New Delhi, August 28
Heavy rains lashed the national Capital and its adjoining areas today bringing mercury down by six degrees.

The city has hot weather for the past few days, with temperatures being as high as 39° C this month, making it the hottest August in 12 years.

The city received 6.4 mm of rain till 5.30 pm, said a Met Department official. The maximum temperature settled three notches above the season's average at 37° C. Following the showers, the mercury dropped to 31.2° C at 5.30 pm.

The heavy rain that was accompanied by storm uprooted several trees and caused water-logging in many parts of the city, leading to traffic snarls. According to the municipal corporations, seven trees fell in north Delhi and six in south Delhi. In addition, a house collapsed in the Batla Nagar area and a wall came down in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi.

Traffic jams were reported from around the central Delhi commercial hub of Connaught Place and the ITO crossing. Areas like Lajpat Nagar, South Extension, Govindpuri in south Delhi were affected too, the traffic police said.

However, many people thronged the city's popular places like India Gate and Dilli Haat in the evening to enjoy the weather.

Meanwhile, the Met Office has forecast more rain over the weekend.

"The sky tomorrow will be partly cloudy and parts of the city will get rain," said the official. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 36° and 27° C, the official added.

New Delhi, August 28
Wearing helmets for women riding pillion on a two-wheeler has been made mandatory in the national Capital by the Delhi Transport Department. The Sikh women, however, have been exempted with the government amending the Rule 115 of the Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules, 1993.

"Wearing helmets is now mandatory for women pillion riders in Delhi. However, Sikh women have been kept out of its ambit on religious grounds," said a top transport department official.

The Lieutenant Governor (LG), Najeeb Jung, had also given the go-ahead to this proposal making helmets mandatory for all women pillion riders.

On May 2, the department had invited suggestions from the general public on this issue after getting go-ahead from the LG.

During suggestions, some Muslim groups also demanded the same relief for burqa-clad women riding pillion in the capital.

According to the department, in Delhi alone, a total number of 576 two-wheeler riders lost their lives during 2012.

In 1998, the Delhi government had made wearing helmets mandatory for all pillion riders, but following objections from the people belonging to the Sikh community it had to amend the Delhi Motor Vehicle Rules, 1993, in June 1999 and made it optional for women, said the official.

Welcoming the government decision, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, president Manjit Singh (GK), said it was he who had raised the objection demanding that Sikh women should be exempted from helmet wearing.

New Delhi, August 28
Delhi State Council of the Communist Party of India (CPI) today staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar to protest against price hike, ever increasing electricity rates, water crises, women insecurity and corruption.

The CPI also demanded that minimum wages should be Rs 15,000, compulsory pension of Rs 3,000 to all eligible, ration cards to all and minimum 35 kg grains at the rate of Rs 2 per kg should be made available to all the ration card holders.

The CPI activists also demanded that Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jang must call for urgent Delhi Assembly elections.

Addressing the participants at dharna, CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy said the Modi government is planning to issue a credit paper of their hundred days rule, but in these 100 days railway fare hike, freight hike, steep hike in all essential commodities, and hike in electricity and water rates in Delhi have taken place.

All policies of the BJP government are the same that of the Congress. It goes in favour of capitalist and crony capitalism.

MP D. Raja said public distribution system in Delhi is in very bad shape. Full ration is not provided and electricity subsidy is farce as every three month its rates are hiked. Health, education and all public services are not adequate.

New Delhi, August 28
A taxi driver allegedly molested a Class IV girl of a private school for a week before the victim gathered courage to report the incident to her parents yesterday, the police said today.

The girl's parents approached the police and the driver was caught from his house.

The incident was reported from Shakarpur, eat Delhi. The girl lives with her parents in Shakarpur and studies at a private school in the same area. The cab had been hired by the girl's parents about a year ago when she had joined the school.

The girl was hesitant to reveal the incident to her parents as the driver, identified as Dharmendra, 29, had allegedly threatened her not to disclose the matter to anyone. The girl said Dharmendra had been touching her inappropriately while driving her to and from the school for the last one week.

However, yesterday she refused to travel by the cab. Her parents asked her the reason, but she only insisted that she wanted another cab.

New Delhi, August 28
AAP leader Harvinder Singh Phoolka today demanded that Z category security provided to the accused of 1984 anti-Sikh riots should be withdrawn.

In a letter written to Union Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh, Phoolka said for the past 30 years, the leaders who are responsible for killing Sikhs in November 1984, had been provided the highest security cover, including about 30-40 security guards.

They have also been provided palatial bungalows and number of cars at the expenses of public.

"People like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar have been enjoying this luxury at public expenses for the past 30 years. The leaders like H.K.L. Bhagat and Dharam Das Shastri, who have now died, also enjoyed this luxury throughout their lives. Not only these, large number of other persons are provided security," the letter said.

It said "Balwan Khokhar, who is now convicted for murder, was also provided the security cover.

Another accused Mahender Yadav, who is convicted for instigating riots, is till today enjoying the security cover as he is on bail."

New Delhi, August 28
Unhappy with the Delhi University administration, the Delhi University and College Karmnachari Union (DUCKU) today urged the Vice-Chancellor to suspend Ramjas Principal Dr Rajendra Prasad while pressing for a "fair" probe into the allegations against him.

In this regard, the DUCKU today held a demonstration on the college campus and the protest has received the support of the DUTA, Ramjas College Teachers Association, non-teaching employees and students of the college among others, said DUCKU president Rajpal. "We had requested on August 20 earlier but the university has not acted on the direction of the UGC so far," he said.

"The atmosphere of the college getting vitiated due to non-action of the university authorities as regards taking suo motu action on the direction of the Fact Finding Committee constituted by the UGC," said acting general secretary Dhanraj Poswal.