New Delhi, January 16
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today accused the Delhi Police of not co-operating with the government and demanded that they be held accountable for not taking action in the cases of crime.

"Delhi Police are 'highly compromised'. If the accountability of Delhi Police is not fixed, then crime and rape incidents will not go down," Kejriwal said. He warned the Delhi Police Commissioner that his government and people of Delhi will not remain mute spectators in case the functioning of police does not improve.

He was speaking in response to letters written to him by two of his cabinet colleagues, Somnath Bharti and Rakhi Birla, both of whom faced severe resistance from the police on Wednesday night, when they brought two separate incidents to the notice of police officials at two different places.

Reacting to the two raids conducted by the ministers where the police refused to take action, Kejriwal demanded immediate suspension of the SHOs of Malviya Nagar and Sagarpur police stations.

Kejriwal said that he would meet the Lieutenant Governor tomorrow and both the incidents along with the gangrape of a Denmark national would be brought to his notice.

Giving the details of the incidents to media persons, Kejriwal said that despite being informed of illegal activities, including the usage of drugs and presence of foreign nationals without any valid documents, the police personnel present on the crime spot at Khirki Extension, refused to carry out their lawful duties. Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti repeatedly requested them to take action but to no avail.

He further said that not only they refused to listen to Bharti, who is also the local MLA, the police personnel and also their senior officers present on the spot, did not heed to the requests of the people gathered there.

Kejriwal said that the police tried to destroy the evidence, which included illegal drugs and refused to get the medical examination of the persons, including women found there in objectionable position.

In the second case, a young woman admitted to Safdarjung Hospital with nearly 45 per cent burns told Women and Child Welfare Minister Rakhi Birla that she had been burnt by her in-laws. Birla said the police refused to arrest the in-laws and take action against them.

"The response of the police in these two cases raises serious issues and requires immediate attention of the authorities concerned, including the Union Home Ministry," said Kejriwal.

New Delhi, January 16
Delhi Police will report the two incidents involving quarrels between the police and Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti and Delhi Women and Child Welfare Minister Rakhi Birla, to the Lieutenant Governor.

The two ministers had 'raided' the houses of residents in their constituencies which sent the police into a tizzy.

According to the police, Bharti had called the police late on Wednesday night and informed that two Nigerian women were allegedly running a prostitution racket from their residence in Khirki Extension. A Police Control Room and the local police had reached the site of the incident. Bharti asked them to conduct a raid in the house, alleging that the inmates were drug addicts and running a prostitution racket. A police officer refused to conduct a raid, asserting that it was not possible to do so without a search warrant.

"Bharti started accusing him of not performing his duty and became involved in an argument with him," said a police officer.

The police claimed that they tried to convince Bharti that it was not possible to conduct a raid without a warrant. When Bharti remained adamant, the police asked the two Nigerian women for a medical examination at AIIMS. The examination didn't reveal the use of drugs and the women were released.

The police also explained that according to the amended Code of Criminal Procedure, the police cannot take action against women after sunset.

In the second case, a 29-year-old woman who was allegedly set on fire in Sagarpur a few days ago, was admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital, where she narrated the incident to Birla on Wednesday evening. The woman had alleged that she was burnt by her in-laws.

"After ascertaining the facts, Birla went to the spot of the crime in south west Delhi's Sagarpur and contacted police personnel, including the SHO. She was told that police action against the accused will be done only when the officials concerned have time to do it. Her request fell on deaf ears and the SHO even told her that if she wants she could get him transferred," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi, however, denied that there is a rift between the force and the state government, and said that they are capable of protecting the people of Delhi.

"I would like to assure the people of the city that Delhi Police is competent enough to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. Delhi Police is taking every possible step to keep you safe," he said.

New Delhi, January 16
The CBI today registered five cases of forgery and cheating against 14 officials of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and a proprietor of a private firm, Messrs Metro Projects and Sales Services (MMPSS), Raman Gupta on alleged charges of fraudulent purchase of spare parts for sewage treatment plant, said a spokesperson of the investigating agency, Kanchana Prasad.

The agency has conducted raids on 21 locations, including the official and residential places of the accused, in Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida. Cases have been registered against six junior engineers and eight executive engineers of the Jal Board.

According to the CBI spokesperson, the DJB had to purchase spare parts and gear box for repairing and maintenance work of sewage treatment plant between 2009 and 2012. Essenpro, a Mumbai-based manufacturer of spare parts of sewage treatment plant, was a regular supplier to the DJB.

The CBI spokesperson said that the DJB officials knew that the accused firm was not an authorised supplier of the Essenpro products, but in connivance with the DJB officials, the MMPSS had submitted forged documents and about 100 letters to five zones of the DJB (Kondli, Keshopur Coronation Park, Maharani Bagh and Wazeerabad), claiming that that it was an authorised supplier of Essenpro products in Delhi.

The Essenpro had also announced through advertisements that it had no connection with the MMPPSS and its authorised supplier in Delhi is Messrs Essential Power and Transmission (MEPT) Private Limited.

The documents and letters submitted by the accused firm bore the fake signature of regional manager of the MEPT private limited, S. K. Chanana. The signature varied on the letters, the CBI said.

The DJB had purchased the spare parts for the treatment plant at an exorbitant rate, i.e. Rs 6 crore, it said.

Generally tender is invited from the private firms if the Jal Board purchases spare parts in large quantity. As Essenpro was a regular supplier of the spare parts to the DJB, there was no need to invite tender for the purchase.

When asked whether it was branded spare parts supplied to the Jal Board by the accused firm, the CBI spokesperson said that it was a matter of investigation. 

New Delhi, January 16

Property tax worth over Rs 300 crore is due from various government entities to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), which has asked its department to come hard on defaulters, a senior official of the civic body said today.

"The property tax worth Rs 309 crore is due from various government entities from the last financial year to the EDMC. While the collection of taxes from private properties has been decent, the government properties are major defaulters," said EDMC Public Relations Officer.

The list of defaulters includes Delhi Transco Limited, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Police, Post Office, Department of Social Welfare, Sanskar Ashram and the Department of Women and Child Development, among others.

As part of its budget this year, the corporation has set a target of Rs 200 crore for the Property Tax, chairman of the Standing Committee of the EDMC Sanjay Surjan said yesterday while proposing the final draft of the budget.

Referring to the list of defaulters, the chairman asked officials to take all possible measures to recover taxes.

"Taxes from private properties have been recovered well but recovery from the government properties have not been up to the mark and the issue is now a matter of concern for the municipal body," he said in a statement.

Stating that instructions have been given to the officials to recover the taxes due, the chairman said if necessary, bank accounts of defaulters also would be attached.

During the Standing Committee meeting, new taxes proposed by the EDMC commissioner has not been accepted, Surjan said.

As per the efforts of the municipal body to augment property taxes, Mann said, the budget has proposed that every property owner will be given an identity number and a property tax passbook and the payment shall be done through that passbook only.

New Delhi, January 16
About six men allegedly armed with sharp-edged weapons and country-made pistols robbed and thrashed more than half a dozen commuters of a passenger train waiting at the Old Delhi Railway Bridge near Old Delhi Railway Station last night.

According to the police, the incident took place about 10.30 pm when the train No. 54307 (Moradabad-Delhi) halted at the bridge.

The police said that six men carrying sharp-edged weapons and country-made pistol barged into a train coach and robbed several people at knife and gunpoint.

When the passengers tried to resist the robbery, the assailants allegedly beat them. They fled taking advantage of the darkness, after the train started moving towards Old Delhi Railway Station.

When the train arrived at the station, the passengers informed the police. The victims were taken to a nearby government hospital.

The police said that a case has been registered and they are looking for the robbers.

From the description provided by the victims, the police are trying to identify the robbers.

Sources in the police department said that several small gangs of miscreants are active along the stretches of the railway track between Shahdara and Old Delhi Railway Station.

Police concern

Several small gangs of miscreants are active along the stretches of the railway track between Shahdara and Old Delhi Railway Station

New Delhi, January 16
With an aim to bring transparency into the system, New Delhi Municipal Council today signed an "integrity pact" with an international organisation that monitors corruption under which the civic body will adopt ethical practices.

The civic agency signed the pact with Transparency International (TI), a non-governmental organisation that monitors and publicises corporate and political corruption.

Jalaj Srivastava, Chairman, New Delhi Municipal Council, said he is confident that the civic agency will set an example for other municipal bodies in the country by adopting guidelines and ethical practices as laid down in the Memorandum of understanding.

The pact ensures that all activities and transactions between a company or government departments and their suppliers are handled in fair, transparent and corruption-free manner, he said.

The resolution regarding the pact was passed in September last year in a council meeting, after Srivastava took over as Chairperson in August.

The council recently also approved a proposal for more transparency in financial transactions.

According to the proposal, all expenditures over and above Rs 1 lakh will be uploaded on the New Delhi Municipal website.

Transparency International promised to support New Delhi Municipal Council in this regard and provide it with advice and resources to ensure successful implementation of the pact. — PTI

New Delhi, January 16
Capitalising on the revolt of AAP MLA Vinod Kumar Binny, the BJP said the 'unholy nexus' between the Congress and AAP has come out in the open.

Addressing a joint press conference today, the Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel, former Mayor Arti Mehra and former Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta said, "In December-end, Kejriwal had said that Binny had not asked for ministership and now he is saying Binny wanted ministership. Either Kejriwal lied a few days ago or he lied yesterday."

"We always said that Congress is ruling by proxy through AAP in Delhi and now their own leaders have put a stamp of approval on this fact. Kejriwal must explain his hobnobbing with the Congress leaders," the BJP leaders said.

He said that Binny's outburst is an indicator that AAP leaders would protect corrupt Congress leaders and not fulfil their commitments on people-centric issues.

Goel asked the Delhi Chief Minister as to why no women commando force has been set up even as rape cases are being reported regularly.