TOP STORIES

BHIWANI
Mob vents spleen on hospital, 48 booked 
Bhiwani, December 30
Several NGOs and political parties have criticised the act of setting afire the building of a private hospital in Badhra yesterday.

HOW BRAZEN CAN BRAZEN BE
Trade Tax Asst Commissioner held red-handed
Meerut, December 30
An Assistant Commissioner of Trade Tax Department was caught red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 10,000 in his office.

Connaught Place gets ready to usher in the New Year. — Tribune photo Mukesh Aggarwal

National Education Test or UGC farce?
New Delhi, December 30
The NET (National Education Test) Examination, which was conducted in the Capital by the University Grants Commission yesterday, proved to be a nightmare for the students. While many did not receive their admit cards on time others spent agonising moments waiting for the examination, which came to a sudden halt midway, to resume.

Major rail mishap averted
Ghaziabad, December 30
A major rail mishap was averted yesterday in Bulandshahr with the timely detection of fish plates which had been tampered with near the Boor Road level crossing at gate No. 15.

Inter-state criminals to get joint stick
Sonepat, December 30
To discuss the issue of a common control room and joint patrolling, a meeting of the senior police officers of the northern states will be held on January 15 in Sonepat. Giving this information, Mr M.S.Malik, Director-General of Police, Haryana, told mediapersons here today that the meeting would finalise the strategy to check the crimes and curb the activities of the inter-state criminals.

Lt Col Smith of the famed Lagaan XI (British side) with members of the Doordarshan XI at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the Capital on Monday. — A Tribune photograph

Aa ja meri gaadi mein baith ja...
Noida, December 30
“Come on, I can drop you wherever you like,” a Romeo told a young woman who refused his generous offer. But when he persisted in giving her a lift against her wishes, he was arrested by Sector-24 police for “forcibly offering a lift to a young girl in Sector-12”.

Five cops reverted to police lines
Ghaziabad, December 30
Five cops, including the SI in-charge of Thandi Piyao police post in Bulandshahr, who were caught red-handed by SSP Alok Sharma while accepting bribes from transporters, have been reverted to the police lines.

COMMUNITY

Delhi Chief Secretary Shailaja Chandra and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at a seminar on ‘Rainwater Harvesting’ organised by the Delhi Jal Board on Monday. — A Tribune photograph

Hazardous units under MCD scanner
Samaipur Badli factory fire fallout
New Delhi, December 30
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has ordered the cancellation of licences of hazardous factories being run in residential areas following the recent incidents of fire in plastic and soap factories in North-West district.

HR violation in abduction case seen 
Mahendragarh, December 30
The main accused in a case of violation of human rights has not been arrested even 10 days after the crime. Rather, the transfer of the SHO, Mahendragarh police station, the day after a complaint was lodged against the associates of INLD leader and liquor contractor, Rao Bahadur Singh, has fuelled speculation about the intention of the authorities.

TUs clamour for release of salary
Sonepat, December 30
Representatives of various trade unions including the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), AITUC, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and UTDC today protested against the non-payment of salary to the workers of the Haryana Sheet Glass Company at Sewli village for the last five months and the failure of the Labour Department authorities to take an action against the company management.

Child labour: Sweating blood for survival New Delhi, December 30 Why are there so many children earning a living when they should enjoy their childhood? Child labour is a harsh reality that the Capital is facing today. Millions of children help their families in myriad ways. They are put to work in ways that drain childhood of all joys, exposing them to exploitation.

Gowda exhorts media to help unite people

New Delhi, December 30 Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda urged the media to try and unite the people in the country through their good offices. He was displeased at the attempts made by some political and religious forces to divide society. Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda at a function organised by the Asian Academy of Film and Television in the Capital.

Vidrohi flays bid to tax farm income
Faridabad, December 30
The Janata Dal president of the Haryana unit, Mr Ved Prakash Vidrohi, has opposed the move to impose tax on agricultural income and described it as an attempt to attack the interests of farmers. He has, however, asked the Union government to bring a bill to impose tax on the farmhouses owned by the urbanites.

FACE TO FACE
‘School is a second home for children’
Age may have caught up with her physically but it has not diminished her zeal for social service. A teacher with 40 years of standing in the Capital’s top schools, this 75-year-old do-gooder spends her time in teaching the underprivileged in some of the worst slums of East Delhi. For Mrs Sneh Mittal, social work is an integral part of her life and she has devoted most of her life in doing this humane work.

Metro to ply another train for New Year
New Delhi, December 30
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will introduce another train and increase the frequency of service to meet the rush on the eve of New Year. DMRC General Manager (Operations) Madhuresh Kumar today told mediapersons that special arrangements would be in place to deal with the rush.

NCR BRIEFS
Petrol pump owner found dead in car, cash missing
Sonepat, December 30
A youth, Sandeep Kumar (24), was found dead in his car, which was lying overturned on the Sonepat-Gohana road near Naina Tatarpur village, about 20 km from here, last night.

Prisoner caught Freedom fighter dies Jail bharo stir

Youth crushed Found beheaded Files stolen

Delhiite crushed by roadways bus Faridabad, December 30 A resident of Ashok Vihar of Delhi was crushed to death by a speeding Haryana Roadways bus here near the NHPC Chowk today morning. The deceased has been identified as K. K. Dixit. He was going to his office on a cycle when it was hit by the bus crushing him under the wheels.

CRIME

Crime rate ‘dips’ by 14% in South Delhi
New Delhi, December 30
The overall crime rate in the Capital’s posh South District has shown a decline of 14 per cent this year as compared to previous year. Addressing the Annual press conference of the district, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Mr P Kamaraj, said that the crime under dacoity has declined by 56 per cent, murder by 0.1 per cent, robbery by 40 per cent, rape by six per cent, burglary by 35 per cent and snatching by 29 per cent.

PANIPAT
Eight gangs of hardcore criminals busted in 2002
Panipat, December 30
The district police claimed to have busted eight gangs of hardcore criminals by arresting 35 members and have solved as many as 40 out of 45 cases of murder during the year 2002. The prominent gangsters who were either eliminated or sent behind bars included Rajesh Kuldeep Kalwa, Pardeep and Rohtash.

Man attempts suicide before Rashtrapati Bhawan
New Delhi, December 30
A 30-year-old physically challenged man today attempted suicide outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan by pouring petrol over himself. Kaushal Kumar's bid to immolate himself was foiled by alert Delhi Police personnel who nabbed him at about 10.30 am at the main gate of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Youth killed as car rams bridge
Sonepat, December 30
An unidentified youth was killed when his car dashed against the bridge of a culvert on the Sonepat-Gohana road near Mohana village, 19 km from here, last evening. According to a report, the police have registered a case and further investigations are in progress.

BUSINESS

TRADE FEST
Fair fails to meet expectations
Faridabad, December 30
The nine-day Trade Fest – 2002 came to an end last evening at Surajkund. While the district administration and the newly set up Trade Fair Authority of Haryana (TFAH) had used all their energy for organising it for the first time at Surajkund, some harsh realities have surfaced amidst the claims and compliments.

Rs 80-crore business in food expo
New Delhi, December 30
Business to the tune of Rs 80 crore is estimated to have taken place during the country’s first international Food, Drink and Hospitality exhibition in the Capital. The exhibition, which saw the launch of several new products in the Indian market, attracted 30 companies from overseas, apart from domestic players, a release said.

SPORTS

Sports Authority of India cricket coach Sunita Sharma inaugurating the Shakuntala Devi Memorial Cricket Tournament in the Capital on Monday.

Delhi hold  N Rly
New Delhi, December 30
Delhi came from two goals in the red to hold Northern Railway 2-2 in the opening quarter-final league match of the Shivaji Hockey Tournament for the Dhyan Chand Cup at the Shivaji Stadium on Monday.

R P Academy beat Gyan Bharti 
New Delhi, December 30
R P Cricket Academy beat Gyan Bharti South Delhi Coaching Centre by 13 runs in a Group A league match of the second Mata Durga Devi Memorial Under-12 Cricket Tournament held at the Bharat National Public School ground.

• Delhi Colts beat Patel Nagar

NIIT sail into final
New Delhi, December 30
NIIT beat B L Kashyap by 11 runs and entered the final of the D G Phadkar Cup Cricket Tournament at the Teri Oval. NIIT will take on Orient Craft in the final. Kapil Gupta, who scored 27 for NIIT, was named the Man of the Match.

Champions Trophy

R P Cricket Academy win

ESPN defeat PVR in Brandmen tourney New Delhi, December 30 ESPN defeated PVR by 36 runs in the Brandmen-11 Cricket Cup Tournament. Scores: ESPN: 152 for 8 in 25 overs (Rohit Chopra 65, Gaurav Seth 28, Mukesh 3 for 14). PVR: 116 in 22 overs (Gaurav Saini 27, Kapil Kaushik 23, Rohit Chopra 3 for 26, Praveen 3 for 23). Rohit Chopra was named the Man of the Match. Dr Morepen defeated Max Healthcare by four wickets.

Sandeep, Sumit star for Shastri Club
New Delhi, December 30
A strokeful 72 by Sandeep Yadav and an all-round performance by Delhi Under-19 player Sumit Rana (39 and 3 for 36) enabled Lal Bahadur Shastri Club defeat Young Friends by 149 runs in the first All-India Shakuntala Devi Memorial Under-19 Cricket Tournament at the East Point school ground, Vasundhara. Sandeep Yadav was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Khalsa College annex title

New Delhi, December 30 Khalsa College defeated Guru Govind Singh College by 66 runs in the final of the inaugural Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Cricket Tournament, organised by the National Student Union of India. Ram Babu Sharma giving away the winners’ trophy to the Khalsa College captain at the prize distribution function of the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Cricket Tournament.

Amarjeet slams ton
New Delhi, December 30
An unbeaten century by Amarjeet Singh, studded with nine fours and five sixes, helped Ansal Group defeat New Holland by six wickets and entered the semi-final of the first Turf Sports Management Corporate Cricket Tournament at the Venkateshwara College ground. Amarjeet was given the Man of the Match award.

ADMINISTRATION

Traffic curbs for New Year
New Delhi, December 30
The Delhi Traffic Police have made elaborate traffic arrangements on the eve of New Year. The traffic restrictions will remain in force from 7 pm till the conclusion of New Year festivities.