|
|
|
|
|
Peaceful voting in GB Nagar, Gzb
Mixed response to strike call
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Errors galore in voter ID cards
Noida gangrape case shifted to Delhi court
MCD teacher selection racket busted
Cloakroom provided at airport Metro
Noida police draws flak for exposing rape victim
Special kids walk the ramp
2-day national science fest begins
9-year girl shot at in celebratory firing
Head constable killed in accident
Irked over misbehaviour, youth kills landlady
Gzb candidate shot at in accidental fire: Police
SAD (Badal) wants ‘tainted’ Sarna to resign
Drive to curb pollution
Minor raped by stepfather
DU girl commits suicide
Minor girl raped by 4 minors in Rishikesh
|
|
Peaceful voting in GB Nagar, Gzb
Noida/Ghaziabad, February 28 While Noida had an average of about 57 per cent votes in all the three Assembly constituencies of Noida City, Dadri and Jewar, Ghaziabad district had polled on an average of 58.78 per cent votes in the district for all the five constituencies, namely Ghaziabad, Loni, Sahibabad, Modi Nagar and Murad Nagar. Noida had polled 50 per cent, Dadri 57 per cent and Jewar 60 per cent votes, constituency-wise. The voting figures till 10 am were 10 to 15 per cent, 37 per cent up to 1 pm and 38 per cent by 2 pm for Noida and Ghaziabad. Since early morning, droves of voters could be seen in the urban and rural areas in both the constituencies. The reason for the BSP workers to block the NH-24 was that a number of their voters, on not finding their names on the list, had become furious. Angry voters and party workers decided to jam the highway to register their protest. It took the police about three hours to persuade the people to clear the highway. In sector 11 Noida too, one voter Jawahar Chauhan who could not locate his name on the list bemoaned that there were a number of bogus voters while bona fide voters had to run from pillar to post to locate their names and cast their votes, but to no avail. Some of the first-time voters were seen having a picnic to celebrate the occasion. At Dadri also, dozens of voters had protested that their names were not found on the list and they had to go away without casting their votes. The Assembly elections in the sixth phase in west UP are crucial as they are likely to make or mar the future of leaders like Mayawati, Kalyan Singh and Ajit Singh's son Jayant Chaudhri, and others. In Gautam Budh Nagar district, Dadri and Jewar, more voters were seen coming out than the urban voters in Noida town for a couple of reasons. Dadri is the home turf of Chief Minister Mayawati where she is having a number of followers and Jewar had a reason of its own as the farmers in the twin villages of Bhatta-Parsaul had witnessed a bloody confrontation with the state administration. Those who could vote today were apparently quite excited to have discharged their duty as responsible citizens.
|
|
Mixed response to strike call
New Delhi, February 28 Though the strike failed to impose much impact on Delhiites, the normal functioning of public sector undertaking (PSU) banks was affected, even though most of the branches in the city were open. The attendance remained thin as majority of clerical staff abstained from work. The customers at the banks faced a lot of problems as employees refused to conduct transactions as part of the protest. With a number of autos and taxi drivers keeping their vehicles off the roads to take part in the protest, commuters were at the receiving end as they remained stranded and had to bore the brunt of the strike at inter-state bus terminals and railway stations. They were most suffered at the hands of taxi drivers and even rickshaw-pullers had a field day as many chose the alternate system for short-distance travel. Commuters complained that the frequency of the state-run buses were low. They complained that most of the buses which were plying were overcrowded. Several passengers were stranded at railway stations and bus terminals in the morning. Though many switched to buses and Metro, reaching the destination was a struggle with no connectivity from bus stops and Metro stations. Thirty-five-year-old Manuja Avasthi said reaching New Delhi railway station today was not easy. "I had to pay Rs 350 for a journey which would have cost less than Rs 200 on any other day," she said. Though DTC officials claimed they had operated extra buses to help passengers, commuters complained that frequency of the state-run buses was low. The unions are demanding no contractual work and said that it should be only permanent or perennial in nature, besides amendment of the Minimum Wages Act, assured pension for all and compulsory registration of trade union among others. "We did not want to go on a strike and were waiting for the government to take some action. But the government has not been listening to our demands," said Rajinder Soni, general secretary, Delhi Auto-rickshaw Sangh, which is associated with the Bharat Mazdoor Sangh. "We understand that such strikes cause a lot of inconvenience to commuters and the general public is harassed for no fault of theirs. Our autos will be back on the roads by midnight but we will continue the agitation. We are ready to negotiate and discuss the issues." Auto and taxi union leaders said they were participating in the strike to protest against the government policies towards them and alleged the government was doing nothing for setting up a welfare board. |
|
Errors galore in voter ID cards
Noida, February 28 There are about 120 such residential addresses from where 50 or more voters have been issued their identity cards as per the list. The maximum number of voters from a single residential address is 609 from house number 81 in Kanshiram Awaas Colony in Sector-45. This is followed by house number 1 of Gijhaur village in Sector-53 from where the total number of voters issued photo identity cards stands at 547. Similarly, the address of House No. 1, Naya Baans village in Sector-15, has been given by 362 voters. The district administration has, however, claimed that it has conducted a verification of the matter and maintains that all the above-mentioned voters are genuine and would not be barred from casting their ballots in any manner. "The discrepancies, where the residence number has been printed as 'O', are largely due to errors in feeding data in the computer," said district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, Hirdesh Kumar. "The errors have cropped up as the boxes against house numbers in the forms were not filled up on line which then automatically assigned the number 'O'," said Kumar. With such a large number of discrepancies, the candidates of different political parties felt that the polls might be rigged by bogus voters. "In the villages, most of the buildings have been hired out as hostels. Many voters reside in a single building and there has been a clerical error in entering the residential address of all the voters from the same building," said the District Magistrate. |
|
Noida gangrape case shifted to Delhi court
New Delhi, February 28 The trial of the case had been shifted from a Noida court to one here in the national Capital on the Supreme Court's order after victim's friend Amit Pawar had approached it, fearing threat to his life and facing pressure to withdraw the case. A 24-year-old MBA student was gangraped by 11 youths on January 5, 2009, when she was returning from Great India Place Mall in Noida with Pawar. Pawar, who had filed the complaint with the Noida police, had alleged the accused, who were returning home after a cricket match, had forced him to stop his car by brandishing cricket bats. After he stopped the car, they got in the car and drove it around near urban Noida village Garhi Chaukhandi and took turns to rape his friend. The accused in the case are Pushpender, Srikant, Sanjay, Gautam, Sudhir, alias Tony, Little, Anil, Omkar and Pushpender, Sashikant and Golu, all residents of Garhi Chaukhandi. All of them are on bail. When the case was today brought before District Judge Sunita Gupta, it was assigned to the court of Additional Sessions Judge Raj Kapoor, who fixed the matter for hearing on April 4. The judge also directed the police to ensure safety and security of witness (Pawar) in the meantime considering that the case is at the evidence stage and the complainant (Pawar) is the main witness. The ASJ passed the order on Pawar's plea for protection and has also asked the police to file a report by March 2. Pawar had filed a plea for his protection saying the accused are of criminal nature and he apprehends threat to his life and limb from them. - PTI
|
|
MCD teacher selection racket busted
New Delhi, February 28 The police received a complaint from the Deputy Director (Education), Kanwar Singh about suspicious appointment letters of three MCD primary schoolteachers. They were identified as Sachin, Sanjeev and Suresh, who are employed on a contract basis. According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North West) Romil Baaniya, Sachin and Sanjeev are teachers of MCD primary schools in D Block, Jahangirpuri. Suresh is also a primary schoolteacher at K Block, Jahangirpuri. Ashok is a teacher at an MCD primary school in Wazirabad, whereas Sunil and Santosh teach at the civic agency's primary school at Nathupura. The police is investigating if there is any other similar case of forgery and cheating that has been reported in other schools. A search has been launched to apprehend the other accused. Sachin, Sanjeev and Suresh confessed that they were not eligible for the post of teachers at the MCD schools. They were desperately looking for a job. They became acquainted with one, Raju (name changed) and Hari (name changed), who are residents of Haryana. They convinced the two men to pay them money for being getting jobs. "Further interrogation revealed that the key planner in this racket is Ashok who is a teacher (contract basis) at an MCD school in Wazirabad. He has conspired with Aftab, Sunil, Santosh and one Pawan for committing this crime. The gang managed to procure the format copy of the appointment letter. They issued it to the interested parties by using the forged signature and seal of Kanwar Singh," added Romil.
|
|
Cloakroom provided at airport Metro
New Delhi, February 28 "As part of turning the New Delhi Airport Metro station to a travelers' hub and to add on more customer-centric services, a cloakroom facility is being provided. There are many up-country passengers who come from Punjab, UP, Haryana and Rajasthan and have flights at late hours. These outstation commuters can easily avail this facility at Reliance Metro Airport Express station and get rid of their luggage," said a spokesperson for the Reliance Infra. "Passengers who travel long distance usually carry heavy bags. Now at a very nominal cost they can get totally burden-free of their bags and enjoy a hassle-free time before they start for their respective destinations," the spokesperson added. The Reliance Metro is also coming up with retail outlets, including food and beverages, apparel stores, ATM counters, pharmacy and other conveniences for the travelers and tourists. Though the Reliance Metro has a six-hour early check-in facility for domestic flyers and eight-hour early check-in for international flyers, people who have a delayed flight can use the cloakroom. Considering the crowd factor at the New Delhi Railway station, a cloakroom facility will help passengers who take the Airport Metro route. "As the Reliance Metro Airport Express connects the railway station and the airport, this service will be highly convenient for the passengers who travel by the Airport Express Metro," added the spokesperson. Anil P Gupta, president of the Reliance Infrastructure said, "We are continuously working towards adding to our commuter-friendly facilities. The cloakroom service at our New Delhi Airport Express Metro station will be beneficial for the commuters who travel with heavy luggage and need to get burden-free for few hours. We are hopeful that this customer-centric service will encourage more commuters to take the hassle-free route of the Reliance Metro Airport Express." The high-speed Reliance Metro Airport Express, connecting New Delhi station to Dwarka Sector 21 via IGI T3 airport, now runs full-fledged service, with all its six stations commercially operational for the passengers.
|
|
Noida police draws flak for exposing rape victim
Noida/New Delhi, February 28 Superintendent of Police, Noida, Anant Dev said yesterday that an inquiry had been ordered in the name leak and the police would take "necessary departmental action" against personnel concerned. The police, meanwhile, faced criticism not only in the name episode, but also for blaming the victim. Dev had Sunday said the victim "willingly" went with the accused and consumed alcohol, even as the victim said she was forced to consume liquor. "The Indian police is the only force in the world who directly blame the rape victim. Instead of going for investigation, the police is going with its habit of blaming the victim. This is the most ridiculous way of thinking," Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research, told IANS. "This time, the police has gone to the extent of revealing the name of the victim without thinking of the social stigma. This amounts to violating the law of land and the officials should be taken to task," Kumari added. The 17-year-old girl was raped by five men, all in their 20s, in a car. The girl said she was taken on the pretext of a birthday party, forced to drink alcohol, and then raped. The victim, a Class X student, also said this was the second time she was raped by them and the men threatened to record her video to blackmail her. The police, meanwhile, arrested the fifth accused in the case, Neeraj Singh. The other four, Himanshu Sharma, Rahul Arya, Sunil Singh, and Saurabh Chauhan, were arrested on Sunday. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) took a sou motu cognisance of the incident and chairperson Shanta Sinha said the commission would seek "disciplinary action from the Uttar Pradesh government and the city SP for violating the Juvenile Justice Act under Section 21." Sinha also sent a letter to the state government and asked them to ensure that the guilty officials are punished. The NCPCR has also directed the state government to provide the victim security, medical aid, and legal aid. Minister for women and child development Krishna Tirath said: "The way the police has behaved is wrong as well as dangerous. I think it should have knowledge about such issues and only then should speak. Revealing identity of the victim is very wrong." The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the responsibility lied with the Uttar Pradesh government. "This is totally wrong. The government is responsible," spokesperson for the BJP Prakash Javadekar said. Congress leader and former women and child development minister Renuka Chowdhary said that sensitising the police about gender issues was the need of the hour. "Sensitivity for women's issues is something we are lacking in this country. At the police academy, and where constables are trained, everyone should be given that gender capsule to understand how to handle a situation like this," she said. Activists pointed out to the ignorance of the law-implementing agencies about the identity and life of victims in such cases. "A girl can sleep with her boyfriend, but not with five people. The administration has failed to impose laws which could have otherwise saved so many innocent victims," said Meenakshi Lekhi, a Supreme Court lawyer.
- IANS |
|
|
Special kids walk the ramp
New Delhi, February 28 Truly, occasions like this serve as a motivational platform to the special section of the society. Union minister for social Justice and empowerment Mukul Wasnik graced the occasion along with MLA Barkha Singh to catch the glimpse of the rendition performed by the children. "It is a day when our students get an opportunity to showcase their talent in front of audience and get recognition for their achievements. “It's a platform for them to develop self-confidence and self-esteem," said Dr Shayama Chona, founder of Tamana. For the past 28 years, Tamana has been at the top in providing services to special children and their families by providing them with cutting-edge training, resources and therapies used globally which would be inaccessible to them otherwise, she added. "It has made its mark in the field through its quality-oriented services, innovations, dedication and close family interaction. For its services, it has drawn interest of eminent persons like the President, Pratibha Patil, former President Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, first lady
of India Gurusharan Kaur, wife of the Vice-President Salma Ansari, the Dalai Lama and late princess Diana. These dignitaries have visited Tamana and their presence in the organisation has provided immense motivation and an impetuous to the movement," Chona said. Besides, several other prominent personalities who attended the event were actor Naseer Abdullah, Alka Lamba, designer Taniya Khanuja, Gautam Gupta, Parul Grover, entrepreneur Preeti Singh and socialite Rooma Sekhri, among others. |
|
2-day national science fest begins
New Delhi, February 28 On the occasion, an innovative scheme of science popularisation will also be launched tomorrow by Vigyan Prasar in collaboration with the National Centre for Innovations in Distance Education
(NCIDE), IGNOU, through mobile entitled Science@Mobile, first of its kind in India. The objective of the whole celebration this time is to inculcate an interest in science among the young generation through motivational insights on an array of scientific topics, with special focus on energy conservation. The event, which has been jointly organised by the National Science Centre and Vigyan
Prasar, an autonomous organisation under the department of science and technology (DST), the Government of India, will also see nuclear energy and environment experts, including director of Inter-University Accelerator Centre Dr Amit Roy, advisor at the University of Delhi Prof RK
Shivpuri, and Prof Pankaj Saran from department of physics, Jamia Milia
Islamia, who will deliver lectures on the focal theme "clean energy options and nuclear safety" and "scientific attitude". The other highlights are a number of events like interactive workshop with teachers on low-cost aids, open house quiz for school students and national-level essay writing, slogan writing and poster making competitions. Winners of these competitions will be awarded tomorrow. |
|
|
9-year girl shot at in celebratory firing
New Delhi, February 28 He is a presently employed as a personal security officer of a businessman, who was invited to the wedding. Jag Bhan had accompanied the businessman to the banquet hall. The nine-year-old girl, Riya lives with her parents at Ravi Apartment in Vikaspuri. Riya’s parents had brought her for the marriage. Riya’s uncle, Anil, disclosed to the police that she and her mother were eating snacks when the groom’s relatives and Jag Bhan opened celebratory fire in the air. A bullet pierced through Riya’s waist and she fell to the ground. She was bleeding profusely and taken to the Premlila Hospital, where doctors removed the bullet from her body. According to sources, her condition is stable. According to the police, Jag Bhan was drunk when he fired off his rifle, which has been confiscated. He was arrested from the place of the firing. The police has registered a case against him under appropriate sections of the law. Jag Bhan’s gun licence will soon be suspended, according to the police. |
|
Head constable killed in accident
New Delhi, February 28 A police officer said that the 42-year-old deceased, Abhay Narayan was a head constable posted at the South Rohini police station. After completing his duty, he was returning home at Vasundhara in Ghaziabad. "An unidentified vehicle rammed into the rear of his motorcycle, which is badly damaged. The accident occurred on the road behind the CVC office, which is near the National Victor Public School. We received a call from the police control room about 1 am. When we reached the spot, we found Narayan dead. He had sustained severe head injuries," added the officer. A postmortem of Narayan's body was conducted at the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital. Narayan is survived by his wife and two daughters. The police is searching for the culprit who was driving the unidentified vehicle which had rammed into Narayan's motorcycle. A case under section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and section 304A (causing death by negligence) was registered at the Madhu Vihar police station.
|
|
Irked over misbehaviour, youth kills landlady
New Delhi, February 28 Sachin (22) and his wife Arti were arrested for their involvement in the murder of Bishno Devi from Mukherjee Nagar in north Delhi. The arrest came after Devi's body was found lying in a gunny bag near a factory in the Bhalswa Dairy area. With enquires revealing that Sachin and
Arti, who stayed in Devi's house were missing since the incident, the police launched a manhunt and finally arrested them yesterday. When the police broke open the house, they found three blood-stained knives there. During interrogation, Sachin and Arti said that their landlady Bishno Devi used to hurl abuses at them frequently. "The accused pacified the landlady several times and offered to vacate the house as and when they get other accommodation. They were finding it difficult to cope with the landlady," said Romil
Baaniya, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West). When Arti gave birth to a baby in January, the landlady would use filthy language for the baby too, the couple
alleged. "Sachin got annoyed at the behaviour of Devi and strangled her to death while she was sleeping on February 1. He returned on February 8 along with his wife and tried to get rid of the body by chopping off the head and arms," he said.
- PTI |
|
|
Gzb candidate shot at in accidental fire: Police
Ghaziabad, February 28 Initially it appeared that the UP poll candidate, Madhu Suneja, was shot at from point blank range near her election office in Jassi Pura, but during investigation it was found that it was an accidental fire, SSP Raghubir Lal said. Suneja reportedly told the police that she had shot herself accidentally with a .32 calibre pistol belonging to her election manager Jitender Singh while they were coming out of a car. She took out Singh's loaded pistol from the car's dashboard and it went off accidentally, hitting her near the left shoulder, the police said. Suneja was found shot late on Sunday night outside her election office near PAC colony and was immediately rushed to Yashoda Hospital. Her brother later lodged an attempt to murder case (Section 307 of IPC) against unidentified assailants.
- PTI |
|
SAD (Badal) wants ‘tainted’ Sarna to resign
New Delhi, February 28 Delhi unit chief of the SAD Badal Manjit Singh (GK) in a letter written to the DSGMC president said that the Sikh community has unanimously decided that he should resign from the presidentship of the gurdwara committee following the cheating case registered with the police. The case has tarnished the image of the community. Manjit said that Sarna had no right to hold any constitutional post in view of the case registered under section 420. When people like A. Raja, Suresh Kalmadi and Kanomozi had resigned after cases were registered against them, Sarna should follow suit. The case against Sarna was registered in connection with the Gurdwara Bala Sahib hospital after the direction of the court. When asked, Sarna said that he had not received any letter from the SAD
Badal. |
|
|
Drive to curb pollution
New Delhi, February 28 She referred to the measures taken by the government to control air pollution. The measures include introduction of CNG-run vehicles, improved public transport, increased VAT on purchase of diesel cars, environment cess on diesel sale in Delhi, use of air ambience fund to promote clean technology, mandatory emission control system in industries, continuous monitoring of ambient air quality, greening mission, promotion of gas-based power plants and closure of coal-based power plants.
|
|
|
Minor raped by stepfather
New Delhi, February 28 The stepfather, Yogesh (40), has been arrested and a case under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code registered at the New Ashok Nagar police station. Five years ago, Yogesh had married the victim's mother. He is a driver by profession. The police said that he had been raping the victim for the past two years. The victim yesterday informed her mother about her sexual abuse. The girl's mother, thereafter, reported the matter to the police. The victim is a Class VIII student of a girls' school.
|
|
DU girl commits suicide
New Delhi, February 28 The deceased, Archana is a first-year Bachelor of Arts correspondence student. She lives with her father, Shriram Abhilash and brother at Block 30, Trilokpuri. Her mother had passed away a long time ago. The incident occurred this evening. She committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in her room. When the police reached Archana's residence, they recovered a suicide note. The note read that she does not blame anyone for her action. The police has preserved Archana's body at the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital for a post-mortem. The police is questioning the deceased's family to ascertain the motive of the suicide. |
|
Minor girl raped by 4 minors in Rishikesh
New Delhi, February 28 |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Classified Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
