New Delhi, May 7
In several raids conducted by different department of the Delhi government today, seven Fair Price Shops (FPS) were sealed and three FIRs lodged; 12 petrol pump licensees were prosecuted while a tout was held for demanding bribe.

The department of Food and Supplies inspected Fair Price Shops, petrol pumps and LPG agencies in all the 11 districts of Delhi. It raided 19 FPSs to detect cases of diversion of ration commodities, namely wheat, rice and sugar.

The FPSs which were found closed or where records were not available got sealed, while in cases where diversion of grain was detected, criminal cases have been registered against the licensee. The department has sealed seven FPSs and three FIRs have been lodged.

Two inspectors of Food and Supplies department have been suspended for dereliction of duty. Action has also been taken against the violators for irregularities like non-opening of shop, non-distribution of food items, non-display of rate list and statutory information, etc.

Ten teams were constituted for inspection of petrol pumps which conducted raids on 25 pumps. In four cases, the licensees have been prosecuted for dispensing lesser quantity. In eight other cases, prosecution has been lodged for non-display of verification certificate of the dispensing machine.

In the raids of LPG agencies to check cheating of consumers by supplying underweight cylinders, five defaulters have been prosecuted.

The ACB officials apprehended one tout for accepting bribe near the Rohini Transport Authority from a complainant for getting a driving licence. The accused was arrested and a case registered in this regard.

In order to make an on-the-spot assessment of irregularities and service in private and government hospitals, six teams were constituted, of which three visited Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, Khichripur, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Rohini and Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital, Jahangirpuri and other three teams visited private hospitals, Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, Vasant Kunj; RLKC Metro Hospital, Naraina Road and Shanti Mukund Hospital, Anand Vihar.

"Irregularities were found in private hospitals as there was no helpdesk for EWS and no consultation for free category was being given. In government hospitals, deficiencies were in patient amenities, in terms of overcrowding, lack of seating space, non-availability of some medicines, inadequate diagnostic and lab facilities," said a senior government official.

New Delhi, May 7
Thousands of commuters were stranded during the evening rush hour today due to disruption of Delhi Metro services for about an hour on Blue Line, which operates from Dwarka to Noida City Centre/Vaishali terminals.

"Due to snapping of a strand of Over Head Electrification (OHE) wire near Indraprastha station, train services were available in two loops on Line 3: Dwarka to Barakhamba and Yamuna Bank to Noida/Vaishali to carry out the urgent repair work of OHE," a DMRC official spokesperson said.

The fault had developed on the Blue Line which operates from Dwarka to Noida City Centre-Vaishali terminals. The breakdown caused overcrowding of stations.

Many commuters who had to take autos complained that the auto drivers overcharged.

"I had to reach Noida but I was stranded at the Barakhamba Metro station. I decided to take an auto but it was difficult to find. I finally got one but it charged me three times the normal fare," said Akshita Mittal, a private employee.

No services were available between Yamuna Bank and Barakhamba from 6:40 pm to 7:35 pm. Normal services were restored for entire Line 3 afterward.

New Delhi, May 7
Two Delhi Police constables were attacked by a 25-year-old man, an alleged criminal, his brother and mother during a police patrol aimed at preventing street crimes in central Delhi's Chandni Mahal locality last night.

The two constables, Ravi Kumar (41) and Vijay Kumar (43), with the help of reinforcements, overpowered one, Nadeem (25), while his brother, Siraj and mother, Husna Bano fled. The police have registered a case against Nadeem, Siraj and Husna under the IPC sections 186, 353, 332 and 34 at the Chandni Mahal police station.

"Siraj and Husna Bano will also be arrested under this case," said a police officer, privy to the details of the case.

Last night Ravi and Vijay were on regular patrol at Chandni Mahal. "They spotted Nadeem in Chandni Mahal. As part of the objective towards preventing street crime, they began questioning him. They asked him where he was going, to whom he was talking on the mobile phone, etc. The constables wanted to ascertain if the items he was carrying in his vehicle were stolen. During the questioning, Nadeem became violent. He called his brother, Siraj and mother, Husna Bano, who also attacked the constables.

New Delhi, May 7
In a major relief to parents seeking nursery admission for their children in Delhi schools, the Supreme Court today resolved the stalemate by directing the Delhi government to increase the number of seats to accommodate the kids affected by the sudden change in rules.

"Having considered the matter, we deem it appropriate to relieve the appellants (parents) from the hardship of having the admission being granted earlier under the December 18, 2013 notification from being taken away by the subsequent notification on February 27 issued mid-stream," a three-member Bench headed by Justice HL Dattu said.

Reprimanding the government for changing the rules, the apex court said it was not permissible for the administration to alter the basis of admission after the admission process had started. The Bench did not spare even the parents who approached the judiciary.

Nevertheless, the SC directed that the admissions already granted to the appellants' children "shall not be disturbed" on the basis of the February notification deleting points for the children of parents involved in inter-state transfers.

The Bench clarified that its judgment would cover the related cases pending in the Delhi High Court as well and these cases would be treated as disposed of.

The court lamented that despite several opportunities given to the Delhi administration, it was unable to sort out the problems of the affected kids. "Indisputably, imparting elementary and basic education is a constitutional obligation on the states as well as societies running educational institutions," it explained.

The parents had come to the SC in appeal challenging the HC's April 3 verdict, allowing resumption of admissions on the basis of the norms prescribed by the city government on February 27.

In the appeal, parents in the IST category contended that the HC order had resulted in their children losing the admissions secured on the basis of draw of lots. The HC order was in violation of the right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution, they pleaded.

New Delhi, May 7
A 14-year-old girl has alleged that her 30-year-old distant relative had been sexually assaulting her for the past few years in northeast Delhi's Khajoori Khas area.

The accused was arrested on Monday. He had allegedly helped the victim's father to search for her, after she had disappeared from her residence at Khajoori Khas on Sunday evening.

According to victim’s father, the accused was a regular guest at his home. The accused would interact with the victim. He recently threatened her with dire consequences if she did not accompany him to where he planned to take her. On Sunday, the accused allegedly took her from her house and dropped her at his friend's place. He then met the victim's father, who was searching for her.

"My daughter was with me when the accused had come to visit us. After he left, my daughter was also missing. I along with some neighbours began searching for her. The accused was also looking for her and came with me to the police station to file a missing complaint. Later, I learnt that he had dropped my daughter at his friend's place," said the victim's father.

The friend of the accused learnt that the victim had been forced into staying at his home. He said that he was under the impression that the accused being a relative of the victim was merely travelling with her. The accused, on his friend's insistence, dropped the victim at her aunt's house, where she disclosed what had happened to her.

New Delhi, May 7
The severed body of a 25-year-old man was found on the railway track near Akshardham this morning.

According to railway officials, the youth was killed in a train accident as a result of which his body was severed in two parts.

The man has been identified as Lal Bahadur Shah, who was a resident of Ganesh Nagar in west Delhi. He was an autorickshaw driver.

A railway official said, "At around 10 am, we received reports that a severed body is lying on the railway track. Our officials went to the spot and retrieved the body. It appears that the man was trying to cross the track when a fast moving train hit him, killing him instantly. The body has been sent for a postmortem and the family of the victim has been informed".

The police confirmed that according to their preliminary investigations, Shah was killed in a train accident. "No angle of foul play has come to our notice in this case," said a police officer. The officer also said that no suicide note has been recovered from the body.