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Rahul, Akhilesh woo Bhatta youth
Denied hotel entry, goons thrash four
Death due to cold drink: Anger spills on to road
Court discharges CWG scam accused
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MCD blames engineers for illegal constructions
Book fair focusses on cinema
72,000 low-cost flats to make
Delhi slum-free
Trans-Hindon residents suffer long outages
Punjabi theatre introduces modern world of ethos
HC ends mishap victim’s 22-year search for justice
Seat quota for MCD poll flawed: DPCC
MCD delays de-notification of
commercial roads
Newlywed cop shoots self
More services under time-bound delivery
Rare animal species seized from school
Rs 100 bribe gets 2
cops 18 months in jail
Minor girl raped
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Rahul, Akhilesh woo Bhatta youth
Noida, February 24 While the Congress general secretary had descended on Javer with his young brigade, including Jayant Chaudhary, Sachil Pilot, Dapinder Hooda, Samajwadi Party youth leader Akhlesh Yadav left no stone unturned in lashing at opposition parties. At rallies held here yesterday, they advised the young voters not to be taken in by the tactics of the opposition parties. In Bhatta Parsaul villages, hundreds of residents joined Rahul's rally and extended support to him. They honoured him by putting a pagri on his head. Around 10,000 villagers had assembled at the rally. Virendra Singh Dhada said, "We want to make Rahul's mission UP-2012 a reality. His visits have brought farmers to the party fold." Raj Kumar of Sabota village said, "There is a general feeling that Rahul can help us get better price for our land." Lalit Kumar, alias Bhola of Dyanatpur, Krishan Kumar Sharma and Thakur Suresh Singh from Jawer, Vikram Sharma, Pradhan of Alawalpur, Dharamveer Sharma of Sabota and Ravi Sharma of Ranhera echoed similar sentiments. Sixty-five-year-old Ram Kali of Dayanatpur said, "We have pinned our hopes on Rahul." |
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Denied hotel entry, goons thrash four
New Delhi, February 24 An FIR regarding the incident was registered on February 13 at the New Friends Colony police station. But no arrests have been made till now, according to sources. After several attempts, the police could not be contacted for its comments on the issue. The sources said that on February 12, the four goons, Rocky, Vikas Chauhan, Maninder and Bobby, were prevented by Bhupinder from gaining free entry into the discotheque. The goons left after threatening Bhupinder, who is the chief security official of the Zynxx Club at the Hilton Hotel. He stayed at the hotel and the next day about 5 am he left in a car with his three friends. According to the FIR, Bhupender Nagar said that on February 13, he was in a car with his three friends, Vinod Kumar, Manu and Sharad. He was returning to his home from his work when Rocky, Vikas, Maninder and Bobby, who were travelling in a Swift car, intercepted him near Kalkaji. Bhupinder and his friends wanted to avoid the goons. They decided to reach the Surya Hotel at New Friends Colony. They had to halt at the barricade of the entry gate of the hotel. The four men also reached the hotel at the same time as they did. They bolted out of their car. They started thrashing the four victims with iron rods. One of them was brandishing a pistol and used it to bash the victims. Security guards of the hotel were unable to do anything. Sources said that a PCR van had passed by the place where the victims were being beaten and did not come to their rescue. The thrashing lasted for about 15 minutes and thereafter the goons left in their cars.
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Death due to cold drink: Anger spills on to road
New Delhi, February 24 Kanika Sharma was the college president and belonged to the National Students Union of India (NSUI). Her friends alleged that rival parties of the college and the management were responsible for her death. Kanika was a BA III year student. She lived with her parents at Jagriti Vihar in Ghaziabad. A police official said that around 9 am yesterday Kanika was sitting with her friends in the college canteen. "She was drinking Slice from a glass bottle and a few minutes later she fell unconscious. Her friends rushed her to an ESI hospital and informed us about the matter. Kanika died during her treatment," added the official. She was suffering from low blood pressure. "Kanika's father said that last year she had collapsed when she was travelling in a train. That time she was suffering from dengue and low blood pressure. She was thereafter hospitalised for three to four days. Then she was again admitted to the hospital because she was suffering from weakness in her body," said the official. Kanika still suffered from low blood pressure, although the dengue was cured. Her body's post-mortem has been conducted and the report is awaited. According to the police, reports of the autopsy and her heart, besides forensic examination of the Slice bottle, will reveal the actual cause of Kanika's death. The official pointed out that a substance could have been mixed in her drink. Commenting on the gravity of the case, national secretary of the NSUI Bhushan Penchalwar said, "We are waiting for the police report. If it is confirmed that some foul play was involved in Kanika's death, we will see that the culprits are brought to justice. As of now, we are constantly in touch with the college authorities regarding the matter."
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Court discharges CWG scam accused
New Delhi, February 24 Special CBI judge Pradeep Chaddha discharged accused Mehul Karnik, an employee of Philips India Pvt Ltd, saying that he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The court observed that Karnik was representing a rival company during bidding. The court found prima facie evidence against the four MCD officials, MCD superintendent engineer DK Sugan, executive engineer OP Mahala, accountant Raju V and civic body's tender clerk Gurcharan Singh. The court also turned down the plea of Sweska Powertech Engineering Pvt Ltd which said that no case is to be made against it as the CBI has registered a case against it with the wrong name and conducted investigations against the wrong company. The court found evidence against the company and its director JP Singh and managing director TP Singh. According to the CBI chargesheet, the accused had entered into a criminal conspiracy for upgrading the street lights in view of the forthcoming CWG in Oct 2010 and caused a loss of around 1,42,83,000 crore to the government. The CBI has alleged that tenders of streetlighting were invited by the civic agency in 2008. Tenders were opened in May 2008 and were wrongfully awarded to Sweska Powertech. The court while discharging Karnik observed that he was in the same room when the tenders were being opened, but it noted that the company initially participated in the tender process but ultimately did not submit the tender. The CBI has registered the case against the accused person for the offence of cheating, criminal conspiracy and other related charges with various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
IANS |
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MCD blames engineers for illegal constructions
New Delhi, February 24 The leaders said that a great extent of sealing and demolition had been done on third and fourth floor which showed that the engineers were also involved in illegal constructions. "First they allow the construction and afterward on complaint or pressure from various sections the formality of demolition is done. Many times it was directed that the construction should be stopped at the initial stage, but it went off unnoticed," said Jagdish Mamgain, chairman of the Works Committee. In maximum cases the action is done at the last stage of construction or when the builder has sold the flats or shops to innocent buyers. He alleged that the engineers of building department did not fulfil the procedure and norms which created tension and violence. Mamgain said that the MCD had directed the commissioner to give at least 72 hours of prior notice before taking action against any illegal properties, but it was not implemented in most of the cases. "The junior engineers (JE) and other employees of the building department in the name of action indulge in give and take and do not act against those who have fulfiled their demands. "Instead of taking action after the incident, the accountability and action must be initiated against the engineers regularly. The action should be taken at the primary stage of construction, added Mamgain.
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Book fair focusses on cinema
New Delhi, February 24 "The world book fair will feature several film celebrities and authors during the course of the fair. We aim at highlighting and portraying the works on the Indian cinema. It will be a live and mega event as several people associated with cinema like actor Farooq Sheikh, lyricist Javed Akhtara and actor Deepti Naval will also be participating," said director of the National Book Trust (NBT), MA Sikandar. To make the event more interactive, several noted authors, including former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam, noted writer and historian William Dalrymple and MP Shashi Tharoor, are going to participate in the fair at Pragati Maidan. The Chief Election Commissioner of India would also feature among the panel of speakers on a book release. Other attractions at the fair will include the Delhi pavilion that will also commemorate 100 years of New Delhi as the Capital of India. For children, there will be day-long activities and programmes like storytelling, workshops and quiz competitions at the children pavilion at hall No.14 along with a special appearance by Bollywood actor Nandita Das. "An exhibit of books on and by Rabindranath Tagore at hall No. 6 will also be displayed at the fair. Apart from the daily literary events, including seminars and launches, every evening there will be cultural events organised by Sahitya Kala Parishad, Delhi government," said media coordinator for the NBT. This year the fair will be spread over 45,000 sq m area in 10 halls with over 2,500 stalls displaying books of nearly 1,300 exhibitors. The foreign pavilion will showcase international participation of about 30 publishers and organisations. "These include Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Germany, UAE, China, Turkey, South Korea, Spain, Belarus, France, Iran, Thailand, Israel and the United Kingdom as well as agencies like UNIC, UNESCO and WHO," added the media coordinator. Jamia to bring translated works of Arab, Indian writers The India Arab Cultural Centre at Jamia Millia Islamia University will participate in the 20th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair beginning in the Capital on Sunday. The much-awaited fair at Pragati Maidan will be open to public till March 4. "Established by the UGC in 2008, the India Arab Cultural Centre within a short period of four years has translated 24 books of contemporary Indian authors into Arabic language and works of Arab writers into Hindi and Urdu languages. The prominent ones include 'The Wings of Fire' by APJ Abdul Kalam, 'The Idea of India' by Sunil Khilnani, 'Nehru: The Invention of India' by Shashi Tharoor, 'Habitations of Modernity' by Dipesh Chakravarty, 'The Indian Heritage' by Humayun Kabir, 'The Shade of Swords' by MJ Akbar, 'Short Stories from India and Children of Abraham at War' by Talmiz Ahmad. "Jawhar Sircar, secretary, ministry of culture, will release the books on February 27," said the official spokesperson of the university. The vision behind the project is to update the Arab masses of contemporary Indian writers, their works and literary trends.
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72,000 low-cost flats to make
Delhi slum-free
New Delhi, February 24 The government has decided to complete this project within two years. The groundwork for the construction of these flats has already been started, said a senior official of the DSIIDC, the prime agency for construction of low-cost houses. The official said that the DSIIDC had already completed construction of 9,660 flats in Narela, Dwarka and Bhorgarh under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme and another 5,184 flats were likely to be completed very soon. The process of selecting the beneficiaries for around 15,000 flats was underway. All the completed flats will be allotted till March 31. The government earlier this month had started allotment of around 2,200 low-cost flats to industrial workers. In the first batch, a total of 115 industrial workers were given allotment letters of flats built in the Narela area of north-west Delhi. The government would make available hospitals, schools, shopping complexes and bus services in the areas where low-cost flats are coming up. Minister of state for industries and labour welfare Ramakant Goswami today inspected the ongoing construction work of low-cost houses at Pootkhurd where 13,800 dwelling units are to be ready by 2013. |
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Trans-Hindon residents suffer long outages
Ghaziabad, February 24 The new areas - Vaishali, Kaushambi, Vasundhara and Indirapuram - have around 70,000 domestic power consumers who contribute around Rs 32 crore to the total power revenue in the district. Ghaziabad accounts for a monthly revenue of around Rs 120 crore from power. "My monthly bill goes up to around Rs 8,000 during summers, while it is around Rs 2,000 in winters. We have to depend on the power backup supply provided by the builder, which costs Rs 12 per unit", said Deepshikha Sethi, a resident of Indirapuram. On the other hand, the Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) charges between Rs 3.45 and Rs 3.8 per unit. There are around 16 substations in the new areas. Vasundhara gets supplies from Sahibabad, whereas Indirapuram and Vaishali receive supply from their own substations. Residents of Kaushambi receive the supply from Noida. PVVNL officials said they managed to save power after supply to Kaushambi was initiated from Noida recently. "This will now be supplied to consumers of other trans-Hindon areas. We have also upgraded Vaishali and Sahibabad sub-stations," said a senior PVVNL Power corporation officials say that during summers, there is a shortage of 50-75 MW in trans-Hindon areas due to overload and faults. "We have to depend totally on generator sets and inverters. Though the situation has improved slightly, a lot still needs to be done", said Pramod Singh of Vasundhara. "We hope the situation will improve after the diesel power house sub-station starts functioning. We are also trying to reduce transmission loss. A 24-hour supply is possible," said Yogesh Kumar, chief engineer, PVVNL. |
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Punjabi theatre introduces modern world of ethos
New Delhi, February 24 The festival, which was organised by the Punjabi Academy, Delhi, was packed with performances by vibrant and youthful wave of committed activists who have been working hard to keep pace with the existing norms in the art and craft of theatre. The visionary directors, who enthralled the audiences with their powerful creations, include Pali Bhupinder, Kewal Dhaliwal, Satish Kumar Verma, Harvinder Kaur and Waryam Mast. This year's festival showcased a cross-generational representation of the best in Punjabi plays. The production includes two plays inspired by the works of Rabindranath Tagore. Modern sensibilities and ethos are represented through works of master directors like Neelam Mann Singh Chaudhary and Dr Atamjit, Pali Bhupender and Kewal Dhaliwal. The play "A wife's letter" by Neelam Mann Chaurdhary is a story of a child bride who secretly writes poetry to assuage the listlessness of her routine mundane life. The story portrays her life which makes companion with the cows and buffaloes in the house and her relationship with her older sister-in-law. The story is an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore. There was thought provoking play "Mangoo te Bikkar" by Ravi Taneja which presents a tale of two old men and their fight for survival teaching a lesson of self-reliance. Another play "Drishti Daan", which is also an adaptation of Tagore's creation, is a story of a blind woman whose husband is a doctor and has elevated her status to a goddess which is unlike the she wants to live her life. The story expresses the subtle and deep emotions of human beings. Kewal Dhaliwal, the director of the play, takes the audience through a journey of dreams and exposes them to layers of reality. "IOther directors like Sheila Bhatia, CD Sidhu, Ajmer Aulakh and Navindra Bahl showcased the rich Punjabi theatre tradition in Delhi by the medium of meaningful and entertaining plays.
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HC ends mishap victim’s 22-year search for justice
New Delhi, February 24 A bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Rajiv Shakdher has asked the petitioner, Tilak Raj Singh, to appear before its single judge bench and listed the matter for further hearing on March 12. The court was hearing Singh's plea against the 2010 single bench order which had refused to entertain his petition on the ground that his claim was time barred as it had been filed after 21 years of the accident. The incident occurred at the Muzaffarnagar railway station on October 20, 1987, when Singh got down from the train while going to Ludhiana from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. Singh's counsel had alleged that when his train stopped at the Muzaffarnagar station, he got down to change his bogie as the coach he boarded had inadequate lighting. However, the train started running without any alarm. Singh fell down and got entangled between the wheels of the train and suffered grievous injuries while trying to board the train once again. This resulted in the amputation of his leg at a hospital in New Delhi, according to the counsel. The government had sanctioned a sum of Rs 5,000 as ex-gratia to him. However, Singh refused to accept the said amount and filed a civil suit in a Meerut court in 1990, claiming damages from the Northern Railway.
PTI |
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Seat quota for MCD poll flawed: DPCC
New Delhi, February 24 In a letter written to the CEC, the Delhi Congress has said that reservation of seats for the MCD elections had not been fully complied with the ground realities and requirements. The DPCC has claimed to have found drawbacks in the list released by the State Election Commission. While splitting the MCD into three, the government had announced that 50 per cent of the seats would be reserved for women , but the list prepared by the Delhi Election Commission had major flaws, the party said. The letter expressed surprise that out of the 70 assembly seats in the Capital, three seats out of four in 26 assembly constituencies have been reserved for women, while in 22 Assembly constituencies, three seats have been given to men in each Assembly segment. It said there were also lapses in the seats reserved for the scheduled castes as the list announced by the Delhi Election Commission had not been made carefully. Spokesman of the DPCC Jitender Kochar said the state party had sent a proposal suggesting allotment of two wards in each Assembly constituency for men and women and reservation of seats for the scheduled castes on the basis of their proportion of population in each ward.
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MCD delays de-notification of
commercial roads
New Delhi, February 24 The proposal was presented at a meeting of the standing committee, but was rolled back for further consideration. These roads had been approved as per the provisions of MPD-2021 after fulfilling all the formalities in the interest of people so that they can fulfill their daily needs in their areas. The roads are among the 2,183 roads which were approved for commercial and mixed land use in 2006. Standing committee chairman Yogender Chandolia said the proposal was referred back for a discussion with the union urban development ministry for amendments in the rules. He said the roads had been notified for commercial and mixed land use after following the legal formalities and that there was no provision for de-notifying them under the existing rules.
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Newlywed cop shoots self
New Delhi, February 24 Constable Pankaj Kumar shot at himself in the head at the guard room of the police station.The staff of the station rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead on arrival. Kumar was married for the second time a few days ago. His second wife left him after she became aware that he was earlier married. Sources said that this was the reason for his depression. A senior police official said that according to primary investigations Kumar's depression could be the motive for his suicide. No suicide note has been found. The actual cause of the death will only be ascertained by the post-mortem report which is awaited. The sources said that Kumar was recruited into the Delhi police in 2010. He was posted at the same police station since 2011. For the past 25 days, he was assigned as the personal security official of Vikram Arora also known as Vicky who is a witness in a murder case.
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More services under time-bound delivery
New Delhi, February 24 The services added today include issuance of certified copies of revenue records, no-objection certificate for registration of sale deeds, registration of thrift and credit society by registrar of cooperative societies, issuance of duplicate ration card and transfer of ration card and issuance of duplicate national permit by the transport department. Officials are liable to pay financial penalty of Rs 10 per day up to a maximum of Rs 200 to applicants, if they fail to deliver services.
- PTI
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Suri team takes charge of DAV panel
New Delhi, February 24 Suri defeated his rival Justice (retd.) R. N. Mittal by a margin of 34 votes. Suri is the managing editor of the Urdu daily, 'Milap'. The other office-bearers are: vice-president - Dr S. K. Sama, noted physician and chief of Ganga Ram Hospital, general-secretary - R.S. Sharma, secretary - Ravinder Kumar, and treasurer - Mahesh Chopra. Addressing the Principals of DAV colleges and schools from various states, Suri urged them and the institutions' management to take the 'education movement', started by Swami Dayanad Saraswati and Mahatama Hansraj for the society, to new heights. |
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Rare animal species seized from school
New Delhi, February 24 The animals were seized after conducting a joint raid by the local police and the wild life department of the Delhi government. The animals were recovered from the biology lab of the school. Keeping these animals is not allowed, said a police official at the GTB Enclave police station. He said that the police received information that the school had kept these animals in its lab. The case was developed and the police informed the wild life department also. Today, a joint raid was conducted and the animals were seized. These animals are kept in the police station. Guard of the school over the telephone confirmed that a raid was conducted and some animals were seized from the lab.
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Delhiites enjoy warm day
New Delhi, February 24 "The day temperature kept the weather warm, however, it dropped from the high range that the city had been witnessing over the past few days," said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). "Even tomorrow the city can expect a sunny day. Skies are likely to remain clear. The maximum and minimum temperatures tomorrow are likely to settle between a high a low of 28° and 13.5° C, respectively," he added. The minimum temperature today also settled one degree above the average at 11.6° C. The humidity levels today oscillated between a high and low of 77 and 35 per cent, respectively. |
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Rs 100 bribe gets 2
cops 18 months in jail
New Delhi, February 24 Special Judge NK Sharma sentenced traffic zonal official ASI Vikram Singh and constable also named Vikram Singh, to 18 months in jail and a fine of Rs 10,000 each, saying, "They by corrupt and illegal means abused their official position as public servants and obtained pecuniary advantage of Rs 100." Both the convicts were caught in a trap laid on the complaint of RTV owner Satish Gupta, who had harassment by the traffic police. Gupta had complained on February 7, 2004, that the duo had demanded bribe of Rs 100 as entry fee for allowing his vehicle to ply through Kodia Pul bus stand in old Delhi and threatened to file a "challan" if the amount was not paid in a month.
PTI |
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Minor girl raped
Ghaziabad, February 24 According to a complaint filed by the victim's father, she returned home last night with blood stained clothes and a battered face, SSP Raghubir Lal said. The victim told her father that she was assaulted after being raped, prompting him to report the matter at the Sahibabad police station, the SSP said. The victim was admitted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for a medical checkup, Lal said. An FIR against unknown person under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the IPC was registered, he added.
PTI |
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