringent plan of action had been implemented following the recent busting of several terror modules.

Joint commissioner of police (traffic) said a massive security apparatus would be installed during the Republic Day Parade on January 26 and its full dress rehearsal on Monday.

“A total of 25,000 personnel or 250 companies from the paramilitary and other state forces will be deployed in the national capital. Delhi police personnel will also be positioned at several strategic locations,” said the joint CP.

Quick reaction teams, sharp-shooters and anti-aircraft guns of the NSG will also be placed on standby.

“The anti-aircraft guns and other air-defence measures will be installed at key locations of the parade venue to check any intrusion of air space,” said the officer.

Indian Air Force helicopters will hover over Vijay Chowk and India Gate while following the route of the parade.

Sources said all borders of Delhi would be sealed on the eve of the Republic Day. Security barricades will also be placed on highways.

To keep vigil, the police will position its snipers at high-rise buildings. The security forces will also use 160 CCTV cameras to closely watch the movements of people at Vijay Chowk and Red Fort, which fall in the route of the parade.

A multi-layered security system will be setup at Rajpath, where President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil will be present at the time of the parade. She will be accompanied by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other high-level political and armed forces functionaries.

The Prime Minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra, will be chief guest of the event. She will arrive in the national capital on January 24 for a three-day visit.

Sources said 15,000 security personnel were deployed during the Republic Day Parade last year. The security has been strengthened this year in the wake of the bomb blast outside the Delhi High Court on September 7, 2011.

The elaborate security arrangements had been done after several terror modules were busted last year, added sources. An important breakthrough for the Delhi Police was the arrest of seven Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives in 2011.

“A special emphasis is being laid on anti-sabotage checks, access-control measures and intelligence coordination. The entire route of the parade will be covered by special security and anti-terror arrangements,” added the Joint CP.

Security forces, including a massive contingent of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), will patrol in the Capital on the days prior to the parade. There will also be strict checking at Metro stations and airports, besides crowded markets.

Sources said property dealers and second-hand car owners had been asked to provide details about their latest deals. The police will especially be examining deals made with people belonging to different states.

Also, owners of cyber-cafés have been directed to keep records of people using the internet, according to sources. 

Elephant, the election symbol of the Bahujan Samaj Party, has taken the centre stage after the Election Commission order, instructing the party to cover statues in view of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Even the tableaus of the state of Punjab and the Ministry of Textiles that are being prepared for the 26 January Parade have small statues of elephants, which caught the attention of reporters. They want to know if these statuettes will also be covered or removed following the orders.

"This is by chance that they are part of the tableau. They have not been put up intentionally," said an official of the Defence Ministry public relations office.

New Delhi, January 21
Cold weather continued to grip the national Capital today, with the mercury dipping below normal and winds blowing through the city almost the whole day. However, it was a clear day with bright sun.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 5.5 degree Celsius, two notches below normal and up from yesterday's 4.5 degree Celsius.

The maximum settled around 18.7 degrees, also two degrees below the average for this time of the season.

While the day started on a chilly note, the winds later cleared the fog, giving some relief to the passengers at Indira Gandhi International Airport and the railway stations. Today, the disruptions in the train and flight services were less compared to the last few days.

However, because of fog in the morning hours, four flights were delayed from Delhi.

According to the official bulletin, early in the morning, the visibility at the main runway dipped to below 200 metres and the low visibility procedures were implemented for some flights.

Officials of the Indian Meteorological Department said tomorrow, there would be moist or shallow fog in the morning, with the temperature likely to oscillate between 7 and 18 degree Celsius.

New Delhi, January 21
A man has been allowed by a Delhi court to prosecute his wife for allegedly defaming him by lodging a criminal case against him, accusing him of stealing her articles.

Additional sessions judge Narinder Kumar allowed a city resident to prosecute his wife, a Rajasthan native, saying there is sufficient material to proceed against her.

"This court finds merit in the contention of petitioner (husband) that there is sufficient ground to proceed against the accused (wife) on the allegation levelled by the man.

"Accordingly, this revision petition is allowed and the order (of magistrate) is set aside. Trial court to proceed in accordance with law," said the court asking the man to appear before the magisterial court on January 23.

The sessions court gave its order on an appeal by the man against the magisterial court's order dismissing his plea to prosecute his wife for allegedly defaming him by lodging a criminal case against him in September, 2006, accusing him of stealing her articles.

The man, in his complaint to the magisterial court, had said his wife lodged the FIR against him with an intention to harass and defame him through scandalous statements and imputations against him in the FIR.

The man said he was summoned to the police station for a probe and the investigating officer told him about the allegations levelled against him by his wife.

"In this way, there was publication of false allegations levelled against me and this amounted to defamation," he said. — PTI

New Delhi, January 21
Thirteen-year-old Baby Parsila was a recluse and never as active as other children her age, owing to a congenital bone deformity. She was unable to perform any physical activity. She starting binging on food and this resulted with her becoming morbidly obese. She weighs135 kg.

Along with her single mother, she now has hope of looking forward to leading a normal life after undergoing a bariatric (weight-loss) surgery at a private hospital in the national Capital yesterday.

A day before, when Parsila from Afghanistan reported with a history of progressive weight gain and severe "genu valgum" or knock knee (condition in which the knees touch but the ankles don't touch, causing difficult in movement) to the Primus Super Specialty Hospital, doctors decided to take up her case with a multidisciplinary approach.

She needed two-step treatment, first performing weight reduction procedure, targeting to bring her weight down by at least 55-60 kg in a span of nine months to one year, followed by corrective surgery for her knock knee by the orthopaedics.

The hospital's director of advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery, Dr Atul N. C. Peters, who led the team which conducted the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy yesterday, said normally bariatric surgery is not recommended for people below 18 years but Baby Parsila was a special case.

"Weighing 135 kg, she came to us with a severe form of knee deformity called as knock knee. Actually she had the problem since childhood and had been unable to move freely and this made her binge on food. For the past four years she had developed severe obesity and with this the severity of her bone problem increased," explained Dr Peters.

According to doctors, in her case, chances of losing weight by diet and exercise alone are remote as due to her severe knock knee she could barely walk or exercise.

"It was also found out that she didn't have any endocrinal disorder (thyroid) and had high BP. So to treat her, bariatric surgery had to be performed unlike other cases of her age," underlined Dr Peters.

Doctors expect her to lose five or six kg every month and around 55-60 kg in nine months to one year. "As per her height 153cm, her ideal body weight should be 58 kg. But she is more than double than her normal weight. The patient is now doing well and will be discharged tomorrow," said Dr Peters.

Parsila would be back to her country soon with her widowed mother and cousin who have accompanied her to India for the first-step surgery, which cost the family Rs 2.6 lakh instead of Rs 3.6 lakh that the hospital charges otherwise.

Dr Peters, who receives two-five teenagers in a month, refuses them most of the times as they come in for short cuts to look good. "In places such as Delhi (urban centres), one out of every three children is obese according to non-government sources largely due consumption of junk foods. Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in urban population of India," he pointed out.

Noida, January 21
Election campaigning is picking up in the district. All political parties continued their door-to-door campaigns today.

BJP candidate Mahesh Sharma today visited Parthala Khanjarpur and Basai villages to garner support from rural areas. BJP candidate Mahesh Sharma has promised people a transparent and corruption-free politics. Congress candidate VS Chauhan has also promised to fight corruption and bring transparency.

Samajwadi Party candidate Sunil Choudhary and BSP candidate Om Dutt Sharma had on Thursday did door-to-door campaigning.

Meanwhile, there have been protests within the Congress and BJP against some of the candidates.

Congress candidate VS Chauhan is facing resistance from the district Congress leaders, who are against his candidature. The youth wing of the Congress too has opposed Chauhan's candidature.

"We have sent a letter of dissent to the headquarters. We will not campaign for Chauhan," said Gautam Awana, a local Congress leader.

Chauhan, however, says the dissent is short-lived. "Once the nomination papers are filed and national Congress leaders issues directives, local leaders will fall in line and work for his victory," said Chauhan.

He further said he was meeting the local leaders personally to pacify them and ensure their participation in his campaigning.

Similarly, a group in the BJP led by Rakam Singh Bhatti has held a press conference at Noida against the Jewar BJP candidate. He along with 250 other BJP workers left the party in protest.

BP Aggarwal, a factory owner who was been denied a Congress ticket, plans to file nomination as an independent candidate.

Now, the political equations have caused problems for the BJP. As Congress has also fielded a doctor, the medical fraternity votes will get divided.

In the last Parliamentary elections, Garhwali, Punjabi, Brahamin and Vysay had constituted a large chunk of BJP voters.

But this time, Yoginder Sharma from Garhwali Samaj has been announced as the candidate of the Jan Kranti Party. From the Punjabi Manch, Anoop Khanna is in the fray.

With Aggarwal from Vyasya Samaj joining the fray, the votes of all these communities will get divided and can put a spanner in the BJP victory.

Gurgaon, January 21
At least two employees of a company were today killed and over 10 people injured when a part of its workshop in IMT, Manesar, in this satellite town of the national capital collapsed, an official said.

The workshop of Maruti India Ltd's ancillary company Napino Auto and Electronics Ltd's building in (industrial model township) IMT, Manesar, fell when over a dozen employees were inside it.

"There was a huge machine setup which suddenly fell along with the pillars and roof," investigation officer Surender Singh told IANS.

"The victims were rushed to hospital where two workers were declared dead on arrival. The condition of four workers is stated to be critical."

Those killed were identified as Bhagirath and Naresh Kumar. Bhagirath hails from Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad and Naresh from Rajasthan.

Senior officials from the police, fire and labour departments were on the spot.

Napino Auto and Electronics Ltd is situated adjacent to Maruti's main plant in IMT, Manesar.

Besides trims and other interior items and sheets of cars, Napino manufactures parts of Hero Moto Corp which was earlier known as Hero Honda. - IANS

Greater Noida, January 21
Noida Extension flat buyers have decided to hold a protest at the National Capital Region Planning Board on January 23 when the Board is expected to take up the Greater Noida Master Plan 2021 for scrutiny and approval.

The president of the Noida Extension Flat Owners and Members Association (NEFOMA), Abhishek Kumar, said "We had a meeting at Noida office today and decided to hold the protest at NCRPB office to put pressure for quick approval of the plan".

"We have also decided to file an RTI application with the NCRPB, seeking the procedure, status and the cause of delay in the approval of the master plan," said Kumar. --PTI