New Delhi, January 29
The Delhi government has turned down the demands put by the Lokayukta asking to bring in civil servants under its jurisdiction in order to effectively deal with graft cases.

The government outright rejected the demand saying that the civil servants are already under the jurisdiction of the Central Vigilance Commission and the CBI and can be prosecuted under various laws, including the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Lokayukta had sought to bring civil servants under the ambit of it, saying corrupt or wrongful act of elected representatives normally involved complicity of the bureaucrats.

Rejecting the demand, the government said that the ombudsman took the services of officials from the government investigating agency or any other agency to conduct a probe, according to the provisions of the Delhi Lokayukta and Upa Lokayukta Act.

The Lokayukta currently hires private investigators or other agencies to carry out probe as it does not have an investigating wing.

The demands and recommendations of the Lokayukta that were made in the annual report of the ombudsman for 2010-11, included powers of search and seizure and statutory powers for initiating contempt proceedings put up by Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin.

Strongly arguing for strengthening the ombudsman, Sarin had sought powers of search and seizure to probe graft cases and pointed that such powers had been vested in Lokayuktas of certain other states like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

The Lokayukta also demanded that it requires being equipped with power to initiate contempt proceedings, but the government countered, saying as per established conventions, penal action against any functionary can be taken by the appointing authority and not by inquiry officials.

The government also rejected the recommendations to confer power on the Lokayukta to exempt any "deserving complainant" from paying the prescribed fee.

Currently, a court fee of Rs 500 has to be paid to file a complaint with the Lokayukta.

"Because of these powers, Lokayuktas in some states are more effective in their functioning," he said in a report to the government.

"In case of misuse of power or corruption, the respective role of the public functionaries vis-à-vis bureaucrats is so intermingled and enmeshed that it would be difficult to decide whether the role of one functionary ends and that of the other begins," Sarin said.

New Delhi, January 29
Protecting an accused's right to speedy justice, a Delhi court has acquitted a theft accused, observing that the complainant failed to testify in court and the witnesses did not support the prosecution case.

"Complainant Kamal Das was summoned on several occasions, since the framing of the charge, but he could not be traced," said Metropolitan Magistrate Shuchi Laler, while acquitting Pankaj Sharma.

"In the opinion of the court, this is a fit case to close evidence and acquit the accused today itself so as to protect his right of speedy justice," said the magistrate.

"In the absence of the testimony of complainant Kamal Das and witnesses Tilak Raj and Harender not supporting the case of the prosecution, the court needs to protect the right of the accused to have speedy justice and acquits the accused forthwith as there is nothing incriminating against the accused on record," the court said, in an order made available on Saturday.

According to the prosecution, Das lodged a case against Sharma alleging that he committed trespass in order to commit a theft of a mobile phone in the shop of his employer Tilak Raj at Jwala Nagar Chowk in east Delhi.

"The accused committed theft of mobile phone belonging to the owner of the shop, Tilak Raj, on August 20, 2006 and it was recovered from the accused," the prosecution said.

The charge against the accused was framed on June 4, 2009. The prosecution submitted a list of four witnesses to support its case. Two witnesses failed to identify the accused.

The court also considered Raj's statement on January 12 that Das had left the job at his shop and his whereabouts were not known. - IANS

New Delhi, January 29
Abusing the process of law by questioning investigating agencies and maligning the judiciary has cost a non-resident Indian (NRI) Rs 20,000.

The Delhi High Court order came on a plea of NRI N.S. Hoon seeking compensation of Rs 5,000 crore from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly implicating him in a criminal case.

He sought action against the erring officials of CBI for harassing him for 25 years.

Justice M.L. Mehta said: "In the present petition, not only the CBI and police are questioned but even the judiciary and the government are sought to be maligned in a highly derogatory and utterly contemptuous manner. The unparliamentary language used by the petitioner is evident by words like 'slave magistrate', 'obliging judge', 'corrupt CBI'."

The court said that such petitions were nothing but a waste of precious judicial time and mockery of the legal process.

"The conduct of the petitioner is highly condemnable and deserves no consideration even due to his age as he has unabatedly abused the process of law in intimidating and obstructing public officials from discharging their duties," the court said.

Hoon, who had acquired British citizenship, had argued that the officers of the CBI acted against him at the instance of some influential people and they should be prosecuted under law.

He claimed to have undergone mental agony and physical suffering in the past 25 years and sought financial compensation.

"I was arrested on May 14, 1987 despite an anticipatory bail order from the Delhi High Court. They seized my passport for such a long time causing huge losses to my business abroad," Hoon said.

He added even the trial court had acquitted him from all the charges under the Foreigners Act.

According to the CBI, Hoon concealed his identity as a British citizen during his stay in two different hotels, in 1986-87, which was a criminal offence.

The CBI alleged that during his stay in Delhi's Ambassador Hotel, the petitioner paid the hotel tariff in rupees whereas he should have paid in British pounds.

Similarly, he stayed at an hotel in Jaipur and paid Rs 8,000 in Indian currency.

Justice Mehta called the petitioner a "chronic litigant" who filed cases against the authorities whenever any step was taken against him due to his activities which were contrary to law. - IANS

New Delhi, January 29
Protesting against the 'scam' triggered by unusually high marks obtained by some students in the semester results of Delhi University, a group of examiners has written to the Controller of Examinations to make its complaint about the 'unacademic way of moderating results'.

In fact, some teachers have alleged that the unusually high marks granted to the students were aimed at justifying the semester system, adopted last year despite much protest by the teaching community.

Earlier, teachers of the Department of Germanic and Romance Studies had separately written to the Examination Branch, expressing their displeasure, stating that they did not believe in moderation of marks across the board.

The memorandum of protest, submitted to the Controller of Examinations, said that the faulty method has diluted academic standards and made a mockery of the evaluation process.

"The results have been moderated to such an extent that they are unrealistic and defy all logic. We fail to understand the method of moderation adopted this time," the memorandum reads.

It says that the process has raised serious doubts in the minds of students and teachers alike.

"We would like to know the reason why the university authorities increased the scores of the toppers from approximately 73 per cent to 96.6 per cent," they said.

Moderation of marks is a process of reviewing assessments to ensure that grades are awarded consistently and appropriately. However, according to the teachers, it is very rare that the moderation lead to large changes in marks as apparently happened this time.

"It is rare for moderation to lead to large changes in marks of many students. When it does happen, it is a clear indicator of some serious fault in the teaching or evaluation process," says Abha Dev Habib, member of DUTA Executive.

They also pointed out that the jump in marks obtained by students had no bearing to the actual standards observed in the course of the evaluation process.

New Delhi, January 29
An 18-year-old school student was killed by his friends who stabbed him and then threw his body near the Kanjhawala-Nangal road at Bawana, Outer Delhi yesterday evening. According to sources, the motive of the murder was a debt of Rs 20,000.

A police official said that the deceased, Dinesh is a class 12 student of a government school situated at Bawana.

"About 6 pm yesterday, we were informed about Dinesh by the authorities of the Maharishi Balmiki Hospital. He was admitted there by his family. We were told that he was found behind a Hanuman temple in an isolated area near the Kanjhawala-Nangal road. He had been stabbed multiple times," added the official.

A case under IPC section 302 (punishment for murder) and section 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information) was registered at the Bawana police station.

The police is awaiting the postmortem to ascertain the cause of Dinesh's death. Sources said that one, Amit who is a neighbour, has been arrested. He is in his early twenties.

The official said that the police is probing the possibility of a grudge between the two boys.

"The motive of the murder is not robbery," added the official.

Sources said that Dinesh had lent Rs 20,000 to Amit.

"Amit failed to pay it back and so he decided to kill him. He was earlier absconding, but was detained yesterday and arrested today," added sources.

The police is also searching for other persons who conspired against Dinesh. They could be his friends, according to the police.

New Delhi, January 29
Blood cancer is curable if reported on time. This massage came during the reunion of patients who had undergone bone marrow transplant earlier.

The event, organised in collaboration with Cancer Sahyog - the emotional support group of Indian Cancer Society, was held at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute (RGCI), in run-up to the World Cancer Day on February 4. The get-together saw around 40 patients from India and abroad, including Afghanistan and Nepal, who successfully underwent transplants in 2011 at RGCI.

Blood cancer is one of the most dreaded cancers and bone marrow transplant, also done in cases of thalassemia and aplastic anaemia, has emerged as an effective treatment in the recent years, said doctors at the institute.

However, experts feel cost is a major concern in the transplant due to which many fail to get the life-saving treatment.

"We are providing this facility at most economical way. The results of transplants are at par with international standards," said bone marrow transplant consultant Dr Shishir Seth.

"Post-operative period is as critical as the transplant itself. After the transplant, it may take a year or more for immune system to recover. A weakened immune system increases the risk of infection that can be serious or even life threatening," said Dr Dinesh Bhurani, senior consultant, bone marrow transplant at RGCI.

"The get-together was aimed at equipping the patients and their families with right information so that they are able to face the challenging phase in their lives successfully. It also led to a feeling of bonhomie between the patients and benefited a lot from sharing of their experiences," added Dr Bhurani.

RGCI became the first institute in north India to perform more than 50 transplants in 2011, said a release issued by the hospital.

New Delhi, January 29
A constable of the Nagaland Armed police posted as a security guard at minister of state for communications Sachin Pilot's residence, allegedly committed suicide by shooting at with his own rifle while he was on duty during midnight.

A police official said that at the time of the incident constable Inapu was on duty at the main gate of the residence at 3, Safdarjung Road, New Delhi.

"He placed his self-loading rifle under his chin and pulled the trigger. The bullet had pierced through his skull," added the official.

His body has been sent for the postmortem to Lady Hardinge Hospital. His family, living at Kohima in Nagaland, has been informed.

No suicide note has been found. The police is trying to ascertain the motive for the suicide. "He went on a one-month leave to his home at Kohima and had returned six days ago. It could be possible that Inapu was upset because his family maybe facing some problems. Or maybe he was frustrated with his job, because he was working under compulsion," added the official.

A constable of the NAP posted as a security guard at a nearby residence at Safdarjung Road said, "I was acquainted with Inapu because we both belong to the second battalion of the NAP. He had inserted a magazine with four bullets in his rifle, but the trigger had jammed. He then went back to the guardroom and fixed the malfunction. He then shot himself. No one knows why he did it."

"Inapu never revealed his secrets to anyone and so no one knows what problems he must have faced. He was earlier posted at the CGO complex and was transferred to the MP's residence a few days ago. He was a disciplined individual and was loyal to the force, he added.

Inapu was one of the 10 guards posted at Pilot's residence. He stayed with them at the barracks situated in the vicinity of the house.

"I was recruited into the NAP with Inapu and was one of his closest friends. None of us know what made him to take this step," said a guard posted at the residence.

Ghaziabad, January 29
On the direction of the Election Commission (EC) a case has been registered here against a Samajwadi Party leader and former MLA for allegedly trying to "obtain bribe" from a corporate house for party fund.

SP leader and former BJP MLA from the Modinagar constituency Narender Sisodia was booked yesterday, said senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raghubir Lal.

The EC had earlier directed to register complaints of "bribery" against 11 party leaders who were allegedly caught in an act of bribery in a sting operation of a news channel on January 26.

The leader was demanding money from a corporate house for party fund and his act was covered by a television journalist under sting operation and it was telecast on a TV news channel, Lal said.

Sisodia has won from Modinagar three times on the BJP ticket and this time he was denied ticket by the party, leading to which he joined the Samajwadi Party. - PTI

New Delhi, January 29
A 28-year-old woman, who went to pay the school fee of her four-year-old daughter at Mayur Vihar Phase I, allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances two days ago.

She has been found today at the North-East district of Delhi.

The woman, Rekha Mishra stays with her husband, Pawan and family at Block number 27, Trilokpuri, according to sources.

On January 27, Rekha went to her daughter, Sanskriti's school to pay the fee. According to the police, she reached the school, but did not return home thereafter.

Rekha's father-in-law, Triloknath Mishra lodged a complaint of her kidnapping at the Pandav Nagar police station.

According to sources, Rekha's husband went to Uttar Pradesh for some work on the day she was kidnapped.

The police was tracking her mobile phone, but it was reportedly switched off.

Sources added that the police was also examining Rekha's call details for clues.

"The woman was found today at the North-East district," said deputy commissioner of police (east), Prabhakar.