New Delhi, April 26
Two men have been arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly trying to supply at least 15,000 bottles of a cough syrup called phensedyl to India's northeast, where they would be used as intoxicants.

The men arrested by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police have been identified as Ajay Kumar Tiwari (23) and Jaswant Tiwari (39), who are residents of Jhilmil Industrial Area in Delhi.

According to the police, the 15,606 bottles of codeine (an opium derivative) cough syrup, phensedyl, which was seized from the accused, is internationally worth Rs 1.2 crore.

"On Thursday, we were tipped off that one, Anil, who belongs to Kolkata, has allegedly taken phensedyl bottles from some people in Agra and Rajasthan. He would supply them to Kolkata via Delhi through railway parcels in connivance with Jaswant and Ajay for supplying to the northeast, including Mizoram," said Ravindra Yadav, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime).

The police learnt that Jaswant and Ajay would transport the illegal consignment of phensedyl in a Mahindra truck to the railway parcel office in Delhi via Novelty Cinema.

The police intercepted the truck near Novelty Cinema. "While searching the vehicle, the police found 15,606 bottles of phensedyl kept in 39 cartons. The occupants, Ajay and Jaswant, could not produce valid documents for possessing the drug. They were arrested," said Yadav.

Ajay allegedly told the police that Jaswant is his relative who came to Delhi and started driving a truck for him. Jaswant had purchased a truck and two 'Champion' mini trucks.

"On Thursday morning, Jaswant had offered Ajay good money for transporting the phensedyl consignment from Bhagirath Palace to the railway parcel or transportation agent at Patel Nagar in central Delhi. But it was caught before it could reach its destination," explained the officer.

Jaswant told the police that he took over his uncle's business of being a wholesale commission agent of medicines at Bhagirath Palace after his death about 15 years ago. "He would transport medicines through parcels across India. Later, he came to know that the drugs like phensedyl were illegally transported to the northeast for use as intoxicants. He used to get handsome money for such transportation. Due to the profit, he switched over to illegally transporting phensedyl," said Yadav. 

New Delhi, April 26
A 46-year-old man died after he fell into an oil tank at an iron tempering unit in north Delhi's Sarai Rohilla area this afternoon.

The man has been identified as Sardar Inderjit Singh. Inderjit's brother-in-law, Bhupinder Singh, alleged that Inderjit's body has strangulation marks on his neck, his ears are ruptured and there are marks probably made due to beating by a rod, indicating that he was murdered. The police however said that Inderjit had slipped and accidentally fallen into an oil tank at the unit.

Sindhu Pillai, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North District), said that Inderjit has a small unit at central Delhi's Anand Parbat area that makes dyes for iron. He would bring his dyes to one, Murlidhar Pandey's iron tempering unit at Sarai Rohilla.

At about 2.50 pm today, Inderjit reached the Sarai Rohilla unit. Murlidhar was not present there, but his four workers, including two women, were at the unit. "There is a seven-foot high oil tank at the unit. Oil was spilled outside the tank. They saw Inderjit slipping and falling into it. They took him out and the two male workers carried him to a hospital from where he was taken to the Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in Punjabi Bagh," explained Pillai.

The police are in the process of registering a case under the Indian Penal Code section 304A (causing death by negligence). A postmortem will be conducted at the Subzi Mandi mortuary at north Delhi's Civil Lines area tomorrow. "With the postmortem, we will see if there has been any negligence," said the officer. No arrests and detentions have been made in the case.

On the other hand, Bhupinder alleged, "Inderjit's neck has strangulation marks. His ears are ruptured from behind. And his back has marks made from an iron rod. There is no doubt that he was murdered. He was healthy and six feet tall and there is no way he could have accidentally fallen into the oil tank."

Pillai however denied the claims made by Bhupinder and said that Inderjit was not murdered.

New Delhi, April 26
The Samajwadi Party candidate contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, Shahnawaz Rana, was arrested for allegedly carrying a live cartridge inside his baggage at Indira Gandhi International Airport here.

Rana was arrested on Wednesday evening. He had arrived at the airport to travel to Dubai by a Jet Airways flight. He is a resident of Muzaffarnagar and had contested the Lok Sabha elections from Bijnor on a Samajwadi Party ticket.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) staff deployed at the airport noticed something suspicious when they screened his baggage on Wednesday evening. They stopped him and opened his bag. They found a live .38 bore cartridge. He was immediately handed over to the police.

Sources claimed that Rana has a gun licence, but it is valid only in Uttar Pradesh. He is not allowed to carry a gun and ammunition outside the state. A case under the Arms Act was registered against Rana and he was arrested.

"Rana was not aware that there was a live cartridge in his bag. But according to the rules we have to report such incidents to the police," explained a CISF officer.

A passenger is allowed to carry arms if he or she has the relevant documents and the gun will be kept under the custody of the airline officials.

New Delhi, April 26
Among the recipients of the country's fourth highest civilian award were Principal of Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, Dr Mahesh Verma and Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, Prof Dinesh Singh. They were conferred the Padam Shri by the President of India in a special ceremony held today at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Prof. Verma has received this award for his immense contribution in the field of dental sciences. Under his leadership, the speciality dental services in the city of Delhi through Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences expanded and he was instrumental in setting up the best dental institute in the country which is currently a "Centre of Excellence" treating thousands of underprivileged and common citizens every day.

Prof. Verma is the current president of Indian Dental Association having 65,000 members across the country.

Receiving the award, Prof Verma stated that "the Central and state governments should create more job opportunities for young professionals. There is large pool of dental manpower available which may be utilised for dental services reach amongst masses across the country".

Professor Dinesh Singh has been responsible for the implementation of the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) last year at Delhi University. He also led the shift to the semester system and introduction of Antardhvani -the annual cultural fest of DU and the Cluster Innovation Centre.

He earned his undergraduate and postgraduate degree in mathematics at St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. After earning an M.Phil degree from DU, he went on to pursue a Ph.D. degree at Imperial College, London. 

New Delhi, April 26
A two-day medical exhibition which kicked off today at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) served as an interface for young MBBS aspirants who not only gained insight into the human anatomy and pathology and treatment but also tips for cracking the premier institute's undergraduate exams.

N Loyangmba Singh, a 10th student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Masjid Modh would be sharing the learning of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), an emergency procedure vital for reviving a person after heart stops functioning with his family and friends in his locality.

"The sessions were quite helpful and we got to know why many things happen and their remedies. The most striking thing I liked was about CPR and I am going to tell my friends and family about it once I return," said loyangmba.

Another student Anushka Basoya was taken aback by the intricacies of eye tests and several other human physiological functions.

The exhibition had physiological specimens on display at one place, anatomical and pathological in another dissection hall and the third and most interesting part was the interactive session held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Auditorium where the feedback of the students was sought through a form.

While it was a learning experience for children the organisers of the exhibition-MBBS students of AIIMS- encouraged students, mostly of the 11th and 12th standard, to opt for medical profession while apprising them of its strengths. 

New Delhi, April 26
Delhi experienced a partly cloudy and hot Saturday as the maximum temperature settled at 38.7 degree Celsius, average for this time of the season. The Met office has forecast similar hot weather on Sunday.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Sunday will see clear skies through the day and the afternoon will be warm.

"The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 39 and 22 degree Celsius (respectively), the IMD official said.

Saturday morning was cloudy and warm. The minimum temperature was recorded two notches below the season's average at 22.1 degree Celsius.

Friday's maximum temperature was recorded at 38.8 degree Celsius, average for the season, while the minimum temperature was three notches below the season's average at 20.6 degree Celsius.—IANS

New Delhi, April 26
As many 30 breast cancer survivors shared their experiences, during a meet organised by the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, with women who are battling the disease at the hospital here.

Drawing from their experiences, they asserted on timely medical attention for breast cancer and the need for methods like meditation, yoga and spirituality.

On the occasion, Dr Ramesh Sarin, senior consultant, surgical oncology, said, "We are taking regular steps to ensure that we spread awareness on breast cancer. This meet is an effort to help women connect with each other to share experiences and counsel and support each other emotionally."

The senior consultant said there has been a "sharp rise" in the number of cases of breast cancer in women aged between 25 and 45 and therefore it was no more a "disease of the elderly."—TNS