New Delhi, March 23
An autorickshaw driver was murdered by two youths who thrashed him and then smashed a brick on his head at Rohini in the wee hours of today.

The deceased, Rajesh Kumar was a resident of Budh Vihar at Rohini. Two youths, Rahul (24) and Vinod (23) have been arrested. They were allegedly intoxicated as empty bottles of alcohol were found in their car.

A 60-year-old eyewitness, Mohammed Salim and his son helped in identifying the accused, who were arrested from separate places in Delhi, according to the police.

The incident occurred at 1.45 am near the petrol pump at Sector 5 in Rohini. Rajesh was driving an autorickshaw and was returning to his residence at Sham Colony in Budh Vihar. He accidently brushed past an Innova car parked near the roadside.

The accused allegedly in an inebriated condition were standing outside their car and started shouting at Rajesh. He tried negotiating with them.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) BS Jaiswal said, “They caught hold of Rajesh and thrashed him badly. Then they hit him with bricks resulting in his death.”

The eyewitnesses, Muhammad Salim and his handicapped son, came out of their house after hearing the commotion on the road. They tried grabbing the accused, but were not successful.

“I tried my best but failed perhaps due to my age, but I remember their faces and informed the police. They had badly hit his head. It was a bloody scene,” said Muhammad Salim.  

The police was informed about the incident. It reached the site of the incident and rushed Rajesh to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

The police started its investigations and questioned the owner of the Innova car—Om Travels—of Paharganj. Vinod is a resident of Sarai Rohilla and worked as a driver with Om Travels. He had taken the car on the pretext of taking his family out. However, he went out drinking with his friend Rahul, also a driver. He stays at Budh Vihar. After raiding several places, Rahul and Vinod were arrested.

Rajesh was the sole breadwinner of his family. He is survived by his wife, Sangeetha, and three children, Sudiksha (13), Arushi (11) and Ravit (10).

New Delhi, March 23
Political parties in the fray for elections of the three municipal corporations of Delhi are grappling to prepare separate manifestoes to woo voters.

The parties are considering the job a challenge as the preparation of three manifestoes demands a detailed survey of the character and composition of that particular area, according to party leaders.

Till last year, the parties used to fight with a basic manifesto that included general problems faced by the people of Delhi.

While some leaders are advocating a common manifesto, saying that the overall problems remain the same, others have pitched in for separate list of issues for all wards comprising a district.

"We initially suggested that one manifesto should suffice for the whole of Delhi as the problems relating to most of the areas are the same. However, the Chief Minister was of the opinion that separate manifestos be brought out by the party for all the three corporations by incorporating the issues which were specific to the areas," said a senior Congress leader.

The party has formed a manifesto committee that has already prepared a report.

"We have tried to prepare the outline of the manifesto, the copies of which have been submitted to the chief of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC). They have also been given to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for her suggestions," said West Delhi MP Mahabal Mishra, the chairman of the committee.

The BJP has also constituted a manifesto committee mainly comprising the leaders of the MCD. Former Mayor Arti Mehra has been made the convenor of the committee.

The manifesto committees of both the parties, which have held several meetings, are expected to now take expert opinion to bring out separate manifestos for the three corporations. However, there is still some time before the manifestos are released, as it is done only after the nomination process gets over.

Though the parties are still to finalise the candidates, they have already started their campaigns.

The municipal polls are being seen as a semi-final between the BJP and Congress ahead of the Assembly polls.

The polling for the three municipal bodies will take place on April 15 and the counting of votes will take place on April 17.

New Delhi, March 23
Considering the large number of devotees visiting Badri Bhagat Jhandewalan Devi temple at Paharganj on the occasion of Navratra, tight security arrangement has been made to avoid any untoward incident.

Three parking lots - Rani Jhansi Marg, Ram Kumar Marg and flatted factories complex - have been developed temporarily for devotees' vehicles.

Shoe and mobile stands have been made. Besides drinking water, bhandara and first-aid facilities are available for the devotees, said Ramesh Gupta, secretary of the temple management committee.

New Delhi, March 23
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) vetenary department has recovered meat in a raid carried out to check illegal slaughtering of animals in Shahdara (North) Zone.

A team of MCD's veterinary services department and its enforcement cell intercepted a truck at Wazirabad Road on UP-Delhi Bhopra Border.

"During the inspection, the truck was found loaded with illegally slaughtered meat that was neither stamped nor had a fitness certificate issued by a veterinary surgeon," said a senior MCD official.

"A penalty of Rs 37,500 was imposed on the driver for carrying 50 slaughtered calves," he said.

The raid also led to the arrest of two other persons for carrying out illegal slaughtering of animals in Shahdara (North) Zone.

The accused Majid and Jishan were found involved in illegal slaughtering of buffaloes at New Mustafabad, where the raid was carried out.