New Delhi, April 4
Two persons charred to death while six serously injured when a fire broke out at a restaurant in Chanakyapuri on the early hours this morning.

The victims have been identified as Rakesh (22) and Ravinder (35).

They were sleeping when the incident took place at Lazeez Affaire Restaurant in Malcha Marg.

Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officials said that they had received a call after thick plume of smoke was seen emanating from the restaurant at 3.40 am.

Three fire tenders were sent to the site of the incident. "The fire was doused an hour after it began," a DFS official said.

A very few people had to be evacuated due to the timing of the incident.

"A short-circuit in an air-conditioner is suspected to be the reason behind the blaze," the official added.

The people who were evacuated were taken to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where Rakesh and Ravinder were declared brought dead.

New Delhi, April 4
As Arvind Kejriwal's indefinite fast entered the 13th day to unite people against "unlawful" power and water bills in Delhi, the next level of the Aam Aadmi party's civil disobedience movement will be launched on April 6.

Prior to this, an all-religion prayer will be organised tomorrow at 10 am in Sundar Nagri and volunteers from all over the capital are expected to attend the meeting, said a spokesperson for the AAP.

The campaign against the Sheila Dikshit-led government called by the AAP also looks to be gaining steam with each day as people are pouring in at the protest site. "The number of people who have pledged not to pay the "inflated bills" in Delhi climbing to 9,60,603 until last night. The figure is expected to cross 10 lakh by tonight," said the spokesperson.

A day after, on April 6, the party will start mobilising people by restoring the power supply at houses. It is the same day when in 1930, Mahatma Gandhi had broken the salt law in Dandi to send a warning to the British Empire for its downfall.

In those days of the pre-Independence period, due to heavy taxes, salt had become unaffordable to the poor and today, electricity and water have become out of reach of the common man, who is forced to take loans for paying the bills, said party workers.

"Like salt then, power and water in Delhi today have become extremely essential commodities, which is being used by crony capitalists like Reliance to earn huge profits and the Delhi government on its part is tight lipped after getting commissions from them," said Manish Sisodia, a member of the party.

While all through the day Kejriwal refrained from addressing his supporters at Sunder Nagri due to weakness. His vitals were measured as BP at 111/73 mmHg, pulse 64 bpm, sugar 131 mg/dl, ketones 3+ and weight was 57.5 kg.

New Delhi, April 4
The condition of the acid attack victim, who is recuperating at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital where she was rushed late on Tuesday night with varying degree of burns on face, chest, etc., is stated to be stable and doctors would monitor her condition for a week, said doctors treating her.

As the family of the girl on whom acid was thrown in Shamli village, UP, is poor, the hospital has decided to waive off her full treatment cost incurred during her stay at the hospital.

"We will observe her for a week or so before taking a decision on her discharge from the hospital. Our first priority is to restore her vision and try to bring her back to the main frame of the society," said the chairman (BOM), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr DS Rana.

"When the girl was brought to us she had a severe chemical injury with epithelial loss and over 180 degrees lymbal ischemia. In view of very guarded prognoses due to severe lymbal ischemia, the full medical management and amniotic membrane grafting has been done to minimise the chances of complications with this we hope to save her vision of the left eye in due course of time. Right eye is essentially normal," explained Dr AK Grover, head of the department of ophthalmology of the hospital.

For injuries on other parts of the body, the chairman of the department of plastic surgery, Dr. Mahesh Mangal, said that after carrying out a detailed assessment of the depth of the wounds on the face, neck and chest and how she responds to treatment, the skin grafting will be done as and when required.

New Delhi, April 4
Four men, including a Delhi University Lecturer, have been arrested on charges of rape. A political science lecturer named as Virender Singh was arrested from Rohini. He had allegedly raped an engineering student on the pretext of marrying her.

Virender teaches at Satyawati College. He was held after the victim approached the K N Katju Marg police station on Monday.

In the second incident, a 21-year-old girl alleged that her former live-in partner raped her. The matter was reported from the Nangloi area in west Delhi. The victim said that she had been living with Jai Prakash at a rented house for the past two years. "A month ago, the girl started pressurizing Jai for marriage. He refused to marry her and fled," said a police official. Jai has been arrested.

Two more rape incidents were reported from the Pul Prahladpur area, south Ddelhi.

In the first instance, an 18-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her father's co-worker. She stays with her family. The accused, Bablu, works as a painter. He came to the victim's house on late Wednesday night. "When he found the girl alone, Bablu sexually assaulted her and fled the spot," a police official said. He also beat her when she resisted. Bablu has been arrested.

In a separate incident reported from Pul Prahladpur, a youth was arrested for raping a 21-year-old girl after promising to marry her. Rais has been arrested.

New Delhi, April 4
Depressed over the strained relations between her parents, a 16-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide by shooting at herself with her grandfather's licensed rifle at her residence in Palam extension, southwest Delhi, last night.

The girl, Pooja, had recently completed her Class X examinations.

She was staying with her father, Chand Ram, who works as a labourer, and her paternal grandparents.

A police official said she took her grandfather's .12 bore rifle to her room and shot herself.

"It was a powerful gun that fired a round consisting of many pellets. The bullet wound was located between her shoulder blade and neck," said the official.

The incident took place at 10.30 pm when she was alone at her home. After hearing the gunshot, her relatives who were also her neighbours rushed into the house. They found her lying in a pool of blood. They informed the police at 10.40 pm.

The police said that the girl appeared to be suffering from depression. Her mother stayed with her family in Rajasthan.

Her parents are undergoing divorce proceedings at two courts in Dwarka and Rajasthan.

"For the past few days she was not talking to anyone. She was depressed about her parent's separation," said the official.