New Delhi, May 12
Starting on a usual note, the bright sun overhead paved the way for a scorching Saturday even as there was a shift in the Capital's weather mood towards the early evening with showers drenching several parts of the national Capital.

While many enjoyed the pleasant weather set in following the rain, there were many who had to bear the humid weather and remain without power for hours.

While troubles increased with many parts of the city facing a blackout for some hours, light drizzle accompanied by dust storm in some parts of the city made it difficult for the travellers on the road.

Those in the offices preferred to wind up their work earlier and those who remained stuck due to the bad weather could step out only after the storm had ceased later in the evening.

The mercury levels recorded by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) was seen between a high of 40.3 degree Celsius, a dip from the season's normal and the low temperature which stood at 25.2 degree Celsius for the day.

The rainfall gauged earlier in traces at 5:30 pm went on to register an increase with showers gradually drenching the whole city with rain of around 1.4 mm measured around 8: 30 pm.

The water content in the atmosphere went up from yesterday's and was seen oscillating between a high and low of 72 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

For tomorrow, weather officials have predicted partly cloudy skies, with possibility of thunderstorm in some areas while there would be a swell at Safdarjung Airport and Palam Airport.

The maximum temperature is set to settle at 37 degree Celsius and minimum at 26 degree Celsius.

New Delhi, May 12
A law student has been arrested for allegedly harassing a girl by uploading her phone number on a fictitious Facebook account containing provocative pictures of a woman.

The account, opened in the name of a woman, had an open invitation for friendship to all Facebook users. The complainant had thereafter received numerous phone calls from men.

The accused has been identified as Shubham Kansal (22).

The woman approached the crime branch of the Delhi police on March 6. A fortnight ago, she had received numerous "unsolicited" telephone calls. The callers wanted to become friendly with her.

"She subsequently found out that her number had been uploaded on a Facebook account. She visited the account and saw raunchy and provocative photographs of some unknown woman. Her telephone number was given as the contact number for talking to the woman," said deputy commissioner of police (crime and railways) Sanjay Kumar Jain.

The special investigation team (SIT) of the Crime Branch zeroed in on Shubham, who turned out to be an "obsessed" former classmate of the girl.

He was arrested from his residence at Dilshad Garden yesterday at 7 pm.

"We tracked him down through Facebook," said Sanjay Jain. A case under the Information Technology Act has been registered against him, he added.

Shubham disclosed to the police that he and the complainant were classmates in a school in Trans Yamuna.

"He wanted to get close to the complainant, but could not. Unable to get over her, in February this year, he uploaded her mobile phone number on the Facebook account," said Sanjay Jain.

Shubham is a final year student at a law school. 

New Delhi, May 12
The issue of access to justice and social inclusion of the transgenders has moved from the disability aspect to become a rights issue and should be accorded a legal recognition - was the sentiment expressed through a consensus that emerged during the last of the four public hearings to address the twin issues of the section in Delhi.

Faced with an identity crisis, the section of transgenders (TGs) want the government to consider them as a third gender with entitlements, including right to property and inheritance as seen in many progressive countries.

Rudrani Chettri from Delhi-based Mitr Trust said, "Violence is both physical as well as mental, but most of the times any attempt to voice out their concerns is crushed by people around. We urge the policy-makers to address our concerns."

Simran Shaik of HIV Alliance said, "Society still does not accept the TGs. If they are visible, they are either forced to seclusion or murdered just like last week's case in which a TG activist was murdered in Kerala. Unless the issue of our legal identity is resolved, we are not going to win the battle against marginalisation and stigma and discrimination," said Priya Babu, an activist from Tamilnadu.

Earlier, in the inaugural session of the hearing, organised by Article 39, the Center for Legal Aid and Rights, in partnership with stakeholders from the region and supported by UNDP India, the acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice Arjun Kumar Sikri pointed out that all the rights enjoyed by citizens through the constitution were equally applicable to this community, but the challenge was how to enforce this law.

The judiciary has to come out with bold pronouncements in support of this community, such as that of the recent one in which the court passed an order in favour of a member of the said section for sex change opposed by parents themselves, he added.

The doors of the court are always open for the community and any complaint will be regarded as public interest litigation, said former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice AP Shah.

New Delhi, May 12
Four men, including two Nigerian nationals, have been arrested for allegedly duping a Chennai-based NRI businessman of Rs 43.5 lakh on the pretext of providing licorice seeds, after striking a deal through struck over a spam email.

The accused are Narender Sharma, alias Roshan Verma (38), a resident of R K Puram; Gurmeet Kohli (46) of Gurgaon, and Nigerian nationals Moses Ojeaga (43) and Idowu Osho, who presently reside at Hauz Rani. They were arrested on Wednesday.

"They sent spam mails to people, promising them business opportunities. The racketeers would then manipulate the client into buying licorice seeds at Rs 45,000 per packet," said DCP (Crime and Railways) Sanjay Kumar Jain.

The complainant claims that he was cheated after he received a spam mail with a subject "Business Opportunity in India" in December 2010. He exchanged emails with a man named Terry John, who asked him to supply licorice seeds from India to his Canada-based company.

Terry asked the complainant to contact one, Roshan Verma in Delhi, saying that he was a dealer of licorice seeds in India. Later, the complainant called Erode Agricultural Office in Tamil Nadu and was informed that licorice seeds are generally not available in South India and it was a rare commodity.

"He believed the mail content and agreed to supply 100 packets of licorice seeds to Terry. It cost nearly Rs 90 lakh. To fulfill the demand, he also contacted Roshan on his mobile phone," said Jain.

On the telephone, Roshan agreed to supply 100 packets of licorice seeds for Rs 43.5 lakh. On December 20, 2010, the complainant reached Delhi. He met Roshan near the Safdarjung Development Area Market and was given the consignment of licorice seeds for Rs 43.5 lakh.

As per emails and telephonic conversation, the complainant kept waiting for a man named Bernard, who was to take the delivery of the consignment for Rs 90 lakh. But, no one came and later the complainant learnt that he had been cheated.

In April this year, the complainant came in contact with a man named Raghavendra Bhat, who is from Bangalore. Bhat told the complainant that he had also received e-mails in which he was given an offer to supply licorice seeds. He further told the complainant that he was being called to Delhi to finalize the deal.

The complainant with Bhat came to Delhi and reported the matter to the police. After verifications, the police registered a case under appropriate sections of the law and started investigating the case.

On Wednesday, Rs 45,000 were given to Bhat and he was asked to strike a deal for purchasing a packet of licorice seeds.

"A trap was laid and Narender Sharma, alias Roshan Verma, and Gurmeet Kohli were apprehended while delivering the sample packet against the payment of Rs 45,000. Both of them were identified by the complainant, as they were the same persons who had taken Rs 43.5 lakh from him in December 2010," Jain added.

Subsequently, two of their accomplices--Moses Ojeaga and Idowu Osho--were arrested from Defence Colony.

New Delhi, May 12
The management of NGO Prayas has challenged the decision of the Lajpat Nagar Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in the matter of reported abuse of two inmates of the juvenile girls' home in Tughlaqabad.

According to secretary general of Prayas Amod Kanth, investigation carried out by the CWC is based on unsubstantiated and unfounded picture with no intimation being sent to the management about the inquiry until it was published in a section of the media.

While he questioned the manner of inquiry conducted by the committee, he rubbished the charges of abuse and trauma of the two minors by the home manager.

"There is a legal process and just an admission made by some person without proper inquiry is not enough. The fact that there was no official summon from the CWC rather a personal mail was sent to manager Naaz, requiring her to appear before the CWC, Lajpat Nagar, on May 8, 2012, from the chairperson Raaj Mangal Prasad's email id again makes a mockery of the whole process. Prayas challenges it," said Kanth.

In fact, following a demand of 60 inmates, as put out by the Prayas management or a damage control exercise maintained by the CWC concerned, after an internal inquiry by a committee constituting of four members, including chief executive functionary Arun Grover, found out that both the girls were not kept without food as alleged. And they were asked to leave the room from the dormitory during an assembly held for discussing the problems of the inmates when they objected to comply with the CWC norms of removing extra jewellery.

"It was a gathering held one in two weeks or a month when the manger insisted the girls, married as minors and are now restored to their so-called in-laws and parents, to comply with the guidelines of the CWC. In a home-situation if any inmate is not following norms, the manager is entitled to exercise authority for maintaining discipline," said Kanth.

However, Prayas will assist the CWC, the police and other authorities in the proceedings, in their inquiries and investigations, he added.

In response to the matter of instituting a core management committee in the childcare home, as pointed out by the CWC in its May 10 order, Kanth noted, "We have a certification from the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Delhi, which is valid till April 2, 2013, for the same. We have many vocational courses for girls who keep on practicing even after office hours. But, the CWC members did not bother to enquire from the organisation."

New Delhi, May 12
A recent tip-off alerted the Crime Branch of the Delhi police about the theft of an antique idol of Lord Mahavir belonging to the 14th or 15th century. Shortly thereafter, two men fell into the police dragnet and were arrested with the idol on January 19.

In the past few decades, antiques from several temples and heritage sites across India have ended up at auction houses in New York and London. Some cases of theft of ancient art forms are not reported as there is no comprehensive national database on antique objects across the country.

"In some cases, the smuggled antiques were recovered from abroad because they were documented and there was proof of their being stolen. But, it is very difficult to recover those which are not documented. And this is a reason that smuggling of antiques flourishes. We do not have a system of registration and identification of antiques," said Nilabh Sinha, principal director of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

Under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) was set up on March 19, 2007. The aim of the NMMA was to survey and create a comprehensive database of heritage sites and antiquities. The mission ended on March 31 this year, without creating such a database.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recently recovered 1,400 stolen paintings of the Mughal period, besides antique stones and metallic sculptures. The CBI says that international gangs are involved in the smuggling of Indian antiques.

Vaman Narayan Ghiya is a well-known name in the circle of smugglers. He was arrested some years ago and has been responsible for several ancient art heists worth crores of rupees. He was also known for supplying antiques to Sotheby's, an auction house in London.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (SIT-Crime) Joy N Tirkey said, "It is an organised racket which is not easily detected. And it is difficult to be prevented since antiques are stolen from across the country."

He coordinated a police team that arrested a man named Israr-ul-Haque on February 29. Haque was in possession of a Lord Vishnu idol which belonged to the 13th century Sena dynasty of medieval Bengal. It was stolen from a temple in Malda district of West Bengal by a gang headed by one, Tapas, who is also based in the same area.

"Haque was planning to transport the idol to a godown located in front of the Hawa Mahal in Jaipur. From there it was to be sold for at least Rs 1 crore to European tourists," said Tirkey.

K Ramakrishnan, Director of Anti-Smuggling under the Central Board of Excise and Customs, said that to tackle the smuggling of antiques, the department has become accustomed to the "evolving" techniques used by smugglers.

"They conceal the antiques in their cargo or they say that the object is newly purchased or is a replica," he added.