A woman lecturer (35) working with a private college was reportedly assaulted by her neighbours after an altercation.
The neighbour had objected to walking her dog near their house. The woman alleged she was beaten so badly that her ears bled and her clothes were torn on Saturday.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Blueline bus catches fire, no one injured
A minor fire was reported in a moving Blueline bus in Bindapur in West Delhi. Police said the fire was reported at 10:05 am on Najafgarh Road.
The bus, which plies between Inderlok Metro Station and Najafgarh, caught fire when its engine got overheated. The driver stopped the bus when he noticed smoke and evacuated the passengers. The Fire Department was called and it took 20 minutes to control the blaze.
No one was injured.
The bus, which plies between Inderlok Metro Station and Najafgarh, caught fire when its engine got overheated. The driver stopped the bus when he noticed smoke and evacuated the passengers. The Fire Department was called and it took 20 minutes to control the blaze.
No one was injured.
LAWYER HURT BY RELATIVE
Noted criminal lawyer R.K. Naseem was seriously injured on Sunday noon allegedly by one of his brothers-in-law over a property dispute and a case of forgery.
Naseem was the defence lawyer in the Jessica Lal murder case. The incident was reported from the Dabri in Southwest Delhi.
Naseem was the defence lawyer in the Jessica Lal murder case. The incident was reported from the Dabri in Southwest Delhi.
Kerosene, LPG subsidies to stay
Realising the adverse political fallout of any tinkering with consumer prices of cooking gas (liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG) and kerosene, the government is planning to extend its subsidy scheme on the two fuels by another five years to March 31, 2015.
The current scheme, where government provides Rs 22.58 per LPG cylinder and Rs 0.82 per litre of kerosene as flat subsidy, expires on March 31, 2010.
“Discussions have been held with the finance ministry and an announcement to extend the subsidy scheme beyond March 31 for another five years is expected in the Budget for 2010-11,” a senior petroleum ministry official told HT.
In the 2009-10 budget, the government had made an allocation of Rs 2,840 crore as subsidy on the two fuels. But the real subsidies to consumers are even higher — Rs 15.05 per litre on kerosene and Rs 167.63 per cylinder on LPG. After the budgetary compensation, there is still an unmet amount of Rs 14.23 per litre for kerosene and Rs 145.05 per LPG cylinder.
These are known as “under-recoveries” whose burden falls on state-owned fuel retailers (Hindustan Petroleum, Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum). The under-recoveries on these two counts could cross Rs 31,000 crore in for 2009-10.
While the government recently announced that Rs 12,000 crore of this burden would be met by way of a cash subsidy, there is no clarity on the unmet portion of Rs 19,160 crore.All National highways to charge toll
If you want to drive down a national highway, prepare to pay out a good sum of money each time.
The government has decided to charge toll tax on every new stretch of road it builds on national highways in future — either lengthening, broadening or improving them — if the cost of doing so is more than Rs 1 crore per km. The catch: any good quality road costs that much.
The only saving grace is that successive toll tax booths have to be at least 60 km apart.
The transport ministry is busy redrafting the National Highways (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules to bring about this change, which will be effective three years from now.
This rule had been made once before, in 1997. But public pressure saw the minimum cost for charging toll raised to Rs 3 crore per km, within which few projects then fell.ALL NATIONAL HIGHWAYS TO CHARGE TOLL
If you want to drive down a national highway, prepare to pay out a good sum of money each time.
The government has decided to charge toll tax on every new stretch of road it builds on national highways in future — either lengthening, broadening or improving them — if the cost of doing so is more than Rs 1 crore per km. The catch: any good quality road costs that much.
The only saving grace is that successive toll tax booths have to be at least 60 km apart.
The transport ministry is busy redrafting the National Highways (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules to bring about this change, which will be effective three years from now.
This rule had been made once before, in 1997. But public pressure saw the minimum cost for charging toll raised to Rs 3 crore per km, within which few projects then fell.Indian embassy gets bomb in post
The Indian embassy in Italy received an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the form of a postage packet a few days back, prompting stepping up of security at the mission.
The packet, which had the sender’s name as LTTE from Italy, was received at the emba-ssy on January 20, Ambassador Arif Khan told PTI.
The envelope, addressed to the Embassy of India in Italy, contained two fuse wires, which aroused suspicion.
The police were immediately informed and a report was filed, the ambassador said.
The police are investigating the incident, Khan said, adding security has been stepped up.Soon, watch 200 channels free
If you’re happy watching just the free to air (FTA) channels, you can indeed get them entirely free of cost by the end of the year. All you need do is install a set top box.
Currently, the various direct to home (DTH) service providers — Tata Sky, Dish TV, Reliance Big TV among others — offer various ‘bouquets’ of free and paid channels, which cost betw-een Rs 80 to Rs 1,200 per month. With the new option Doordarshan is planning, you won’t have to pay anything at all.
Doordarshan has its own DTH service already, called DD Direct, and it is free, but it provides only 59 FTA channels, most of which are Doordarshan’s own. Now the government has told Prasar Bharati to prepare a proposal by which the number of FTA channels DD Direct provides increases to 200.
Doordarshan officials believe the move will be a game changer. “It will bring about the kind of change that occurred when the government decided incoming mobile phone calls should be free,” said a senior official.
At present DD Direct reaches 6 million homes, while private DTH operators cater to 14-16 million homes. Officials expect its reach to expand to 30 million homes within months of launching the new product.
The moot question is whether some pay channels will be willing to turn free to take advantage of the huge viewership DD Direct expects to offer, making up in advertising rates what they lose from subscriptions. Officials said they offered another incentive: the carriage fee — annual price of beaming a channel — Doordarshan charges is lower than private operators.
“If DD Direct can put together a good combination, it will have a good market,” said Uday Shankar, CEO Star India. “But I doubt pay channels will shift.”PMO red faced as govt ad projects Pak ex-air chief
A rush job to publicise the National Girl Child Week beginning Sunday went horribly wrong when half-page advertisements put out by the government placed a former Pakistani Air Force chief’s photograph alongside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s.
“We regret the inclusion of a foreign national’s photograph in a Government of India advertisement,” a statement by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser Harish Khare said.Singh’s office apologised for the faux pas and ordered an inquiry to find out how former chief of the Pakistani Air Force Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed’s photograph was included in an advertisement issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD).
Krishna Tirath, WCD minister of state, initially accused the media of hair-splitting, insisting that the image wasn’t important, the message was.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to react. Party spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the goof-up was “in consonance with the thought process of the Congress party”.
“We regret the inclusion of a foreign national’s photograph in a Government of India advertisement,” a statement by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser Harish Khare said.
“While an internal inquiry has been instituted, the PMO apologises to the public for this lapse,” it said.
Initial inquiries revealed that the WCD ministry had woken up to the need to issue the advertisements to commemorate the girl child week rather late and signed a contract for four half-page advertisements with a private agency attached with a national daily for the material on Friday.
Overnight, the agency prepared the four advertisements. The one that attracted the maximum attention had national heroes such as Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag and Amjad Ali Khan along with the Pakistani air force officer; their photographs downloaded from the Internet. But that wasn’t the only ad with a bloomer.
Another carried a photograph of Sunita L Williams, the Indian-origin Nasa astronaut next to that of Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, singer Lata Mangeshkar. It asked “Can you imagine India without women”. Born in Euclid, Ohio, Williams is a US citizen and a naval officer.Panel linked warming, disasters without proof
Days after the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change admitted to goofing up on Himalayan glaciers, it said it was reviewing earli-er finding blaming global warming for increase in number of natural disasters such as floods and droughts.
In short: the panel could have got this wrong too.
“We are reassessing the evidence and will publish a report on natural disasters and extreme weather with the latest findings,” IPCC vice-chairperson Jean-Pascal van Ypersele told a London weekly Sunday Times.
In another report, the same paper said Pachauri’s company Tata Energy and Resources Institutes won grants based on “bogus claims” about disappearing Himalayan Glaciers.
The IPCC’s claim blaming global warming for natural disas-ters was based on an unpubli-shed report not subjected to scientific review, said the paper. And the authors withdrew the report saying the evidence was too weak.
But this was good enough for the panel, which is headed R.K. Pachauri. And if it was good enough for the IPCC, its report published in 2007 was good enough for all world leaders who accepted it as fact.
The severity of floods in And-hra Pradesh in September 2009 and hurricane Katrina in the US were blamed on global warming. At the Copenhagen climate summit, the African and other least developed nations sought US $ 100 billion dollars aid by 2020 on the basis of the IPCC claim.
Now, the IPCC is not so sure.
The paper, on which the IPCC had based its claim, was finally published in 2008 with a caveat: “We find insufficient evidence to claim a statistical relationship between global temperature increase and catastrophe losses.”
But the IPCC neither issued a clarification nor modified its own report.
Sunday Times also said that at least two experts who checked drafts of the IPCC report urged greater caution in proposing a link between climate change and disaster impacts — but they were ignored.
The IPCC had last week expressed regrets for claiming that most of the Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035.
The bogus claim was based on a news article published in a magazine in 1999. It was again without evidence, based on a quote from a glaciologist who now works at a Delhi-based non-profit organisation headed by Pachauri.Discord over climate
India, Brazil, China and South Africa, together called the Basic countries, on Sunday said the Copenhagen Accord was only a political agreement and not legally binding as being argued by the developed countries.
The four countries also said they will announce their plans to check greenhouse gas emission growth by January 31, as agreed in Copenhagen.
This is in line with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's letter to Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stating that the accord was just a "political agreement" and not "binding".
Rasmussen had urged all head of states in his New Year letter to convert the Copenhagen Accord into a legally binding document, a view backed by US and Europe.
Singh discussed the accord and prospects of future climate negotiations with the environment ministries of the Basic countries for 45 minutes on Saturday.
"The accord is not a standalone document but is an input for the two track negotiating process," said Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday after a seven-hour meeting with his Basic counterparts. "We expect the negotiations on these tracks to conclude successfully in Mexico in December 2010."
The Accord was agreed to by 26 countries, including US, Europe and Basic countries but the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a body of 193 countries, had only taken note of it.
Some countries like Venezuela, Cuba, Sudan and Bolivia had termed the accord as a document of powerful countries aimed at killing the Kyoto Protocol, which had put the blame, and therefore the responsibility for cleaning up the mess, on developed countries.
On Sunday, the Basic countries re-affirmed their commitment to the differentiated responsibility for rich and the developing world and asked the rich countries to release US $ 10 billion in 2010 for the poorer nations to adopt green technologies.
South African Environment Minister Buyeliwa Sonjica said that Basic countries were a part of the larger grouping of least developed and developing countries, G-77, and would inform the group of 133 countries about its deliberations.
Also to shame the richer nations and thus force them to fund climate mitigation in poorer nations, the Basic countries discussed the possibility of providing financial and technical aid to the poor nations.
"We have decided to support the least development nations in adaptation," said Carlos Minc, Brazil's environment minister.
The modalities are to be finalised at next meeting of Basic countries in Cape Town in South Africa in April.
The Basic countries also asked the US to take a leadership role in climate change talks and ensure an agreement is signed in Mexico. "They (US) had been lagging behind in Copenhagen," said Sonjica.
India will give the UN a plan to cut emission intensity by 2025 per cent of the GDP by 2020 as a voluntary mitigation action by January 31. But there was no decision yet if India should also tell the UN how it plans to meet the target.
"There is some opposition to India submitting a roadmap as it may be seen as providing too much to the western world," said an Environment Ministry official.
The four countries also said they will announce their plans to check greenhouse gas emission growth by January 31, as agreed in Copenhagen.
This is in line with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's letter to Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stating that the accord was just a "political agreement" and not "binding".
Rasmussen had urged all head of states in his New Year letter to convert the Copenhagen Accord into a legally binding document, a view backed by US and Europe.
Singh discussed the accord and prospects of future climate negotiations with the environment ministries of the Basic countries for 45 minutes on Saturday.
"The accord is not a standalone document but is an input for the two track negotiating process," said Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday after a seven-hour meeting with his Basic counterparts. "We expect the negotiations on these tracks to conclude successfully in Mexico in December 2010."
The Accord was agreed to by 26 countries, including US, Europe and Basic countries but the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a body of 193 countries, had only taken note of it.
Some countries like Venezuela, Cuba, Sudan and Bolivia had termed the accord as a document of powerful countries aimed at killing the Kyoto Protocol, which had put the blame, and therefore the responsibility for cleaning up the mess, on developed countries.
On Sunday, the Basic countries re-affirmed their commitment to the differentiated responsibility for rich and the developing world and asked the rich countries to release US $ 10 billion in 2010 for the poorer nations to adopt green technologies.
South African Environment Minister Buyeliwa Sonjica said that Basic countries were a part of the larger grouping of least developed and developing countries, G-77, and would inform the group of 133 countries about its deliberations.
Also to shame the richer nations and thus force them to fund climate mitigation in poorer nations, the Basic countries discussed the possibility of providing financial and technical aid to the poor nations.
"We have decided to support the least development nations in adaptation," said Carlos Minc, Brazil's environment minister.
The modalities are to be finalised at next meeting of Basic countries in Cape Town in South Africa in April.
The Basic countries also asked the US to take a leadership role in climate change talks and ensure an agreement is signed in Mexico. "They (US) had been lagging behind in Copenhagen," said Sonjica.
India will give the UN a plan to cut emission intensity by 2025 per cent of the GDP by 2020 as a voluntary mitigation action by January 31. But there was no decision yet if India should also tell the UN how it plans to meet the target.
"There is some opposition to India submitting a roadmap as it may be seen as providing too much to the western world," said an Environment Ministry official.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Rape that shamed Delhi
4, 000 MEN QUESTIONED Millions of calls analysed. Case diary is the only link left to the rape of a Swiss diplomat in her own car
Punjabi looking.
Coming from a gym.
Wet hair.
Fresh deodorant.
Well-read.
I have AIDS.
Small Zippo-lighter.
Related to Hindi films.
Flawless English.
Calls cigarette a fag.
These are the jottings made seven years ago by a Delhi Police investigator, who still carries his case diary with him.
This is his hope: To find a rapist who traumatised a 28-year-old Swiss diplomat, shamed India and set off one of this city's largest manhunts.
The officer, one of the first investigators of a case that set India's violent, female-unfriendly Capital on edge, requested us not to use his name.
If he appears haunted by the case, it is with good reason: the woman was bundled into her own car outside an international film festival, a brazenness that his department and the city could not live down for months.
"A city which can't provide safety to its citizens is a failed city," said an HT editorial on October 17, 2003.
The officer is one of several still on the trail of the suspect. Based on those initial notes the investigator made in his diary, more than 4, 000 men were interrogated over two years. The police swept homes, pubs, discotheques - even hospitals, after the rapist claimed he had AIDS.
"We checked the medical records of all the hospitals and grilled all the people in the age group of 20-35 who were HIV
Punjabi looking.
Coming from a gym.
Wet hair.
Fresh deodorant.
Well-read.
I have AIDS.
Small Zippo-lighter.
Related to Hindi films.
Flawless English.
Calls cigarette a fag.
These are the jottings made seven years ago by a Delhi Police investigator, who still carries his case diary with him.
This is his hope: To find a rapist who traumatised a 28-year-old Swiss diplomat, shamed India and set off one of this city's largest manhunts.
The officer, one of the first investigators of a case that set India's violent, female-unfriendly Capital on edge, requested us not to use his name.
If he appears haunted by the case, it is with good reason: the woman was bundled into her own car outside an international film festival, a brazenness that his department and the city could not live down for months.
"A city which can't provide safety to its citizens is a failed city," said an HT editorial on October 17, 2003.
The officer is one of several still on the trail of the suspect. Based on those initial notes the investigator made in his diary, more than 4, 000 men were interrogated over two years. The police swept homes, pubs, discotheques - even hospitals, after the rapist claimed he had AIDS.
"We checked the medical records of all the hospitals and grilled all the people in the age group of 20-35 who were HIV
Monday, January 11, 2010
Auto fair brings a students' special
NEW DELHI: 'Ride to School' a concept auto, could be the answer to safe and cheap transport for school students.
The auto, which has been developed by Electrortherm, is on display at the 10th Auto Expo in Pragati Maidan.
"Parents have to shell out a lot of money for transportation to school for their children. Since the price of fuel is so high, even schools can't do much. We have designed this auto keeping in mind the need for cheap transportation for school students," said Ashav K. Jadawala, manager-marketing, Electrotherm (India) Limited Auto Division.
In November last, the Delhi Transport Corporation hiked the fare charges for school buses from Rs 25 per kilometre to Rs 40 per kilometre.
This translated into a substantial increase of Rs 200 to Rs 300 in the bus fare fee, which hit parents whose children attended the less expensive schools and relied on DTC buses for transport.
The battery-operated auto has a maximum speed of 45 km/hr and the range per charge is 70-75 km.
The maximum power is 5 kilowatt and it can run up to four hours at a stretch without charge.
The auto, which can accomodate one driver and eight children, will cost between Rs 1 and Rs 1.5 lakh.
"The limited number of seats means it will prevent over-crowding. Since it can run only up to 4 hours per charge the driver will not deviate from the route and this will ensure children are safe and reach home on time," said Jadawala. "It also helps check pollution."
The auto could take two years to hit the market.
The auto, which has been developed by Electrortherm, is on display at the 10th Auto Expo in Pragati Maidan.
"Parents have to shell out a lot of money for transportation to school for their children. Since the price of fuel is so high, even schools can't do much. We have designed this auto keeping in mind the need for cheap transportation for school students," said Ashav K. Jadawala, manager-marketing, Electrotherm (India) Limited Auto Division.
In November last, the Delhi Transport Corporation hiked the fare charges for school buses from Rs 25 per kilometre to Rs 40 per kilometre.
This translated into a substantial increase of Rs 200 to Rs 300 in the bus fare fee, which hit parents whose children attended the less expensive schools and relied on DTC buses for transport.
The battery-operated auto has a maximum speed of 45 km/hr and the range per charge is 70-75 km.
The maximum power is 5 kilowatt and it can run up to four hours at a stretch without charge.
The auto, which can accomodate one driver and eight children, will cost between Rs 1 and Rs 1.5 lakh.
"The limited number of seats means it will prevent over-crowding. Since it can run only up to 4 hours per charge the driver will not deviate from the route and this will ensure children are safe and reach home on time," said Jadawala. "It also helps check pollution."
The auto could take two years to hit the market.
'Best friend' arrested for teen's kidnapping, murder
NEW DELHI: The 19-year-old son of homeopathic doctor Shrimal Roy was brutally murdered four days into the new year - by his closest friend, police said.
Raju Roy (19) was kidnapped for money and then killed by 23 year old Viplav Biswas, a distant cousin and hsi "best friend", according to police.
The incident happened on January 4, in Rohini in Outer Delhi. The South Delhi Police have arrested three accused in the case. The Outer Delhi Police had arrested another accused earlier.
Raju, a resident of Mangolpuri Kalan in Rohini, was allegedly kidnapped on January 4. His dead body was found in his Santro car the next day from Karnal in Haryana. He had been stabbed 28 times.
According to police, it was the CCTV footage, taken from an ATM in Gannor Sonepat that helped them nab the accused.
The police said that the first breakthrough in the case was made when the Outer Delhi Police nabbed Deepak Kumar (23) a resident of Mangolpuri. "We were able to recognize him based on the CCTV footage. He then spilled the beans about the whole incident," said Deput Commissioner of Police (Outer) Atul Katiyar.
According to police, Biswas told them that the deceased Raju was his distant cousin.
"Biswas used to pay visits to Raju's house and the Roy family believed him to be a jovial and happy boy. But Biswas wanted to lead the good life. He hatched a conspiracy with two other known local criminals and one of hsi friends to kidnap Raju and ask for ransom money," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) HGS Dhaliwal.
He added that Biswas on January 4, called the deceased to his father's clinic for a party, where other accomplices were waiting to allegedly kidnap him.
When the deceased reached the clinic, he was overpowered and kidnapped in his own Santro Car by accused Deepak Singh (23), Deepak Kumar (23) and Hardeep (23).
The police said that the accused took him to Gannor, where they met with another accused Manish Verma. The accused took Roy to the agricultural fields of village Beoli in Panipat, Haryana.
"Hardeep made a ransom call for Rs. 20 lakh to the father of deceased," added Dhaliwal. The police said that they also withdrew Rs. 15, 000 from Roy's account with the help of the guard at the ATM who switched off the lights while the accused took out the money.
Police said that Biswas, who was with Raju's family through the incident, allegedly ordered his accomplices to kill Raju after he felt that police was on their trail.
"Viplav made a call to Hardeep and told him to eliminate him. The accused first forced the head of the deceased in a pit full of water and then stabbed him 28 times," added Dhaliwal.
Nigerian woman banks on Delhi docs to walk again
NEW DELHI: "I will flaunt my leg to all of Lagos. I will tell them , 'finally, Mary can walk," said Maryrose Mkechi Okoh, 40, a tax-officer from Nigeria, who is in India for a leg surgery.
Okoh came to Delhi in October last year after repeat surgeries in Nigeria since she fractured her leg in 2000. Adding to the complication were a left leg shorter than her right by 9 cm and an infected knee implant.
"I will start life afresh at 40. I want to dance with my two children on my 41st birthday in March," she smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks.
A team of three doctors led by senior orthopaedic surgeon Dr Naveen Talwar operated on Okoh at Escorts Heat Institute and Research Centre on October 16, 2009.
"The challenge was to heal each defect without harming the other," said Dr Talwar.
"In a two-hour procedure, we first removed the infected implant, applied an external ficator, created an artificial fracture to allow her short leg bone to grow and compressed the original fracture," said Dr. Talwar.
Doctors used the "monorail procedure" - where a single external ficator is used to keep the bone in place. In the procedure, surgeons divide the bone needing extension, with the help of nails. The periosteum (membrane) around the bone is left unharmed as it helps in growth.
The patient is asked to move the nut on the external fixator to a 90-degree angle four times a day to help the bone grow for about mm every day.
"Over three months, her bone has increased 5.5 cm, but it need to grow further to become equal to her right leg," said Dr Kaushal Mishra, orthopaedic surgeon, also a part of the team.
Doctors are happy with Okoh's progress. "She will be dancing in the next three months, said D. Mishra.
"Extensions between 3-4 inches are easy but anything more may require two or more surgeries," said Dr P.K. Dave, head of the orthopaedic department at Rockland Hospital, who pioneered leg-extension sugeries in India at AIIMS.
Okoh came to Delhi in October last year after repeat surgeries in Nigeria since she fractured her leg in 2000. Adding to the complication were a left leg shorter than her right by 9 cm and an infected knee implant.
"I will start life afresh at 40. I want to dance with my two children on my 41st birthday in March," she smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks.
A team of three doctors led by senior orthopaedic surgeon Dr Naveen Talwar operated on Okoh at Escorts Heat Institute and Research Centre on October 16, 2009.
"The challenge was to heal each defect without harming the other," said Dr Talwar.
"In a two-hour procedure, we first removed the infected implant, applied an external ficator, created an artificial fracture to allow her short leg bone to grow and compressed the original fracture," said Dr. Talwar.
Doctors used the "monorail procedure" - where a single external ficator is used to keep the bone in place. In the procedure, surgeons divide the bone needing extension, with the help of nails. The periosteum (membrane) around the bone is left unharmed as it helps in growth.
The patient is asked to move the nut on the external fixator to a 90-degree angle four times a day to help the bone grow for about mm every day.
"Over three months, her bone has increased 5.5 cm, but it need to grow further to become equal to her right leg," said Dr Kaushal Mishra, orthopaedic surgeon, also a part of the team.
Doctors are happy with Okoh's progress. "She will be dancing in the next three months, said D. Mishra.
"Extensions between 3-4 inches are easy but anything more may require two or more surgeries," said Dr P.K. Dave, head of the orthopaedic department at Rockland Hospital, who pioneered leg-extension sugeries in India at AIIMS.
Spoilsport cops stop Expo show
EMBARRASSMENT Organisers want to shift even out of Delhi
NEW DELHI: The music was loud, the girls looked glamorous and the cars were, well, cars. Around noon, it all became a tad too heady for all the wildly cheering crowds, or so the policemen on duty concluded.
They temporarily shut down the shows at what has been billed as the world's biggest automotive exhibition at Pragati Maidan, leaving the organisers livid.
They are now threatening to take the show outside Delhi. "Though we want to stay here, we will have to look for alternative sites because the show will only get bigger in 2012," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation in Indian Industry, one of the organisers.
"We may look at some alternative in the NCR itself and probably in Gurgaon," he added.
If the show does move out of Delhi, it will be a big loss for India Trade Promotion Organisation, which is expected to make around Rs 28 crore from the Auto Expo.
The expo itself may lose any chance of being considered in the same league as the Geneva, Frankfurt, Detroit or Tokyo motor shows, the organisers said.
The police said the shutdown was temporary and only undertaken to control the crowds. A team of 15 police officers went around closing stage shows hosted by Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Honda Motorcycles and Scooter India between 12 and 4 PM.
Delhi Police Spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said, "The police closed the stalls for some time to prevent any untoward incident from happening."
"Two of our Asimo (robot) shows were cancelled," said a Honda spokesperson.
Lotteries: Govt to ban 2-digit fix
NEW DELHI: The government is framing rules to ban double-digit lotteries that account for nearly 75 per cent sales of lottery tickets, restrict the maximum number of draws in a day to 25 per state and fix a minimum price for lottery tickets.
The regulations - based on the recommendations of a study group set up by the home ministry in 2006 - are the first attempt to frame nationwide rules for the lottery business, under the Lottery (Regulation) Act 1998.
Double-digit lotteries are considered ruinously active as they are easier to win.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Fewer deaths on E-way
RIGHT TRACK Iron fence, foot overbridges help curb accidents on Delhi-Gurgaon Highway
GURGAON: The number of accident-related deaths on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway between June and December 2009 has declined by 40 per cent compared with the preceding year.
Twenty-five deaths were reported in 2009. The figure for the same period in 2008 was 45.
The figures also point to a decline in the number of pedestrian deaths - from 16 in 2008 to 13 between June and December in 2009.
The work of erecting two-metre-high iron fence on the median of the expressway to discourage pedestrians from crossing the stretch on foot was completed in June 2009 only. A sign that the fence may have had a role in fewer pedestrians trying to cross the road , leading to fatalities.
GURGAON: The number of accident-related deaths on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway between June and December 2009 has declined by 40 per cent compared with the preceding year.
Twenty-five deaths were reported in 2009. The figure for the same period in 2008 was 45.
The figures also point to a decline in the number of pedestrian deaths - from 16 in 2008 to 13 between June and December in 2009.
The work of erecting two-metre-high iron fence on the median of the expressway to discourage pedestrians from crossing the stretch on foot was completed in June 2009 only. A sign that the fence may have had a role in fewer pedestrians trying to cross the road , leading to fatalities.
Get driving licence after 2 years
NEW DELHI: Obtaining a driving license may soon get a lot harder. Alarmed at the rising rate of road accidents, the Centre is moving in with stringent norms for individuals seeking licences.
Instead of the six-month probation period for learners, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry has suggested that permanent licences be granted only after two years. Periodic eyesight and other fitness tests have been prescribed while licensing fee is proposed to be substantially hiked.
Moves are also afoot to infuse greater discipline and accountability of licensing authorities, officials said.
These constitute part of proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 likely to be moved in Parliament's budget session, a ministry official said.
India accounts for 10 per cent of road accidents worldwide with figures growing from 1.14 lakh accidents in 2007 to 1.3 lakh in 2008, according to last year's survey conducted by the World Health Organisation.
Instead of the six-month probation period for learners, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry has suggested that permanent licences be granted only after two years. Periodic eyesight and other fitness tests have been prescribed while licensing fee is proposed to be substantially hiked.
Moves are also afoot to infuse greater discipline and accountability of licensing authorities, officials said.
These constitute part of proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 likely to be moved in Parliament's budget session, a ministry official said.
India accounts for 10 per cent of road accidents worldwide with figures growing from 1.14 lakh accidents in 2007 to 1.3 lakh in 2008, according to last year's survey conducted by the World Health Organisation.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Rukhsana picked for bravery award
NEW DELHI: Rukhsana Kauser has been selected for the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak Award by President Pratibha Patil for braving the bullets of Laskar-e-Taiba militants and killing one of them to save her family.
Rukhsana, 22, had overpowered a terrorist, snatched his rifle and fired at him, and injured another at Kalsian village, about 217 km from Jammu, on the night of September 27, 2009.
A home ministry spokesperson said the President had also approved a medal for Delhi's Narendra Kaushik for showing courage in saving a life even as he was in great danger.
Seven persons were approved by Patil for the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak. They are Syed Areef Sujauddin from Andhra Pradesh, Umman Antony from Kerala, Rajan Kamble from Maharashtra, all posthumously, besides Mushtaq Ahmed and Ajaz Ahmed from Jammu and Kashmir, Karambir Singh Kang from Maharashtra and Prachi Santosh Sen from Madhya Pradesh.
The president has also approved the names of 44 persons for Jeevan Raksha Padak, including Bali Ram and Layak Ram from Himachal Pradesh, Rukasana Banu from Karanataka, P.P. Sikhil, P. Rajasekharan, Sreeja V.V., Faseeb K., Thahir, and Vijishna K.R. from Kerala.
Jeevan Raksha Padak awards are given to a person for meritorous acts in saving the life of a person.
Rukhsana, 22, had overpowered a terrorist, snatched his rifle and fired at him, and injured another at Kalsian village, about 217 km from Jammu, on the night of September 27, 2009.
A home ministry spokesperson said the President had also approved a medal for Delhi's Narendra Kaushik for showing courage in saving a life even as he was in great danger.
Seven persons were approved by Patil for the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak. They are Syed Areef Sujauddin from Andhra Pradesh, Umman Antony from Kerala, Rajan Kamble from Maharashtra, all posthumously, besides Mushtaq Ahmed and Ajaz Ahmed from Jammu and Kashmir, Karambir Singh Kang from Maharashtra and Prachi Santosh Sen from Madhya Pradesh.
The president has also approved the names of 44 persons for Jeevan Raksha Padak, including Bali Ram and Layak Ram from Himachal Pradesh, Rukasana Banu from Karanataka, P.P. Sikhil, P. Rajasekharan, Sreeja V.V., Faseeb K., Thahir, and Vijishna K.R. from Kerala.
Jeevan Raksha Padak awards are given to a person for meritorous acts in saving the life of a person.
No interim bail, court tells Rathore
HARSH WORDS Judge calls alleged offences spine-chilling
PANCHKULA: A local court on Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Ruchika molestation cases convict S.P.S. Rathore and one of the three police officials accused in the two recently registered first information reports (FIRs).
After the FIRs were filed by Ruchika Girhotra's father and brother against the former Haryana police chief and others, Abha, Rathore's lawyer wife, moved court on December 30, seeking anticipatory bail.
The FIRs alleged non-bailable offences such as attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, etc. After an FIR is filed, the police are under legal obligation to investigate a case.
Rathore molested Ruchika in 1990 and she committed suicide in 1993. A CBI court convicted him in December 2009. The charges relate to offences allegedly committed by Rathore and others between 1990 and 1993.
After the bail pleas of Rathore and Assistant Sub-Inspector Sewa Singh (now sub-inspector) were rejected, Pankaj Bhardwaj, counsel for Ruchika's father, S.C. Girhotra, said, "We demand immediate judicial interrogation of Rathore and others, including Sub-Inspector Prem Dutt, Assistant Sub-Inspector Jai Narayan and Sewa Singh."
PANCHKULA: A local court on Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Ruchika molestation cases convict S.P.S. Rathore and one of the three police officials accused in the two recently registered first information reports (FIRs).
After the FIRs were filed by Ruchika Girhotra's father and brother against the former Haryana police chief and others, Abha, Rathore's lawyer wife, moved court on December 30, seeking anticipatory bail.
The FIRs alleged non-bailable offences such as attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, etc. After an FIR is filed, the police are under legal obligation to investigate a case.
Rathore molested Ruchika in 1990 and she committed suicide in 1993. A CBI court convicted him in December 2009. The charges relate to offences allegedly committed by Rathore and others between 1990 and 1993.
After the bail pleas of Rathore and Assistant Sub-Inspector Sewa Singh (now sub-inspector) were rejected, Pankaj Bhardwaj, counsel for Ruchika's father, S.C. Girhotra, said, "We demand immediate judicial interrogation of Rathore and others, including Sub-Inspector Prem Dutt, Assistant Sub-Inspector Jai Narayan and Sewa Singh."
RAJ THACKERAY CASES BUNCHED, WILL ALL BE HEARD IN DELHI
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday transferred seven criminal cases against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackerey in Jharkhand and Bihar to Delhi.
A bench allowed Thackerey's plea of transferring the cases and said: "All cases will be heard in Delhi's Tis Hizari Court."
The cases were registered against Thackerey in 2009 for allegedly making defamatory speeches against north Indians staying in Maharashtra and triggering disharmony between two communities through his inflammatory speeches.
Five cases were registered in Jharkhand, while two in Bihar. Thackerey was also facing non-bailable warrants (NBW) in one of the cases in Jharkhand.
The MNS chief challenged the NBWs before SC and also sought transfer of cases to neighbouring states of Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka or any courts in the country.
The complaints didn't oppose Thackerey's plea. Their counsel, Ajit Kumar Sinha was, however, against the cases being heard in Maharashtra or Goa.
A bench allowed Thackerey's plea of transferring the cases and said: "All cases will be heard in Delhi's Tis Hizari Court."
The cases were registered against Thackerey in 2009 for allegedly making defamatory speeches against north Indians staying in Maharashtra and triggering disharmony between two communities through his inflammatory speeches.
Five cases were registered in Jharkhand, while two in Bihar. Thackerey was also facing non-bailable warrants (NBW) in one of the cases in Jharkhand.
The MNS chief challenged the NBWs before SC and also sought transfer of cases to neighbouring states of Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka or any courts in the country.
The complaints didn't oppose Thackerey's plea. Their counsel, Ajit Kumar Sinha was, however, against the cases being heard in Maharashtra or Goa.
Fogged and stalled
WORSE IN STORE Traffic jams, cold weather to continue
NEW DELHI: Blinding fog, construction work across the city, over 50 lakh vehicles jostling for nonexistent road space in kilometres-long traffic jams and amid all this, the coldest day of the season - Delhi was certainly not the place to be in on Friday.
Bad news is, it's going to stay just as bad this weekend.
The day also witnessed the season's worst spell of fog - visibility reduced to 50 metres during the peak morning hours.
Traffic piled up at key arterial roads leading to Pragati Maidan, the venue of the Auto Expo, and Connaught Place, which is undergoing trestoration work.
By afternoon, almost every arterial and radial road in central, east, and south Delhi was clogged with traffic.
A truck overturned near Moolchand Hospital in South Delhi, causing a long jam stretching up to the Noida expressway. The usual 20-minute drive stretched to over an hour.
"There was a five kilometre jam on the (Noida) Flyway," said Davender Yadav, hief general manager, Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited. "We had to announce at the toll plazas about the traffic snarl and that motorists could take a U-turn if they wished so."
NEW DELHI: Blinding fog, construction work across the city, over 50 lakh vehicles jostling for nonexistent road space in kilometres-long traffic jams and amid all this, the coldest day of the season - Delhi was certainly not the place to be in on Friday.
Bad news is, it's going to stay just as bad this weekend.
The day also witnessed the season's worst spell of fog - visibility reduced to 50 metres during the peak morning hours.
Traffic piled up at key arterial roads leading to Pragati Maidan, the venue of the Auto Expo, and Connaught Place, which is undergoing trestoration work.
By afternoon, almost every arterial and radial road in central, east, and south Delhi was clogged with traffic.
A truck overturned near Moolchand Hospital in South Delhi, causing a long jam stretching up to the Noida expressway. The usual 20-minute drive stretched to over an hour.
"There was a five kilometre jam on the (Noida) Flyway," said Davender Yadav, hief general manager, Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited. "We had to announce at the toll plazas about the traffic snarl and that motorists could take a U-turn if they wished so."
Friday, January 1, 2010
SAJJAN KUMAR PROSECUTION IN 1984 RIOTS CASE GETS OK
NEW DELHI: Nudged by Home Minister P. Chidambaram to expedite sanction of prosecution against the accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna has set the ball rolling to begin judicial proceedings against former congress MP Sajjan Kumar.
Khanna is understood to have accorded sanction on Wednesday for prosecuting Kumar for spreading enmity between two communities.
The CBI had asked for prosecution sanction for four cases of rioting in Sultanpuri and Mongolpuri on November 1, 1984.
The CBI had registered the case against Kumar after the G.T. Nanavati Commission report
Khanna is understood to have accorded sanction on Wednesday for prosecuting Kumar for spreading enmity between two communities.
The CBI had asked for prosecution sanction for four cases of rioting in Sultanpuri and Mongolpuri on November 1, 1984.
The CBI had registered the case against Kumar after the G.T. Nanavati Commission report
CBI, Ruchika brother keep Rathore on edge
CRITICISM Home Minister unhappy with way case was unhandled
NEW DELHI / PANCHKULA : The Central Bureau of Investigation has decided to appeal for a stiffer sentence for former Haryana Police Chief S.P.S. Rathore in the Ruchika molestation case.
Rathore was sentenced to six months in jail by a CBI court on December 21 for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra in Chandigarh in 1990. The maximum punishment for the crime is two years' imprisonment.
CBI spokesman Harsh Bal said in New Delhi on Thursday the agency was also examining the applicability of section 306 of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to abetment of suicide.
Ruchika's family has alleged she was driven to suicide following her explosion from school and after her brother was tortured and implicated in false cases by the police at Rathore's behest. They said all this was done to mount pressure on Ruchika to withdraw her complaint against Rathore.
In Panchkula, adjoining Chandigarh, Ruchika's brother Ashu submitted a fresh complaint against Rathore and others, alleging that they abetted her suicide.
A day after meeting Ruchika's family members P. Chidambaram said in New Delhi, "As Home Minister, I cannot pronounce any judgement. I am very unhappy with the way the charges were framed and the way the trial was conducted and the way the accused has been punished."
NEW DELHI / PANCHKULA : The Central Bureau of Investigation has decided to appeal for a stiffer sentence for former Haryana Police Chief S.P.S. Rathore in the Ruchika molestation case.
Rathore was sentenced to six months in jail by a CBI court on December 21 for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra in Chandigarh in 1990. The maximum punishment for the crime is two years' imprisonment.
CBI spokesman Harsh Bal said in New Delhi on Thursday the agency was also examining the applicability of section 306 of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to abetment of suicide.
Ruchika's family has alleged she was driven to suicide following her explosion from school and after her brother was tortured and implicated in false cases by the police at Rathore's behest. They said all this was done to mount pressure on Ruchika to withdraw her complaint against Rathore.
In Panchkula, adjoining Chandigarh, Ruchika's brother Ashu submitted a fresh complaint against Rathore and others, alleging that they abetted her suicide.
A day after meeting Ruchika's family members P. Chidambaram said in New Delhi, "As Home Minister, I cannot pronounce any judgement. I am very unhappy with the way the charges were framed and the way the trial was conducted and the way the accused has been punished."
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