New Delhi, August 30
Three persons were killed and five severely injured when a portion of an under-construction building in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar collapsed around 11.30 this morning.

"The mishap happened while the owner of the two-storey building, Ashok Jain (50), was constructing two more floors. A big portion of the under-construction third floor suddenly collapsed and fell in the street. Around 10 persons passing through the street at that time got injured," said a police official.

According to fire department officials, a call about the incident was received around 11.40 am and three fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

The victims were taken to a nearby hospital where two of them with minor injuries were discharged after treatment.

"One of the three deceased has been identified as Umar Mohammed, a native of Haranpur village in Uttar Padesh, while the other two are yet to be identified. Umar Mohammed was a rickshaw-puller. The injured have been identified as Abdulla (17) his brother Aarif (18), Kapil Pandey (48), Mohit (20) and Ajay (23). Abdulla and Aarif have been shifted to Hedgewar Hospital after their condition deteriorated," said the police official.

The police said an FIR under Sections 337 (causing hurt with sharp weapons or other thing) and 304 (causing negligence death) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against Ajay Jain at the Gandhi Nagar police station. Ajay was not found at home at the time of the incident.

"He runs a factory on the first floor of the building and was adding two more floors for commercial purpose," added the official.

New Delhi, August 30
A CBI court convicted two sub-inspectors and a constable of the Delhi police and a senior scientific officer of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in a custodial death case registered in August 1986, said a CBI release.

The court sentenced the then sub-inspectors, Satish Kumar Kadain and Inder Singh Rana and constable Ramesh Chand to undergo ten years' rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 25,000 each while Kewal Kishan Arora, the then senior scientific officer of CFSL, will undergo three years' rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 5,000 in the custodial death case of one Gopi Ram.

The fine of Rs 25,000 each shall be paid by way of compensation to Kashmiri Devi, widow of the deceased.

The release said that the CBI registered a case relating to the death of Gopi Ram on the directions of the Supreme Court.

Sudesh Kumar alleged in the FIR registered on August 24, 1986, that while he was sleeping outside his house at about 10:45 pm, two sub-inspectors and two constables of police station Patel Nagar came and started beating him.

Hearing his shrieks, his maternal uncle Gopi Ram came out. He was also beaten by the policemen. Both Sudesh Kumar and Gopi Ram were taken to police station Patel Nagar, where they were stripped and beaten. Thereafter, they were taken to hospital. Gopi Ram succumbed to his injuries.

Upon completion of the investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet against the accused.

New Delhi, August 30
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi-UK) president, Jasjit Singh, today threatened to file a petition in the court challenging the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) which has formed the Guru Harkrishan School Governing Body Society (GHSGBS).

Jasjit said that all the branches of the Guru Harkrishan School (GHPS) are being run by the DSGMC. All the schools have management committees under the leadership of a chairman. The decisions about the schools are taken by the gurdwara committee. Making a separate governing body society for each school gives a wrong signal as with the constitution of a society, the gurdwara committee will have no say in the school management.

At present, the DSGMC made the school governing body only for the branch of Punjabi Bagh school. It plans to constitute such a society for other schools also, he alleged.

Addressing a conference, Jasjit said that the minority status was given to the Harkishan Public School, Punjabi Bagh, in the name of GHSGBS. It shows the motive behind constituting the governing body society by the president of the DSGMC, Paramjit Singh Sarna.

Jasjit said that soon the management of all the GHPS branches will get a minority status certificate from the commission and will be transferred to the GHSGBS instead of DSGMC.

In case Sarna and his brother Harvinder Singh Sarna lose the general election of the gurdwara committee, the school will remain under their control.

On the other hand, the DSGMC president said that there was nothing wrong in constituting governing body society for schools. He said that Jasjit Singh had no knowledge of running a school and did not know about getting a minority status for schools and colleges.

New Delhi, August 30
A large number of people today gathered at Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's house to thank her for the regularisation of 917 unauthorised colonies.

Receiving the visitors from illegal colonies across the city, Dikshit said the notification for the regularisation would likely be issued tomorrow.

She further said that her government would also take steps to regularise the unauthorised colonies that have come up on forest and Archaeological Survey of India lands.

The Chief Minister said after the colonies are regualrised, advertisements would be issued in newspapers for people to get their properties registered. The advertisements would have details of the process like from where to get the registration form and who to approach, she said. Urban Development Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely would help the people, Dikshit added.

Talking about facilities, the Chief Minister said once the regularisation is done, water supply and sewerage would be improved.

Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath on Monday gave the green signal to regularise unauthorised colonies.

New Delhi, August 30
It was after a decade the acid attack victim from Dhanbad district, Jharkhand, Sonali Mukherjee's hope to regain a near-normal face and better life got wings as she underwent a reconstruction surgery at BLK Super Specialty Hospital and Radiant Life Care here this week.

Sonali, 27, weighing 35 kg, was in a very bad state and severely malnourished when she was brought to the hospital on August 15 following the long campaign carried out by Headlines Today and an NGO, Beti, which, along with the hospital, will bear the expenses of her treatment.

Since 2003, when she had suffered 90 per cent burns and was left with a charred face and damaged organs, she has undergone 22 reconstructive procedures but not until this time the treatment outcome had been convincing after the intervention by six teams of specialists, comprising 18 doctors who will perform six more surgeries. "It took us two weeks to prepare Sonali preoperatively with her nutrition status being very poor. Nutrition is a challenge; she was admitted with poor levels of vitamin D, D12, calcium and had thyroid deficiency. Four days ago, she underwent the first surgery in which her scalp, forehead and eyes were redone," said CEO and Dean of Radiant Life Care Dr Sanjeev Bagai.

"She came with multiple deformities, so we are using innovative techniques by putting tissue expanders in her scalp for reconstructing it," said HoD of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the hospital Dr AS Bath who is heading the surgical team.

"In phase II, the ear, eyelids and cheeks will be fixed up, followed by reconstruction of neck and contractures. This will follow with correcting her deformed breasts and back and so on. Between each phase we have to wait for four to eight weeks and allow the skin to heal. She will stay for another 10 days and is kept under special care as burns patients are predisposed to infections. It is a long battle for her and we will try our best to help rebuild her life," said Dr Bagai.

Sonali had petitioned the government for euthanasia in July but now looks forward to a near-normal life something she didn't imagine after the inhuman attack by three boys who avenged on her for complaining against eve-teasing. Support from her family has helped her to sail through even as her aspiration of becoming an NCC cadet was brought to a naught by the horror that she recounts, while thanking doctors: "Severe burns in the eyes and intense pain. After that dark phase of psychological and physical trauma I can yet again dream of a new life - this is the most generous blessings that I could have got from God."

New Delhi, August 30
In a case of cyber crime, senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament Karan Singh today filed a complaint at the Tughlak Road police station alleging that his signature was forged and used to gain undue favours from a US-based organisation.

Rajya Sabha MP and a resident of Nyaya Marg in Chanakyapuri, Singh said that a person forged his signature in a letter regarding the functioning of the Indian National Overseas Congress in New York.

"This letter has been sent through an e-mail 'komalbhatnagar6@gmail.com. This ID may kindly be investigated because it does not exist with us. This is a very serious matter of cyber crime," Singh said in his complaint.

The police has registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.

Earlier in June, the police arrested two youth from Sangam Vihar, south Delhi, for forging Singh's signature and letterhead to get waiting-list tickets of Indian Railways confirmed.

Among the arrested was Devender Kumar, the mastermind of the gang, who was running the racket for seven-eight months. Several counterfeit letterheads and seals of various MPs were recovered. The action was taken after Singh wrote a letter to former Delhi Police Commissioner BK Gupta on June 8 to complain about two letters addressed to Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy purportedly signed by him.