New Delhi, March 2
Two siblings, who went missing three days ago, have been found dead in a jungle near the railway tracks at Pragati Maidan in central Delhi, the police said today.

“There were worms on their bodies. They could only be identified by their school uniforms,” said a relative of the victims.

Last Sunday, Sunder Singh Chandra spoke to his two grandchildren over the phone, who told him that a day earlier, someone had locked the gate to their house.

He told their mother, Yogita, to be cautious.

On Tuesday, someone had again placed a lock at the gate, preventing Yogita from picking her daughter, Yashveer (5) and son, Mansij (7), from the Mother Convent School in east Delhi’s Mandawali locality.

When she reached the school, she learnt that some men who posed as relatives took her children away in a car. From the evening until Thursday, she and her husband, Manoj Kumar, received about ten phone calls of demands for ransom that increased from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

This morning, the police found the decomposed bodies of the two children lying in a jungle near the railway tracks at Pragati Maidan.

The police claimed that the kidnappers had slit their throats.

The family claimed that the police had traced the PCO booths from where the ransom calls were made. The police had informed the family that the calls were placed from Ganesh Nagar, Pandav Nagar and other areas. “Yet they were unable to find the kidnappers. They kept telling us that we are probing the matter and we were deeply shocked when we learnt that the bodies of the children were found today,” said Yogita’s brother, Amit.

He added that the family suspects their landlord’s son, Vivek, to be involved in the kidnappings and murders.

Chandra said, “He was taking my son, Manoj, to the Anand Vihar bus stand. While driving my son on his motorcycle, Vivek pointed to an autorickshaw parked near our house and claimed that the kidnappers had placed a letter in it. When we took the Rs 25-lakh ransom, he asked about the remaining Rs 5 lakh and told us not to worry, as he would convince the kidnappers.”

Senior police officers said they are questioning Vivek and other people in connection with the case.

The police has registered a case of kidnapping and murder at the Mandawali police station. “Kidnapping for ransom does not appear to be the motive of the incident. The reason for the murders is something else,” said a police officer.

Amit while narrating the sequence of events said the kidnappers knew the routine of their family. They knew that Yogita reached her children’s school at 12.30 pm every day to pick them up.

On Tuesday evening, she received a call on her mobile phone. The caller directed her to prepare a ransom of Rs 20 lakh. The next day, she and her husband received another call and the ransom was increased to Rs 30 lakh. After being given instructions by the kidnappers, Manoj arrived at Sarai Kale Khan with Rs 25 lakh. Two men approached him and told him to keep walking. They disappeared soon.

On Thursday, Manoj received a phone call from the kidnappers, who informed him about the letter placed in an autorickshaw. According to Chandra, the letter directed them to arrive at Joshi Colony near Mandawali and keep the money outside a school. The police is examining the letter. 

New Delhi, March 2
In a major step towards tracing the sale of illicit liquor in the city, the Delhi government has implemented Excise Supply Chain Information Management System (ESCIMS) which will keep a tab on each unit of bottle from the time it is manufactured till its reaches the consumer.

ESCIMS is the supply chain management solution which will integrate the activities performed by the department and act as an interface between the department and its stakeholders.

The system will work on the generation of a two-dimensional bar code which will have a unique number for each unit of each product.

The two-dimensional code will be pasted on the bottle at the time of the manufacturing which will enable the department to track it till the time it reaches the shop. It will be scanned at the various stages of dispatch, loading and even before it is sold to the consumer.

“Currently, the bottles carry a one-dimensional bar code, which only gives the limited information. The new bar code is more effective in the sense that it will convey the details, including the date of manufacturing, expiry date, brand, company name, etc,” said AK Singh, Commissioner, Department of Excise, Entertainment and Luxury Tax, adding that the consignment will be tracked from the distillery onwards. System will provide alert in case of unauthorized distribution.

“Through the system we will be able to tell exactly as to how many units of bottle have been sold and from which shop,” said Singh. The project, which is being implemented in a phased manner, has already bought 48 outlets under the system and by April 1 all the hotels, restaurants and shops selling liquor will be covered under the new operation.

ESCIMS will ensure plugging the loopholes to prevent the leakage of revenue for the department apart from guaranteeing the supply of genuine liquor. “It will ensure transparency and efficiency in distribution and sale of liquor and prevent the sale of spurious liquor within the state as each bottle will be validated at the point of sale,” he said.

“It is a complete automation of the department as people will be able to apply online for licence, permits, non-objection certificates without any need to visit the office of the excise department. The entire payment will be done online,” said Manoj Jain, Assistant Commissioner (Excise) and also the project head of Excise Supply Chain Information Management System.

The department intends to extend all its services under ESCIMS in phase-II which would enable the payment of entertainment and luxury tax by cinema halls and hotels and guesthouses through online mode.

New Delhi, March 2
It takes some weeks to recover from a joint replacement surgery. But the process can be smoother with the right piece of advice and comforting words from your doctors and experts.

At a ‘Joint Patient Forum’ on Sunday, patients going through the recovery phase will get a chance to share their experiences with others and receive tips on how to take care of themselves.

The second such forum, organised under the banner of ‘Joint Efforts’, an NGO, at the India Habitat Centre, gives a platform to people who have undergone replacements of knees or other joints to discuss the problems they face.

“The idea is to reach out patients for enabling them live as normal a life as possible after a joint replacement. When we call the patients, they are often surprised that we are doing it for free. It will be a two-hour session entailing lectures on physiotherapy, the right diet to follow and about taking care of muscles and ligaments to keep joints fit,” said a senior consultant orthopedics and joint replacement surgeon of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Dr Rajeev K Sharma, who has conceptualised the programme.

“Patients and relatives will share post-surgery experiences and go home with expert advice. We want to ensure that we do not completely forget the patients once their surgery is done. We want to keep in touch with the patients to help them in what we call graceful ageing,” added Dr Sharma.

The event will have sessions on the exercise regime to keep you fit, the diet to be followed for a healthy living, etc.

New Delhi, March 2
The search for the best-smelling perfume ends at Dilli Haat Pitampura as it organizes the 3rd Itra and Sugandhi Mela.

A pleasant mix of fragrance and cultural programmes made it a perfect getaway for Delhiites to unwind themselves. The unique three-day festival is organized by Delhi Tourism and in technical collaboration with Fragrance and Flavor Development Centre, Kannauj.

“The objective of this festival is to generate awareness about the ancient art of perfumery. This mela gives an opportunity to interact with people who are directly involved in the industry. Huge crowds swarmed in to witness this celebration of fragrance. All the visitors were welcomed by a special aromatic bud,” said a senior Delhi Tourism official.

The mela is also showcasing oil products along with sessions of panchkarma, perfumery and aromatherapy to show the strength of natural treatments. The live demonstration on panchkarma and perfume making became the show stealers in this mela. Around 40 perfumers from all over the country have participated in this grand event.

The charm of the festival went on a high note as experts, whose family has an ancestral history in perfumery art, showcased their works. 

New Delhi, March 2
The rural areas of the city are set to have a network of smooth and improved roads by the start of monsoon this year as the Delhi government has allocated Rs 400 crore for the purpose.

Addressing a gathering while inaugurating the upgradation of rural roads at Tikona Park, Bawana-Narela Road in northwest Delhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that the government has initiated the development work of roads, which were taken from the MCDs.

“The Delhi government had decided to take over roads from the civic agencies which were more than 60 ft wide. About 674 roads having a length of 800 km were transferred to the Public Welfare Department (PWD) during April-June 2012,” said Dikshit.

The PWD will carry the pothole repair works before monsoon as a short-term measure. The PWD will get the testing of roads done by the experts of CRRI, IIT Roorkee and Delhi Technical University.

“The PWD is taking up the works on various roads all over Delhi. Under the projects, the upgradation work will cover the roads from Mangolpuri to Kanjhawala, Kanjhawala Chowk to Auchandi Border, Ghevra More to Kanjhawala, Kanjhawala Chowk to Bawana, Bawana to Narela, Narela to Singhu Border, G.T. Karnal Road to Bawana and Bawana to Auchandi Border,” said PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan. 

New Delhi, March 2
A two-day food and nutrition festival was inaugurated today by South Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Savita Gupta in Defence Colony urging people to grow more nutritional plants.

Organised by All India Kitchen Garden Association (AIKGA), the two-day food and nutrition show will present a whole range of nutrition food and related recipes to meet the needs of changing lifestyle

“This year, AIKGA has shifted focus and theme of the show on gardening for health nutrition and food preservation instead of the usual display of fruit, vegetables and flowers,” said Bella Gupta, secretary, AIKGA.

“Professional nutritionists from various institutes, including Lady Irwin, Pusa Institute of Hotel Management and Catering and eminent clinical nutritionist Ishi Khosla are participating and have given demonstration, lectures and advice on nutrition for health and related issues,” she said.

The other highlights of the show are demonstration and workshop on salad preparation, juice therapy, Ayurvedic cooking , vegetable carving ,general nutrition and cooking tips.

New Delhi, March 2
About 200 people have been questioned by the police in connection with the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl student in a North Delhi Municipal Corporation school located in Mangolpuri.

The victim is a class two student of Nigam Pratibha Balika Vidyalaya located in L Block of Mangolpuri. She was allegedly raped by an unidentified man on the school premises during the lunch hour on Thursday.

The police has taken the victim’s statement. It has prepared a sketch of the accused and circulated it in the locality. She has not identified anyone from the school as an accused.

Five persons, including a teacher, watchman and two peons, who were detained for questioning yesterday, continue to remain under detention. The incident came to light after the victim’s parents reported the matter to the local police station on Friday morning. She was immediately taken to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri, where a medical examination confirmed that she was sexually assaulted.

North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Commissioner P K Gupta today suspended five members of the school staff. They are principal Neelam Karwal, the school inspector, Balraj Singh, class teacher, Monica Kohli, school attendant, Sushila, and security guard, Kailash.

New Delhi, March 2
The task force of Delhi University (DU), working on finalizing details on the ambitious four-year undergraduate programme, has now proposed introducing a grading system instead of the existing marking one.

According to a senior taskforce member, the proposal is one of the panel’s recommendations on examination evaluation system, which is at the planning stage right now.

“The idea was put forward keeping in mind retaining students who come from remote backgrounds and are not able to fare well in some particular papers for instance English, among others. However, it will be a different grading system vis-à-vis the conversion of marks. It has to be discussed in detail before arriving at any conclusion. In the usual scenario, there are students who perform well in most subjects while poorly in some specific papers. Grading system can help in motivating these students so that they do not lag behind and catch up while being promoted to the next level every year,” said a member of the task force.

Besides the marking scheme, another recommendation of the taskforce was to have more day colleges in order to accommodate the increasing number of students. Most evening colleges are planning to shift into the morning mode following the recommendation. “The decision was taken after there was a 54 per cent rise in the number of students enrolling after the OBC expansion,” he added.

Even as the panel reasons that after the implementation of this grading system no student will be declared failed, there are fears within a section of teachers whether students will really benefit from this system. “The students will become complacent because they know that they will definitely get promoted to the next year. As of now, there has been no news of introducing the proposal in the academic council. There has to be proper discussions and workshops before implementation of such an important policy change, said a senior member of the DU Teacher’s Association.