Kids with genetic disorders seek govt help

NEW DELHI: Twenty two-year-old Dharmendra is one of the 9 lakh students who will be appearing for the Class XII exams, beginning this Thursday. However, unlike his peers who have been studying and revising the syllabus, Dharmendra has been running around hospitals and government offices to seek treatment for his younger brother who suffers from a rare genetic disorder, just like him.

"My 5-year-old brother was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder MPS1 recently. He is young and doctors say that if enzyme replacement therapy is given to him now, he will not suffer from the same problems that I have," said Dharmendra. The teenager is 3-and-a-half feet tall, has a diminishing vision, bent legs and fingers. And he is not alone in the suffering.

According to medical experts, thousands of children are born in the country with such genetic diseases and suffer from the same fate due to lack of supportive treatment — which costs anywhere between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore annually.

"My both sons suffer from rare genetic disease called Gaucher's disease. They were born healthy but after two years, they started developing skeletal abnormalities and anemia. Doctors said that enzyme replacement therapy can help them but we cannot afford the treatment. We need the government to help us," said Sonu Pandit, a farmer from Khurja district in UP.

Similar demands were made by at least 100 other children who are suffering from rare genetic disorders and held a 'silent walk for awareness' at the Jantar Mantar on Wednesday.

Anmol (19) and Prabhmol (17) were born without any symptoms of a disorder, said their mother Kanwaljit. Both were considered happy, 'normal' kids till the age of five. ''But their physical growth stopped thereafter. Doctors found that Prabhmol's heart valve was leaking and his liver size had increased. It was a similar tragedy with Anmol. After running around hospitals in Delhi and other towns, it was finally diagnosed that both the boys were suffering from a rare genetic disorder called MP6 and the treatment, Enzyme Replacement Therapy, is very expensive,'' Kanwaljit added.

According to Prasanna Kumar Shirol, president of the Lysosomal Storage Disorder Support society, the government should consider a scheme to provide free treatment for patients with rare disorders. "LSD are a group of around 45 rare genetic disorders that occur due to deficiency of specific enzymes. Of this, 6 can be treated with supportive therapies, which are costly. Without government help, such children cannot survive," said Dr Ratna Puri, consultant, centre of medical genetics at Ganga Ram Hospital.

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Closure of Metro stations during protests affected lakhs: Govt

NEW DELHI: Closure of over half a dozen Metro stations during the massive protests against Nirbhaya's gang rape in December affected lakhs of passengers, the urban development ministry told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Passengers who use the Gurgaon, Badarpur and Dwarka lines had complained of harassment due to the shutdown of stations for six days.

The question on shutdown of Metro stations was raised by Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy, who was earlier minister of state for urban development. Replying to the query, his successor Deepa Dasmunsi said some Metro stations were closed in December as per "security advice" from Delhi Police.

Quoting figures of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the reply said the number of passengers affected was highest at 8.25 lakh on December 25, the day Rajiv Chowk, Barakhamba Road, Mandi House, Khan Market, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Vihar, Race Course and Pragati Maidan were closed for commuters.

A similar exercise on four other days saw ridership falling by at least 3.6 lakh passengers while on December 31, at least 2.33 lakh passengers were affected.

This was not the first time when Delhi Police had put restrictions on the opening of Metro stations close to India Gate and Jantar Mantar, which have become the hub of protests. Similar steps were taken during anti-corruption protests by Anna Hazare and also under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal.

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Delhi gang-rape case: Minor accused charged with rape, murder

NEW DELHI: Juvenile Justice Board on Thursday framed rape and murder charges against minor accused in the December 16 Delhi gang-rape case.

The family of the Delhi gang-rape victim had demanded death penalty for the juvenile accused in the incident.

"Sazaa kisi sey kam nahin honaa chahiye, chahey woh juvenile hai ya kuchh bhi hai (the punishment should not be less even if he is a juvenile)," Nirbhaya's father had said.

He said the punishment should be equal for all. "Sab ko barabar. Barabar maney phansi (same punishment for all, in other words death sentence)," he said.

"The family is not ready to accept that the sixth accused get anything less than death penalty," the victim's brother had said.

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Number of attempts for passing, improvement reduced in CBSE board exams

NEW DELHI: From this year the Central Board of Secondary Education has reduced the number of chances students of classes X and XII will receive to improve performance or clear the exam.The changes in compartment and improvement rules will be effective for the 2013-14 batch of students who will take the exam from March 1,2013.To facilitate visually impaired candidates,the board has allowed them to bring their own computer with relevant software to the examination centre.

Announcing the change in the number of compartment chances for Class XII students,chairman of the board Vineet Joshi said that from now on candidates will get three chances instead of five to clear the exam.The number of improvement of performance attempts for Class X students,too,has been reduced to one from five.Candidates shall appear for the improvement of performance attempt to be conducted by the board in July.The new rules,however,will not be applicable to students who have appeared in 2012 and earlier.They will continue to get up to five chances.

Visually impaired candidates appearing for exams will be permitted to use computer software for the examination from this year but must bring their computer with the relevant software to the centre.Candidates using computer software would not be provided with a writer and will be allotted examination centre only in the city where the regional office is located.

This year,too,special category students appearing for Class X and XII board exams shall be allowed additional time of 60 minutes for a paper of 3 hours,50 minutes for a paper of two-and-a-half hours,40 minutes for a paper of 2 hours and 30 minutes for a paper of one-and-a-half-hour duration.

A total of 9,42,035 candidates have registered for the Class XII board exams across three streams this year which is up by 15.51% from 2012. The number of registered candidates in Class X rose by 6.7% to touch 12,59,202 candidates.In all,students of 11,863 secondary schools and 7,917 senior secondary schools will be taking the boards this year.

CBSE has introduced facilities to schools to generate online roll number-wise lists of candidates.The school can also generate online admit card for their regular students.

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Union Budget 2013-14: Delhi Metro get Rs 7,701 crore

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro was on Thursday allocated Rs 7,701 crore ($,1436 million) in the budget for 2013-14 which will be spent on construction of Phase-III, to lay another 103 km of tracks in the national capital.

Of the funds allotted to the urban development ministry, finance minister P Chidambaram announced among the largest chunks to Delhi Metro.

Making the announcement on Thursday, Chidambaram said the central government will infuse Rs 650 crore as its equity, while it will get pass through assistance of Rs 1,750 crore ($326.401 million).

Apart from this, Rs 5,181.12 crore ($966.35 million) would be invested by the government in Delhi Metro, which is over 34 percent from the revised estimate of Rs 3,848 crore ($717 million) of the previous fiscal.

Chidambaram also announced a Rs 120 crore ($22 million) grant for the Delhi Metro, which was Rs 100 crore ($ 18 million) in previous fiscal.

Delhi Metro has begun construction of its Phase-III project, covering an additional 103 km of the capital; metro tracks extend over nearly 190 km at present.

Phase III is likely to be completed by 2016.

Currently, Delhi Metro ferries nearly two million passengers each weekday, and makes over 2,800 trips daily.

Union Budget 2013

Budget news 2013

Economic Survey

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Deputy chairman Planning Commission advocates for deadline extension of RTE

NEW DELHI: With the deadline of implementing the Right to Education Act approaching, there is concern as more than 2000 unrecognized schools may face closure.

Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission MS Ahluwalia advocated that they should be given more time.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 40th National Progressive Schools' Conference, Ahluwalia said, "I am aware of the issue and attention of the education minister has been drawn to the same. Shutting down schools will be a problem"

"In my view they should be given more time. Relaxing norms is difficult," he further added.

Under the RTE 2009, schools that do not meet the set infrastructural requirements were given a three period to comply with the norms. This deadline ends on March 31 of the current year.

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Delhi is becoming a world-class city: Sheila Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit Wednesday said that her government was committed to making Delhi a role model of governance. She said her dream of making Delhi a world-class city was coming true.

"Our government is committed to making Delhi a role model of governance. The government has taken many measures in this direction. Our efforts in introducing e-governance, computerisation of civil supply offices, sub-registrar offices, e-court fee system, inter-connecting all zonal transport officers, computerisation of education department, etc. testify to our intentions of bringing a positive change in the work culture," Dikshit said.

Dikshit was speaking at a function to mark her completing 14 years as chief minister of Delhi.

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Disabled abused most by caretakers: Study

NEW DELHI: A 25-year-old woman with intellectual disabilities was raped in a government hospital. Authorities did not report the incident for 17 hours, Ratnaboli Roy, managing trustee of Anjali Mental Health Rights Organization, said.

In another case, a teenaged boy caught stealing in Kolkata's Salt Lake was beaten up badly by cops. "It was later when his picture was published in the paper that activists realized he was epileptic," said Sampa Sengupta from Sruti Disability Rights Centre.

With these being just a few cases highlighted, members of Equal Rights Trust Foundation and Human Rights Law Network have conducted a study based on the testimonies of 120 persons with disability in 19 states.

"Three major patterns emerged. These are torture in healthcare, sexual abuse of women with disabilities and poor state protection. But the common factor is that it is usually guardians or caretakers who abuse or exploit the disabled," Seema Baquer from Human Rights Law Network said.

Baquer added that those affected most by sex abuse are people with intellectual disability, hearing impairment and visual impairment. "Most perpetrators of abuse are actually from enforcement agencies," she said.

Adding to this problem is lack of reporting of such incidents, "as it is difficult for a disabled person to access the law enforcement agencies or explain their cases in absence of interpreters", Sengupta said.

Based on testimonies, the group released a set of four recommendations for policy makers. "There is an urgent need to pass the Prevention of Torture Bill with clauses for protection of people with disabilities. Monitoring of institutions and training of police personnel and armed forces should also be made mandatory," Oliver Lewis, executive director of Mental Disability Advocacy Center, said.

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Delhi Traffic Police can't check tinted glass

NEW DELHI: Had the city police procured the essential tools of their trade, Nirbhaya and her friend may have reached home safely on the night of December 16. What's more, apparently none of the government or private testing facilities in the city have any equipment to check the visual light transmission (VLT) of vehicle windows, thus making it impossible to keep a check on company-manufactured tinted glasses.

After drawing flak for three weeks in the bus gang-rape case for failing to prosecute the rogue bus for having visibly 'black' glasses, the traffic police have now taken the ingenious plea that the bus windows were not tinted with film but their glass itself was dark. They claim that to check the glass violated opacity limits set in the motor vehicles act - 70% visual transmission of light through windscreen and rear window, and 50% through side windows - they need a device called 'lux meter', which they have not been able to get despite making strenuous efforts over five years.

"In the last five years, tenders have been floated at least thrice for such lux-meters. Despite international agencies participating in them, lux-meters of specified parameters have not been made available for sale. All tests we have carried out have failed even though representatives of international organizations have taken part and not succeeded," said a senior traffic police officer.

This sounds surprising, because Delhi Police's counterparts across the border, Noida police, have 10 such lux meters available with them. "We have 10 such lux-meters that are functional," confirmed a senior Noida traffic police officer. Chandigarh Police too got five last year. A lux meter is not a uranium centrifuge subject to international sanctions. In fact, cheap apps now allow the cameras on Android and Apple phones to be used as light meters. But even the brand/ model used by Chandigarh Police - German-made Mastech MS 6610 - is available for less than Rs 2,500 online. That's small change for Delhi Police which collects crores of rupees in fines every year.

How did Chandigarh Police get the calibration of their meters certified? They simply took the devices to a CSIR lab called Central Scientific Instruments Organization in their city and got them tested. The lab, which does work for ISRO and the country's armed forces, is five hours away by road from Delhi, if the police are interested.

Delhi Police's embarrassing position with regard to light metering was exposed recently when a Haryana Roadways bus (HR 55 Q 5302) was intercepted at Kashmere Gate. The police team initially looked for removable film on the windows but found none. Then they set out on a wild goose chase.

The report compiled by the traffic inspector of Civil Lines traffic circle states that the bus was first taken to the National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Sciences on Wednesday, but the institute did not have a testing facility. The bus was then taken to Delhi government's Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Rohini Sector 14, which also did not have equipment to test transparency. Finally, it was taken to the Shriram Institute for Industrial Research near Delhi University, to no avail.

Police eventually had to let the bus go on the owner's undertaking to send documents recording the transparency of its windows, a source said. Even last week, a bus stopped by some AIIMS students had to be released as its glass was found tinted, not pasted with film.

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Disability a mindset, say youth

NEW DELHI: Disability is infrastructural. It is struggle not with oneself but the notions among others. These were some concerns that intelligent minds voiced when they narrated their stories.

21-year-old Pavel Gupta was always told that his disability would always stand in the way of his dreams. To pursue electronics would not just be an impossible feat to achieve but also a fight with mindsets. But Gupta took each word of discouragement as his driving force to prove a point. And that's is what he did.

Gupta, a visually challenged, is in his fourth year of electronics at IIT Roorkee. "I was one year old when I developed a tumor in one eye. To prevent it from spreading the doctors operated me. I have one stone now," said Gupta.

"There were many instances in life when people said I should take up arts and not technical subjects, given my circumstances. But every time they said that I felt, I had to break stereotype," Gupta further added. After clearing his IIT-JEE four years back, he says that people are no sensitized enough.

"How does me having one functional eye change things? I am willing, and capable and all it is about giving a fair chance," said Gupta. Gupta was one of the many students gathered at one of the United Service Institution of India seminar halls. These young minds were attending the inaugural session of the two-day National Convention for Youth with Disabilities, on Thursday.

Organised by the National Center for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People and the Hans Foundation, the convention plans to bring together the youth to take forward social issues.

Expressing his angst and the current system Rishabh Goyal, a physics honours student studying in a reputed university in Delhi, says that the one of the reason he is able to achieve his dreams is because he has the funds for it.

Recounting an incident from his school days, Goyal said, "the only reason I was able to take up science was because my parents hired a man to carry me to the fourth floor to out laboratory everyday," said Goyal.

"Before that I was asked not to take up science since I won't be able to reach the lab. Even now, I cannot commute alone in public transport, I travel in a private vehicle," Goyal further added. He says that all this would be way more difficult for a person who cannot afford this.

Students also pointed out that even though many buildings and modes of transport may be accessible but to reach these places there is no way. All these and many more issues were highlighted by students. Some of them were also answered by the minister for social justice & empowerment, Kumari Selja.

She said that as a society we are not sensitive. "In my own work area I have seen a perfectly built ramp is blocked. It is insensitivity. There is no easy solution but we will have to keep at it," said Selja.

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Delhi: Woman's body found stuffed in bag in train

NEW DELHI: The body of an unidentified woman was found stuffed in a plastic bag here from a train at the New Delhi railway station, police said on Monday.

The investigators said that the body was recovered late Sunday night from a train, coming from Haryana's Panipat, at platform number nine.

"The woman was killed and then her body was hidden under the wooden seat of the train," said the officer.

"We found that there was a white coloured plastic bag and placed under two opposite lower berth. After opening the bag, a blue coloured plastic bag was found in which the body was wrapped," said a senior police officer.

The victim seems to be aged between 30 and 35 years.

"She was wearing brown coloured salwar suit. Victim's legs, hands and neck were tied with green colour plastic rope. The police team probed the crime spot and then sent the body to Lok Nayak Hospital's mortuary," the officer added.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) Sanjay Bhatia said that a case regarding the incident has been registered and the deceased pictures have been sent to various police stations in the city and in neighbouring states to find out her identity.

The officer also said they are also trying to trace and question people who travelled in the train on the day the dead body was dumped in the train.

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Delhi: Woman's body found stuffed in bag on train

NEW DELHI: The body of an unidentified woman was found stuffed in a plastic bag here from a train at the New Delhi railway station, police said on Monday.

The investigators said that the body was recovered late Sunday night from a train, coming from Haryana's Panipat, at platform number nine.

"The woman was killed and then her body was hidden under the wooden seat of the train," said the officer.

"We found that there was a white coloured plastic bag and placed under two opposite lower berth. After opening the bag, a blue coloured plastic bag was found in which the body was wrapped," said a senior police officer.

The victim seems to be aged between 30 and 35 years.

"She was wearing brown coloured salwar suit. Victim's legs, hands and neck were tied with green colour plastic rope. The police team probed the crime spot and then sent the body to Lok Nayak Hospital's mortuary," the officer added.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) Sanjay Bhatia said that a case regarding the incident has been registered and the deceased pictures have been sent to various police stations in the city and in neighbouring states to find out her identity.

The officer also said they are also trying to trace and question people who travelled in the train on the day the dead body was dumped in the train.

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Bomb scare at Delhi's IGI airport

NEW DELHI: A day after three suspicion-evoking bags created panic in the capital at separate places, security officials at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport were in a tizzy Tuesday after receiving a warning about a bomb on an Indigo airlines flight. The call turned out to be a hoax.

"The call was received around 12 noon on Tuesday. The caller told security officers on phone that there is a bomb on the Delhi-Patna Indigo flight," said Deputy Commissioner of Police R A Sanjeev.

After a search of the aircraft, the call was found to be a hoax, said Sanjeev, adding that a search was on to locate the caller.

"As the caller's mobile phone was found switched off after he made the hoax call, we are yet to pinpoint his location," he said.

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Man give a lifer for raping and sodomising minor daughter

NEW DELHI: A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court here for raping and sodomising his nine-year-old daughter, saying that the girl child is to be "worshipped" and not "raped".

A fast track court, trying sexual offence cases against women, said the crime committed by the convict, being the father of the victim, was "intensely grave, serious and barbaric in nature" and also made it clear that he would not be entitled to any clemency till he spends at least 20 years in jail.

"There is no crime more heinous and ghastly than the present one and no other crime can be more humiliating and disgraceful for a man than act of seducing his own daughter.

"The girl child is considered incarnation of Mata Lakshmi in a household. Hindu religion ordains us to worship the girl child as the manifestation of Goddess Lakshmi. There is a tradition prevalent in the Hindus to worship minor girls on the last day of Navratras which is known as 'Kanjak Puja'...

"The girl child is to be worshipped and not raped. Sexual assault upon a girl child is the most sinful, barbaric and savage atrocity and hence not only highly deplorable but severely punishable. One fails to imagine how a person would think of ravishing a minor innocent girl and that too when the girl is his own daughter who, in fact, deserves to be worshipped as a form of Goddess Durga," Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Bhat said, imposing fine of Rs 60,000 on the convict.

A rape case was registered against the man, a resident of Najafgarh, in September last year by his wife alleging that he had raped and sodomised their minor daughter several times.

The woman told the police that her child was complaining of stomach pain from past several days and she had consulted various doctors but there was no relief to the minor. After noticing swelling in the child's body, she again took her to doctor who told her that the child was sexually assaulted.

The minor then told her mother about her father's act and a case was registered against him, the police had said.

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Man given a lifer for raping and sodomising minor daughter

NEW DELHI: A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court here for raping and sodomising his nine-year-old daughter, saying that the girl child is to be "worshipped" and not "raped".

A fast track court, trying sexual offence cases against women, said the crime committed by the convict, being the father of the victim, was "intensely grave, serious and barbaric in nature" and also made it clear that he would not be entitled to any clemency till he spends at least 20 years in jail.

"There is no crime more heinous and ghastly than the present one and no other crime can be more humiliating and disgraceful for a man than act of seducing his own daughter.

"The girl child is considered incarnation of Mata Lakshmi in a household. Hindu religion ordains us to worship the girl child as the manifestation of Goddess Lakshmi. There is a tradition prevalent in the Hindus to worship minor girls on the last day of Navratras which is known as 'Kanjak Puja'...

"The girl child is to be worshipped and not raped. Sexual assault upon a girl child is the most sinful, barbaric and savage atrocity and hence not only highly deplorable but severely punishable. One fails to imagine how a person would think of ravishing a minor innocent girl and that too when the girl is his own daughter who, in fact, deserves to be worshipped as a form of Goddess Durga," Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Bhat said, imposing fine of Rs 60,000 on the convict.

A rape case was registered against the man, a resident of Najafgarh, in September last year by his wife alleging that he had raped and sodomised their minor daughter several times.

The woman told the police that her child was complaining of stomach pain from past several days and she had consulted various doctors but there was no relief to the minor. After noticing swelling in the child's body, she again took her to doctor who told her that the child was sexually assaulted.

The minor then told her mother about her father's act and a case was registered against him, the police had said.

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Doctor gets infection in hospital, Apollo to pay Rs 5.1lakh

NEW DELHI: A Hyderabad-based emergency centre run by a prominent hospital has been asked by apex consumer commission to pay Rs 5.10 lakh to a surgeon who contracted an infection which allegedly lead to multiple organ failure when he was admitted there for removal of screws from his hip.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission's (NCDRC) order came while dismissing Apollo Emergency Hospital's plea challenging the decisions of the state and district consumer fora which had directed it to pay the compensation to its former patient Hyderabad-based orthopaedic surgeon Bommakanti Sai Krishna..

Krishna, in his complaint in the district forum, had said he had been admitted to the hospital on January 12, 2004, for removal of screws, inserted to fix a hip fracture.

He had alleged that due to negligence and lack of care of the attending doctors and nurses, he contracted an infection which lead to multiple organ failure and he had to be shifted to the ICU, two days later.

He was then moved to Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad on January 16, 2004 where he underwent treatment till February 15, 2004, Krishna had said.

A bench presided by Justice J M Malik rejected Apollo's contention that there is no direct evidence against to show that the infection was acquired at the hospital and said "possibility of infection occurring is not denied and in fact is admitted in the revision petition, though very indirectly".

"The infection occurred during the stay of complainant at the hospital... there is nothing to show that the source of infection lay outside the hospital. There is preponderance of possibilities of the infection having been acquired in the hospital itself.

"We do not find any merit in this revision petition. The same is dismissed for want of merit," the bench said.

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Suspicious bags found in two Delhi areas, high alert sounded

NEW DELHI: Unclaimed bags have been found in different parts of Delhi on Monday.

A suspicious bag was recovered from outside an Army hospital in the capital, police said. According to sources, bikers threw the bag containing an explosive device near the Research and Referral (Army) Hospital in Delhi's cantonment area around 2pm.

Delhi Police say only forensic team can confirm if substances found in the bag were actually explosives. However, they say it seems to contain explosives-like material.

Army's bomb squad found wire-like materials in an unclaimed bag in Delhi Cantonment area. They destroyed the bag using cortex.

According to the sources, the device was diffused with muffled explosion.

Another suspicious bag has been found in south Delhi's Greater Kailash's M-Block market.

Two more bags were found in Gopinath market in southwest Delhi and Mangolpuri. One had papers and the other had a speaker.

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Suspicious bags found in several areas of Delhi, high alert sounded

NEW DELHI: Unclaimed bags have been found in different parts of Delhi on Monday. A high alert has been sounded by the Delhi Police following the suspicious recoveries that comes close to the heels of the deadly twin blasts in Hyderabad where 16 people were killed.

A suspicious bag was recovered from outside an Army hospital in the capital, police said. According to sources, bikers threw the bag containing an explosive device near the Army's Base Hospital in Delhi's cantonment area around 2pm.

Delhi Police say only forensic team can confirm if substances found in the bag were actually explosives. However, they say it seems to contain explosives-like material.

Army's bomb squad found wire-like materials in an unclaimed bag in Delhi Cantonment area. They destroyed the bag using cortex.

According to the sources, the device was diffused with muffled explosion.

Another suspicious bag has been found in south Delhi's Greater Kailash's M-Block market.

Two more bags were found in Gopinath market in southwest Delhi and Mangolpuri. One had papers and the other had a speaker.

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3 held in Bihar for Delhi-based businessman's kidnap

NEW DELHI: Three persons were arrested in Bihar for allegedly kidnapping a Delhi-based businessman and his aide and demanding ransom from his family, police said today.

Pramod Kumar Ray, Rajesh Kumar Mehto and Suresh Kumar Sharma were arrested in Samastipur in Bihar and debit cards and mobile phones were recovered from their possession.

The arrest came on a complaint filed by one Monika Mehra who alleged that her husband Ajay Kumar and his employee Dharamveer had gone to Bihar to purchase a land in Patna but were kidnapped by unknown persons who demanded ransom for his release.

Ajay had called Rahul, his another employee, and informed him that he and Dharamveer have been kidnapped by some persons and they are demanding Rs 20-25 lakh ransom for their release.

"Later Ajay called Rahul and told him that he should deposit Rs 15,000 in his mother's account and one Shailender, who should be picked up by Rahul from metro station, would come to his office at around 11am yesterday to collect Rs 10 lakh," a senior police official said.

During the course of investigation, one person named Surender, who had come to collect the ransom amount from the house of the victim, was apprehended.

"During interrogation, Surender told police that he had come to collect the money on the direction of one Pramod. Surender works as transporter of money and gets commission for transporting the money from Delhi to Bihar. On the instance and at the time fixed between Surender and Pramod, a trap was laid yesterday in Bihar and Pramod and Rajesh were arrested," the official said.

Both Ajay and Dharamveer were rescued from the house of Pramod in Saidpur village in Samastipur district.

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Man jailed for 7 years for raping minor girlfriend

NEW DELHI: A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment by a Delhi court for raping his 14-year-old girlfriend, who delivered his baby recently.

Additional Sessions Judge P K Jain awarded the jail term to Delhi resident Wasim after refusing to take a lenient view saying she had become a mother at a young age after last year's incident.

The court had convicted Wasim despite the two testifying that they had consensual sex, saying as the victim was below 16 years of age "her consent is not relevant".

"Considering the ill effects of rape and the fact that in the instant case victim became pregnant and additional public prosecutor pointed out that she has delivered a female child recently, I do not find any reason to take a lenient view...

"I hereby sentence convict Wasim to rigorous imprisonment for seven years and fine of Rs 10,000 for offence punishable under section 376 (rape) of the IPC," the judge said.

The court also observed that rape is a crime which causes short as well long term harm, including "depression, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, eating disorders, poor self-esteem, dissociative and anxiety disorders", in victims.

The judge convicted Wasim for raping the girl, though he as well as the girl had told the court they had consensual sex, as she was below 16 years of age.

"If sexual intercourse is performed with a girl below 16 years of age, her consent is not relevant," the court said.

According to the prosecution, initially a case of missing person was registered by the girl's father on March 27, 2012 after he found that his daughter was not at home since the wee hours of the morning that day.

He had later raised suspicion that Wasim had kidnapped his daughter and a case of kidnapping was registered against the accused, it said.

The girl had then appeared before the police on her own and recorded her statement in which she said that she had of her volition left her home with Wasim and that they both went to Haridwar where they developed physical relations.

Wasim had subsequently surrendered before a court on May 25, 2012 and thereafter charges of rape were invoked against him.

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Indian Mujahideen aide may be back in Delhi

NEW DELHI: After Friday's Hyderabad twin blasts, intelligence bureau sources cited intercepts to say Raju Bhai, who had helped Indian Mujahideen members hide in Pul Prehladpur area of southeast Delhi last October, has probably returned to the city.

Raju is probably accompanied by at least two other terrorists, identified as Rafluddin, alias Faisal, and Shafiuddin, alias Mashal.The two belong to Azamgarh in UP and are associated with SIMI, a banned outfit. The IB had alerted police about trio in November describing them as 'deadly'. Raju Bhai had helped Asad and Imran, arrested from Pul Prehladpur on terror charges, in getting a flat at a monthly rent of Rs 6,000. Thereafter, police raided several hideouts in UP for Raju, but he couldn't be found. Raju Bhai, sources say, has information on Lashkar and IM sleeper cells in north India and in NCR -- which is why police are on the lookout for him.

Keeping in mind the interrogation of the IM members nabbed last October, who had talked of the reconnaissance in Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad, the Special Cell is going all out to locate and bust sleeper cells in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Inputs suggest that LeT might seek IM help to carry out an attack in Delhi. Vigil in Delhi has been stepped up. Places like Chhawri Bazar, Sadar Bazar, Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk, Sarojini Nagar and Paharganj are under watch.

Embassies and government installations too have been fortified and policemen are ensuring no unclaimed vehicles are parked near them.

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Model-actor kidnapped, killed in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A 20-year-old model and upcoming actor was murdered and his body stuffed in a suitcase, allegedly by kidnappers who had called his family two days ago with a demand for Rs 2 lakh. Sumit Tiwari's body was found on Saturday at the east Delhi residence one of his acquaintances, Shantideep, who has gone missing.

Sumit was apparently strangled to death and there were several injury marks on his body, police said.

The motive for the murder is unclear but cops suspect Sumit was kidnapped to finance a movie. The acquaintance, Shantideep, was reportedly a screenplay writer and part of a film Sumit was to act in. When police traced calls and reached Shantideep's house in Mandawali, it was locked. Shantideep has been untraceable since.

Shantideep belongs to Devariya in UP and teams have been sent to trace him. Police are also looking for a purported film maker, Rakesh, as Sumit had left home on February 19 and 20 to meet him.

Sumit lived with his parents in Johripur in Karawal Nagar in northeast Delhi. His father, Rameshwar Tiwari, works for a private company. Sumit had completed an acting course from Marwah Studio, Film City, in December and had started modelling for various agencies. In the past few months, he was acting in TV soaps, an officer said.

On Thursday, he was at Akshardham temple for a shoot and had called up his father around 5pm saying he would return home soon. Around 8pm, the family received a call from an unidentified person that Sumit was in their custody. He demanded Rs 2 lakh at the earliest to release him.

The kidnappers called up a second time but the Tiwaris were too scared to pick it up. They went to the police and filed a case of abduction. Sumit's details were soon uploaded on Zipnet, a website for missing people.

Tracing the calls on Sumit's mobile number, police teams reached Shantideep's house in lane number 2 of Mandawali on Saturday evening which was locked. Police broke open the door and found Sumit's body stuffed in a suitcase. Sumit's body has been preserved in GTB Hospital for postmortem which will be conducted on Sunday or Monday, an officer said.

As news of the death of their only son reached the Tiwari family, a pall of gloom settled over the household. "They had spent lakhs of rupees on Sumit's training and wanted him to become a star. They had no idea that this profession will lead to his murder," said a relative. Sumit's mother has been fainting on and off while his father has not stopped crying since. Sumit is survived by his parents and an elder sister.

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Delhi traffic police organises painting competition to raise awareness on road safety

NEW DELHI: As part of Delhi Police Week celebrations, an on-the-spot painting competition for children was organized at the India Gate lawns by Delhi Traffic Police on Friday, aimed to create awareness amongst children about the importance of road safety norms and need for obeying traffic rules. Around 600 students of 25 leading schools in Delhi took part in the event.

Cricketer Gautam Gambhir was invited as guest of honour and advised the children participating in the competition to obey traffic rules and exhorted the need to wear helmet and seat belt while driving. Speaking on the occasion, Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar called upon the schools and students to make active contribution for the cause of road safety by spreading awareness. He stressed upon the students to obey traffic rules, use zebra crossings, subways and foot over bridges to reduce pedestrian fatalities on road.

The Road Safety Best Rolling Trophy along with a cash prize of Rs 15,000 was awarded to Dev Samaj Middle School in Lajpat Nagar, for best activities in the field of road safety during 2012. Meanwhile, the Road Safety Club Rolling Trophy for best activities in club during 2012 was awarded to Tinu Public School in Sangam Vihar.

A team of jury comprising of faculties from Delhi College of Art and Department of Art of Jamia Milia Islamia adjudged the paintings and declared the prize winners. While the winner in the 'Primary school' category was Kanika Bansal of Universal Public School, Patparganj, Pratibha Yadav from Universal Public School won in the 'Middle school' category. Rahul Kumar from Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Nangloi, was adjudged the best in the 'Secondary school' category.

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Bumper-to-bumper on outer ring road

NEW DELHI: For residents of Rohini, Pitampura and Shalimar Bagh, commuting to other parts of the city is a daily struggle. The coexistence of residential and commercial spaces in the area, and manifold increase in vehicular traffic between Mukarba Chowk and Madhuban Chowk lead to jams on Outer Ring Road throughout the day. In recent years, several hospital, new commercial establishments and public service buildings, such as a court and a Passport Seva Kendra, have also come up along the route, adding to the volume of traffic.

The construction of a clover-leaf flyover at Mukarba Chowk has only shifted the jams to other parts of the road , as fast-moving vehicles from the flyover run into red lights. Many feeder roads from the colonies merge with the main road , causing snarls at each intersection. The 3.8-km stretch has five red lights and the average crossing time at each light is about 15 minutes, say commuters .

FAILURE OF PLANNING

The traffic mess near Rohini is a result of poor planning, say experts. Over the past decade, population in the area has grown sixfold , and there has been a lot of commercial and institutional development . But public transport has not kept pace the Metro has bypassed the corridor and buses ply irregularly. As a result, most people use their own vehicles and the rest rely on the unruly gramin sewa vehicles.

"Traffic along the route has increased significantly beyond the capacity of the road . Lack of alternatives and mixed land use have contributed to the precipitation of the situation," said additional commissioner of police (traffic ) Anil Shukla. Trucks from Azadpur and nearby industrial areas in Jahangirpuri and Wazirpur add to the already heavy volume of traffic.

Residents say steps taken to decongest the road have not worked. "Opening the Mukarba Chowk flyover has served no purpose. There are no traffic police personnel to manage the traffic. The mess is a result of sheer incompetence. Trucks obstruct the movement of traffic and it is a nightmare to weave through the area," said Ravinder , a resident of Rohini Sector 9.

Now, another elevated road is being planned on the route as part of the signal-free project for Outer Ring Road. However , creating a flyover may not be a long-term solution, say officials.

"A flyover by itself cannot reduce jams. It merely changes the flow of traffic. If the volume of traffic is more than the capacity of the road, adding a flyover will only encourage more traffic on the route," explained a senior traffic officer . Even pavements along this stretch have become an extension of the road, with bikers riding on them. In order to decongest the road, experts suggest , public transport should be increased, a proper bypass should be built for heavy vehicles to discourage them from using Outer Ring Road as a highway, and all commercial or government establishments built along the stretch hereafter should provide planned parking space.

Next: Karkari Mor, east Delhi

WHY TRAFFIC HAS INCREASED

Increase in mixed land use. Hospitals, shops, Rohini court and passport office have opened Traffic from GT Road uses Madhuban Chowk as a shortcut People with businesses in Netaji Subhash Place don't use Peeragarhi route Trucks use Outer Ring Road as there is no bypass People rely on private vehicles as few buses run on the route Too many grameen sewa autos allowed to run Sunday bazaar clogs road on weekend

THE WAY FORWARD

Develop commercial spaces with parking facilities Increase Metro and bus connectivity Decrease grameen sewa autos on Outer Ring Road Build a bypass to divert heavy vehicles

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Delhi Police special women's helpline - 2,000 calls in 45 days

NEW DELHI: "Sir, some men are following me", "My husband thrashed me again, please save me" - these are some of the 2,000 calls that Delhi Police special commissioner Sudhir Yadav has dealt with since a special helpline was activated in the wake of the Dec 16, 2012, gangrape of a 23-yar-old physiotherapist.

Lieutenant governor Tejendra Khanna appointed Yadav the nodal officer to deal with women-related complaints in the capital and his mobile number - 9818099012 - was activated Dec 25, 2012.

Being the first ever helpline under the direct monitoring of a senior police officer, it means quick results.

"The need for a senior officer monitoring complaints arose because though we already have two helplines - 1091 and 1096 - that together received close to 25,000 complaints last year, we found that the redressal mechanism was not adequate," a police officer told IANS, speaking on condition of anonymity.

This apart, a 181 helpline started by the Delhi government Dec 31, 2012, has received 40,000 calls since then, but most of them were trial calls to check whether the number was functional, an offical said.

"The frequency of the calls was very high in the first two weeks of January, but it has decreased now," Kulanand Joshi, additional secretary to chief minister Sheila Dikshit and in-charge of the helpline, told IANS.

As for Yadav, his phone has not stopped ringing since it was activated.

While Yadav himself takes some of the calls, he has a designated team that monitors all calls.

All calls are also recorded so that if the joint commissioner of police (Traffic) needs to be brought into the loop, this can be immediately done. The need for this was felt because the Dec 16 gangrape took place in a moving bus. This apart, there have been instances of women being abducted or raped in cars.

Of the 2,000 calls received in the last 45 days, most related to being stalked, getting obscene calls or facing domestic violence - a sad reality proving that the city still has not learnt any lessons.

"I got at least 300 calls daily last month. Each call was attended properly and immediate necessary action was also taken," Yadav told IANS.

"We maintain a record of each and every call and ensure proper follow up," he added.

In addition, Yadav interacts with several women's NGOs on the last Friday of every month to take stock of the situation at the ground level.

"I have interacted with around 30 NGOs so far and the sessions were very informative. we got to know about our performance and whether our policies were working or not," said Yadav.

"We have discussed several steps to ensure more security for women. I have asked the NGOs to provide self-defence training to young girls like we did last year," he added.

Delhi Police had organized a self-defence training camp in Oct, 2012, in west Delhi's Nanakpura area which was attended by around 100 young working women from the lower income groups.

The women were taught judo, karate, kendo, sumo, aikido, shorinji, kempo and naginata by a visiting Japanese martial arts delegation.

"We were pleased with the results of the workshop and so were the participants. More of such camps would surely be organized soon," Yadav said.

Yadav further said that he has also requested the NGOs to provide women volunteers who can help in managing women helplines in police stations across the city.

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At least in Tihar, business is booming

NEW DELHI: Business is booming in Tihar. The jail factory run by inmates has doubled its turnover this year and is expected to cross the Rs 30-crore mark by the end of this financial year. Last year, the turnover was Rs 12.20 crore.

The factory employs more than 700 inmates and is supervised completely by them. A team of jail officials, headed by a deputy superintendent (factory), manages sale-purchase and takes care of administrative work too.

"We have added several new units like textiles, spices and shoes under the public-private partnership model. More such units, including one manufacturing automobile parts, is expected to come up soon," said Tihar director general Vimla Mehra.

Started in 1961 with the objective of engaging the inmates in productive work, this factory has expanded and become a centre of pride for jailors and prisoners alike. Starting their day at 9am sharp, inmates give a sense of contented discipline. Inmates at the carpentry unit hum along to old Hindi songs played in a battered old recorder as they carve shelves, tables and even intricate puja ghars.

At other units, the work is more segregated. While some inmates work the machine to produce paper pulp, others convert these into paper. Still others cut these to paper files while one man solemnly stamps letters on top of the file. A recent order of 23 lakh file covers has this unit buzzing.

Meanwhile, a new shoe-making unit, set up under the PPP model, has inmates surrounded by mounds of running shoes in various stages of completion.

But perhaps the best-loved unit is the bakery. Entering the building, where the inmates wear plastic caps and gloves, one is assailed by thousand different smells of pure goodness. "We have expanded the bakery unit now and will be making breads and muffins only in the new building. This will leave more space for cookie-manufacturing in the older structure," said a senior jail official.

These Tihar products, sold under the brand name of TJ's, have outlets across the city and are also available at local grocery shops and retail chains. Recently, a Tihar outlet was opened in Saket's Select Citywalk mall.

"While the factory is run on a not-for-profit basis, 25 per cent of the wages earned by the inmates are sent to a welfare fund to provide compensation to victims and their families. Jail inmates can use the rest of their salary for their day-to-day expenses and also send it to their families," said Tihar spokesperson Sunil Gupta.

The factory is expected to diversify into making towels, double bedsheets, cakes, papad and even a tiffin service. "We have prepared a proposal for a dabba system but it's yet to be cleared. We are expecting it to start in another two months or so," added Gupta.

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Squeezed into a jam in Dwarka

NEW DELHI: The Palam flyover that takes airport and south Delhi traffic to and from Dwarka causes jams that back up several kilometres every evening. The flyover has two carriageways, which means two lanes each on either side.

As one approaches this flyover, eight lanes of traffic telescope into two. Worse, bus bays atop the flyover constrict the carriageways, as buses lumber in and out. The bus bays cave away from the main thoroughfare, but aren't long enough forcing buses to stick out as they enter.

Every day, during peak hours, around 35,000 to 40,000 vehicles fight for space on the flyover. In the morning, the flow is towards south Delhi and in the evening traffic streams into Dwarka and this is when the stretch is a nightmare. After zipping on the four-lane Gurgaon Road, the motorist wades into four lanes of traffic converging from the Airport Road and Station Road. Suddenly ahead of Dwarka, he gets stuck in a whirl of bumper-to- bumper traffic.

"The 2-km narrow flyover has bus bays on top which slow down things even more. With buses stopping and passengers getting on and off, things get difficult," says a senior traffic police officer. Sometimes, buses queue up as they wait to enter the already- packed bus bay. Vehicles behind them get stuck.

"In such stop-and-go traffic, engines tend to heat up and breakdowns are common. Removing stuck vehicles from the carriageways is a headache. Tow-away trucks barely squeeze through," the officer says. The flyover's serpentine alignment makes it dangerous to drive at more than 30 km per hour, he adds. Traffic jams last from 6pm to at least 9.30pm.

Way to go

Traffic experts say the flyover should have been wider — at least three lanes on either side. Now, there are only some traffic engineering solutions that can be adopted to ease the logjam.

"It would've been proper had longer bus bays been built. That would've ensured ideal tapering. Bus movement would hamper the traffic less. Ramp metering could be a way out. Using signals, the number of vehicles entering the freeway could be controlled. Rumble strips could be added to slow down traffic approaching Palam flyover so that entry of vehicles is staggered," professor P K Sarkar, transport planning expert from School of Planning and Architecture, said.

Traffic cops say they are exploring the possibility of widening the level crossing under the flyover. "The road is hardly used and, if concretised, a double carriageway road with two lanes on either side could be possible," said a senior traffic police officer.

Another solution could be to divert buses through the Old Palam Road. "The option of shifting the bus stops before or after the flyover could also be explored," Sarkar added.

Meanwhile, long-term solutions for this stretch are limited unless major road engineering changes take place, including alternative routes for vehicles entering Dwarka.

Next: Outer Ring Road, Rohini

The funnel effect Up to a point, water poured into a funnel, flows out smoothly But if too much water is poured into the funnel, its cone fills up

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Rain drenches Delhi

NEW DELHI: It was a rainy Saturday morning in the capital with the minimum temperature settling five notches above average at 14.9 degrees Celsius. The Met Office has forecast more rain and possibly hailstorm towards the evening.

"The skies will be cloudy and the rain will continue through the day. There is a possibility of thunderstorms in some areas," an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 27 degrees Celsius, the official added.

According to IMD, the city received a total of 7.6 mm of rainfall from 8.30pm on Friday to 8.30am on Saturday. The humidity recorded at 8.30am on Saturday was 89 percent.

Friday's maximum temperature settled two notches above average at 27.1 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was 13.9 degrees Celsius - three notches above average for this time of the season.

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Delhi gang-rape case: Singapore doctors to depose from next week

NEW DELHI: Doctors of a Singapore hospital who had treated the December 16 gang-rape victim were on Saturday asked by a court here to depose as witness through video conferencing.

The doctors will record their evidence from Monday before Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna, who is holding the trial on day-to-day basis in the case.

The victim was airlifted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on December 27, 2012 for further treatment on the advice of a team of doctors from Safdarjung hospital after 10 days of the incident.

The girl, however, had died on December 29, 2012 in the hospital as a result of the grievous injuries she had suffered when she was sexually assaulted by six people, one of whom has been declared as a juvenile and is facing trial before the Juvenile Justice Board.

Meanwhile, the metropolitan magistrate, who had recorded the statement of the victim at Safdarjung Hospital here after the statement recorded by the sub-divisional magistrate had run into controversy following the allegation that a Delhi Police official had interfered with it, was today cross examined by the defence counsel.

The magistrate, who appeared before the court was cross examined by the counsel for the five accused--bus driver Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Singh.

The metropolitan magistrate had already deposed as a prosecution witness during in-camera proceedings in the case.

The details of the proceedings cannot be reported by the media as the court has imposed a ban on it under the law.

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Missing Delhi Police constable found dead

NEW DELHI: The dead body of a 48-year-old Delhi Police constable, who had gone missing four days ago, was found here Saturday morning, police said.

Suresh Singh, was found dead in a forest situated in the cantonment area in south Delhi around 10am.

"Singh, a native of Jind in Haryana, was missing since Feb 19. His missing report was already lodged in Delhi's Anand Parbat police station where he was posted," said a police officer.

Prima facie it seemed that Singh was given any poisonous substance that led to his death because there were no any injury marks on his body, said the officer, adding that the body was decomposed.

"Singh's body has been sent for post-mortem that can provide proper reason behind his death. It is yet to ascertain where he consumed poison himself or there was any foul play behind his death," added the officer.

The victim, who was presently residing in Haryana's Bahadurgarh, is survived by his wife Kamla, 40, daughter Suman, 20, and son Praveen, 16.

The officer said that on Feb 19, Singh had gone to Rashtrapati Bhavan to take some official documents.

"Around 4 p.m. on Feb 19, Singh's mobile location was found near Dhaula Kuan area. After that his phone was found switched off and he vanished," said the officer.

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Road mishap victim's family to get over 29 lakh compensation

NEW DELHI: The family of a businesswoman, who was killed after being hit by a rashly driven bus, has been awarded a compensation of over Rs 29 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here.

The tribunal directed National Insurance Company Ltd, with which the offending bus was insured, to pay Rs 29,38,480 to the husband and two minor children of deceased Zeenat Parveen.

"In view of the testimony of prosecution witness 1 (victim's husband) and documents on record, the petitioners have prima facie succeeded in proving that the deceased died due to injuries sustained in this accident caused by the offending vehicle driven by respondent no. 2 (bus driver) in a rash and negligent manner," MACT Presiding Officer Harish Dudani said.

Parveen's husband told the tribunal that the accident took place in December 2008 when he and his wife were going to meet some relatives at Shaheen Bagh here on his motorcycle.

When they reached sector 24, Noida, the rashly driven offending bus being driven by its driver Rajiv Kumar came at a high speed and hit them from behind.

Due to the impact, they fell down and Praveen came under the wheels of the bus. She was taken to a hospital where she was declared brought dead by the doctors, he said.

The 38-year-old woman was running her own business in the name of M/s Sharp Industrial Advisory Bureau and was earning Rs 25,000 per month.

The bus driver and owner, however, said the accident took place due to negligence of the victim's husband as he was driving the motorcycle at a high speed and was trying to overtake the bus during which he lost control and hit it.

The tribunal refused to accept their contention and directed them to pay compensation to the victim's family.

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Man held with 78 kgs of silver jewellery at IGI

NEW DELHI: A man has been arrested at the IGI Airport here for allegedly trying to smuggle in about 78 kg of silver jewellery.

30-year-old Shariq Khan, a Mumbai resident, was intercepted at the airport on Thursday when he arrived from Bangkok.

He tried to clear 77.078 Kgs of silver jewellery without payment of customs duty, the customs department said in a release.

The silver jewellery was recovered from the two checked-in baggages and one handbag. "The value of the recovered silver jewellery is Rs 37.01 lakh," it said.

Following registration of a case, Khan was arrested under relevant sections of the Customs Act. "Further investigation was on," the release said.

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Sunny Friday, rain, hailstorm likely tomorrow

NEW DELHI: It was a sunny, warm Friday for Delhi after a nippy morning with the maximum temperature at 27.1 degrees Celsius, two notches above average for the season. Thunderstorms, hail and light rain in parts of the city are likely Saturday.

"There is a possibility of thunderstorms and light rainfall in parts of the city Saturday. The skies will remain cloudy," said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The minimum temperature on Friday was 13.9 degrees Celsius, three degrees above average for this time of the season.

The humidity levels wavered between a high of 89 and a low of 50 percent, the official added.

"The maximum and minimum temperatures Saturday are expected to hover around 23 and 14 degrees Celsius respectively," the official added.

Thursday's maximum temperature settled two notches above average at 26.9 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was 12.1 degrees Celsius - a notch above average for this time of the season.

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24 Tihar Jail inmates to be placed in semi-open jail

NEW DELHI: To aid reformation of convicts and to show them that trust could be reposed in them, Tihar Central Jail, India's largest prison, has chosen 24 prisoners for the open-jail system this year.

"This year, 24 inmates have been selected for the semi-open jail. The selection of these convicts for their confinement in semi-open jail was approved recently by Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna," said Vimla Mehra, director general (Prisons).

Last year, only two inmates were selected for the semi-open jail, Mehra said.

While in the semi-open jail, a prisoner is allowed to work for a full day outside his sub-prison. He or she is, however, not allowed beyond the 400-acre sprawling premises of the jail.

As per clause 4 of the Tihar jail manual, confinement of convicts for semi-open jails is based on some criteria, including good behaviour and mental and physical fitness, Mehra said.

"They will not be allowed to go beyond the demarcated area within the premises, and have to maintain a high level of discipline and standards of behaviour," reads the jail manual for semi-open jails.

"If they are found not abiding by the rules while working, they will be shifted back to the closed prison, and could be punished," it adds.

The semi-open jail concept is running in several states of India, including Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar. The concept is accepted practice in the UK, USA and Switzerland.

Tihar houses 12,113 prisoners. When the semi-open jail scheme was first announced last year, only two prisoners were found eligible for it.

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School exclusions grooms pupils for prison, finds a scottish study

NEW DELHI: Pupils excluded from school at 12 are four times as likely as other children to be jailed as adults, a new study shows.

Researchers found that boys, children living in single parent families, and those from the poorest communities were most likely to be barred from school. They also concluded that equally badly behaved pupils from more affluent areas and those from two parent families were accorded greater tolerance and, as a consequence, were far less likely to be expelled.

The study compared the outcomes of children who had been referred to the hearing system by 12 with a closely matched group of young people involved in equally serious levels of offending who had not been referred. Researchers found that those who had been referred were around five times more likely to end up in prison by age 24.

The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime, conducted by the University of Edinburgh, tracked more than 4,000 people who started secondary school in 1998. It concludes that early intervention in the lives of children identified as presenting "the greatest risk" does not necessarily reduce offending, but may well groom young people for later imprisonment.

Researchers found that the criminal justice system "constructs, reproduces and recycles its client base."

Professor Lesley McAra, head of the University's School of Law and co-director of the study, said: "In practice, the criminal justice system serves to punish poverty, the socially marginalised, and vulnerable individuals, as much as those who steal, assault or murder. For youngsters who come to the attention of formal agencies at an early age, we need to ensure that intervention does not label and stigmatise."

Professor Susan McVie, co-director of the study, said: "The study findings show that one of the keys to tackling Scotland's high imprisonment rates is to tackle school exclusion. If we could find more imaginative ways of retaining the most challenging children in mainstream education, and ensuring that school is a positive experience for all Scotland's young people, this would be a major step forward."

The Edinburgh Study has been funded by grants from the Economic and Social Research Council, the Nuffield Foundation and the Scottish Government.

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Commuters in Delhi face hardship as strike continues

NEW DELHI: Commuters in the city continued to face hardships for the second consecutive day on Thursday as majority of auto-rickshaws and taxis stayed off the road in support of the two-day nationwide strike called by 11 trade unions.

Students and office goers were the hardest hit as auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers either refused to go or overcharged.

Various industrial units and banks either remained closed or witnessed thin attendance while markets and commercial areas remained open.

On Wednesday, the strike had evoked a mixed response. Five major auto-rickshaw and taxi unions in the city have joined the strike to demand a hike in auto and taxi fares.

Long queues were seen at metro stations. DTC services were near normal though a section of the employees extended support to the strike.

"It was difficult to travel in Metro as trains were jam-packed. Passengers even struggled to get inside the Rajiv Chowk Metro Station because of heavy rush," said Dipali, who travelled from Connaught Place to Delhi University.

The DTC has deployed over 5,000 buses to ferry passengers. Another 3,000 private buses including 1,870 mini buses, 283 Metro feeder buses and around 800 contract carriage buses were also pressed into service.

"I had wait to for a bus for around one hour as there were no taxis and auto-rickshaws available," said Ranjit Jha, a resident of Moti Bagh, who works at a government office in Central secretariat.

Delhi government has cancelled leave of all DTC employees and asked senior officials of the corporation to be at bus depots from early morning to ensure smooth operation of DTC bus service.

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Need to set up more technical education institutes: Sheila Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday underlined the need for setting up of more institutions to impart technical education, saying quality human resources was the key to ensure healthy economic growth.

She was speaking after laying foundation stone of Deen Dayal Upadhaya College at Dwarka in West Delhi.

The campus is being developed at a cost of Rs 130 crore. The building will have 20 teaching laboratories, six research laboratories, 12 lecture theatres besides 28 small rooms for holding the tutorial classes.

The building will be constructed as per green building concept.

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Bharat bandh: Protesters attack factories in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A flash mob attacked at least eight factories in the capital on Thursday during the final day of a two-day nationwide strike called by major trade unions, police said.

Hundreds raising slogans against the government's economic policies suddenly attacked the garment factories in the Okhla industrial estate in south Delhi.

Police detained some of the attackers.

"The situation is now under control," Additional Commissioner of Police Ajay Chaudhary told IANS.

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Govt flat likely for family of Delhi gang-rape victim

NEW DELHI: Government is likely to allot a flat to the family of the 23-year-old girl who was gang-raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus here last December.

The middle income group Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flat costing around Rs 50 lakh would be alloted from the vacant pool, sources said.

The proposal has been mooted by the urban development ministry for cabinet's approval.

The issue of allotting a flat for the victim's family, which hails from Ballia in UP, had come up during a visit by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi earlier this month to their residence here.

The girl, a paramedic student, was gang-raped by six people and brutally assaulted on December 16 triggering a massive nationwide uproar.

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Woman set afire by live-in partner

NEW DELHI: A young woman was set afire in east Delhi allegedly by her live-in partner, police said today.

The incident took place in Laxmi Nagar last night and the victim is battling for life in a city hospital.

The accused was under the influence of alcohol and got enraged when the victim demanded money from him to go to her hometown in Bihar.

The victim suffered 90 per cent burn injuries while the accused suffered 40 per cent burn injuries.

The accused was married while the victim had separated from her husband. They were living together for some time.

A case has been registered.

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2-day strike: Govt ropes in RTVs & buses

NEW DELHI: With the autorickshaw unions threatening to go on strike on Wednesday and Thursday, and taxis and contract buses likely to join them, the Delhi government has decided to put 1,000 RTV and tourist buses into service on the two days.

"The RTV and tourist buses will be allowed to ply on DTC routes under a special service. The buses will display DTC route numbers and charge the same fare as DTC buses," said transport minister Ramakant Goswami. This is besides the 5,000-odd DTC buses that will be pressed into service.

Earlier in the day, the government claimed that DTC unions have agreed not to join the two-day strike. Officials in the transport department said DTC has been asked to cancel all leave applications by the employees. "All the depot managers and regional managers have been directed to ensure the maximum out-shedding of buses, that is, the maximum strength of the fleet should be made available," said an official. Extra recovery vans will be put into service as well so that breakdowns don't affect the efficiency, added DTC officials.

Meanwhile, the two-day nationwide strike called by the trade unions is likely to affect health services in the city with the employees of some major government hospitals extending their support. The staff of Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital and Lok Nayak Hospital said they will be wearing black badges on Wednesday as a mark of solidarity and on Thursday a meeting and demonstrations will be held.

"We are not going to strike work. But demonstrations and meetings will be held," said Vijay Dahiya, president, Kalawati Hospital Workers Union. He said the radiographers, technicians and paramedics are supporting the decision. Dahiya added that they do not want to create any problem for patient services though.

According to Leeladhar Ramchandani, general secretary of the Nurses' Union at G B Pant Hospital, all paramedical staffs have decided to support the bandh but they will not skip work. The trade unions are demanding that privatization, outsourcing and the process to curtail number the employees should be stopped and all the vacant posts must be filled up.

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UK PM meets Janki Devi students

NEW DELHI: British Prime Minister David Cameron left students of a women's college in thrall by taking time off his diplomatic assignments and addressing them with actor Aamir Khan on Tuesday. About 300 students at the Janki Devi Memorial College in central Delhi erupted in cheers as their lecturers announced that Cameron and Khan would be interacting with them in a few minutes.

The students had waited for almost four hours. The programme, kept under wraps till the last minute, saw 46-year-old Cameron and Khan walking into the auditorium of the college at 4pm and spending nearly 45 minutes going around the hall and interacting with the students. Cameron, dressed in a blue suit, and Khan, clad in a sweatshirt and a black blazer, fielded questions from students on the bias against women. Cameron and Khan smiled all along, answering each of their questions. The gleaming students jostled with each other to shake hands and click photographs with Cameron and Khan, who readily obliged.

Why are women always discriminated against? This was the first question posed to Khan. The root cause of the problem is in patriarchy, the belief that men are stronger, better and superior. If we have to progress as a nation then we should stop killing the girl child, the actor replied. The girl students asked only about women's issues and did not touch on corruption and other matters, he told reporters later.

The delegation included Lord Bhikhu Parekh, MP, Lord Raj Loomba, MP, Lord Paul Uppal, MP, VC of DU Dinesh Singh, former VC of DU Deepak Pental, and other VCs of some of the universities in England including Cambridge, Warwick, Exeter, Southampton, the Open University, London School of Economics and the CEO of British Council and the CEO of British Library.

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Messed up by illegal parking

NEW DELHI: The drive back to Aurobindo Marg after a movie in Saket is always a killjoy as crossing the signal at the end of Press Enclave Road takes 10 minutes even in off-peak hours. Why? Because it suits some people to park their cars illegally at the Adchini Market, 2km ahead. Police say haphazard parking along the main carriageway of Aurobindo Marg leaves just one lane for traffic, creating a funnel effect that is felt upstream up to the T-junction with Press Enclave Road.

Traffic experts say there is an urgent need to widen Aurobindo Marg and clear illegal parking along the stretch. At present, there are about two lanes available for traffic movement on the road near Adchini Market. However, many cars are either parked along the shops on the main carriageway, or halt on the roadside.

"As a result, traffic from the Qutub Minar side towards Adchini Market has to be given extra green time, which is about one-and-a-half minutes. This holds up vehicles on Press Enclave Road that need to turn right towards Adchini Market. The light remains red there for two-and-a-half minutes," said a traffic police officer of the area.

The resultant jam on Press Enclave Road stretches half a kilometre even in off-peak hours, as only 25 seconds of green time is given to the right-turning vehicles. As a result of the jam on Aurobindo Marg, only a handful of vehicles are able to turn right from Press Enclave Road in the 25 seconds.

Experts say civic and traffic enforcement agencies need to show will to address the problem . One, there should be a crackdown on illegal parking. Cars waiting on the carriageway should be challaned — as is done in the South Extension markets. Two, the road

should be widened. At some points the central verge on Aurobindo Marg is extremely wide, and some of the shops are almost on the edge of the road. Pushing these back and reducing the width of the median will increase road space. Three, more space for turning left on to Press Enclave Road from Aurobindo Marg will help reduce the traffic tail from the Adchini Market side. At present, the left-turning traffic has to wait along with the straight-moving traffic as there is little space to turn, police officials say.

"We have some plans that are at a discussion stage to implement on this corridor. We are exploring our options and will implement them according to feasibility," said additional commissioner of police (traffic) Anil Shukla.

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Luxury on wheels' bus rolls out from Delhi

NEW DELHI: Noted auto designer Dilip Chhabria's state of the-art bus with luxurious reclining seats for nine people, facilities like on-board spa with trained therapists, galley to serve hot and cold food and beverages, wi-fi enabled entertainment sysytem and a washroom, will flag off from New Delhi in two weeks.

Popular Indian CV maker Ashok Leyland Ltd and Toofles Foundation launched the new Ashok Leyland Luxura Magical India Bus, which is said to be a unique concept being introduced for the first time in the country.

Chhabria whose company had created the first prototype for the Aston Martin Vanquish that appeared in the James Bond movie 'Die Another Day' has also designed vanity vans for Bollywood stars such as Sanjay Dutt, Shah Rukh Khan.

"The amazing luxury bus has been modelled on the lines of a private jet. It is proven beyond doubt, if you are able to offer luxury, entertainment much cheaper than a private jet, I'm sure it will multiply as people would come to know," said Chhabria.

Except unfriendly "uplands" the bus is available for charter for any location for a day or for an overnight trip to Agra, Jaipur, Neemrana or any of the numerous travel destinations in and around Delhi.

Tariffs for the bus have been designed according to market standards and to charter a bus from Delhi to Agra and return by evening would cost Rs 65,000.

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Murder accused shot at inside Rohini court complex in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A murder accused was on Wednesday shot at inside a court complex in Delhi while he was being taken to the courtroom from the lock up.

According to lawyers present at the spot, Neeraj was shot in the chest by two unidentified assailants while he was being escorted by policemen to a courtroom at Rohini Court Complex here for hearing of a murder case.

Lawyers said two bullets were pumped in his chest and he has been taken to a nearby hospital.

Advocate B S Rana, who is appearing for Neeraj, said he has been facing trial for allegedly murdering a girl and he is suspected to have been shot by the family members of the deceased girl.

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Ongoing nursery admission process will remain unaffected: Delhi High Court

NEW DELHI: The ongoing nursery admission process in the national capital would remain unaffected as the Delhi High Court today upheld the validity of two government notifications that gave powers to private unaided schools to formulate their own criteria.

"We uphold the notifications," a bench comprising Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain said while disposing of a PIL seeking quashing of the notifications issued by the Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry and the Directorate of Education (DoE) respectively.

The court also made it clear that the ongoing "nursery admission process would remain unaffected".

The court allowed the plea of the Centre that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (also known as RTE Act) is applicable to a child between the age group of 6 to 14 and that the states were free to formulate policies to govern pre-school (nursery) admission.

The bench, however, asked the HRD Ministry to consider amending the Act to include the admission of pre-school classes under the legislation to extend the benefits to children below the age of six.

The court, in its judgement said that if the issue of pre-school admissions is not included under the RTE Act, then "it would render the law meaningless".

The PIL had been filed by NGO Social Jurist, which had challenged the two notifications issued by the HRD Ministry and the Delhi government.

On November 23, 2010, the ministry had issued guidelines under the RTE Act that had allowed the schools to frame their own admission criteria, the NGO had submitted.

Later, the DoE of the Delhi government had also issued similar guidelines, it had said.

The NGO in its PIL had alleged that the notifications negated the RTE Act as the private unaided schools were allowed to formulate their own criteria for nursery admission.

The PIL had also alleged that the notifications gave "a totally free hand to all unaided recognised private schools to formulate their own nursery admission criteria based on categorisation of children...".

However, the categorisations of children in admission have specifically been barred by the RTE Act, it submitted, adding that some schools still give preference in admission on grounds such as religion, alumni and sibling.

A federation of private schools, however, had opposed the PIL, saying private institutions cannot be forced to "toe" the diktat so far as the admission process is concerned.

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Surgery a month away, Sikar rape victim has nowhere to go

NEW DELHI: The fate of the 11-year-old gang rape victim from Sikar in Rajasthan, who was admitted in AIIMS recently, continues to hang in balance. The institute doctors have advised the victim's family to come after a month for another surgery—till the time she gets stable enough to undergo the procedure requiring surgical repair of the private parts. But family members say they have nowhere else to go.

"My sister's condition has improved slightly. She is able to eat and speaks a little. But she is not fit enough to be discharged. Also, we do not want to take her back to Jaipur where the accused are still walking free," the victim's elder sister said. She said they fear for her life.

AIIMS spokesperson Dr Y K Gupta said the patient was recovering well but a decision on surgery is yet to be taken. "I am not aware if any decision to discharge has been taken or not," he said.

The 11-year-old had been abducted by six men in August last year, gang-raped and thrashed so badly that her private parts were completely damaged. The doctors said she had suffered a complete perineal tear — there was no partition of muscle left between her rectum and vagina. "She has already undergone multiple procedures for repair of the vagina and rectum. We are waiting for the infection to settle before putting her through another procedure," said a doctor.

Poonam Azad, wife of MP Kirti Azad, who was instrumental in getting the patient referred to AIIMS, said that the family is terrified to go back to Rajasthan but they cannot afford private accommodation in the capital.

The youngest of seven siblings—six sisters and one brother—from Darbhanga in Bihar, the victim came to Sikar with her mother in 2011 for work after her father died. She was abducted from a town bus stand by six men who left her for dead after committing the crime.

The brutality involved in the gang rape case notwithstanding, what has shocked people more is the apathy of police. Till a day after the incident, police refused to even register a case, family members said. Pressure from locals and women's organizations who held protests ensured that a case was finally registered. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar spoke to Ashok Gehlot, his Rajasthan counterpart, following which the administration swung into action.

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RTE Act not applicable to nursery admission, Delhi HC rules

NEW DELHI: The ongoing nursery admission process in the national capital would remain unaffected as the Delhi High Court today upheld the validity of two government notifications that gave powers to private unaided schools to formulate their own criteria.

"We uphold the notifications," a bench comprising Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain said while disposing of a PIL seeking quashing of the notifications issued by the Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry and the Directorate of Education (DoE) respectively.

The court also made it clear that the ongoing "nursery admission process would remain unaffected".

The court allowed the plea of the Centre that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (also known as RTE Act) is applicable to a child between the age group of 6 to 14 and that the states were free to formulate policies to govern pre-school (nursery) admission.

The bench, however, asked the HRD Ministry to consider amending the Act to include the admission of pre-school classes under the legislation to extend the benefits to children below the age of six.

The court, in its judgement said that if the issue of pre-school admissions is not included under the RTE Act, then "it would render the law meaningless".

The PIL had been filed by NGO Social Jurist, which had challenged the two notifications issued by the HRD Ministry and the Delhi government.

On November 23, 2010, the ministry had issued guidelines under the RTE Act that had allowed the schools to frame their own admission criteria, the NGO had submitted.

Later, the DoE of the Delhi government had also issued similar guidelines, it had said.

The NGO in its PIL had alleged that the notifications negated the RTE Act as the private unaided schools were allowed to formulate their own criteria for nursery admission.

The PIL had also alleged that the notifications gave "a totally free hand to all unaided recognised private schools to formulate their own nursery admission criteria based on categorisation of children...".

However, the categorisations of children in admission have specifically been barred by the RTE Act, it submitted, adding that some schools still give preference in admission on grounds such as religion, alumni and sibling.

A federation of private schools, however, had opposed the PIL, saying private institutions cannot be forced to "toe" the diktat so far as the admission process is concerned.

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Unique exhibition puts up art installations with diverse themes on display

NEW DELHI: Many visitors to Dilli Haat on Monday were perplexed to see two mutilated birds in the middle of the market. Upon closer look, they found that these were metal birds; but still, the reason for their being there wasn't clear until a tiny signboard close by arrested their attention. The birds were public art installations.

At the India Habitat Centre, a deconstructed analog camera attached to hanging strings got people curious too. Their answers lay in a nearby art gallery.

For the creators of these artworks, it's a satisfying thing to see people getting curious. There's a huge difference between holding an exhibition in the confines of an art gallery with only patrons around and putting up artworks at a public place—the latter give a certain character to the urban landscape.

Ask Achia Anzi (33) about public art and the creator of the metal birds tells you that it's a historical concept. "The Renaissance masterpiece, David by Michelangelo, was initially placed at a public square in Florence. That was also public art. The beautiful sculptures on Indian temples are also public art. But for sometime, art became restricted to galleries and homes, so contemporary artists are trying to get it into public domain once again through these kind of installations," says the Israel-born artist, who has been living in India for a decade now and is a visiting professor of Hebrew at JNU.

He has named his work after a poem by noted Zionist poet Hayim Nahman Bialik—'To the Bird'. Anzi summarizes his work with a few lines from the poem: "Peaceful be your return lovely bird from warm lands back to my window." His work talks about the longing for a homeland that has now changed. It is no more the beautiful, peaceful state it used to be.

"Bialik wrote it on Israel when he was in exile. Today, I am an exile. I have chosen not to live in Israel because it's not the country I dreamt of. It's war-torn. I use the birds to express how the dream of Zionism has fallen," Anzi says.

For S Thiru—the creator of the camera art—public artworks represent the "collective consciousness" of a city. He has lived in Vadodara and seen how art installations have given a character to the city. "Vadodara has one of the best fine arts colleges in India. Every circle on the roads of Vadodara has a public art installation," he says.

His installation at India Habitat Centre tries to deconstruct photography. "We have tried to open the camera apart in search of its soul. Every part of the camera stands exposed just like different layers of meaning in a photograph. I know that a lot of people wonder what it means, but at least they interact with the installation. It makes them think about it," he says.

All these artworks are part of a festival called Publica organized by Floodlight Foundation. Sheeba Dhanjal's 'Crash 2000' is another interesting artwork. It is a mix of 36 portraits of people from across the world, across different professions and social strata—some famous and some not—all of whom died in car crashes. It seems to represent death as a leveller.

Founder of Floodlight Foundation Surbhi Modi feels Delhi needs public artworks. "Unlike Mumbai which is dense with high-rises and has hardly any space, Delhi is very flat. It has open parks and gardens where permanent art installations can be placed. Art installations become a part of the city's landscape and give an identity to the place. It also celebrates art," she says.

Most of these artworks will be on display until March.

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Woman caught with fake currency at IGI airport, sent to CBI custody

NEW DELHI: A 55-year-old woman has been arrested at IGI airport here for allegedly smuggling fake Indian currency of face value of Rs 4.9 lakh by concealing it in shin pads worn by her and has been sent to CBI custody by a Delhi court.

Harjeet Kaur was arrested by DRI officials from Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Aiport on February 16 after she arrived from Bangkok by a Thai Airways International flight.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vidya Parkash sent Kaur to CBI custody till tomorrow.

"After going through entire facts and circumstances, court is of the view that police custody remand of accused is required to unearth the entire conspiracy by sustained interrogation as well as to effect further recovery of fake Indian currency notes if possible and to apprehend other associates, if any, involved in commission of the offence," the court said.

Kaur has been booked for criminal conspiracy and possessing fake Indian currency.

Besides her, Amrik Singh, a resident of Thailand who had allegedly handed her the fake currency to be taken to India, has also been booked in the case.

Kaur was intercepted by DRI officials at the exit gate of the customs area when she opted for clearance through green channel after depositing her custom declaration slip.

The officials recovered two bundles of fake Indian notes of 1000 denomination and six bundles of Rs 500 notes with a total face value of Rs 4,93,500.

The case was later transferred to CBI since provisions of the Indian Penal Code were invoked against her.

CBI in its remand application told the court that the bundles of fake currency were hidden on her person beneath the shin pads worn on her legs.

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Man arrested for cheating people with 'magic pen'

NEW DELHI: Using a 'magic pen' and lighter, RahulJain planned to earn a comfortable living, pay off his debt and even treat his girl friend.

Arrested today, this 26-year-old revealed a unique modus operandi, which came to light when an assistant manager at HDFC Bank became suspicious of a cheque.

According to police, Jain first saw the magic pen which has erasable ink being sold at Nehru Place market and decided to use it to alter contents of cheques.

During interrogation, the accused said that he used his position as a collector of cheques and cash on behalf of mobile operator Vodafone to gain people's confidence.

Gradually, he started luring them to make payment through cheque, persuading them to use his magic pen.

Thereafter, he would erase the contents and amount of the cheque by using a lighter flame and refilling the contents and amount as per his own whim.

The police got a whiff of his actions when on February 15 assitant manager of HDFC Bank, Manu Sharma became suspicious of a bank cheque produced by Jain when he put it in the scanning device and reported the matter to his boss, who called the police.

It was then found that the cheque had been issued for Rs 10 to Airtel and not for Rs 25,000 payable to Self - as was written on it after being tampered by Jain.

This lead to the arrest of the accused, who police believe has duped several people using this method.

The accused, a resident of Adhyapak Nagar, had studied up to class 9 and started working in call centres soon after.

During this time, he became addicted to gambling and had to take a loan of around Rs 50,000 .

The police have recovered the tools used in the crime and further investigation into the matter is on.

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Minor raped in Delhi, accused arrested

NEW DELHI: A 60-year-old man was arrested for raping a four-year-old girl here, police said Monday. The accused has been arrested.

The incident was reported from west Delhi's Naraina area on Sunday evening.

The accused, identified as Sachchidanand, was hired by the victim's family for whitewashing the house.

After finding the victim alone in the house, the accused raped her and fled from the spot but was arrested later in the night, said a police officer.

"The victim was taken to a nearby hospital where her condition is stated to be out of danger," said the officer.

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Delhi gang rape: Victim's friend cross-examined by counsel for accused

NEW DELHI: The male friend and the sole eyewitness to the December 16 brutal assault and gang-rape of the victim in a moving bus was cross-examined by the defence in the fast-track court trying the case here on Monday.

The youth, a software engineer, who had testified as a witness for the prosecution during in camera proceedings against the five accused who have pleaded not guilty to the charges of rape and murder framed against them, was today cross-examined by the counsel for accused Pawan Gupta.

His cross-examination will continue tomorrow.

The victim's friend arrived before additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna in a wheelchair because of the injuries inflicted on him in the heinous attack of December 16, 2012.

Apart from the victim's friend, three others — including a person who had seen the accused destroying the evidence after commission of the crime — have already deposed in the court.

Meanwhile, the court will tomorrow record the evidence of the youth and four others including the magistrate, who was part of the judicial proceedings relating to the test identification parade (TIP) of the accused.

The 23-year-old girl had died on December 29, 2012 in a Singapore hospital as a result of the grievous injuries she had suffered when she was sexually assaulted by six people, one of whom has been declared as a juvenile.

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Delhi cop attacked with brick by snatchers

NEW DELHI: A 58-year-old Delhi Police sub-inspector (SI) and his friend were attacked with bricks and injured by two bike-borne mobile phone snatchers, police said on Monday. One of the attackers was later arrested.

The incident was reported from central Delhi's Paharganj area. Deshpal Singh, an SI, was returning with his friend Surenderpal Singh on a bike Sunday evening.

"At the time of the incident, Deshpal was in civil uniform. The accused approached the victims and tried to snatch mobile from Surenderpal's hand," said a police officer.

One of the attacker, identified as Pawan, was arrested later while hunt is on for his associate.

"When they resisted, one of the accused attacked them with a brick and fled from there after robbing the wallet (which had some money) of the policeman," said the officer.

Both were injured in the attack.

Deshpal is posted with the Police Control Room (PCR) section and has been residing in east Delhi's Bhajanpura.

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Smarter use of nutrients will help clean up the planet, say scientists

NEW DELHI: A new report commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) highlights how humans have massively altered the natural flows of nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients. While this has had huge benefits for world food and energy production, it has caused a web of water and air pollution that is damaging human health, causing toxic algal blooms, killing fish, threatening sensitive ecosystems and contributing to climate change.

The study "Our Nutrient World" was launched at the UNEP Governing Council/ Global Ministerial Environment Forum in progress in Nairobi, Kenya, from February 18 to 22, 2013. Around 50 experts from 14 countries carried out the study .

According to a press statement by the by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK, the scientists suggest that a 20% improvement in nutrient use efficiency by 2020 would reduce the annual use of nitrogen fertiliser by 20 million tonnes. They term this global aspirational goal "20:20 for 2020".Their analysis shows how this could provide a net saving worth around 110 (30 to 260) billion pounds Sterling per year. This figure includes implementation costs and financial benefits from reduced nitrogen use and improvements to the environment and human health.

The report stops short of recommending global legislation to control nutrient use, but recognises that this a global problem, especially given the global trade in agricultural products. It calls for an intergovernmental framework to address these issues, and proposes a road map of how such an agreement would look.

Lead author of the report, professor Mark Sutton from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said: "Our analysis shows that by improving the management of the flow of nutrients we can help protect the environment, climate and human health, while addressing food and energy security concerns."

Pollution sources considered in the report include emissions from agriculture and combustion of fossil fuel. Globally around 80% of harvested nitrogen and phosphorus is consumed by livestock rather than directly by people, showing how global nutrient supply and pollution are dominated by humans' choice to consume animal products.

The report proposes a package of ten key actions to reduce these pollution threats, and makes recommendations for shared action by governments, business and citizens.

Key points include:

* Actions that improve the management of nutrients in agriculture, including crops, livestock and manure management. Measures include a range of techniques, which are already available, but typically not yet applied, including precision agricultural methods suitable for both developed, and developing countries. One example already being used in Bangladesh is to 'plant' large fertiliser pellets into the ground, preventing ammonia emission into the air.

* Actions to reduce nutrient losses from industry and wastewater treatment, including the recycling of available resources. A long-term ambition is identified to develop methods to recapture nitrogen oxides from combustion sources, which alone represents a lost resource worth around £25 billion per year.

* Actions to improve local optimisation of nutrient flows, connecting arable and livestock farming to improve nutrient recycling opportunities.

* Lowering personal consumption of animal protein among populations consuming high rates by voluntary reduction and avoiding excess. With rapidly increasing meat and dairy consumption, as Asia and Latin America aspire to European and North American norms, our diet choices have a huge potential to influence future levels of global nutrient pollution.

Co-author Dr Bruna Grizzetti, based atCNRS/ Universite Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) in Paris , France,said: "The option of localising agricultural production is a really important one. Crop and livestock farming are often separated by many 100s of km. Localisation helps improve nutrient recycling, reducing nutrient losses, while bringing the production benefits and pollution responsibilities closer together."

Another co-author professor Oene Oenema based atAlterra and Wageningen University, the Netherlands, said: "Farmers in various countries can greatly decrease nutrient losses and increase nutrient use efficiency through coherent packages of measures. This efficiency gain is the result of research, education, demonstration, novel technologies and improved management techniques."

The report highlights how substantial progress has been made in some countries in reducing emissions from combustion sources and wastewater treatment. By comparison, much less progress has so far been made in reducing emissions from agriculture or regarding citizens' own choices. The relationships highlight the importance of working with key 'cluster points' in nutrient chains where a few key individuals or communities, such as local leaders, supermarkets and governments exercise substantial control.

Sutton said: "One option is to extend and strengthen the mandate of an existing agreement called the 'Global Programme of Action for the protection of the marine environment from land-based activities' (GPA). By clubbing together to meet multiple global challenges for food, energy, water and air pollution, climate and health, a much stronger gravity to motivate action can be expected."

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