New Delhi, November 10
A 48-year-old autorickshaw driver was admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday with 85 per cent burns injuries.

The man has been identified as Uday Chand. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South District) B S Jaiswal said that Uday and his son, Naveen, have alleged that two Delhi Police constables, Rajkumar and Suresh, had doused Uday with petrol and set him on fire. "Four eyewitnesses however claim that they saw Uday setting himself on fire. One of them had even used a jacket to put out the fire," said Jaiswal.

The incident took place in front of J J Colony in Khanpur. Locals at the site said that they saw the constables bringing the petrol from their motorcycle and then allegedly dousing Uday with it before setting him on fire.

According to the police, the two constables were allegedly trying to extort money from Uday.

A case under the IPC sections of 307 (attempt to murder) and 384 (extortion) has been registered. Jaiswal said that they are investigating Naveen's allegations and the claims made by the eyewitnesses.

The two constables Rajkumar and Surender have been suspended. They are beat constables of a J J Colony in Khanpur, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Neb Sarai Police Station.

Naveen while speaking to reporters alleged that about a month ago, the accused had directed Uday and Naveen to give a bribe of Rs 20,000 so that they could be allowed to use their autorickshaw. Naveen had initially paid Rs 5,000 and then Rs 1,700, but was unable to pay the rest of the money.

About 6.30 pm on Saturday evening, the accused had caught Naveen and allegedly beat him for not paying the rest of the amount. Naveen called his father over the phone. Uday arrived at the site of the incident. He was also caught and allegedly beaten by the constables. Naveen alleged that they took Uday behind some parked trucks and allegedly set him on fire.

New Delhi, November 10
It has been more than 11 months since the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 came into force on November 12 last year but Delhi courts are yet to have designated special courts to deal with the cases of abused children.

This despite the 11 designated courts one each at the district courts have found to be having staggering pendency of 94.69 per cent of POCSO cases as revealed in a recent RTI reply by the Directorate of Prosecution to an NGO Pratidhi here.

Of the total 792 cases received during the last 11 months by the 11 district courts of Delhi, 750 cases are pending while 14 accused have been convicted.

Certainly, children's concerns and POCSO cases are still to become a priority for the city authorities as indicated by the fact that the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court had in its response on the matter of constituting exclusive special courts to a letter from the Department of Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs had stated that "for the time being there is no need for setting up exclusive courts".

This even as Delhi is far from being a child-friendly city as highlighted by the brutal torture of a 35-year-old maid and her teenager colleagues by Jaunpur BSP MP Dhananjay Singh's wife, Jagriti Singh.

Child rights activist Raaj Mangal Prasad, head of Pratidhi, said the whole purpose of setting up special courts is to provide a speedy trial in such offences.

Yogesh of Pratidhi said that currently the designated courts in each district also deal with other cases and hence cases under POCSO legislation remain pending.

New Delhi, November 10
In an effort to promote good health among citizens, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is setting up 33 eco-friendly gyms in public places.

According to the NDMC chairperson, Jalaj Shrivastava, the gyms will include some well-known public parks. The cost of the project is Rs 1.9 crore.

"The aim is to make residents of the NDMC area health-conscious. These gyms will be free and open to everyone," said Shrivastava.

The gyms will be in working women hostels, old age homes, Charak Palika Hospital, Nehru Park, Connaught Place Central Park, Sanjay Park, Talkatora Garden, NDMC Club, Lakshmi Bai Nagar and Vidyut Bhavan, according to Shrivastava.

"The equipment at the gym will be eco-friendly and is designed to be used by any age group," said the chairperson.

New Delhi, November 10
Upping the ante against the Delhi Congress, BJP's chief ministerial candidate Dr Harsh Vardhan today said that Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her ministers are misleading the people of Delhi to divert their attention from corruption, price spiral and fraud with the people of unauthorised colonies.

They are doing so even after a letter has been sent to the Lokayukta and the President in which the party has asked them to caution the Chief Minister against making false promises during the election time.

Dr Harsh Vardhan said that at the instance of the Chief Minister, her three Cabinet colleagues made false statements, saying that the government has regularised 895 unauthorised colonies. "But the ministers did not say that if these colonies have been regularised, why the residents have not been issued permanent regularisation certificates? Why the registration of properties is not being done? Why the employees of the revenue department and policemen are recovering money from the people even for repair works in their houses?" he questioned.