New Delhi, December 2
A 49-year-old Delhi police head constable allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver inside the Kanjhawala police station in Outer Delhi this afternoon.

The man identified as Tejpal was found dead in the investigation officers' room. He had a bullet injury in his temple. The police found a suicide note mentioning several personal issues.

The police claims that work-related stress was not the cause of his taking the extreme step. His family has been informed. Investigators will take their statements to ascertain the reason for the suicide.

Tejpal was deputed on day shift today. He had allegedly gone out of the station to attend a call regarding an accident. He returned at about 3 pm and went inside the investigation officers' room.

The police suspects that he shot himself between 3 pm and 4.15 pm. However, none of his colleagues heard the round being fired.

The staff of the police station later became aware of his death when he didn't respond to the calls made by the duty officer on his mobile phone at around 4.15 pm. Tejpal had to be sent to another accident site.

A constable then entered the investigation officers' room, where he found his body lying in a pool of blood. The constable immediately informed the other staff members.

Tejpal was rushed to the Satyawadi Raja Harish Chander Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. He belonged to Bahadurgarh in Haryana. He was transferred to the Kanjhawala police station in 2011. He had joined the Delhi police in 1982 as a constable and worked with its several wings.

New Delhi, December 2
India may have managed to reduce HIV infections by 50 per cent in the past decade, but support to the community is still to pick up keeping in mind the social stigma attached to it.

Taking up the cause of those afflicted with HIV/AIDS, hundreds of people, including members of at-risk communities, activists, students and government officials today ran to ensure an empowered life to the section concerned.

Dr P.M. Nair, director-general of the National Disaster Response Force and Civil Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, flagged off the run from Safdarjung Tomb and offered transgenders, injectible drug-users, sex workers and people living with HIV an opportunity to voice their rights for a secured and dignified life.

"This solidarity run is an appropriate opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of all the stakeholders, including government, civil society and the private sector, and to intensify efforts to ensure a continuum of services for the affected communities," said Dr Nair.

The event was organised to observe World AIDS Day (December 1).

Country director of India HIV/AIDS Alliance James Robertson said, "Awareness has to be raised about the epidemic and the urgent need to maintain our attention on high-risk groups."

New Delhi, December 2
Making Delhi kerosene-free will remain a dream for some time as the oil companies have temporarily stopped giving new gas connections.

When a few months ago, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had announced that every family in the national Capital would be given an LPG connection and there would be no use of kerosene, people living in the slums and unauthorized colonies thronged the offices of the gas agencies in their areas, but returned empty-handed as they were told that the new connections for cooking gas were not available.

They had to use kerosene. Long lines were then seen at the government-owned subsidized kerosene shops.

In some slum areas, many shopkeepers have even stopped giving kerosene to the below poverty line (BPL) card holders. The residents of slums next to G. B. Pant Hospital recently held an agitation opposite the residence of Delhi Food Supply Minister Haroon Yusuf last month, demanding kerosene and other items at the government-owned shops. Their complaint was that they were not given kerosene by the shopkeeper following the announcement of the Chief Minister on LPG connections.

The residents of the slums of central Delhi, trans-Yamuna, Outer Delhi and other areas also have the same complaints. People are often seen waiting for the officials of the Food Supply Department at Vikas Bhawan, ITO, in order to make complaints against the shopkeepers.

Anwar Ahmed, a resident of Mustafabad, said that a few months ago, he approached a gas agency of Indian Oil Company in his area for an LPG

connection for his son who had recently been married. The agency owner refused to give him the connection, saying that it had been banned. His son is using kerosene.

Ramvir, a resident of Narayna village, and a few others who visited the food supply office at ITO last week, said that though they have BPL cards, they were not given kerosene. They do not have gas connections either. Now they are using wood in the kitchen.

The same is the condition in South Delhi Jamia Nagar where a resident approached Indane gas agency at Julena and HP gas agency at Sarita Vihar. They were simply told that the new connections were banned.

When the officials of Indane and HP agencies were contacted, they said that the policy of the government is to give one connection to each family. But some families have more than one connection.

On the condition of anonymity, they said the companies are developing software to find out such connections. Once these are cancelled, the companies will start giving new connections.

When Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was informed of the difficulties being faced by residents in getting LPG connections, she said, "I admit there are some problems, but the government will sort them out. Recently I met the Union Petroleum Minister who assured me that new connections would be given soon. Many people got gas cylinders at subsidized rates and sold them in black for commercial use. This has to be stopped."

"The government made the announcement to make Delhi kerosene-free a few months ago. It will take some time to fulfill the promise," the Chief Minister added.