New Delhi, May 3
An inmate was killed and eight others were injured during a fight that took place in the high-security Tihar Prisons in Delhi this morning.

The incident took place at sub-jail number one, where high-risk prisoners are lodged. At about 6 am, nine prisoners of two groups fought with each another.

Jail officials said out of the nine inmates, Javed (29), who is a resident of Seelampur in northeast Delhi, was killed. He had been lodged in Tihar for the last two years in a case of dacoity.

"The rest eight inmates were injured and admitted to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in west Delhi. Out of the injured persons, one is still admitted to the hospital in a critical condition," said a jail official. The injured are identified as Ravi, Mukesh, Rahul, Naresh, Badari, Ravi, Mustafa and Sajid.

The fight took place near a construction site and lasted about 15 minutes.

"While the jail officials were marking attendance of the inmates, a prisoner from the rival group grabbed a spade from the lawn and attacked Javed with it. Javed's friends then retaliated," said the official.

Jail sources said there was enmity between the two groups. Jail guards and officials separated them somehow.

"A probe has been ordered into the incident," said Tihar Prisons public relations officer Sunil Gupta.

New Delhi, May 3
To register protest over the death of Sarabjit Singh lodged in the Pakistani jail, the activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar today.

The protesting activists of ABVP burnt Pakistani flag, raised placards and shouted slogans against Pakistan and urged the Centre not to make light of the incident and take stern action against the neighbouring country.

The protesters demanded cancellation of bus and train services to Pakistan.

State secretary Rohit Chahal said that India's image has been tarnished at international level. Terming it a diplomatic failure on India's part, he said, "Killing of Sarabjit Singh shows that there is no concern for upholding the human rights in Pakistan. India should immediately sever all ties with Pakistan and call back its ambassador."

Jamia ABVP president Praveen Pandey wanted to ensure the safety of Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails. He condemned the fatal attack over Sarabjit Singh which led to his death.

The VHP and the Bajrang Dal too today held demonstration against Sarabjeet's murder and demanded action against Pakistan and Pak supporter Yasin Malik and his associates.

New Delhi, May 3
The Transport Department today issued a notification in respect of announced hike in fares of autorickshaws and taxis (black and yellow top) in the Capital.

The new rates would come into force from tomorrow.

"The department expects of the auto and taxi drivers to help commuters reach their destinations. Further, they have been asked to charge commuters as per the exact meter reading," said a senior official in the department.

In order to facilitate calibration of meters across the city, the department has instructed the meter manufacturers and suppliers to hasten the process of calibrating the meters.

Auto and taxi drivers have also been told to contact manufacturers and suppliers for getting their meters calibrated.

"The department has also decided to take strict action against the defaulting drivers of auto and taxi as the department is firm on bringing discipline on the roads. The drivers are expected to be courteous to commuters," he said.

The revised fare table has also been uploaded on the website of the Transport Department

New Delhi, May 3
The admission in recognized unaided schools of Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and disadvantaged categories begins today. The process will continue till May 15 with 28 help desks set up at zonal offices of the Directorate of Education.

Delhi Education Minister Kiran Walia said that these help desks will be functional between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm on all working days during this period to help parents submit the admission forms.

"All the help desks shall accept applications for vacant seats in the schools within their respective jurisdiction during the above-said period," she said.

The common registration form will be made available free of charge at each help desk and it can also be downloaded from the website of the department by clicking on the link ËWS form," she said.

Walia said that the Department of Education has been directed to compile the number of vacant seats in recognized unaided schools in Delhi. The data on vacant seats has been compiled online, school-wise for Nursery (Pre-School ), K.G. (Pre-Primary) and Class-I. The district-wise, zone-wise and school-wise details of vacant seats have been displayed on the notice boards of districts and zonal offices of education department and the same is also available at the website of education department.

Walia said that the admissions will be made by all the schools in the above-said categories in accordance with the guidelines issued by the department from time to time.

New Delhi, May 3
Despite strong protest by the BJP and the Aam Admi Party against rising power tariff, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission today hiked the rates by 1.5 per cent to adjust the power purchase cost of the distribution companies.

The DERC has fixed 4.5 per cent fuel surcharge for BSES Yamuna Power Ltd and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd while for Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd, the surcharge will be 3 per cent.

The hike in tariff will be 1.5 per cent for consumers of all the three distribution companies as the surcharge for BYPL and BRPL was 3 per cent in the previous quarter while it was 1.5 per cent for TPDDL.

"The surcharge for BRPL and BYPL consumers has been increased from 3 per cent to 4.5 per cent. So the hike for them is 1.5 per cent. For TPDDL consumers it has been increased to 3 per cent from 1.5 per cent," said DERC secretary Jayashree Raghuraman.

The hike will come with retrospective effect from May 1.

In their petition, the BYPL had sought a hike of 9.13 per cent while BRPL sought an increase of 9.2 per cent to adjust the rise in power purchase cost.—PTI

New Delhi, May 3
The national Capital today celebrated the 20th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day with a view to protecting journalists across the globe from physical harm and the threat of prosecution, as they ensure 'transparency in public affairs'.

World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993. Since then, May 3, which is the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek is celebrated as World Press Freedom Day.

According to the UN website, "The Declaration of Windhoek is a statement of free press principles put together by newspaper journalists in Africa during a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) seminar on 'Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press' in Windhoek, Namibia, from April 29 to May 3, 1991."

The theme of this year's World Press Freedom Day is "Safe to speak: securing freedom of expression in all media".

"The theme highlights the need for action to upholding the right of journalists to carry out their vital work," reads a written message of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

The message also reads that more than 600 journalists were killed over the past decade. The attacks were also psychological and emotional through cyber attacks and intimidation.

In Delhi, the day was celebrated at the UN Conference Hall. The event was opened by the launch of the 11th Annual International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Press Freedom Report for South Asia-2012-2013. The IFJ is the largest federation of journalists in the world. It was first established in 1926.

Sukumar Muralidharan, the IFJ programme manager with South Asia and a former deputy editor for Frontline magazine, said, "Physical safety is a major issue for journalists…in areas such as Pakistan and Baluchistan, where there are numerous insurgency and military operations".

Muralidharan raised another pertinent issue of the 'threat of prosecution' against reporting. He gave an example of the incarceration of Naveen Soorinje, a reporter from Kasturi TV news channel in Mangalore, Karnataka.

In July 2012, he had filmed and broadcast mob violence against a group of partying teenagers in Mangalore, according to the IFJ report.

The footage led to arrests of the accused. Soorinje was also arrested on the grounds that he had accompanied the attackers and circulated the video, which revealed the identity of the victims.