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Talwars' kin protest CBI court's verdict
NDMC to open new-look Connaught Place on Dec 30
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‘BJP committed to welfare of rural areas’
Businessman held for pulling a fast one on investors
IN FOCUS
Saffron party to thank people
Rape victims denied mandated relief
Delhi-IIT to hold Alumni Day on
Dec 29
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Talwars' kin protest CBI court's verdict
New Delhi, December 22 "The CBI did not put all the facts before the court and in the public domain. The adverse verdict came despite the defence counsel's forceful argument that there was no evidence to establish the motive," said Ajay Chadha, a family friend. The Talwars said that they would shortly be approaching the Allahabad High Court and file an appeal against the verdict. "There are huge gaps in the CBI's report. No new findings were placed before the court. With the same evidence, the CBI had once filed the closure report. Now they have used it against the couple. We are sure that this concocted story will not stand scrutiny in a higher court. We are disillusioned with the investigators," said Dr Dinesh Talwar, Rajesh's brother. The family alleged that the judgement of sentencing for life was based purely on presumptions and not even on circumstantial evidence. Terming the judgement as miscarriage of justice, Dr Vandana Talwar said, "There are more questions than answers in this case. There are at least 26 questions which have been left unanswered and twisted through selective evidence produced by CBI." She pointed out that the case could have been the only one of its kind in history as the accused were punished even though all the scientific tests, including the narcoanalysis, showed that they were innocent and the investigation agency had failed to get any evidence against them. |
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NDMC to open new-look Connaught Place on Dec 30
New Delhi, December 22 The NDMC along with the New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA) will hold a two-week shopping festival starting tomorrow. "There will be bumper offers and attractive discounts," said NDMC chairperson Jalaj Shrivastava. A grand inauguration of the refurbished Connaught Place besides a series of events such as shopping carnival and food festival will mark the centenary celebrations of NDMC, beginning tomorrow. "Apart from showcasing a refurbished CP, one of the country's premier shopping centres, there will be something or the other for everyone of all age groups," he said. The centenary celebrations are being organised in association with Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC). A film festival will be held till December 27 at the NDMC Convention Centre, the NDMC chairperson said, adding, a food festival is also being organised from December 23 to 29 which will bring cuisines from across the country under one roof. Other events include a nomadic fair, a vintage car rally on December 29 which will be followed by a kite festival two days later. There will be a musical event by 'Ability Unlimited' and 'Chand Nizami' on January 2 and 3. Connaught Place's inauguration is most likely to be celebrated with performances by renowned singers and artistes. According to an NDMC official, talks are on to rope in sufi singer Kailash Kher for the event. |
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‘BJP committed to welfare of rural areas’
New Delhi, December 22 Addressing a protest rally at Jantar Mantar, the president of the Delhi unit of the party said, "Whoever may form the government in Delhi, the BJP will ensure that the interests of Delhiites are protected. In fact, it is because of the pressure built by the BJP that the discoms are being forced to think whether to increase the tariff again." The rally was led by BJP legislator Rambir Singh Bidhuri for the cause of residents living in these villages and areas which fall under the 'O' zone. As these areas are clubbed with the Yamuna riverbed so no construction work is allowed. The BJP said that the Delhi Development Authority, the previous Congress government and the Urban Development Ministry at the Centre have ignored the people living in these areas. With no permission to do any construction, there cannot be any development here, said Bidhuri. "There needs to be clarity on urban planning in the city. We need to have mechanism in place where there is a regular review of the existing policies to strike a balance between environment protection and the needs of people. The biggest problem in Delhi is that agencies which take crucial decisions are controlled by the Centre and the Congress-led UPA government has failed to discharge its duties in this regard," said Bhiduri. He said that the party got an overwhelming response from the rural Delhi as well as unauthorised colonies during the assembly polls. "People have appreciated our efforts and we are going to further expand as well as consolidate in these areas," he said. "The struggle to get the 'O' zone tag removed from these areas would continue. No other party has stood by these people," the BJP legislator added. |
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Businessman held for pulling a fast one on investors
New Delhi, December 22 The 60-year-old accused, Vijay Dixit, is a resident of Shanti Niketan. He was wanted in around 30 cases of cheating, the police said. "He had been absconding and avoiding arrest for long and was also declared proclaimed offender in around 12 cases. The accused used his age and glib talk to cheat hundreds of gullible investors of more than Rs 200 crore," said Praveer Ranjan, Joint Commissioner of Police, EOW, Crime Branch. Ranjan said that the EOW was planning to announce a cash reward against him. The accused Vijay Dixit had floated a number of companies, including M/s Senior Builders Ltd. and M/s Senior Power Projects Ltd. He projected himself as a builder, developer as well as financial advisor having a membership of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), he said. "He conned the investors by promising high returns on their investments in real estate projects. In one such case, he received investments from a large number of persons for residential plots in Sonepat by floating a project called SBL City," he said. The conman possessed neither the land nor had permission for the said project. After collecting money, he vanished from the scene. In another case, he posed himself as developer and promised to develop the property situated in the Defence Colony area of one Dr Manjula Pathak Kripendorf. He cheated Dr Kripendorf of more than Rs 90 lakh by grabbing her property on the pretext of developing it. |
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Delay in formation of government may hit development projects
Syed Ali Ahmed Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 22 According to the sources, at least three projects - signal-free elevated corridor from Vikaspuri to Noida, parallel flyover of Rao Tula Ram Marg and the extended part of Barapulla elevated corridor from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar-may be affected due to paucity of funds. A senior official of the PWD said if the government was not formed and the President's Rule imposed in Delhi even for six months, these projects could be delayed as the officials have power only to sanction a limited amount of finance. The requisite amount is sanctioned by a minister and the Chief Minister. In the absence of government, the Lieutenant Governor is empowered to sanction big amounts. But getting the finance sanctioned from the LG is a long process as every file goes to him through the Chief Secretary that takes time. Sometimes the LG may hesitate to sign the files on financial matters. This had happened in the case of Delhi Minorities Commission when the DMC officials sought LG's permission for allotting advertisements to the print media on the occasion of International Minorities Day. The LG refused to sign the files, saying that the DMC was an independent body and it could take the decision itself, sources said. As far as the PWD projects, they are big projects having an expenditure of more than hundred crore rupees. The parallel flyover of Rao Tula Ram Marg has been estimated to be built at the cost of Rs 211 crore. The cabinet of the last Delhi Government had approved this project a few months before the elections. The area MLA was interested in getting the flyover constructed soon, but for want of a government, the project would not be completed on time. Such a big amount cannot be sanctioned without the LG's permission, an official said. The same is the case of a flyover from Vikaspuri to Wazirabad and then Wazirabad to Noida that will be a signal-free corridor. According to the sources, the estimated cost of the project was Rs 2,385 crore. The third project is the elevated Barapulla corridor from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar. However, Assistant Director, Project in PWD, S. G. Sankh said that the delay in formation of government would not affect the development projects. All these projects would be completed on time.
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Saffron party to thank people
New Delhi, December 22 He said that the BJP would use the platform to connect with people and raise their issues. "In addition to expressing our gratitude, we would also be reiterating our commitment to Delhiites' welfare," said Goel. "We have been witnessing a game of political drama in the recent days where the Aam Aadmi Party is engaged in all kinds of tricks and doublespeak over the formation of the government. It has been consistently changing its stand on this issue and has disrespected the democratic institutions and traditions." The BJP accused the AAP of forming a secret alliance with the Congress in which the former would not press corruption charges against the latter. "In the garb of going back to people, the AAP is actually striking a 'secret' deal with the Congress with whose support it is forming the government. Under this deal, the AAP has agreed not to open the old cases of corruption against Congress. And in turn, the Congress has agreed to support the AAP," said Goel. |
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Rape victims denied mandated relief
New Delhi, December 22 What is worse, the officials of Delhi's home department and law department have been passing the buck when it comes to reviewing the existing compensation scheme in the light of proposed amendments by Delhi Legal Service Authority (DLSA). This is what has been revealed by a recent reply to an RTI filed by an NGO Pratidhi whose director Raaj Mangal Prasad has urged the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung to intervene and ensure that the authorities concerned review the implementation and streamline the process for timely disbursement of compensation. In view of the problems faced by the victims post-December 16 gangrape in getting the relief, the DLSA proposed certain changes in the scheme, which was launched in February 2012 and the draft was sent to the Law department of Delhi government a year later on February 4. The Delhi government had allocated Rs 15 crore for the scheme. In a letter, Raaj Mangal observed, "The scheme has failed to address the needs of the victims and it is only in cases highlighted by the media, relief is disbursed on time. There are at least 10 victims in east district alone who have not got any relief even after six months of the incident." Also, the office of divisional commissioner which provides budget to districts does not have records of how many victims have got interim relief or full compensation under the scheme. |
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Delhi-IIT to hold Alumni Day on
Dec 29
New Delhi, December 22 "There have been concerns about the declining rank of IITs and we are worried about this. On this Alumni Day, we commit ourselves to altering this. Many top brains that have changed the contours of the world in many ways are expected to come up with a blueprint for the future and lend themselves to this task," said Ashok Kumar, a senior Indian Police Service officer and also secretary of the association. IIT Delhi is recognised for having produced some of the best minds in different fields. Over the last 5 decades, its alumni have distinguished themselves in the fields as diverse as technology, pure sciences, economics, etc. |
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After cloudy day, clear sky today
New Delhi, December 22 The maximum temperature was four degrees below normal at 17.4 degree Celsius, while the minimum temperature was recorded four notches above normal at 12.0 degree Celsius, Met officials said. The weatherman has predicted clear sky for tomorrow, but fog is expected in the morning. |
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