New Delhi, August 10
Rains could not dampen the spirit of Delhiites as they celebrated Raksha Bandhan with much fervour and colour, reaffirming the sibling bond.

Scores of women and young girls dressed in all their fineries took to the flooded streets and braved traffic snarls to visit their brothers and tie rakhis (sacred threads) on their wrists, receiving gifts in return.

The sisters prayed for their brothers well being while the brothers in turn promised to protect them.

Markets were abuzz as shops selling colourful rakhis of different shapes were thronged by hundreds, sweet shops making brisk business.

Nine-year-old Shashi, a resident of Mayur Vihar, was on cloud nine after she received several story books from her brother, along with a packet of chocolates. She has been preparing for this festival for the past two weeks. "I get lots of gifts every year and this time too I have got story books and loads of chocolates," she said.

Vasant Kunj resident Charu (name changed) got the most special gift of her life from her brother.

The siblings were at loggerheads over her relationship with a youth, but today she was pleasantly surprised when her brother gave his approval to her marriage with the youth.

"What could have been a better gift than this. My brother has given the most special gift of my life," Charu said as tears swelled in her eyes.

Budari resident Kanak's brother came all the way from Pune for the occasion. Kanak has made a series of plans for the day which includes having lunch at a hotel, buying clothes and then going for a movie.

As for Kusum, her brother, who is in the Army and is posted in Kashmir, had sent a nice dress. "I had sent him a rakhi via courier two days earlier. We spoke over the phone. I prayed for his long life," she said. — PTI 

New Delhi, August 10
Widespread rains lashed the national capital region today keeping the mercury below normal levels even as citizens had a tough day as roads were waterlogged leading to major traffic snarls at many places.

The Safdarjung observatory recorded 76.5 mm rainfall while the areas under Palam, Ridge and Ayanagar observatories received 47.4 mm, 52 mm and 57 mm of rainfall respectively.

Traffic congestions were witnessed on Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, ITO and at stretches between Lajpat Nagar and AIIMS, Dhaula Kuan and Naraina, Wazirpur and Azadpur and in Connaught Place.

Extreme muggy weather conditions persisted as humidity levels were recorded between 72 and 90 per cent causing much discomfort to people in the city.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 32.5 degree Celsius, a notch below the normal while the minimum settled at 27.7 degree Celsius, a notch above normal.

"It will be generally cloudy. Rains and thundershowers would occur in some areas tomorrow. The maximum and minimum temperature is likely to be around 33 and 27 degree Celsius respectively," said the Met department about tomorrow's weather.

New Delhi, August 10
Alert personnel of a PCR van caught a suspected robber after a brief encounter in North East Delhi's Nand Nagri area after a man reported that the accused, along with his two associates, had tried to rob him.

The incident took place around 11 PM last night when Karawal Nagar resident Saurav Sharma reported that three unidentified persons tried to rob his motorcycle and mobile phone near Gagan Cinema.

"The PCR van chased the robbers in the direction stated by Sharma and apprehended one of them and seized a pistol, after two rounds of firing. The accused was identified as Sher Mohd, a resident of Loni, UP. His associates, however, managed to escape," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (PCR) Rajeev Ranjan.

A case has been registered in this regard at Nand Nagri police station under various sections of the IPC and the Arms Act.

Three PCR personnel, identified as ASI Satya Prakash, Head Constable Ram Niwas and driver constable Vikas have been appreciated by the Delhi Police top brass for their good work.

"The Delhi Police Commissioner has announced that 'Asadharan Karya Puraskar' will be given to all three PCR personnel for their act of bravery executed with dexterity and sharp reflexes without caring for their own safety," said Ranjan. — PTI

New Delhi, August 10
Smartphones and the popular chat messenger - WhatsApp - in it has now turned into an effective weapon against errant policemen with Delhi Police launching a new anti-corruption helpline where one can send audio or video clips if any cop seeks bribe or harasses a person.

The new helpline number, 9910641064, has been started on August 6 where one cannot only just call and register your complaint but also send a recorded audio or video clip if any police man harasses a person or demands bribe.

"The new helpline was launched on August 6 and the response so far has been encouraging. People can do a sort of sting operation and sent the audio or video clip on this number via WhatsApp," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Vigilance) Sindhu Pillai.

Delhi Police has given advertisements in all popular Hindi and English newspapers as well as on FM channels to raise awareness about the new helpline.

The new helpline is the brainchild of Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi who wants the force to be corruption-free.

"Once we get an audio or video clip, it will be checked at the Forensic Science Laboratory for its genuineness and once the authenticity is established, action will be taken against the errant policeman. So far we have got one genuine complaint and action is being taken in this regard," said Pillai.

Anybody who will be found guilty in this connection will be booked under Section 7 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) and Section 13 (criminal misconduct by a public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and other sections under the Indian Penal Code.

If found guilty, the officer will be suspended and arrested immediately, police said.

"Other than sending the audio-video clip on the popular messaging App, people can also email them to jtcp-vigilance-dl@nic.In," said Pillai. — PTI

New Delhi, August 10
An official of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and his friend were arrested today for raping a married woman on the pretext of providing her a job, a police officer said.

S.G. Sharma, a 58-year-old engineer in the DMRC, and 52-year-old contractor N. Mandal were arrested this morning following a complaint lodged by the woman in Prashant Vihar, west Delhi.

The woman told the police that Mandal called her to a restaurant in Rohini on August 2, where Sharma was already present.

From there, they took her to a tourist resort in Haryana and raped her in turns, she said.

They also threatened her with dire consequences, if she told anyone about the incident.

Yesterday, she told her husband and approached the police. - IANS

New Delhi, August 10
A 42-year-old guest house attendant at a temple here hanged himself after being scolded by his manager over an anomaly in the expenditure tally, a police officer said.

Nirmal Garami’s body was found hanging from the ceiling fan by another staff member this morning in a room on the first floor of the guest house building inside Kali Mandir in C.R. Park.

The officer said no suicide note was found.

Garami's family, which lived in the guest house quarters, said he was depressed for the past two days after being scolded by the manager over some missing money.

A colleague said the temple committee members had threatened him that they would inform the police over the issue. The officer said they were verifying the allegations, and have questioned the committee members and the manager. — IANS

New Delhi, August 10
The Delhi government today issued instructions to all schools, field offices, headquarters to make the city 'clean and green' as part of Independence Week celebrations.

"In this week, it would be ensured that there is special cleaning of classrooms, campus and offices of the Directorate of Education. The schools are to organise classwise drawing, poster-making, slogan-writing competition on the theme of 'Clean and Green Delhi'," said an official from the Directorate of Education.

To sensitise society about cleanliness, students will hold 'prabhat pheries and rallies' around their school campus and in the neighbouring areas. Banners and posters prepared during competitions would be displayed at these rallies.

Further, schools have been directed to hold classroom decoration competitions on the theme of 'cleanliness' and 'Independence Day'.

The schools have been specially instructed to involve the School Management Committee, Resident Welfare Associations and local MLAs in the programmes. On this occasion, the students would plant saplings on their school premises. The Directorate of Education has started celebrating 'Mega Cleanliness Drive week' from August 7 which will continue till August 14 to mark the Independence Day celebrations.

The north district too has launched the 'spirit of freedom'--the focus is on involving citizen, civil societies and other agencies. 

New Delhi, August 10
The Commissioner of Delhi Police, B. S. Bassi, today announced "Asadharan Karya Puraskar" for the act of bravery of three police personnel on PCR duty, who caught a suspected robber after a brief encounter in North East Delhi's Nand Nagri area. A man had reported that the accused along with his two associates had tried to rob him.

The constables nabbed the suspects without caring for their lives, said Rajeev Ranjan, DCP.

The incident took place around 11 last night when Karawal Nagar resident Saurav Sharma reported that three unidentified persons tried to rob his motorcycle and mobile phone near Gagan Cinema.

"The PCR van chased the robbers in the direction stated by Sharma and apprehended one of them and seized a pistol and five live cartridges. The accused was identified as Sher Mohd, a resident of Loni, UP. His associates, however, managed to escape," said the DCP.

A case has been registered under various sections of the IPC and the Arms Act.

New Delhi, August 10
To provide alternative livelihood, empower, address and engage tribal and nomadic communities of Banjaras, Kalandars, Gadiya Lohars and Raibari, the NDMC has opened a Nomadic Haat in a subway near Hanuman Mandir on Baba Kharak Singh Marg in Connaught Place.

The Haat was launched by New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi. This is the first event organized by NDMC as part of weeklong festivities being organized by NDMC to celebrate Independence Day.

Speaking on the occasion, Lekhi hoped that the Nomadic Haat will be a centre of excellence in promoting the art and craft of nomadic communities.

Lekhi appreciated the effort of NDMC for utilizing the subways for providing the much-needed marketing facility to the nomadic people.

New Delhi, August 10
A unique dance drama based on the life of Lord Krishna will be presented by the department of Art, Culture and Languages, in association with the Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra, Secretary, Art and Culture, SS Yadav said today.

He said that the department of Art and Culture and Shri Ram Kala Kendra have planned to present Krishna's fascinating personality.

Research shows that the Krishna of the Mahabharata and the butter-stealing Krishna are two independent entities merged into one. The ballet treats the two identities of Krishna in diametrically converse ways.

The first half of the production is devoted to the populist episodes, 'Makhan Chori', 'Govardhan Kalia' 'Raas', etc. In this production, a new dimension has been added to the status of 'Radha' from her being just a beloved to that of her being 'His Divine Consort'. The story of Yadavas gets linked up with the story of Krishna Vasudeva, whose end is sought by his uncle Kansa.

The 'Chakradhari Krishna' of the second half has been treated as one with leadership qualities, but by virtue of which he became susceptible to divine folly. This second half relies on specially commissioned script of lesser-known incidents of the Mahabharata.

"There has been a conscious attempt to step out of the groove of blind faith and throw questions of relevance. The script in the second half deals with incidents that open up a plethora of topics for discussion that are universal and timeless," Yadav said.

New Delhi, August 10
The Mayors of all the three municipal corporations today met the Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and urged him to plead the case of e-rickshaws with the High Court.

North Corporation Mayor Yogendra Chandolia, East Delhi Mayor Meenakshi and Khushi Ram of South Corporation urged the LG that the Delhi government should take approval from the court so as to allow them to ply on the city roads.

"The corporations be allowed to regulate as other rickshaws are also regulated by us till the new policy is framed and comes into force," said Chandolia,

They demanded relief for the families of e-rickshaw drivers.

The LG has assured them of considering the proposal.