New Delhi, October 8
Ensuring a strict enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the Delhi Police and administration have tightened the noose on violators.

The police have registered an FIR against five political leaders, one Congress’s sitting Member of Legislative Assembly and two leaders each of the BJP and Aam Admi Party (AAP) for violation of MCC. The two BJP leaders include party president Vijay Goel and former president Vijender Gupta.

Rajesh Lilothia, Congress MLA from Patel Nagar; Vishesh Ravi, AAP candidate from Karol Bagh; and Veena Anand, Patel Nagar candidate for AAP; and the two BJP leaders have been booked under Section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act. They are accused of pasting banners and posters of their parties at government properties.

Special measures are being taken by the Delhi Police on the instructions of Chief Electoral Office to take appropriate action against the leaders or candidates of different political parties who try to violate the law or MCC in campaigning for the elections.

The Returning Officer from the office of SDM, Kapashera, has also sent a notice to Rajesh Gehlot, BJP councillor and chairman, Standing Committee of South Corporation, for displaying his banners and posters at Ramlila Grounds, Sector-10, Dwarka, which is a violation of MCC.

The notice says that he appears to be utilizing a platform of religious nature to further his electoral prospects or his political party by prominently displaying his name and photographs at the Ramlila venue which is in contravention of the MCC prescribed by the Election Commission of India.

New Delhi, October 8
Famous cartoonist Haneef Azhar, corporate personality Azhar Yusuf, former MLA Karan Yadav, some members of Poorvanchal Gan Parishad, Delhi Pradesh and several members of the Muslim community, were among those who joined the BJP today in the presence of Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel.

Delhi BJP Minority Morcha president Atif Rashid was also present on the occasion.

After welcoming those who joined the BJP today, Goel said, “The Congress government has done nothing for the Muslims during the last 15 years in Delhi except paying lip service.”

According to the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data, 31 per cent Muslims live below poverty line in Delhi. Only 23.7 per cent Muslims are in government jobs and 6.5 per cent in private jobs in Delhi, he said.

Urdu is the second official language of Delhi, but still no state government department has an Urdu translator, Goel said.

New Delhi, October 8
BJP activists who have been associated with the party for years and hope to contest the assembly elections have differences of opinion on the issue of giving tickets to the wards of senior leaders. The tickets should be given on the basis of work and ‘winning’ factor, they feel.

Son of former BJP leader Madan Lal Khurana has sought ticket from the Moti Bagh assembly constituency where Subhash Sachdeva has been a sitting MLA for the last two terms. V.K. Malhotra recommends the name of his son from Greater Kailash, Son of the late Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma is also trying for ticket. Besides, Tilak Nagar MLA OP Babbar and Hari Nagar MLA Harcharan Singh Balli have sought tickets for their sons.

Party activists who have been working for the last many years expressed their dissatisfaction over this, saying that instead of giving tickets to the candidates having connection with senior leaders, the party should decide on merit of the workers and ‘winability’ factor. The party should promote young workers as they have energy and ideas to work for the people.

They said Subhash Sachdeva has been the MLA twice from the Moti Nagar assembly constituency. Dislodging him on the pretext that the constituency was nurtured by former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana and ticket should be given to his son is not morally correct. The workers should not be differentiated on the basis of lineage.

New Delhi, October 8
A recently married 25-year-old woman died under mysterious circumstances after she allegedly fell down from the fourth floor of a building in northeast Delhi’s Harsh Vihar area on Monday evening.

Her family alleged that her in-laws killed her over demands for dowry.

The woman has been identified as Monika. About 11 months ago, she married one, Satendra Kumar. He runs a chemist shop in Mandoli, northeast Delhi. They were living in Harsh Vihar.

According to the police, Monika fell to the ground from the roof of her in-laws’ house.

Monika’s brother-in-law (her sister’s husband), Sugandh Chand, alleged that her in-laws were not satisfied with the dowry. “They taunted her regularly. They even beat her over petty issues. When she was pregnant, her in-laws demanded a four-wheeler after the birth of her child. The situation worsened after she delivered a baby girl on September 21,” alleged Chand.

New Delhi, October 8
In a case of mistaken identity, a 42-year-old Territorial Army jawan was battered to death by another jawan in the Delhi Cantonment area of southwest Delhi.

The accused identified as Devender Mann has been arrested. He is posted with the Territorial Army. The victim has been identified as Sajjan Singh.

According to the police, the incident took place on Sunday night. Devender was allegedly in an inebriated condition when he committed the crime.

“It was a case of mistaken identity. Devender had a grudge with a soldier and wanted to take revenge. On Sunday night, Devender was searching for that person. He spotted Sajjan, who was sleeping at their camp and assumed that it was the person he was looking for. In a fit of anger, he hit Sajjan with a rod many times. Sajjan suffered severe head injuries,” said a police officer.