M A I N   N E W S

Noida killings: 2 SPs suspended, 6 cops fired
Centre constitutes probe panel
Tribune News Service & PTI

New Delhi/Lucknow, January 3
Under fire over police inaction that led to serial killings and sexual abuse of children in Uttar Pradesh’s industrial town of Noida, the state government tonight suspended two Superintendents of Police and sacked six policemen who were found prima facie guilty of negligence.

Adding to the pressure on the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, the Centre stepped into the issue forming a high-level inquiry committee to go into police lapses and the Allahabad High Court asking the UP Director-General of Police to furnish a report on the incidents on February 6.

Piyush Mordia, who was SSP, Noida, during the time the grisly murder and sexual abuse of children took place and is now posted in the neighbouring Ghaziabad, was suspended along with Soumitra Yadav, Additional SP, Noida.

UP Chief Secretary Navin Chandra Bajpai told reporters in Lucknow late in the evening that circle officer Sewark Ram was also put under suspension.

He said two SHOs and four police outpost in charge near the village had been dismissed from service.

The heads of the policemen rolled after submission of a report by a two-member committee headed by Home Secretary Arun Kumar Sinha which visited the house of industrialist Moninder Singh Pandher in Noida, the scene of abuse and killings, yesterday and today and found the police officials prima facie guilty of negligence.

Those dismissed from the service are police outpost in charge of the area Rajiv Balian, Kamarpal Singh, Vinod Pandey and Simranjeet Kaur (all Sub-Inspectors) and two Station House Officers R.N. Singh Yadav and Deepak Chaturvedi, Mr Bajpai said.

The Centre today set up a four- member committee to probe the killings.

Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury announced the constitution of the committee, to be chaired by Manjula Krishnan, Joint Secretary in her ministry. The other members are V.N. Gaur, Joint Secretary (Police), Ministry of Home Affairs, Balvinder Kumar, Secretary, Department of Women and Child Development, Uttar Pradesh, and J.S. Kochher, Director in her ministry. 

Ex gratia Rs 5 lakh

Noida, January 3
The UP Government has increased the ex gratia amount to the families of Nithari village serial killings to Rs 5 lakh, said District Magistrate Ajay Chauhan. Some 12 families had already received the Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia yesterday and they would be paid an additional amount of Rs 3 lakh, said the DM, adding that three more families would soon receive the ex-gratia amount. — UNI

Security beefed up around Pandher’s in-laws’ house
Tribune News Service

Karnal, January 3
Following The Tribune report, the district police has beefed up security around the house of Dr J.S. Gill, father-in-law of Nodia’s serial killer Moninder Singh Pandher, alias Goldie.

The Tribune had carried a report yesterday about the scared residents in the Model Town locality. The residents living around the house of Dr Gill had urged the police to provide them adequate security.

The SP, Mr Sibash Kaviraj, told TNS that policemen in plain clothes had been deputed around the house of Dr Gill.