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Tantrik
sacrifices 18-month-old Witness
turns hostile in Atma Ram
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SC nod
for resuming Red Fort restoration Woman,
child injured in building collapse
Ex-Noida
CEO chargesheeted Students
expelled from hostel for ragging Manufacturing
units facing labour unrest Gang
involved in making fake credit cards busted
58
dyeing units demolished Residents
upset at unregulated price hike Father
of six told to pay damages in rape case Trauma
centre set up My
role in Julie was effective: Sanjay Kapoor
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Tantrik sacrifices 18-month-old Bulanddhahar, August 6 The tantaric sacrificed the innocent child in a most barbaric and savage way. First, he slit the baby’s throat and offered the blood to the deity, then chopped off his both ears and hands. Later, he dumped the body of the boy in a field. Angry villagers gheraoed the police station against the cruel murder of the innocent boy and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. Eighteen-month-old Sunil, son of Prem Pal Singh, a farmer, a resident of Anouna village under Pahasu police station, had been playing in front of his house on Monday evening when he had suddenly gone missing. Four persons had reportedly abducted the child. The police filed a missing report on the instructions of senior police officials, three days after the child Sunil went missing. Yesterday morning, when one woman had gone to ease herself in the field, saw the body of the child and informed the villagers about it. Sunil’s mother Prem Watti fell unconscious on seeing the mutilated body of her child. His throat was slit and hands and ears had been chopped off. The police arrested the tantarik, who also lives at Anouna village, his brother and another companion. Livid villagers also reached the police station and clamoured that the murderers be handed over to them. The CO and other cops thrashed the tantarik and his companions in the presence of the villagers. Later, Tantarik Bhura, his brother Manoj and Ram Avtar were arrested. The police recovered the sickle used for killing the innocent child, SO said. Very strong action will be taken against the culprits, the police said. |
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Witness turns hostile in Atma Ram murder case New Delhi, August 6 Dr Mahinder Pal Gupta, a friend of the deceased for over 30 years, told the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr B.B. Choudhary, that when the police was taking photographs of the body fished out of a canal in Uttar Pradesh on August 31, he saw the wrist The defence counsel, Mr P.K. Dham, appearing for the main accused Sharda Jain and her brother, produced the photographs which were marked as exhibits and attached to the case file. The police, however, claims to have recovered the watch from the house of Sharda Jain’s brother Raj Kumar, following disclosures made during interrogation on August 28. Raj Kumar had allegedly decamped with the watch after Atma Ram was shot dead. In another seeming contradiction, the prosecution witness pointed out that on August 28, 2002, when the police team took the accused to Chajjupura village, where Atma Ram was shot dead on August 24, 2002, the accused village headman, Roshan Singh, who was allegedly arrested much later in Madhya Pradesh on November 14, was also present at the spot. Dr Mahinder Pal, who had accompanied the police party, said that the police had even recorded the disclosure statement of Roshan, which was signed by him. Advocate Ashutosh Bhardwaj, appearing for Roshan, pointed out that the police, however, had two disclosure statements made by the village head. The first was made soon after his arrest in Madhya Pradesh on November 14 and the second was recorded a day later after the Delhi Police formally arrested him. After Dr Mahinder Pal went back on his statements made before the police, Additional Public Prosecutor, Mr D. Paul sought to cross-examine him as he had turned hostile. Among other things, the witness, during cross-examination, admitted that Ms Jain had talked about Mr Atma Ram having physical relationship with her and another councillor Memwati Berwala. This, the court recorded, was stated by him “after the question was put to him thrice”. Dr Mahinder Pal, however, said he could not recollect whether she had admitted to having attempted suicide after Gupta refused to discontinue his relationship with Berwala. When Mr Paul drew his attention towards his statement before the police, he said he could not recollect the incident. According to police, Jain shared an intimate relationship with Gupta and had conspired to get him killed out of jealousy, following his increased proximity to Berwala. In pursuance to the conspiracy, Jain, with the help of her brother Raj Kumar, allegedly hired some people to kill him. Gupta was murdered in Chajjupura village in Ghaziabad district on August 24, shortly after he and Jain left together from a Congress rally addressed by Party President Sonia Gandhi at Ferozeshah Kotla Grounds. |
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SC nod for resuming Red Fort restoration New Delhi, August 6 A bench comprising of Justice Ruma Pal, Justice S B Sinha and Justice S H Kapadia, while giving approval to the nine-member panel headed by the ASI Director, said no restoration work should be undertaken without its ‘‘express written permission.’’ Apart from the ASI Director, the other members of the committee are former ASI DG J P Joshi, Nalini Thakur, Anuradha Chaturvedi, W H Siddiqui, O P Agrawal, Mohammed Taheer, the Additional DG ASI and Narayani Gupta, the court was informed. The court said that the committee would be entitled to lay down its procedure to see how the restoration work is carried out. Senior advocate Harish Salve, who was assisting the court in the case, said that the members had been drawn from various fields and they had considerable knowledge of their subjects. The court further said that the panel was free to draw a comprehensive plan for safeguarding the monument. When former Tourism Minister Jagmohan had carried out the Red Ford restoration work in a big way, for which he had earmarked a sum of Rs 10 crore, several persons, including some historians and social activists, had filed a PIL alleging that the originality of the monument was being destroyed in the process. Amidst the raging controversy, the restoration work was stayed by the apex court. With today’s approval to the supervisory committee by the court, the restoration work is expected to resume soon, the ASI officials said. |
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Woman, child injured in building collapse New Delhi, August 6 The victims were buried under the debris of the house. They were rescued by the Delhi Fire Service personnel and local residents. The victims, who could not be identified so far, were admitted to the DDU Hospital. The victims are believed to be labourers, police said. The incident took place at 2 p.m. when the labourers were at work. There could be more victims, the police said. All construction work had been banned by the police due to security reasons till Independence Day celebrations. The Delhi Fire Service rushed five fire tenders to remove the debris and rescue the victims. Though actual cause of building collapse could not be known, the police suspected that substandard material used in the construction of the building could be the cause of the incident. When the incident took place, the contractor and owner of the building were not there. The police said that cases would be registered against the owner and the contractor of the house.
Immolation bid outside PMO A man was arrested for attempting to immolate himself outside the Prime Minister’s office after dousing himself with petrol yesterday. The Delhi Police arrested S.N. Shukla (32) and registered a case of ‘attempt to suicide’ for trying to immolate himself outside the PMO. “We had made all arrangements as the accused had announced his plan to commit immolation. We were on the watch and as soon as Shukla doused himself with the inflammable liquid he was caught and arrested,” said an officer. Shukla was charged under Section 309 under the IPC for attempting to commit suicide, he added. Shukla, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, had informed the police that he would immolate himself outside the PMO on August 5 if his demand for resolving his land row, pending for years, was not met. |
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Capital acquires Tourist Police New Delhi, August 6 According to the police, the main idea behind launching the tourist police is to provide information to foreign and domestic tourists about various locations, places of interest, transportation, fare and hotels and to ensure that they are not harassed by peddlers, beggars or touts. They will also guide them about local customs and traditions, security hazards, matters relating to passport and visas and even help them procure tickets to museums and movies and provide medical help. Lt Governor of Delhi B.L. Joshi, who flagged off 10 vehicles carrying the ‘Tourist Police’ personnel here, said their task will be to provide “an overall feeling of welcome” to the visitors to the Capital. He further said: “When tourists come to a new place, they expect good treatment and this new initiative by the Delhi Police is a praiseworthy effort.” Delhi Police Commissioner Dr K.K. Paul said the new wing was an “experiment” and its deployment will be gradually extended to cover more areas over a period of time. In Delhi, the units will be deployed at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi Railway Station, Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Rajghat, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Palika Bazar, Janpath and India Gate. Apart from Delhi, tourist police units are already present in states like Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Jammu and Kashmir. |
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Ex-Noida CEO chargesheeted Noida, August 6 The officers were chargesheeted in connection with allotment of 51 industrial plots by Noida authority on a single day, ignoring all rules and proprieties. All the officers were asked to submit their replies within a week. In 2003, large-scale complaints of high-handedness and bungling had reportedly been received in connection with allotment of industrial plots by Noida authority during Mayawati’s government. On August 23, the day before Mayawati had fallen, the senior Noida Authority officials had allotted 51 industrial plots. This had reportedly been done under extreme political and bureaucratic pressures from higher quarters. Later, after Mulayam Singh Yadav government took over, it appointed Vijay Shankar Mathur, one-man Commission, to enquire into all frauds and scams in Noida Authority. The commission has now submitted its report to the state government. On the basis of the report, the government chargesheeted Noida’s former Chairman-cum-CEO, Dr Om Prakash, ACEO J. P. Gupta, GSDIC Naveen Kumar Singh and Vipin Gaur, in-charge of the industrial department in Noida Authrority. According to the chargesheets, these officials are guilty of a number of anomalies and improprieties. These allotments of industrial plots were made on August 23, 2003. Moreover, 51 allotments had reportedly been made on a single day. According to the report, the officers had not examined the important documents. Besides, some of the beneficiary allottees had not even attached project reports, environment clearance reports and documents pertaining to availability of funds were also not provided. All these chargesheeted officers have been asked to submit their reply within a week. However, the present Noida Authority Chairman, Mr Deo Dutt Sharma, said he has also heard about the chargesheets. He has not yet received an official communication to this effect. |
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Students expelled from hostel
for ragging New Delhi, August 6 The freshman, in his complaint to the college authorities, has alleged that he was ragged on the hostel premises and that the seniors had subjected him to severe ragging tantamount to harassment. “We have issued an order for conducting a proctorial Inquiry and the two third year students have been asked to leave the hostel. Their hostels rooms have been locked, but they will be allowed to attend classes till the inquiry report is submitted”, Principal Bhim Sen Singh said. Singh asserted that he has “full confidence” in his students and he had to call for an inquiry following a written complaint. “I am proud of my college and hostel and sure that students are not ragging freshers, but this complaint has compelled me to take the step”, he said. The Proctorial Committee will meet on the 10th of August to examine the charge. “There are a whole lot of questions that need to be answered: first, is this allegation true; if so, then how did it happen despite a warden and a proctor conducting regular checks and inspections”, said Singh. The hostel inmates, peeved that the principal has suspended the two final year students, raised slogans. The university and the affiliated colleges have taken stringent measures to check incidents of ragging. Anti-ragging squads have been deputed to nab the errant. With reports of severe ragging emanating from the hostels, special arrangements have been made to ensure that freshmen are not subjected to any trauma. DU prepares for DUSU elections Prof. Rajiv Khanna has been appointed the chief election officer for the Delhi University Students Union elections. The appointment was made by the Vice Chancellor in his capacity as the patron of the DUSU. He also appointed principals of colleges and heads of institutions affiliated to the DUSU as election officers. The office bearers and members of the central council of DUSU are due for re-election. Prof. S.C. Jain has been appointed as the chief returning officer and Dr. Rajesh Tandon has been appointed as the additional returning officer. While the election dates are yet to be announced, sources said they were most likely to be held in the first week of September. Meanwhile, the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) has announced decided to call for a day’s strike on August 9, to protest against the “non transparent and discriminatory functioning” of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Deepak Nayar. The DUTA is miffed at what they allege is the Vice Chancellor’s refusal to provide reasons for the denial of re-employment to some candidates. They have alleged that while some teachers have been granted re-employment, others with similar and higher qualifications have been denied the benefit. |
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Manufacturing units facing labour unrest Faridabad, August 6 Class India Limited, a multinational company and an arm of one of the largest harvester combine manufacturer based in Germany, is considering moving out of Faridabad in view of the ongoing ‘labour’ problem. Taking a tough stand, the company has issued an ultimatum to its 80-odd employees to either join duty or face dismissal from their jobs. The management of the company has also indicated that it might shift out of the district if the labour unrest, caused by the encouragement of the union of another leading industrial group, was not resolved. In the past decade, about half a dozen companies, including some well-known groups, have either shifted out of the town or were forced to shut down for various reasons, including the lack of regular power supply and other basic infrastructure. The Managing Director of Class India Limited, Mr Pradeep K Malik, said in a press conference here today that the production work had come to a standstill in the last five months due to labour problem and strike. Calling the strike by the workers as illegal and unjustified, he accused the employee’s union of the Escorts Group of instigating the strike in his company. He alleged that the “powerful” union leaders and activists of the Escorts Group were threatening and preventing the workers of Class India from join duty. It may be recalled that Class India had separated from the Escorts Group in August 2002 when Escorts disinvested its shares in the favour of ‘ClassKGaA’, the main company based in Germany. Pointing out that Class India was an independent group and the ‘All Escorts Employees Union’ (AEEU) had “nothing to do with it” as the management did not recognise it, Mr Malik alleged that the AEEU was not only instigating the workers of Class India but had been preventing its employees from join work by threatening them. Even as Class India has claimed that ex-gratia was not paid to everyone due to the poor business in the last one and half years, it has offered to talk to the striking workers provided AEEU was not involved. Moreover, the management of Class India wants the workers union to give up the demand for the recognition of AEEU, as the issue was pending in the High Court. Mr N. K Chaturvedi, Head of the Human Resources, maintained that there was “no question” of taking back the six “dismissed” workers. He also warned the striking workers that the company would replace all the staff if the problem did not get resolved soon. He said the police had been deployed at the factory since July 9 to prevent the possible violence and damage to the property of the company. |
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Gang involved in making fake credit cards busted New Delhi, August 6 The accused persons had cheated banks like ICICI, Citibank, HSBC and HDFC to the tune of Rs 25 lakh. The sleuths have also recovered 18 blank credit cards, two skimmers, one electronic data writer and computers from their possession. The sleuths had received a complaint from multinational banks that some persons were making counterfeit credit cards from genuine cards, mostly belonging to foreign tourists. Based on the complaint, the sleuths swung into action and nabbed three person, who were identified as Vijay Talwar (31), Navneet Grover (39), both residents of Agra, and Yogesh Mahajan (34), resident of Preet Vihar. The gang leader, Mahajan, told the sleuths that he first roped in Vijay Talwar, who then roped in Navneet Grover, a manager in Hotel Amar in Agra. In fact, Navneet used to swipe the credit cards of foreign tourists by capturing their electronic data in machines installed by the banks and also in the skimmers. Subsequently the accused persons would transfer the data from the skimmers to the blank credit cards for the purpose of misuse. The accused told the sleuths that they chose to prepare counterfeit credit cards from the data of foreign tourists as they were able to detect the fraud only after leaving the country. By adopting this modus operandi they also evaded arrest for a long time. The accused also roped in some shopkeepers, persuaded them to accept the blank credit cards and paid them 50 per cent of the earnings as commission. The sleuths have launched a massive hunt to nab Praveen Aggarwal of Shree Jewellers, Jai Ambay Jewellers of Karol Bagh and Pappu Qureshi of Ajay Carpets.
Dacoity case solved, two arrested With the arrest of two persons the East district police claim to have solved a sensational dacoity case in which the accused had decamped with cash and gold ornaments from a businessman’s house in Bhola Nath Nagar. The accused had decamped with Rs 8 lakh in cash and gold ornaments worth Rs 4 lakh from the businessman’s house. The accused have been identified as Som Dutt, alias Sonu, resident of Bulandshahr, and his associate, Ravi Kumar, resident of Ghaziabad. A hunt is on to arrest the other suspects involved in the crime. |
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58 dyeing units demolished Ghaziabad, August 6 The presence of heavy police force ensured that there was no significant resistance to the demolition drive. The teams constituted on the direction of District Magistrate Santosh Yadav, conducted the operation simultaneously at different points on the Ghaziabad- Delhi border. Seeing the demolition squads, a number of factory owners locked their premises and fled from the spot. However, this did not deter the demolition squad, who went about their work unhindered. The administration adopted a lenient view in respect of factories running from rented premises. Such premises were allowed to remove the machinery. City Magistrate Sarvjeet Ram, Additional City Magistrates C. P. Pandey, K. Lall and J.S Mishra were leading the teams. Superintendent of Police (City) Umesh Srivastava, DSPs Dinesh Yadav, Sanjay Kumar and Dharamveer were in charge of the law and order. The power connections of these units were snapped before the start of the demolition operations. At some places including Janakpuri, the police had to use force to disperse the crowd. The officials of the Nagar Nigam and the GDA also accompanied the demolition squad. |
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Residents upset at unregulated price hike Noida, August 6 They have no fear of the authorities. To make matter worse, a National Credit Cooperative Federation’s
(NCCF) store in the heart of the city in Sector-4 has been closed due to a technical objection by the Noida Authority that it cannot be allowed to function in an industrial sector. In effect, the sole store with consumable items at government rates has been closed down. For example arhar dal being sold at Rs 42 per kg in Noida is available at Rs 32 per kg in Delhi.
Chillies, turmeric, cardamom, masalas etc in packets are available at 10 to 20 per cent discount in the Delhi markets. The shopkeepers in sectors 14A, 14, 15, 15A, Arun
Vihar, Sector 18, 17, 19A, 21, 25, 30, 26, 39, 33, 71 etc are least bothered with the occasional complaints by the residents, knowing well that they have no option but to buy the items. However, according to some shopkeepers the people living in the posh sectors are also partly responsible for this state-of-affairs as they readily give into the demands of shopkeepers. In effect, it is the middle class and the lower middle class families, which have to bear the burnt of the backbreaking increase in the prices of commodities of daily use. |
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Father of six told to pay damages in rape case New Delhi, August 6 Additional Sessions Judge Swaran Kanta also sentenced the convict, Mohammed Rashid, 38, to rigorous imprisonment for two years after finding him guilty of raping the girl. Mohammed Rashid had raped the girl in the wee hours of November 15, 1996 when she had gone out of her house in a slum colony in Laxmi Nagar to ease herself. The victim had been married off by her parents to one Mohammed Daud three months after the incident. But when she disclosed the incident to Daud, he divorced her. The DNA test had established that Rashid was the biological father of the boy. “The compensation amount will be paid to the child by way of fixed deposit with the post office under a Monthly Income Plan, so that the child keeps getting sustenance till he attains majority,’’ the court said.
Civic services ‘deteriorating’ A former Speaker of Delhi Legislative Assembly, Mr Charti Lal Goel, has said that the Government of NCT of Delhi’s proposal to levy professional tax is unjustified. Mr Goel claimed that civic services are deteriorating in the Capital despite the levy of newer taxes like property tax, road tax and raising the tariffs for water and electricity. |
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Trauma centre set up
Noida: The Kailash
Hospital, Noida, has set-up an Institute of Trauma & Neuro Sciences,
with MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner 1.5 Tesla (Philips), the
first of its kind in Noida and nearby areas. It will be inaugurated on
August 8 by Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav, Member of the Lok Sabha. “Trauma
patients will greatly benefit from this facility. It will provide basic
and advanced life support,” said Dr Mahesh Sharma, Chairman, Kailash
Hospital. The installation of the unit in Kailash Hospital will
obviate the need for the patients to go to Delhi hospitals for
treatment, Dr Sharma said. It will have a team of highly-qualified and
experienced consultants in the field of neurology and orthopaedics with
special emphasis on joint replacement and reconstructive surgery. — OC |
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My role in Julie was effective: Sanjay
Kapoor New Delhi: Bollywood actor Sanjay Kapoor feels it is thorough training and education in film making that would go a long way in producing good films. Kapoor, who is himself toying with the idea of producing a film, said it was the effectiveness of the role in Julie that prompted him to sign that film. “What matters most is the effectiveness in a role,” said the actor, who was here to inaugurate the new session of the University of Media Arts Asian School of Media Studies at Noida. Addressing the students, Kapoor said that just like any other profession, systematic training and education was necessary in film making as well. The function was followed by a weeklong retrospective of films starring Sanjay Kapoor.
— TNS |
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