New Delhi, February 1
Four rape cases were reported in the city yesterday. A total of five persons have been arrested in different cases.

In the first incident, a 16-year-old girl, who was working as a maid, was lured by her former employer, a woman, to her house where she was confined for two days. There she was allegedly raped by two persons named as Shejad (29) and Fukran Ali (23). The two men were arrested last night.

According to the police, the girl was working at the woman's house about two months ago. On January 26, she had an argument with her family and left her house. In a market near Batla House, her former employee approached her. She lured the victim to her house on some pretext. There she was given tea laced with sedatives. The two men allegedly raped her after she fell unconscious. They threatened her with dire consequences, if she reported the matter to anyone.

The victim escaped from the house after being allegedly tortured there for two days. She sought help from a passerby, who took her to an NGO. The girl, along with the member of the NGO, lodged a complaint in regard to the matter. A medical examination of the girl confirmed that she was allegedly raped.

In the second incident, a 28-year-old Chandigarh-based businessman, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, was arrested yesterday for allegedly raping a married woman on the pretext of wedding her. The incident was reported from the Neb Sarai area of south Delhi. The victim alleged that a few months ago, the accused had taken up accommodation in the area, where she also lives. He allegedly established a physical relationship with her, while promising to marry her. He later left her and went to Chandigarh.

In the third incident, a 30-year-old man, identified as Deepak, was arrested for allegedly raping his sister-in-law in the Mehrauli area of south Delhi. Deepak had been allegedly raping the victim since November last year and had threatened her with dire consequences, if she revealed the incident to anyone, according to the police.

In the fourth incident, a 24-year-old man, Kapil, was arrested from the Vasant Kunj (North) area of south Delhi for allegedly raping a girl in his neighbourhood.

New Delhi, February 1
A day after the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) hiked the power tariff from 1.5 to 3 per cent with effect from today, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal today sprung to action taking on the Sheila Dikshit government once again over the issue and its alleged nexus between it and the discoms.

The electricity prices have been doubled in the past three years instead of being reduced as recommended by the former DERC chairperson, Brijendra Singh, on account of the profits worth Rs 3,577 crore that the companies earned, said Kejriwal while addressing the mediapersons here today.

"This was stated in an order of April 2010 drafted by Singh in which he had concluded that discoms were making huge profits and the electricity tariffs should be reduced by 23 per cent. This was projected as loss of Rs 630 crore to increase tariff," he said. Singh had also said that the tariff is likely to be further reduced in future years as well since the energy availability from the new power plants is going to rise substantially, he added.

But discoms rushed to Dikshit and following which she stopped the DERC from reducing power tariffs in 2010and since then the power tarrif have been increased just to suit the interests of these companies, he alleged.

Calling DERC chairman P.D. Sudhakar an "agent" of the discoms, Kejriwal pointed out that frauds committed by the discoms were repeatedly ignored by him. It was just when Sudhakar took over as DERC chairman all circles of Anil Ambani's power company was declared being in loss, he said. He sought a CAG audit into the finances of the discoms that Dikshit is not allowing, he alleged.

Responding to Keriwal's claims, however, the Delhi government rubbished all allegations as baseless, saying that the so-called tariff order was misleading and nothing but the personal opinion of the then chairman based on false assumptions and this was also stated in the subsequent order dated 26-8-2011.

Even the high court in a case filed by Nand Kishore Garg clearly held that it did not have any doubt that no such order was made and that the "approval by one member or the other on the file does not result in making of the tariff order," read a statement issued by the CM's office.

Kejriwal seemed to be playing his cards well ahead of the assembly elections, as he accused both the Congress and the BJP of taking people for a ride. He warned the government that he will launch a massive agitation against the power tariff hike and reach out to people in the city's 51 assembly areas and request them not to pay the electricity charges.

New Delhi, February 1
A man, who is allegedly a Mewati gang leader and carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 and wanted in four cases of dacoity, robbery and vehicle theft in Delhi, was arrested from Gujarat on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said that Mohammad Farooq (35), a resident of Mewat in Haryana, was arrested from Surat.

Farooq allegedly said that he was involved in a robbery at Hira Jewellers in Pitampura in June last year. He claimed to have committed the robbery with his brother Mohammad Arif and other associates named as Mohammad Aslam, Mushtaq, Wahid, Sunil, Sakim and Shahnawaz. Arif was shot dead by a guard, who tried to stop them from robbing the jewellery store.

The police had earlier arrested Aslam, Mushtaq, Wahid, Sakim, Shahnawaz and Sunil. Farooq was at large and a reward of Rs 50,000 was declared on his arrest by the Delhi police.

Till 1995, Farooq studied in Madarsa Jamia Rahimia Mehendian located behind G.B. Pant Hospital. He ran a grocery shop in his village. In 2000, he became acquainted with a notorious cattle thieve, Javed. He contacted Wahid and formed a gang. He, along with his associates, has committed numerous crimes in Delhi.

New Delhi, February 1
In a bid to sensitise the community about the repercussions of irrational use of medicines, the Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (DSPRUD) has initiated a training programme for students on the "safe use of medicines".

Under the training, the society will reach out to children of private schools with simple tips on following the best practices in drugs usage such as refraining from self-medication, sticking to the doctor's prescription, timely and complete dosage, etc.

Starting up with Delhi Public School at Mathura Road, the society has trained nearly 430 children from standard VI to XI who will take on the healthy message to their parents and others in the locality.

"The idea is to sensitise students about the safe use of medicines. We have seen various such programmes, showing good results in schools. We'll appoint students as ambassadors for creating awareness about the rational use of drugs," said R. Parameswar, the DSPRUD president and former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Adding that these students will in turn serve as messengers and trainers for more students of private schools, he cautioned children against the dangerous practices that have led to patients developing antibiotic resistance.

According to the World Health Organisation, more than 50 per cent patients do not take medicines correctly worldwide and even in India, health experts have expressed concern over the increasing trend of irrational use of medicines, both by the doctors and patients.

They point out that a rising number of youngsters are getting addicted to hormonal drugs. They are being used for building muscles, relieving pain or as memory enhancers, pushing them at risk of developing liver and kidney diseases.

"Irrational use of medicines is a big worry in India and the prevalence of over-the-counter practice, use of vitamins, tonics and antibiotics, especially among the students has become a common feature. Through this initiative, we are sensitising children on the dos and don'ts while taking medicines," said the DSPRUD president. During the two sessions, Dr Usha Gupta, executive vice-president of DSPRUD, said, "Children were apprised of the precautions that they should adopt while buying medicines, such as checking the expiry date. In our country, we do not have a proper policy on safe medicines and efforts to educate people are simply are lacking."

Importantly, abuse of medicines is prevalent not only in rural areas but also in the cities. About 25 per cent people worldwide develop adverse reactions due to misuse or therapeutic use of medicines, she added.