New Delhi, December 29
Candlelight vigils and prayers marked the first death anniversary of the December 16 gangrape victim with the girl's family announcing setting up of a trust in her name to help women facing atrocities.

It was on December 29 last year, the 23-year-old physiotherapy student lost her battle for life at a hospital in Singapore, nearly two weeks after being attacked and brutally raped by a gang of six men on a moving bus in New Delhi.

The victim's family held a prayer ceremony and made symbolic offerings to their ancestors at their ancestral village in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, praying for peace to their daughter's soul on the first death anniversary.

Her family has decided to set up a trust in her name to help women facing atrocities. The father of the victim said they would also seek the support of people to set up the trust.

The father said that they have yet not overcome the grief of the loss of their daughter and will sleep in peace only when all the culprits including the one, who was a juvenile at the time of the incident, are hanged.

"The entire journey from Delhi to Singapore is still very much fresh in our memory. We will never recover from the loss," the father said with tears welling up in his eyes and voice choking.

A large of number of villagers also visited them and attended the prayer session.

However, the family regretted that despite repeated appeals to the political leaders to join the prayer session, none of them turned up.

Alleging that politicians only pretend, he said the promises made have not been fulfilled. The father rued that the victim's brother was yet to be given a job as promised by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, in the national Capital prayer meetings, candlelight vigils and musical performances at Jantar Mantar marked the death anniversary of the December 16 braveheart.

The horrific incident had triggered massive public outrage in Delhi as well as across the country, forcing the government to enact stricter laws against sexual assault.

On the night of December 16, 2012, the 23-year old physiotherapy student was raped and brutally assaulted by six persons in a moving bus in Delhi and dumped by the roadside along with her male friend who was also injured.

Four of her attackers were convicted and given the death penalty in September after the case was fast-tracked, while a juvenile was sentenced to a detention centre.

The sixth man died in prison in March in an apparent suicide. — PTI

New Delhi, December 29
A large number of candidates for the UGC-NET examination today alleged that they failed to appear for the examination due to the last-minute change in examination centres. Aggrieved candidates have demanded a re-examination.

The University Grants Commission conducted the UGC-NET examination for award of Junior Research Fellowship and Eligibility for Lecturership at centres all across the city.

Candidates said that the examination centres allotted to them earlier were changed at the last moment without informing them. "Many of the candidates who reached their allotted centres found that their centres had been changed and many candidates could not reach their new centres and thus failed to appear for the examination. The new centres were not even uploaded on the UGC website," said Ankita Kaushik, one such candidate.

This is not the first time that the students have had to face the harassment caused due to mismanagement on the part of UGC. Last year also, many candidates had encountered the same problems when their centres were changed without intimating them.

"It is disheartening to see how an organization which is responsible for the university education in the country manages its affair," she said.

The aggrieved candidates said that if the UGC fails to take immediate steps in this regard and does not announce re-examination for the candidates in next three days, they will sit on dharna outside its office.

New Delhi, December 29
The newly elected president of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), Arvinder Singh Lovely, today said that that Congress has not endorsed the policies of any other party and would play the role of a constructive opposition.

Lovely who assumed official charge as the DPCC president today was addressing the Congress workers, a section of which were against party's support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

He said that the party hopes that the new government would rise up to the expectations of the people, and fulfil their aspirations.

As AAP is likely to dig out the 'scams' of former government, Lovely said that the party would come out on the street if the Delhi Government took 'any step' to hurt the feelings of the Congress leaders and workers.

Senior Congress leaders Janardhan Dwivedi, Shakeel Ahmed, Sheila Dikshit and Ajay Maken, addressing the gathering, tried to raise the spirits of the workers. Congress lost embarrassingly in the assembly election.

"Congress never compromised on its programmes and policies, and there were not one, but many occasions in the past, when the Congress workers had to go through great struggles, but they always emerged victorious," said Diwedi.

The party leaders appealed to the workers to move as a united force and work together.

Lovely who started his political career as the district president of the NSUI is the youngest president of the DPCC. He was also the youngest minister of the Congress government in Delhi.

The function was moderated by senior leader and ex-MLA Mukesh Sharma.

New Delhi, December 29
Autorickshaw drivers today held a protest outside the residence of Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily, demanding immediate rollback of the hike in CNG prices.

The demonstrators, some of whom were wearing Aam Aadmi caps, reached Moily's Tughlak Lane residence this afternoon. They raised slogans and demanded rollback of the hike in CNG prices. They staged a sit-in at the entry gate of Moily's residence.

Earlier, the autorickshaw drivers had threatened to go on strike, demanding revision of fare in the wake of hike in prices of CNG that fuels public transport on Delhi roads.

Delhi's new Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Friday questioned the move by the Centre to hike CNG prices when his government was about to assume power. He had also suggested that autorickshaw fares in the national Capital might be revised as a result of the steep increase.

A significant section of autodrivers had extended support to the AAP in the elections. Kejriwal had also asked them not to go on strike while promising to examine the issue.

The CNG in the national Capital was on Thursday hiked by a steep Rs 4.50 per kg, the second increase in rates in three months.

New Delhi, December 29
The festival of 'Dilli Ke Pakwaan' organized by Delhi Tourism concluded today with resounding crowds swarming in at the emporia hub of the city. More than 3 lakh food lovers visited the venue of the festival over a period of seven days.

Somntah Bharti, Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Administrative Reforms and Law, visited the venue of 'Dilli Ke Pakwaan' and applauded the effort of Delhi Tourism in making this festival a grand success.

The festival had vendors from Purani Dilli who showcased their expertise in grafting some of the most delectable, mouth-watering cuisines. This year there were more than 150 varieties of food on offer for the visitors. Theme corners were also set up where visitors were able to enjoy the taste and also got a vivid glimpse of culture and tradition.

Interactive sessions on cooking besides various competitions for the visitors, such as best recipe were held during the weeklong event.

Another addition to this year's Dilli Ke Pakwaan was that a special kid's zone had been designed for the children.

Various competitions such as quiz contest, painting competition were also held for children in that zone.

"Cultural programmes and music brought 'Dilli Ke Pakwaan' alive. The venue of the festival was a perfect getaway for Delhiites," said a senior Delhi Tourism official.

New Delhi, December 29
The Manipuri Students Association of Delhi (MSAD) have taken exception to the handling of the alleged rape case of a Manipuri girl by an NGO activist, Khurshid Anwar, who committed suicide recently.

The incident came to light on September 12 when a video recording was taken and circulated in the social media. The accused committed suicide on December 18.

"We object to the fact that the provision of rape-shield has not been made for the complainant so far, a measure that the Delhi Police should compulsorily take before and during the trial so that the character assassination of complainants of rape do not happen," said Chinglen Khumukcham, president of the association.

The members of the association said that the video was circulated without the consent of the complainant which has caused unnecessary politicisation. "After the suicide of the accused, certain persons are undertaking activities which amount to intimidation and vilification of the complainant. There is negative intervention in the case by those with vested interests," he said.

It said that the complainant has not been guided and counselled satisfactorily. This has unfortunately allowed for her victimization, and made a free and fair trial increasingly difficult. According to the association, for a fair trial all the people who were involved in the case and its reporting to the National Commission for Women (NCW) should be properly investigated. People should be warned against communicating their personal views in the media.

"We believe that for a fair trial, the police should seriously look into the matter of intimidation and vilification of the victim. All those involved in character assassination should be duly punished, and the police, NCW and the Human Rights Commission should take proper cognisance of the fact that some of the vigilante persons have been making racist allegations against the complainant," he said.

The police, in particular, should take cognisance of such unwanted interference in the case, he added.

New Delhi, December 29
A 24-year-old man was shot dead during an argument at his friend's birthday party in outer Delhi's Rohini area on Saturday night. The deceased has been identified as Vikas Dabas. He had reached a flat in Rohini to attend his friend, Manish's birthday party.

The police have registered a case of murder and are searching for the culprits.

According to the police, Dabas lived at Mubarakpur village. He worked at his father's mechanic shop and also dealt in property matters.

Dabas's family claimed that he received a call on his mobile phone at 7 pm on Saturday. He told his family that he was going to Manish's house in Sector-24 Rohini to attend his birthday party. Eight other youths were attending this party. Dabas was friends with these youths.

At the party, he reportedly had an argument with Pradeep, Yogesh and Pawan. Pradeep reportedly took out a gun and started firing it. One of the bullets struck Vikas on his head and he fell to the ground.

The police were informed about the incident and when they reached Manish's residence, everyone had fled.

According to the police, there were several bullet marks on the walls of the flat.

The police are presently questioning Manish.

New Delhi, December 29
A day after a Delhi Police constable was beaten to death by an alleged gang of bootleggers, the police have detained three persons in the case. Yesterday, the police had arrested Pawan for his involvement in the murder. His associates had managed to flee the site of the incident.

The police said they are questioning Pawan's alleged associates, Joginder, Sunil and Neetu.

The deceased, Vinod (48), was posted with the Excise Department of the Delhi Government. He was beaten to death when he and his senior colleague were carrying out a raid in south Delhi to nab bootleggers.

According to the police, on Friday night the department were tipped off that some people were bringing illicit liquor into Delhi to be sold in the city. The accused were travelling in a car.

A team of the department started chasing the car and reached an isolated location at Ghitorni village.

"There the culprits attacked the team with hockey sticks and sharp-edged weapons. Two police constables were seriously injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre," said a police officer.

Vinod succumbed to his injuries during treatment yesterday in the afternoon.

New Delhi, December 29
A five-year-old girl was kidnapped and murdered in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri area. The girl has been identified as Meenakshi. According to the police, she was kidnapped on Friday while playing near her house.

The police are investigating the case and suspect that the motive behind the murder is personal enmity.

According to the police, Meenakshi lived with her parents at Pitampura. Her father, Mintu, works at a factory near their house.

At about 9 pm on Friday, Meenakshi was playing outside home. When her mother didn't hear her voice, she came out and noticed that Meenakshi was not there.

Her relatives searched for her and when they could not find her, they approached the police.

The police started searching for the girl. Later in the night, they were informed that a girl's body was found in the Haiderpur canal.

The police preserved the body at the Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital's mortuary in Rohini for identification.

A police team reached Meenakshi's house at about 4 am the next day. They brought her family to the hospital. The police showed them the girl's body and they identified her as Meenakshi.

According to the police, Meenakshi had sustained severe injuries on her head. On the basis of the injury, the police believe that she may have been murdered.