Police sting blows lid off SIM racket

NEW DELHI: At a time when use of SIM cards obtained on fake IDs by terrorist groups has become a trend, an organized racket of selling SIM cards in bulk has come to fore in the national capital. Three people were arrested from Tri Nagar and around 4,000 SIM cards seized.

The gang sold SIM cards for as little as Rs 10 according to sources. The accused, Sandeep Kumar, Gazanfar Khan and Farman Khan have been booked under various sections of IPC including cheating and forgery.

The police received information that Sandeep Kumar, a resident of Omkar Nagar was selling SIM cards on the basis of forged IDs. "A police officer posing as a customer went to Kumar's office on Friday. Even when he had no ID or photograph, Kumar settled a deal for 700 SIM cards of two service providers and demanded Rs 7,000 in advance. " the Delhi Police FIR said.

During search another 3,280 SIM cards were recovered with 250 forms without stamps. The employees of the service provider may have been involved in the racket, said the police.

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Cops find Badarpur rape accused, girl to identify

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Sunday claimed to have identified the assailant in the Badarpur rape case. The prime accused seems to be a 15-year-old boy who lives near the spot where the incident had taken place, sources said.

Police will take photographs of 22 suspects for identification by the victim, who is yet to give her statement. "We are preparing the digital collection. We have questioned many people. The final confirmation can come only from the victim," said a source.

Delhi Police had earlier collected some hair samples from the spot, which have been sent for forensic examination. The 15-year-old had been following the victim for the past two weeks and was seen loitering around the residence. The accused, sources said, often chased her to the toilet where the crime was finally committed.

In fact, sources said, the accused went to the parents and informed them about her. He was examined by cops and juvenile officers, said an officer. Cops also probed the role of drug addicts and searched 400 slums. Investigations have revealed that the victim had resisted the assault, resulting in injuries to her throat.

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Badarpur rape case: Doctors say victim’s condition stable

NEW DELHI: The condition of the 6-year-old girl, who was raped in Badarpur, is said to be stable. According to doctors at AIIMS Trauma Centre, she is showing signs of recovery. On Sunday, she was shifted from the hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to the High Dependency Unit (HDU), and has been put on a liquid diet.

"She is conscious. In the last 24 hours, there has been improvement in her condition. We are planning to give her semi-solid food from tomorrow (Monday). She has been shifted to HDU and is under constant observation,'' said Dr MC Misra, chief of AIIMS Trauma Centre. Though the girl has suffered serious injuries to her private parts, sources say, doctors are not planning any reconstructive surgery in the next few days. "We first want her condition to stabilize,'' said a senior doctor.

The condition of the 5-year-old Gandhi Nagar rape victim is also said to be stable. "She is stable. There has been no change in her condition,'' said Dr D K Gupta, medical superintendent, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

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Man held for trying to rape 7-year-old

NEW DELHI: A 35-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to rape a girl in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area. Police said man attacked the 7-year-old girl in Moti Nagar on Friday when she and her younger sister were alone at their residence.

Their parents had gone out for a while, leaving the kids alone.

The accused, identified as Awadh, slipped into the house and tried to sexually assault the girl but she raised the alarm. On hearing the girl's cries for help, their neighbours rushed to the house and caught hold of Awadh. They thrashed him before handing him over to the cops.

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Senior Delhi cops transferred for dereliction of duty

NEW DELHI: The deputy commissioner of police of east Delhi, where the rape of a five-year-old girl had taken place, was shifted in a reshuffle of middle-level officers of Delhi Police.

Prabhakar, a 2003-batch IPS officer who was deputy commissioner of police (east), was transfered to Prime Minister's security in the same rank, a senior police official said.

Prabhakar had headed the district where the rape of the five-year-old girl in Gandhinagar led to protests in the capital.

It was alleged the local police did not investigate the kidnapping and subsequent rape of the girl properly. A vigilance enquiry had indicted the station house officer of Gandhinagar police station for dereliction of duty.

Prabhakar has been replaced by Ajay Kumar, an IPS officer of 2001 batch who was handling the PM security.

Chhaya Sharma, a 1999-batch officer who was heading south delhi district as its deputy commissioner of police, was transfered to Mizoram. DCP (outer) BS Jaiswal, a 2001 batch officer, replaces her.

Sharma had headed the south district when the gangrape of a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus on December 16 last year, took place.

A senior police official said the transfer of Prabhakar came against the backdrop of the rape incident and it was "obvious".

On Sharma's transfer, the official said AGMU cadre officers have to serve outside Delhi also and her posting to Mizoram was due.

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Remembering Mirza Ghalib with a mushaira

NEW DELHI: A mushaira in Mughaliya andaz (style) on Saturday evening at the India Islamic Cultural Centre will be the highlight of two-day cultural festival commemorating the death anniversary of renowned 19th century Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib.

The main attraction of the mushaira are Hindi poets, Uday Pratap Singh and Laxmi Shanker Vajpayee. Others participating in the mushaira include Munnawar Rana, Wasim Barelvi, Nawaz Deobandi, Rahat Indori, Sharaf Nanparvi, Kursheed Haider, Aizaz Merut Popularly, Manzar Bhopali, Salim Sidiqui, Anwar Jalalpuri and Shahid Anjum.

Earlier on April 26, the screening of a documentary on the life and times of the Urdu poet by well-known Kathak dancer Uma Sharma marked the opening of the festival. The film titled Yadgar-e- Ghalib included recitations of Ghalib's couplets by eminent poets such as Sardar Jafri, Kaifi Azmi and Ahmed Faraz ( Pakistan).

The film was followed by Nrityabhaav, a dance-drama based on Ghalib's couplets by Sharma and her group. The verses had been specially selected to bring out the universal appeal of his thought over life, death and love.

According to Sharma, the couplets were specially chosen from Ghalib's later work. "He was essentially a romantic poet who spent his last days in stark poverty and hardships. Hence the dancers captured three moods: the remorseful, the lonely and the philosophical Ghalib," says Sharma, founder of Ghalib Memorial Movement (GMM) that organised the event in collaboration with ICCR and Delhi government.

The GMM wanted to hold the function in February (Ghalib died on Feb 15) but lack of funds led to the delay, says Sharma.

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BJP leaders meet President, demand dismissal of Dikshit govt

NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP leaders on Saturday met President Pranab Mukherjee and demanded dismissal of Sheila Dikshit government on the grounds of "deteriorating" law and order situation in the national capital.

The delegation led by state BJP chief Vijay Goel and comprising leader of opposition in assembly V K Malhotra, BJP national secretary Aarti Mehra, former state BJP president Vijender Gupta and senior MLAs alleged that the Congress government in Delhi had failed to ensure security of its citizens.

"We have asked the President to consider dismissing the government under section 239 AA of the Constitution, where he can dismiss a government for non-performance," Goel said.

"The President has assured us that he will look into the matter and speak to Prime Minister and home minister on the issue," the Delhi BJP chief said.

He added that the chief minister herself has asked for the removal of Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar over deteriorating law and order situation and rise in incident of rapes, which makes it evident that her government has lost total control.

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Six-year-old girl resisted assault, uncle says

NEW DELHI: The "brave" six-year-old girl undergoing treatment at AIIMS after being allegedly raped had apparently resisted the assault, which may be the reason for her serious throat injuries, her uncle said on Saturday.

"When we found the girl, she had held herself steadfast with the toilet wall. She had her throat slit. It clearly appeared that she had resisted the assault," girl's uncle, Jeetinder told IANS. Her father is a balloon seller.

A passer-by had spotted the six-year-old minor lying in an unconscious state near a public toilet in Badarpur area of south Delhi Friday afternoon, who later informed the police.

The police are suspecting that the girl may have been raped, but the doctors have yet not confirmed. Around 22 people have been rounded up for questioning and the public toilet's contractor has also been detained.

"When the girl's cousin, who first got to know about the news went to see her, he found a deep injury on her neck. She was completely naked," the victim's uncle said.

The girl was taken to a nearby medical store, from where she was shifted to All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Trauma Centre, Jeetinder said.

The victim had suffered critical injuries and had to undergo a three-hour-long surgery to save her life, Friday night. Doctors on Saturday said the girl is stable now.

"There is severe damage to the anal canal and the doctors had to perform a colostomy to create space for passing stools, apart from dressing to contain infection and clean dead tissues," MC Mishra, chief of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre had said on Friday.

On Satuday, the family of the victim held protest on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. They also blocked the traffic for about an hour and demanded immediate action from the administration.

The minor's father is a balloon-seller. The family, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, had been living in a slum cluster near National Thermal Power Corporation plant in Badarpur for the past 25 years. The victim girl has seven other siblings.

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Six-year-old resisted assault, uncle says

NEW DELHI: The "brave" six-year-old girl undergoing treatment at AIIMS after being allegedly raped had apparently resisted the assault, which may be the reason for her serious throat injuries, her uncle said on Saturday.

"When we found the girl, she had held herself steadfast with the toilet wall. She had her throat slit. It clearly appeared that she had resisted the assault," girl's uncle, Jeetinder told IANS. Her father is a balloon seller.

A passer-by had spotted the six-year-old minor lying in an unconscious state near a public toilet in Badarpur area of south Delhi Friday afternoon, who later informed the police.

The police are suspecting that the girl may have been raped, but the doctors have yet not confirmed. Around 22 people have been rounded up for questioning and the public toilet's contractor has also been detained.

"When the girl's cousin, who first got to know about the news went to see her, he found a deep injury on her neck. She was completely naked," the victim's uncle said.

The girl was taken to a nearby medical store, from where she was shifted to All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Trauma Centre, Jeetinder said.

The victim had suffered critical injuries and had to undergo a three-hour-long surgery to save her life, Friday night. Doctors on Saturday said the girl is stable now.

"There is severe damage to the anal canal and the doctors had to perform a colostomy to create space for passing stools, apart from dressing to contain infection and clean dead tissues," MC Mishra, chief of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre had said on Friday.

On Satuday, the family of the victim held protest on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. They also blocked the traffic for about an hour and demanded immediate action from the administration.

The minor's father is a balloon-seller. The family, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, had been living in a slum cluster near National Thermal Power Corporation plant in Badarpur for the past 25 years. The victim girl has seven other siblings.

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Documentary on Mirza Ghalib highlight of two-day festival

NEW DELHI: A documentary on the life and times of the renowned 19th century Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib will be the showpiece event of a two-day cultural festival at the India Islamic Cultural Centre on April 26 and 27.

The opening day marks the screening of the film, Yadgar-e- Ghalib, by well-known Kathak dancer Uma Sharma. The film includes old recitations of Ghalib's couplets by eminent poets of the past such as Sardar Jafri, Kaifi Azmi and Ahmed Faraz ( Pakistan).

The screening will be followed by Nrityabhaav, a dance-drama based on Ghalib's couplets by Sharma and her group. The verses have been specially selected to bring out the universal appeal of his thought over life, death and love.

According to Sharma, the couplets are specially chosen from Ghalib's later work. "He was essentially a romantic poet who spent his last days in stark poverty and hardships. Hence the dancers will capture three moods: the remorseful, the lonely and the philosophical Ghalib," says Sharma, founder of Ghalib Memorial Movement (GMM) that organises the event in collaboration with ICCR and Delhi government. The evening will end with ghazals by Ustad Moin Khan from Mumbai.

A mushaira in Mughaliya andaz (style) will be held on April 27. Hindi poets Uday Pratap Singh and Laxmi Shanker Vajpayee are the mushaira's highlight. Others to read out their couplets include Munnawar Rana, Wasim Barelvi, Nawaz Deobandi, Rahat Indori, Sharaf Nanparvi, Kursheed Haider, Aizaz Merut Popularly, Manzar Bhopali, Salim Sidiqui, Anwar Jalalpuri and Shahid Anjum.

The GMM wanted to hold the function in February (Ghalib died on Feb 15) but lack of funds led to the delay, says Sharma.

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RWA draws flak for security lapses

NEW DELHI: The Madhuban Colony, where seven masked men barged into the house of former director of prosecutions (NCT) on Thursday and smothered his son to death, is said to be a safe colony in east Delhi. After rising incidents of petty crimes, the residents requested the RWA to increase security in the area. But despite repeated requests, no action has been taken so far.

A tenant living at the 250-family colony claims that it is easy to gain access to this "gated'' colony. "The four-gated colony is manned by three guards during daytime, and five at night. But just one guard can be seen in the entire block after 10pm. Most often, he is spotted noting down car registration numbers at the main gate, said the tenant, adding that it is easy to gain access to the DDA park, adjacent to the B block where the incident took place.

A retired IG-level officer's family told TOI how the local RWA had charged Rs 2,000 a month for five guards, but only one would be visible at night. When TOI visited the RWA office, it declined to comment. "We will not be speaking to anyone on the incident as it is a sensitive issue,'' one of the office bearers said.

According to local police, all attempts to secure the colony have been stone-walled. "We had asked for CCTV cameras to be put up at strategic locations. But none of them have been placed so far. We also asked the guards to be verified, along with masons, vendors and labourers who work in the area,'' said an officer.

The locals, however, want police to play a more proactive role. Two assailants had opened fire at a constable at the Preet Vihar crossing on Wednesday night and another robbery took place in the neighbouring Ram Vihar area. "Lax policing adds to the crimes in the area,'' said Mukesh Singh, a local resident.

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Minor sisters’ rape: 1 held

NEW DELHI: Two minor sisters, aged 13 and 11 years, were allegedly raped by their mother's lover in northwest Delhi, police said. The accused, Rakesh Mishra (35), is a mechanic and has been arrested.

"The man had been staying in the victims' house at Shahbad Dairy in north Delhi for the past one year. He had allegedly raped the sisters several times before," a senior cop said. On Wednesday night, the elder sister informed her neighbour about the incident, who then informed the police.

The girls' medical examination confirmed rape. Mishra, a native of UP, was having illicit relations with the victims' mother, a maid.

"We are verifying whether the mother knew about the assault. Two cases of rape have been filed against Mishra," the cop said.

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Robbers strike at home of senior lawyer, kill son

NEW DELHI: Seven armed robbers wearing masks entered the house of a senior lawyer, a retired director of prosecution, smothered his 32-year-old son to death and made off with cash and jewellery worth lakhs early Thursday morning.

Police said the men removed a window grill to enter the house in east Delhi's Madhuban Colony near Preet Vihar, a locality that's home to several retired IAS and IPS officers, as well as judges. S K Datta, 71, and his wife Prabha, 67, were tied and their son, Animesh, was killed probably because he resisted the intruders.

An officer said Animesh, who was currently without a job, began to struggle with the armed men. He was pinned down and smothered with a pillow. The accused, who were carrying a gun, left after plundering the house for more than half-an-hour. Datta, who retired as the top prosecution lawyer (of NCT) in May 2004, was asked to hand over valuables at gunpoint.

The crime is being investigated no less than special CP (law and order) Deepak Mishra. According to DCP (east) Prabhakar, the robbery took place between 2.30am-3.30am, when the family was sleeping at their B Block residence locate inside the gated colony.

Though the exact loss is yet to be calculated, the jewellery taken by the men include a bracelet, chains, gold bangles and three costly rings. Besides, Rs 25,000 was also taken in cash.

Top district cops believe the robbers formed two groups and attacked both the elderly couple and their son sleeping in different rooms. "Both the advocate and his wife had no idea about the intrusion till they were surrounded. By the time they opened their eyes, the accused had began tying them up with clothes lying around in the house. The robbers initially ordered them not to protest promising them that they meant no harm. But the shocked couple shouted for help. Their son, Animesh, sleeping in the other room, heard the shouts and rushed to his parents' room," said a senior investigating officer.

Datta's version was slightly different. "Suddenly, seven people were inside the house. We heard he screams from our son's room and tried to rush there. However, we too were tied up. They did not kill our son in front of our eyes," he told TOI. He said he was in a daze and did not exactly remember the exact sequence of events.

The senior lawyer, however, maintained that the accused were speaking in clear Hindi and did not use Bengali - which means the several Bangladeshi gangs active in the area were probably not involved.

According to Ranjit Singh, Datta's neighbour, it was Prabha who first managed to wriggle herself free. "It seems the robbers did not fasten the knots too tightly on her. She helped untie her husband and both of them called their married daughter, who stays in the same colony. She called up the police.

"The family rang my bell around 3.45am and I accompanied them to a dentist, Dr Anasuya Sharma, residing next door. Though she did not find any signs of life in Animesh, the cops took him to the nearby Metro Hospital where he was declared brought dead,'' said Singh.

Asked if the robbery had anything to do with Datta's past as a prosecution lawyer, the family said they were not sure. A case under IPC sections 395 (dacoity) and 396 (murder in dacoity) has been registered at Preet Vihar. "We are investigating the case keeping in mind the specific modus operandi, timing and movement of the accused,'' said Asif Mohammad, additional DCP (east).

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Delhi high court to government: Explain how minors open website accounts

NEW DELHI: How do minors in India access social networking sites and are allowed opening an account even though Indian laws don't permit it? The Delhi high court on Thursday posed this query at the central government and gave it 10 days to file an affidavit.

The HC also questioned two US-based entities — Facebook Inc and Google Inc — asking them also to respond. It was hearing a plea by former BJP ideologue K N Govindacharya seeking among others, strict guidelines to curb exposure of minors to online sexual predators.

It also seeks an order for recovery of taxes from the websites on their income from operations in India.

A bench of Justices B D Ahmed and Vibhu Bakhru asked Sumeet Pushkarna, the counsel for the Centre, to make the government's stand clear on the issue through an affidavit within 10 days and posted the matter for May 13.

"How can children below 18 years have an agreement with any of the social network sites, including Facebook? The Union of India is directed to file an affidavit on the issue within 10 days," the bench said. It added that "Both Facebook Inc and Google Inc are US-based entities and are hereby impleaded as respondents. Notices should be issued to the newly added parties."

The bench passed the order after hearing the argument of Govindacharya's counsel Veerag Gupta that minors are getting into an agreement with the social networking sites to open an account which is against the Indian Majority Act, the Indian Contract Act and also the Information and Technology Act.

Due to non-verification of users, more than eight crore Facebook users across the world were found to be "fake", which the website admitted before the US authority, Gupta told the HC blaming the Centre for failing to take any action against the foreign companies which have extensive Indian operations.

Govindacharya, at present a patron of Rashtriya Swabhimaan Aandolan, filed public interest litigation (PIL), seeking directions to Centre and the two software giants to "ensure proper accounting compliances as per RBI guidelines".

"Facebook gross revenue for previous year was $37 billion approximately but they are not paying due taxes to Indian government," the petition argued seeking a direction to ensure safety of the data of 50 million Indian users, which was transferred "to the USA and is being used for commercial gains in violation of the right to privacy".

The PIL urges the HC to "Issue a writ of Mandamus ...to ensure verification of all existing users and future new members of social networking websites with instructions not to do agreements with children below 18 years."

Arguing that lack of monitoring makes minors vulnerable the PIL further seeks creation of a national register of persons indulging in sexual offences and heinous crimes and stopping such persons from joining social networking websites.

The petition, which listed the alleged violations of various terms by the websites, also sought a direction to the Centre to ensure that government officers "do not use social networking websites through government computers" as they may pose threat to sensitive data and national computer network.

"As per telecommunication minister's statement in Parliament, the government lost $4 billion every year due to cyber crimes and approximately 90 million government websites were hacked in last three years," it pointed out.

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Missing teenage girl found dead in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A 17-year-old girl, who went missing on Thursday, has been found dead at a male friend's rented accommodation, having allegedly committed suicide, police said on Friday.

"The Class 12 student went to school yesterday (Thursday) but did not return home. Her parents filed a missing complaint with the police around 6pm, and within hours we were informed by the friend of the girl that she hanged herself in his rented accommodation in the Rohini area of north Delhi," a police official said.

According to police, at around 8pm police control room received a call saying the girl had committed suicide. A police team rushed to the spot and found the girl lying on the floor, with some blood found trickling from her nose and mouth.

Police questioned the victim's 20-year-old friend, who told the officials that the girl had come to meet her at his room. Afterwards, he had gone out somewhere, leaving her in the room. When he returned, he found her hanging from the ceiling fan.

The youth said he had taken the down the body, laid it on the floor and informed police. The official said that a suicide note had been recovered from the house.

"The girl might have committed suicide. We are verifying the (authenticity of the) suicide note and are questioning the male friend," the official added.

Police was also waiting for the report of postmortem examination before further investigation, the official said.

Police said that the youth's family lives in the neighbourhood of girl's house in Mangolpuri area of west Delhi. He had rented the room a few months back. The duo were in relationship and used to meet very often.

Alleging that police delay in investigation led to the girl's death, family members of the girl and other residents Friday protested outside the Mangolpuri police station, and also damaged two Delhi Transport Corporation buses.

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Del HC asks Centre, police to find root cause of rise in rapes

NEW DELHI: Voicing concern over "alarming" increase in rape cases in the national capital, the Delhi high court on Thursday asked the Centre and the city police to find out the "root cause" of such incidents.

"It is surprising as to what is happening in Delhi. Find out the root cause of such incidents," a bench headed by chief Justice D Murugesan said.

"There is something wrong somewhere with Delhi. People have become mad. Other aspects we can understand," the bench said after Delhi Police stated that mere policing will not stop such kind of incidents.

The court also asked the ministry of home affairs (MHA) and the Delhi Police to look into the sudden rise in rape incidents and find out their root cause to curb the menace.

"Most of these accused belong to nearby states and there is a need to find out the ways to prevent these kind of occurrences," the bench said, referring to the recent rape of a five-year-old allegedly by her neighbours in east Delhi.

"Everybody is very sad as to what is happening in Delhi. Look what has happened to a child of five years recently," the bench said, adding, "Now we will have to see as to how such crimes can be stopped."

The court also asked the Delhi Police to file a report on the training imparted to its officials.

The court's directions came after it was pointed out that some police officials acted in an insensitive manner during the investigation of the recent rape of a minor.

"Keeping in mind the alarming increase of such incidents in recent past here, police should also identify the areas of training to make its officials more sensitive," the bench said.

Meanwhile, the health department of Delhi government and city police filed a status report in the court, saying they have complied with the earlier directions by which the court had asked them to provide a list of hospitals where rape and accident victims can be taken for immediate treatment.

The court, which had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the gangrape of 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus here on December 16 last year, was informed by MHA that it has provided 370 more PCR vans to Delhi Police which at present has a fleet of 500 PCR vans for patrolling purposes.

"Out of 370 PCR vans, 250 have already been given to Delhi Police and they are under the process of customisation and rest 122 would be delivered to them shortly," additional solicitor general Rajeeve Mehra said.

The ASG also said that certain actions have been taken by the MHA in pursuance of various recommendations given by Justice Usha Mehra Commission constituted to look into various issues relating to safety of women in Delhi.

The court, meanwhile, asked the MHA to file an affidavit detailing the departmental action taken against policemen who were manning the PCR van in the locality where the 23-year-old girl was raped in a moving bus.

The high court had on February 28 asked the city government and the police to ensure proper "publicity" to their orders that all hospitals, including private ones, cannot deny treatment to victims of criminal offences, especially rape and road accidents.

In pursuance of the HC order, Delhi government and the city police had issued separate directions that the victims of criminal offences have to be taken to a nearby government or private hospitals which cannot turn them away.

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Delhi high court asks Centre, police to find root cause of rise in rapes

NEW DELHI: Voicing concern over "alarming" increase in rape cases in the national capital, the Delhi high court on Thursday asked the Centre and the city police to find out the "root cause" of such incidents.

"It is surprising as to what is happening in Delhi. Find out the root cause of such incidents," a bench headed by chief Justice D Murugesan said.

"There is something wrong somewhere with Delhi. People have become mad. Other aspects we can understand," the bench said after Delhi Police stated that mere policing will not stop such kind of incidents.

The court also asked the ministry of home affairs (MHA) and the Delhi Police to look into the sudden rise in rape incidents and find out their root cause to curb the menace.

"Most of these accused belong to nearby states and there is a need to find out the ways to prevent these kind of occurrences," the bench said, referring to the recent rape of a five-year-old allegedly by her neighbours in east Delhi.

"Everybody is very sad as to what is happening in Delhi. Look what has happened to a child of five years recently," the bench said, adding, "Now we will have to see as to how such crimes can be stopped."

The court also asked the Delhi Police to file a report on the training imparted to its officials.

The court's directions came after it was pointed out that some police officials acted in an insensitive manner during the investigation of the recent rape of a minor.

"Keeping in mind the alarming increase of such incidents in recent past here, police should also identify the areas of training to make its officials more sensitive," the bench said.

Meanwhile, the health department of Delhi government and city police filed a status report in the court, saying they have complied with the earlier directions by which the court had asked them to provide a list of hospitals where rape and accident victims can be taken for immediate treatment.

The court, which had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the gangrape of 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus here on December 16 last year, was informed by MHA that it has provided 370 more PCR vans to Delhi Police which at present has a fleet of 500 PCR vans for patrolling purposes.

"Out of 370 PCR vans, 250 have already been given to Delhi Police and they are under the process of customisation and rest 122 would be delivered to them shortly," additional solicitor general Rajeeve Mehra said.

The ASG also said that certain actions have been taken by the MHA in pursuance of various recommendations given by Justice Usha Mehra Commission constituted to look into various issues relating to safety of women in Delhi.

The court, meanwhile, asked the MHA to file an affidavit detailing the departmental action taken against policemen who were manning the PCR van in the locality where the 23-year-old girl was raped in a moving bus.

The high court had on February 28 asked the city government and the police to ensure proper "publicity" to their orders that all hospitals, including private ones, cannot deny treatment to victims of criminal offences, especially rape and road accidents.

In pursuance of the HC order, Delhi government and the city police had issued separate directions that the victims of criminal offences have to be taken to a nearby government or private hospitals which cannot turn them away.

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Delhi high court asks Centre, police to find out root cause of rise in rapes

NEW DELHI: Voicing concern over "alarming" increase in rape cases in the national capital, the Delhi high court on Thursday asked the Centre and the city police to find out the "root cause" of such incidents.

"It is surprising as to what is happening in Delhi. Find out the root cause of such incidents," a bench headed by chief Justice D Murugesan said.

"There is something wrong somewhere with Delhi. People have become mad. Other aspects we can understand," the bench said after Delhi Police stated that mere policing will not stop such kind of incidents.

The court also asked the ministry of home affairs (MHA) and the Delhi Police to look into the sudden rise in rape incidents and find out their root cause to curb the menace.

"Most of these accused belong to nearby states and there is a need to find out the ways to prevent these kind of occurrences," the bench said, referring to the recent rape of a five-year-old allegedly by her neighbours in east Delhi.

"Everybody is very sad as to what is happening in Delhi. Look what has happened to a child of five years recently," the bench said, adding, "Now we will have to see as to how such crimes can be stopped."

The court also asked the Delhi Police to file a report on the training imparted to its officials.

The court's directions came after it was pointed out that some police officials acted in an insensitive manner during the investigation of the recent rape of a minor.

"Keeping in mind the alarming increase of such incidents in recent past here, police should also identify the areas of training to make its officials more sensitive," the bench said.

Meanwhile, the health department of Delhi government and city police filed a status report in the court, saying they have complied with the earlier directions by which the court had asked them to provide a list of hospitals where rape and accident victims can be taken for immediate treatment.

The court, which had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the gangrape of 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus here on December 16 last year, was informed by MHA that it has provided 370 more PCR vans to Delhi Police which at present has a fleet of 500 PCR vans for patrolling purposes.

"Out of 370 PCR vans, 250 have already been given to Delhi Police and they are under the process of customisation and rest 122 would be delivered to them shortly," additional solicitor general Rajeeve Mehra said.

The ASG also said that certain actions have been taken by the MHA in pursuance of various recommendations given by Justice Usha Mehra Commission constituted to look into various issues relating to safety of women in Delhi.

The court, meanwhile, asked the MHA to file an affidavit detailing the departmental action taken against policemen who were manning the PCR van in the locality where the 23-year-old girl was raped in a moving bus.

The high court had on February 28 asked the city government and the police to ensure proper "publicity" to their orders that all hospitals, including private ones, cannot deny treatment to victims of criminal offences, especially rape and road accidents.

In pursuance of the HC order, Delhi government and the city police had issued separate directions that the victims of criminal offences have to be taken to a nearby government or private hospitals which cannot turn them away.

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Child rape: Main accused Manoj Sah sent to police custody

NEW DELHI: Manoj Sah, the main accused in the gang-rape of a five-year-old in east Delhi, was on Thursday remanded by a city court in five-day police custody to confront him with co-accused Pradeep.

Additional sessions Judge Sanjay Garg remanded Manoj, 22, to police custody till April 30 after the probe agency said, "He has to be taken to his native place in Muzzafarpur, Bihar to recover the 'blood-stained clothes' which he was wearing at the time of commission of crime."

The police also submitted that they have to confront him with co-accused 19-year-old Pradeep to know the entire facts as well as to corroborate his version given to the investigators at the time of his arrest.

While seeking his five-day custody, the police also said that they need to find out the movement of the accused from the point of them leaving Delhi and reaching Bihar.

"In view of the facts and circumstances of the case the accused is remanded to five-day police custody," the court said.

During the proceedings, the police also took Manoj's handwriting sample with the permission of the court to match it with the handwriting on a piece of paper recovered from Pradeep and allegedly given to him by Manoj with instruction to call him in two days when they left Delhi and parted ways at Chhapra.

Manoj was produced before the court from judicial custody in a muffled face amid high security.

Meanwhile, after the court proceedings, when Manoj was being escorted out of the courtroom, he was all of a sudden made to sit for a while in the corridor. Upon inquiry, the police party said that the accused was feeling uneasy.

Manoj was arrested on Saturday from Muzaffarpur in Bihar. Upon initial interrogation, he revealed that Pradeep was also involved in the crime.

Following the revelation, Pradeep was apprehended from Barahiya village in Bihar's Lakhisarai district late night on April 22 from his maternal uncle's residence.

Both the accused have been booked under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act which deals with cases of sexual offences where the victim is a child.

They are accused of brutally raping the five-year-old girl on April 15 in a building in east Delhi's Gandhinagar locality where the victim and the accused lived.

The girl was rescued 40 hours later on April 17 and is now recuperating at the AIIMS.

Manoj had told his interrogators that on April 15, his friend Pradeep had come to his house and they had consumed alcohol. Manoj claimed that Pradeep insisted on bringing a girl to the house and he went out and lured the girl with a chocolate.

After assaulting the girl sexually, Manoj attempted to strangle her. Suspecting that the victim had died, both the accused fled from the spot and boarded a train to reach Chhapra. They then parted ways. While Manoj headed to his in-laws' house, Pradeep went to his maternal uncle's residence in Lakhisarai.

While he claimed that Pradeep alone had sexually assaulted the girl, the police has said that both of them had raped the minor.

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Activists up in arms against controversial biotech bill

NEW DELHI: The introduction of the controversial Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill in the LokSabha by Science and Technology minister, Jaipal Reddy has many civil society groups up in arms.

In 2011 groups like Aruna Roy led national campaign for people's right to information (NCPRI) and the Coalition for GM- free India had vehemently opposed the bill because of certain 'anti-transparency' provisions in the bill. Even before these concerns were addressed, Reddy introduced the bill again recently.

One of the serious flaws identified by these groups is that section 28 overrides the right to information act. It says that the RTI act will not apply to confidential commercial information available with the BRAI and that it will only make information available if it considers being in public interest.

The BRAI was conceived to replace the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) which would focus on regulating research, manufacture, import and use of products of modern biotechnology including genetically modified (GM) products.

Some organizations are critical of the bill because there could be a 'conflict of interest' as BRAI is set to be a single window approval mechanism for GM crops in India. They say that BRAI which is be located within the Ministry of Science and technology is seen to be a promoter of GM crops and that a 'promoter' may not be a good 'regulator.'

"The bill also lacks scientific bio-safety assessments at a time when there is increasing scientific evidence that points to the adverse impacts of GM crops on human health, biodiversity and farming. Many state governments and civil society organizations are also agitated because of the absence of any decision making roles for state government and clauses to over ride the RTI Act in the current BRAI bill," says Shivani Shah, sustainable agriculture campaigner with Greenpeace.

Kavita Kuruganti of Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) feels that the government has been "extremely undemocratic" in its attitude towards concerns raised by civil society groups. "The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture had already conducted a detailed study of the BRAI bill and all other regulations on GM crops in the country and concluded that BRAI is not what we need. We need a Bio-safety Authority that can assess the impact of these crops on health and biodiversity. We need something similar to the Norwegian Gene Technology Act," she says. Kavita demanded that the bill be withdrawn immediately.

On Thursday, a lot of civil society and farmers groups also sent faxes to Jaipal Reddy's office demanding the withdrawal of the bill.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in its August 2012 report tabled in the Parliament had stated: "The Government have been for some years now toying with the idea of a Biotechnology Regulatory Authority. The Committee feel that regulating biotechnology is too small a focus in the vast canvas of biodiversity, environment, human and livestock health, and a multitude of other such related issues."

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Condition of Delhi rape victim stable, doctors say

NEW DELHI: The condition of the five-year- old girl, who was raped allegedly by two youth, is stable and her perineal wounds are healing well, doctors said on Wednesday.

"The girl is afebrile. Her vital parameters are normal and her general condition is stable. Her urine output is normal and internal organs are functioning well after colostomy," Dr D K Sharma, medical superintendent of AIIMS, said in a medical bulletin.

He said she is on full oral intake. "She was examined and redressed under general anaesthesia on Tuesday. Her perineal injuries are healing well," he said.

On Tuesday, doctors had said that she was recovering as "expected".

The child was raped at a residential building in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar on April 15 and was recovered 40 hours later. She was shifted to AIIMS on April 19 evening from Swami Dayanand Hospital.

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​Demolition drive in Walled City

NEW DELHI: North Delhi Municipal Corporation demolished four properties in the Walled City on Tuesday. Officials saythis is the first time after trifurcation that major demolition action has been taken against unathorised construction in the area.

Action was taken against properties in Matial Mahal, Hauz Qazi, Chandni Chowk and Bazaar Sita Ram. "People had constructed close to 25 shops in Hauz Qazi. Similarly, construction of 15 flats was going on in Matia Mahal. It is a special area and no construction activity is allowed here,'' said a senior official.

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​Bid to tackle traffic violation norms in far-flung areas

NEW DELHI: Soon, a local traffic constable or a transport department employee in a remote area can get details of your vehicle and violations simply by sending an SMS to a central server.

In a bid to strengthen surveillance, these officials will be mandated to send unlimited SMSes in a day and receive replies by paying a monthly charge of only Rs 5.

A senior road transport and highways ministry official said that modalities are being worked out who would make payment to the vendor to manage the services. Sources said it can be the Centre or state government concerned or the law enforcing agency itself.

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has already developed a central database portal linking to all regional transport offices across the country. An NIC official said that the vendor for this service has been finalized, and the monthly charge for this service has also been fixed.

"Enforcement agencies have to get the mobile phone number of their employees registered with the regional NIC office to avail the facility. While a common man gets limited detail of a vehicle or driving licence if he sends an SMS to our number, the registered mobile users of enforcement agencies would get maximum information. These include the previous offences and pending penalties etc so that they can take action against the offenders," said an NIC official.

But the scheme's success will depend on the central database's repository. At present, about 11.08 crore registration certificates (RCs) and nearly 3.63 crore driving licences (DLs) are digitalized. But there is a backlog of about 5 crore RCs and another 6 crore DLs, which have to be digitalized from manual records.

To expedite the process, Union road transport minister C P Joshi on Tuesday sought state governments' support so that the project can be completed by April, 2015. He promises that states meeting early deadlines would get greater financial support from his ministry.

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Cop who offered Rs 2,000 to hush up Delhi child rape identified

NEW DELHI: The father of a five-year-old rape victim in Delhi has identified a policeman who allegedly tried to bribe the family to not register a case, official sources said on Wednesday.

Police sources said the father of the East Delhi girl identified the policeman who allegedly offered a bribe of Rs 2,000 to the family for not registering a first information report (FIR) in the case. They did not reveal the identity of the suspect.

A relative of the victim told IANS that the girl's father identified the culprit from 13 photographs of policemen shown to him. The photos were of policemen from constable to inspector rank.

Earlier, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said that the police official who allegedly offered the bribe could not be identified because the victim's father was not available for the identification process.

The five-year-old girl was abducted on April 15, kept hostage for two days and sexually assaulted and brutalised in a room in which the attackers lived on the ground floor of a building in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar. The girl's family stays in the same building.

The girl was rescued when members of her family heard her screams on April 17. She is now being treated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

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Shakespeare fest in Delhi and Kolkata

NEW DELHI: The annual Ghosts of Shakespeare festival takes a unique look at Bard's work in Delhi and Kolkata.

The festival aims to confront the world of Shakespeare from the vantage of Indian performance idioms and aesthetics, as well as contemporary subjectivities and lived experience. "It looks at Shakespeare not as an icon of elitism, but a living talisman of protest and humanistic articulation. The festival embraces artistic actions that articulate disturbing truths about the world and times we inhabit," says Arka Mukhopadhyay, curator of the Arshinagar project (a collective of artists from different disciplines) which, in partnership with Akshara Theatre formed the genesis of the festival in 2010.

The 2013 festival is being held in two cities beginning with Delhi from April 23 (Shakespeare's birth anniversary) to April 25, and in Kolkata from April 27-30.

The Delhi leg of the festival opened on Tuesday with 'Macbeth of the Mountains' at Ghitorni. It was a workshop performance led by internationally acclaimed theatre practitioner John Britton. April 24 had a talk titled 'The Shakespeare of In-betweens' by Britton followed by a performance 'Kranti Prem' at Sheikh Sarai. Also on show was 'Multiplied Monologues: Aloud Asides' by Samudra Kajal Saikia and Kankhowa.

The third and last day April 25 will see the staging of 'A Million Hamlets' at Vasant Valley School following which the festival moves to Kolkata.

According to Mukhopadhyay, "all these acts aim to explore Shakespeare as a living and often disquieting presence and not as a dead icon of elitism."

A non-ticketed event, the festival last year was held in Kolkata. The 2012 edition was a 'zero-budget' festival because the "performers and venue-sponsors did not charge anything, nor was any money received as sponsorship," says Mukhopadhyay.

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Son of Cong ex-MLA held in drugs bust

NEW DELHI: The son of a former Congress MLA and his driver were arrested here allegedly with over 2.51 lakh strips of banned pseudoephedrine tablets worth Rs 6 crore, the crime branch claimed on Monday. Arvind Ahuja, the 37-year-old son of the former MLA Ashok Ahuja, and his driver Manish (34) were apprehended from near IIT in south Delhi on Sunday after a tip-off that the former is indulging in illicit supply of drugs to Mizoram, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said.

The duo was produced before Additional Sessions Judge M K Nagpal who sent Ahuja to two-day police custody to facilitate the arrest of an absconding person and unearthing of a factory and godown used for manufacturing and storing pseudoephedrine tablets. Manish was sent to judicial custody till May 6. Yadav said they seized 2,51,680 strips of pseudoephedrine tablets worth Rs 6 crore. Ahuja, a graduate, owns a chemist shop in Greater Kailash.

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DUAC to consider redevelopment of East Kidwai Nagar

NEW DELHI: The much hyped proposal to redevelop East Kidwai Nagar, adjacent to Dilli Haat, will be back on the table on Tuesday with Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) considering converting the low rise government colony to approximately 17-18 floor residential blocks.

According to sources, the 86-acre project area will be redeveloped in a manner to double the housing supply for government employees. At present, the colony has 2,331 flats. After redevelopment, there would be approximately 4,800 flats. These will include Type VI and Type VII dwelling units, which are meant for secretary level officers at the Centre.

Last year, the urban arts body had rejected Central Public Works Department's proposal to re-develop East Kidwai Nagar, Srinivaspuri, Mohammad Pur and R K Puram. In a reply in Lok Sabha, minister of state for urban development Deepa Dasmunsi had said in December that the commission did not accept the proposal "on grounds of not conformity with overall urban character and importance of location, repeated use of typical blocks with no variation in heights, largescale cutting down of trees, high floor area ratio and designing buildings without conducting proper traffic and environmental studies".

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Science faculty OKs some courses

NEW DELHI: The faculty of science, according to a press statement from the registrar of the Delhi University, granted unanimous approval on Monday to courses of seven departments offered by a centre for introduction in the new four-year undergraduate programme. The courses include physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, anthropology, geology, food technology and biomedical research (offered by Dr B R Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research).

According to the statement, the approved courses include the honours programme (Discipline 1 courses) as well as for the entire list of Discipline 2 courses and the entire list of the application courses related to the above departments. Interestingly, in response to the mail by the dean of social science about the meeting on April 16, which stated that the meeting will deliberate upon the syllabi framed for various undergraduate courses in science streams under the four-year degree programme to be launched from July 2013, Shobhit Mahajan, a teacher of physics and astrophysics wrote back stating, "Amazing that the faculty of science did not see it fit that the structure of the whole course might be discussed before the syllabus is framed and deliberated."

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Both accused raped Delhi's five-year-old girl, police tell court

NEW DELHI: The second accused in the alleged gang-rape of a five-year-old girl was today sent to four-day police custody by a city court which was told by the Delhi Police that both he and accomplice Manoj had raped the minor.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Garg remanded 19-year- old Pradeep, who was arrested from Bihar on Monday and brought here on transit remand, to police custody till April 27 after the police said he had to be interrogated to unearth the sequence of events.

Amid high security, Pradeep was brought to court with his face covered.

While main accused Manoj, who is at present in judicial custody, had told the agency that not he but Pradeep had assaulted the girl sexually, the police today told the court that both of them had raped the minor.

The court had asked the probe agency if both the accused had raped the child to which the police officials replied in the affirmative.

"Yes, both had raped the girl," the prosecutor said.

The court also issued for Wednesday production warrant for Manoj as the police said it needed to confront him with Pradeep.

Pradeep was produced before ASJ Garg since he is presiding officer of the special court under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and both the accused have been booked under provisions of this Act.

Seeking eight-day custody of Pradeep, the prosecution said they had to recover the mobile phones used by them and since their investigation is mid-way, some new facts might emerge during their interrogation.

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Delhi: Third metro tunnel of Phase-III project at Janpath completed

NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro on Tuesday completed the 1,516-metre tunnel on Mandi House-Janpath stretch of Phase-III project.

In the presence of Managing Director, DMRC Mangu Singh, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) emerged at the Janpath metro station site after making a 1516 metre-long tunnel from Mandi House rotary on the up line, a DMRC official said.

The tunnel, with an internal diameter of 5.8 meters was excavated within 182 working days and passes beneath a lot of important central Delhi buildings like American Centre, Nepal Embassy, Fulbright House, Antriksh Bhawan, Scindia House, Electrical Sub Station, Janpath Market and Jeevan Prakash Building.

The TBM was lowered in the Mandi House shaft on September 25 last year and after assembly of the TBM below the ground the initial drive began on October 23 last.

The TBM broke through from the North West Shaft of the Janpath Metro station close to the Tibetan Market.

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Why should I resign? Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar asks

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar on Monday ruled out his resignation in the wake of alleged police insensitivity in dealing with the child rape case but promised exemplary action against policemen found lax in handling it.

"If my resigning will prevent such depraved action of the society, then I am ready to resign a thousand times. But that is not going to address the problem," he said at a press conference, the first media interaction after the case of a five-year-old child being raped and brutally assaulted by a neighbour in East Delhi came to light four days ago.

"But that is not going to solve the problem. The problem is one of mental depravity, one of psychopathy, the problem is one of mental sickness and that is not going to be sorted out by anyone resigning," he said.

When a reporter asked him whether he would resign following demands made in the context of the rape case, Kumar asked a counter question, "If you do some wrong reporting does your editor resign?"

The Police Commissioner had come under severe scrutiny and demands were made for his removal even during the agitations in protest against police inaction at the time of gang-rape of a girl in a moving bus on December 16 last year.

Asked whether he feels that Delhi Police was doing a bad job, he said "not at all".

"Absolutely," replied Kumar, who is set to retire in July, when asked if he was satisfied with his tenure as Delhi Police Chief.

Kumar said police personnel who allegedly offered Rs 2,000 to parents of the child to hush up the case are yet to be identified. He admitted that the police personnel did not act the way they should have done.

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Delhi rape victim's health improving; police arrest second accused

NEW DELHI: Showing signs of gradual recovery, the five-year-old child, who was raped allegedly by her neighbour, has started taking liquids and semi-solid food and her wounds have started to heal, doctors said on Monday.

DK Sharma, Medical Superintendent of AIIMS where the girl is undergoing treatment since Friday evening, told reporters that she has shown "signs of gradual recovery".

"Her perineal wounds was re-dressed on Sunday and the wounds have started to heal. However, it may take a few more days to heal completely," he said.

She is being monitored regularly by a team of specialist doctors, he said.

On Sunday, the doctors said that there was "no danger" to her life though it will take another two weeks to discharge her from the hospital.

She is responding well to the anti-biotics given to her, they had said, adding the victim has undergone colostomy procedure and surgical care of perennial injuries.

Earlier in the morning, the second man allegedly involved in the brutal rape of the five-year-old girl a week ago was arrested from Bihar even as police are verifying whether the claims made by the first accused are true.

Pradeep, who was named by first accused Manoj Kumar, was apprehended from Barahiya village in Bihar's Lakhisarai late last night, Bihar Director General of Police Abhayanand said.

A Delhi Police team with the help of Bihar Police Special Task Force arrested Pradeep from his maternal uncle's residence, wehere he was hiding, the DGP said.

"He will be brought to the national capital today after getting a transit remand from Darbhanga court," Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said.

Manoj, who was arrested on Saturday from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, had told police during interrogation that one of his friends was also involved in the crime.

The girl was raped on April 15 in a building in east Delhi's Gandhinagar locality where the victim and accused Manoj lived and she was rescued 40 hours later on April 17.

Manoj had fled from the house thinking that the girl was dead.

Pradeep's arrest came after investigators on Sunday launched a hunt following protests here demanding the removal of the Police Commissioner.

Sources said Manoj told his interrogators that on April 15, his friend Pradeep had come to his house and they had consumed alcohol.

Manoj claimed that Pradeep insisted on bringing a girl to the house and he went out and lured the girl with a chocolate, sources said. Manoj also told police that he did not sexually assault the girl, they said.

He had also claimed that they fled from the house after strangulating her to avoid being identified later and thought that she was dead, they said.

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Anti-rape protests continue in Delhi, three Metro stations shut

NEW DELHI: Protesters gathered at Delhi Police Headquarters for the third day on Monday demanding removal of police commissioner Neeraj Kumar and justice for the five-year-old rape victim even as police put up barricades to prevent December-like protests near Parliament where traffic was disrupted.

Three Metro stations, Race Course Road, Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhavan, close to Parliament, India Gate and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence were closed around 10.15 am for public anticipating anti-rape protests. However, the interchange facility will be available at Central Secretariat station.

The measures came against the backdrop of re-convening of the Budget session on Monday.

However, in the morning hours, AIIMS did not witness any protest like in the past three days.

Chaos was witnessed near Parliament as police closed Red Cross Road, Rafi Marg, Raisina Road and some crossings on Rajpath. There was trouble for vehicular movement near India Gate also as barricades were erected on Mansingh Road.

Caught unawares, many commuters coming from south Delhi had to take long winding routes to reach Connaught Place and nearby localities.

Long queues of vehicles were seen on many arterial roads leading to India Gate.

A handful of BJP and Aam Aadmi Party activists restarted their protest on Monday morning outside the police headquarters near the busy ITO which was barricaded. A large number of police personnel were deployed at the PHQ.

As BJP supporters geared up to start a protest from its Delhi state office, police blocked Pandit Pant Marg where it is located. A large police posse was also placed near the BJP office.

Barricades were setup on the roads leading to Parliament, near the Central Secretariat metro station, India Gate and near the Delhi Police headquarters at ITO, to prevent untoward incidents.

The barricading and checking by senior police official have led to traffic snarls in these areas.

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Mahindra Ltd to pay Rs 64,000 for selling defective motorcycle

NEW DELHI: Mahindra Two-Wheelers Ltd has been directed by a district consumer forum here to pay Rs 64,600 to a customer for selling him a defective motorcycle.

The east district consumer disputes redressal forum held that the Mahindra Stallio motorcycle bought by the customer had a "manufacturing defect" as its engine required a complete overhaul within four months of purchase.

Counsel for respondent (Mahindra) could not satisfy this forum how in a short period of four months the engine will require a major overhauling and replacement of vital parts.

"We have no hesitation in holding that the motorcycle in question was suffering from manufacturing defect. The various job sheet confirms that complainant was put to harassment due to defect in the motorcycle," a bench presided by N A Zaidi said.

The forum directed Mahindra to refund the motorcycle's cost, Rs 49,600, to Delhi resident Dhananjay Singh and to pay Rs 15,000 as compensation for the harassment caused to him.

Singh in his complaint had alleged that within seven days of purchasing the motorcycle, Mahindra Stallio, it started having engine-related problems.

The problems were so serious that within the first four months of purchase, he had to take it to the service centre five times and even after replacement of important parts of the engine the defects persisted, he had alleged.

In its defense, Mahindra had contended that all the problems in the motorcycle were dealt with and Singh himself had signed the satisfactory note without any objection.

It had also argued that the problems in the motorcycle were operational in nature and not manufacturing defects.

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Delhi child rape case: Second suspect arrested, confesses to crime

LAKHISARAI/NEW DELHI: A teenaged "illiterate" boy was arrested from Bihar in the wee hours on Monday for allegedly raping a five-year-old girl in Delhi which he described as a "big mistake", two days after his friend was apprehended in the case.

Pradeep Kumar (19) was nabbed from his maternal uncle's house in Barahiya village in Bihar's Lakhisarai by a joint police team from Delhi and Bihar and sent to transit remand for 15 days by a court there, police said.

Pradeep's name surfaced in the case on the basis of interrogation of his friend and prime accused Manoj Sah (22) who was apprehended from his in-laws' house in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Saturday.

"We have got information from (our team in) Bihar that Pradeep has confessed to the crime. He is an illiterate," Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar told reporters in Delhi.

Pradeep said, "I have committed a big mistake" as he was escorted by police.

Police sources said they have now invoked the sections concerning gang rape in the case.

Bihar director general of police Abhayanand said Pradeep was produced before Lakhisarai chief judicial magistrate Vishnu Dev Upadhay who sent him to transit remand. He is being brought to Delhi.

A large crowd had gathered near the court and the police had a tough time in controlling it.

He had fled from caoital on April 15 after allegedly raping the girl, fearing that she was dead after they strangulated her.

Though Kumar refused to divulge the sequence of events, police sources said Manoj told interrogators that Pradeep came to his house in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar on April 15 evening and they had consumed alcohol.

Manoj claimed that Pradeep insisted on bringing a girl to the house and he went out and lured the five-year-old girl living in the same building with a chocolate, sources said.

Manoj also told police that he did not sexually assault the girl and it was Pradeep who committed rape, they said.

He had also claimed that they fled from the house after strangulating her fearing that she will tell her parents about the crime they committed. They also thought she was dead, they said.

Superintendent of police of Lakhisarai district Rajeev Mishra, who interrogated him, said Pradeep "admitted" to his crime.

Pradeep belonged to Ahiyapur in Sheikhupura district of Bihar, additional director general of police (ADGP) of Bihar Ravindra Kumar said.

He left his native place for Delhi four years ago and he was working as a mason, he said.

He came in contact with Manoj in Delhi and their friendship deepened and they used to meet regularly.

In his native Sheikhpura, locals alleged that he was in the habit of harassing girls and was beaten up by residents many a times in this regard.

A senior Delhi Police official said once Pradeep is brought to Delhi, he will be confronted with Manoj to verify the claims made by the latter.

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Rape victim stable, doctors say

NEW DELHI: The five-year-old girl who was brutally raped here is in "stable" condition after undergoing surgery, doctors said on Sunday.

"She is stable and is responding well to treatment," D K Sharma, medical superintendent of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS), said.

"Her vital parameters are ok and she faces no threat to her life. She is alert and spoke to her parents and doctors," said Sharma, adding that she had "mild fever".

"The child is showing gradual recovery. She slept well during the night. She is responding well to antibiotics."

He said the girl, raped by her 22-year-old neighbour, had undergone " colostomy" surgery. This is a procedure to create an alternative route for stool to pass.

Asked if the girl understood what she had undergone, the doctor said: "She was perhaps too young to understand what happened. I will not say she is scared, perhaps she is too young to understand the gravity of her condition," he said.

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Delhi Metro trains staff in sign language

NEW DELHI: In a bid to make travelling easier for physically challenged commuters, the Delhi Metro has started special orientation training in sign language for their customer relation assistants (CRAs).

"This training programme will help Delhi Metro's frontline staff (CRAs) in understanding the language of people with impaired hearing who travel in the train... to ensure that such commuters, while travelling in the metro are properly looked after, guided and provided a smooth and comfortable ride," a DMRC official said today.

Following about 80-85 requests every month through its helpline number 155370, for assistance of persons with disabilities, the DMRC signed an agreement in this regard with Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), an autonomous body sponsored by ministry of social justice and empowerment, the official said.

Commuters can seek assistance from the station staff by informing, in advance about the station they would reach so that they can be provided necessary assistance in time, the official said.

Initially, the training is being given to 800 customer relation assistants posted at customer care centres of all metro stations.

ISLRTC will provide a trainer and an interpreter for the training to be given at DMRC Training Institute at Shastri Park Depot, he said.

Presently, metro staff are also given special training in first aid, customer care, spoken english and communication skills at the metro training institute.

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Couple found murdered in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A middle-aged couple was found murdered in their residence in southwest Delhi this morning with police suspecting it to be a fallout of a personal dispute.

Dharam Singh and his wife Kamlesh, both in their forties, were stabbed to death at their residence in Chawla locality of Najafagarh this morning, police said.

Investigators suspect the motive of the murder to be personal dispute or enmity as there was no looting in the house.

"We suspect that some relatives are involved in the incident. We have interrogated some relatives," a senior police official said.

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Child rape: AAP activists protest outside PM's residence

NEW DELHI: A group of Aam Aadmi Party activists on Sunday tried to stage a protest demanding removal of Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence and were detained.

The activists reached Singh's 7 Race Course Road residence and tried to break the barricades to enter the high-security premises as their party served an "ultimatum" to the government to remove Kumar by this evening.

Around 5pm, the activists tried to enter the premises but were prevented by security personnel, including Rapid Action Force.

The activists were detained and taken to a nearby police station.

Earlier in the day, an AAP spokesperson said the party served an "ultimatum" to the government to remove Kumar by 5pm. "If he is not removed, we will march towards Prime Minister's residence," the spokesperson said.

The AAP activists were holding protests in front of Delhi Police headquarters for the past two days demanding the removal of the commissioner.

The five-year-old girl was raped allegedly by a 22-year-old married man on the ground floor of the building where the girl and her family too stayed.

Protesters were also demanding arrest of policemen who were accused of delaying the registration of a case and offering money to hush up the matter.

Police had put up barricades to keep the protesters away from the headquarters and protesters spilled over to the Vikas Marg.

The protesters at Police Headquarters who tried to march towards Prime Minister's residence were stopped by personnel at ITO as soon as they started.

Police erected barricades at ITO which led to stoppage of vehicular movement from Vikas Marg to Connaught Place.

The protesters tore pamphlets distributed by police appealing for calm.

A large number of police personnel were deployed at ITO and near police headquarters.

Need collective efforts to end 'depravity': PM

As protests against the gruesome rape on a five-year-old girl here intensified, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said collective efforts were needed to root out such "depravity" from society.

An anguished Singh also said that "vast improvements" were required to ensure women's safety in the country.

"The gruesome assault on a little child a few days back reminds us of the need to work collectively to root out this sort of depravity from our society," he said.

"It is widely accepted that, as a country, we have vast improvements to make in these (safety, security and status of women) areas. These issues came into sharper focus after the horrific gang-rape incident in Delhi last December," the Prime Minister added.

The two brutal incidents — gang rape of a girl in a moving bus on December 16 last year and rape of a five-year-old girl earlier this week — had led to agitation by various sections, demanding better law and order to ensure women's security and stringent punishment to the culprits.

The Prime Minister said the mass protests that have followed the two incidents also point to the need for showing concern and sensitivity while dealing with public anxiety that such incidents generate.

"Our government has moved with speed in strengthening the law to be able to deal more effectively with offences against women. However, this is but a small part of what needs to be done," he said, inaugurating the 8th Civil Services Day function here.

"All of us, as responsible citizens, have a special obligation to contribute to the social and economic empowerment of women in our country," he added.

With protests against the rape of the five-year-old girl continuing in the capital, a tight security net was thrown at Vigyan Bhavan, the venue of the event.

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Child rape: Protests reach PM's house; anger spills onto Delhi streets

NEW DELHI: Outrage at the rape of a five-year-old in Delhi spilled onto the capital's streets on Sunday as scores of angry protesters stormed the barricades outside the residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The protests that started early morning took on political overtones towards evening.

Demonstrators held rallies, squatted on the streets, scuffled with policemen and shouted slogans at many places in the capital over the rising number of rapes and demanded more and better security for women.

Since morning, scores converged outside the police headquarters at the busy ITO intersection and many sat on vigil outside the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as the anger swelled up among the people over the horrific rape and barbaric torture of the small girl, who doctors said Sunday was out of danger. The victim, the daughter of a poor labourer, is being treated at AIIMS.

Most of the protesters at the ITO and the Prime Minister's House at 7, Race Course Road, were from Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Those protesting at Sonia Gandhi's official residence, 10 Janpath, were from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

When police tried to stop them from entering the police headquarters in the heart of the capital, the demonstrators squatted on the busy thoroughfare, causing a traffic jam. The police also distributed pamphlets to them to maintain calm, but the pamphlets were torn off and thrown away.

The girl's alleged attacker, Manoj Kumar, 22, who is in police custody, claimed that a second person was involved in the April 15 rape in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar. However, police have denied it.

Security forces were taken by surprise on Sunday when hundreds of BJP women activists marched to Sonia Gandhi's residence, shouting slogans "Enough is enough!" and "Save the girl!", and broke two barricades.

When they attempted to break down a third barricade, the police forcibly bundled them into a waiting bus and took them to the Parliament Street police station where they were let off. Over 100 BJP activists were detained.

BJP's women activists alleged they were hit by police, but the charge was denied by the police.

"We have not hit any of the women; no one was injured by the police action," deputy commissioner of police SBS Tyagi told IANS.

The women kept raising slogans all the while against the barbaric rape that has shocked the country and shamed the city.

In the evening, around 100 supporters of AAP gathered outside 7, Race Course, the Prime Minister's residence. The police detained around 40 protesters and took them to the Tughlaq Road police station.

As the sun set, many more came out on the streets.

Hundreds of members of Left students unions and women's organizations gathered near India Gate despite the prohibitory orders in place, banning any gathering of four or people. "We tried to march from JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) to India Gate, but the police stopped us at Udyog Bhavan," said a member of All India Students Association (AISA).

To avoid a repeat of the December 16 violent protests around India Gate, a huge force of policemen has been stationed in and around the war memorial. The Rapid Action Force personnel are also deployed in the area as a precautionary measure.

The activists, mostly women, squatted and raised slogans when the police stopped them from marching to India Gate.

Protesters outside the police headquarters, mostly AAP members, had to be forcibly removed when they refused to budge. Many of them took out a march from the police headquarters at ITO to India Gate, throwing traffic out of gear.

At AIIMS, where the victim is warded, crowds were on the main road outside, raising slogans demanding death to the rapist.

Police have barricaded the main entrance to the hospital to enable easy entry and exit for patients and ambulances.

Doctors earlier removed pieces of candle and a plastic bottle from the girl's vaginal orifice. A doctor treating her admitted he had never before witnessed such brutality committed on a child.

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Delhi seethes in anger over child's rape, protests spread

NEW DELHI: In a throwback to days of December last, Delhi on Saturday seethed in anger over the rape of a five-year-old girl and police insensitivity in dealing with it as protests erupted demanding justice for the victim and removal of Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar.

On a day the accused Manoj Kumar was arrested from Bihar's Muzaffarpur, protesters clashed with police outside the police headquarters and demanded the arrest of policemen who tried to hush up the case offering money to the victim's parents and slapping young women protesters.

Though not in thousands, a large number of people hit the streets in a reminder of the protests that rocked the capital after the December 16 gang rape and assault of a girl in a moving bus.

Protesters belonging to womens' organizations, BJP, CPM, CPI, AAP, and their students and youth outfits clashed with the police when they tried to break the barricades and enter into the police headquarters near the ITO in central Delhi where the main roads were closed to traffic.

A protester was detained for trying to enter the police headquarters.

Besides police headquarters, protests were also witnessed at the residences of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, AIIMS and Gandhinagar police station in east Delhi.

Security was tightened in police headquarters, AIIMS with deployment of armed police personnel and at the residences of Shinde and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

Protesters also took to the streets near AIIMS where the girl was shifted to last evening for treatment. The condition of the girl was stable on Saturday, doctors attending on her at AIIMS said.

The protesters directed their attack on the policemen of Gandhi Nagar who allegedly tried to hush up the case by offering money to the parents of the victim and not pursue the case.

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Rains expected in Delhi tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The skies remained partly cloudy in the capital Saturday and the maximum temperature settled a notch above average at 38.6 degrees Celsius. The Met office has forecast light rains Sunday.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi residents can expect thunderstorm accompanied by light rains in some parts of the city Sunday.

The maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 38 and 21 degrees Celsius.

Saturday's minimum temperature was a notch below average at 20.7 degrees Celsius, while the days' maximum humidity was recorded at 62 percent.

Friday's maximum temperature settled two notches above the season's average at 37.9 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature settled a degree below average at 20.3 degrees Celsius.

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Police prevents BJP supporters to take out protest march towards India Gate

NEW DELHI: Scores of BJP supporters were stopped by police near the Parliament House today when they tried to take out a candlelight march towards India Gate to protest the rape of a five-year-old girl here.

Some of the BJP supporters tried to break barricades near Imtiaz Khan Marg, just 200 metres from the Parliament House, but were prevented by police.

Police arrested a number of protesters, including Delhi BJP Chief Vijay Goel, but later released them. The protesters started the march from Talkatora stadium.

Demonstrations were also held at AIIMS where the girl is undergoing treatment and outside the Gandhi Nagar police station where policemen allegedly showed laxity in dealing with the case.

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Police stop BJP supporters' protest march towards India Gate

NEW DELHI: Scores of BJP supporters were stopped by police near the Parliament House today when they tried to take out a candlelight march towards India Gate to protest the rape of a five-year-old girl here.

Some of the BJP supporters tried to break barricades near Imtiaz Khan Marg, just 200 metres from the Parliament House, but were prevented by police.

Police arrested a number of protesters, including Delhi BJP Chief Vijay Goel, but later released them. The protesters started the march from Talkatora stadium.

Demonstrations were also held at AIIMS where the girl is undergoing treatment and outside the Gandhi Nagar police station where policemen allegedly showed laxity in dealing with the case.

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Delhi gang rape: Accused Mukesh dumps absentee counsel

NEW DELHI: Mukesh, an accused in the Dec 16, 2012 gang rape, Saturday changed his counsel M L Sharma who failed to appear in a fast track court here for the fourth successive hearing.

Advocate Sharma has been replaced by advocate Rajeev Jain, appointed as an amicus curiae to assist the court April 18, after the accused moved an application.

Mukesh asked Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna he wanted to change his counsel and he be allowed to be represented by advocate Rajeev Jain.

Seeking the court's permission to change his counsel, Mukesh told the court: "I decided to appoint him (Jain) as my counsel when I got to know Sharma has not reached the court today also."

Judge Khanna accepted the request of Mukesh and appointed Jain as his counsel. Jain will defend the accused as a government-funded lawyer.

The court in its order said: "Mukesh filed an application bearing his signature and thumb impression stating that he intends to change his counsel and wished to engage Rajeev Jain as his counsel."

"On enquiry, he said that he is moving the application voluntarily. Amicus curie in this case, in view of request of accused Mukesh, may appear on behalf of accused as amicus at state expenses. Hence, M L Sharma, advocate stands discharged at the request of accused Mukesh," the court said.

The court April 18 after taking into note that Mukesh's counsel M L.

Sharma had not been appearing regularly in the daily trial and the court April 18 appointed Rajeev Jain as an amicus curiae.

The same day, the court asked Mukesh if he intended to be provided a free lawyer from the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) but he replied in the negative.

Sharma has not been appearing in court for trial in the last four hearings.

A 23-year-old woman was brutally tortured and gang-raped in a moving bus Dec 16, 2012 by Mukesh, four other men and a juvenile. The woman later died in a Singapore hospital.

The juvenile is facing proceedings before a Juvenile Justice Board, while the other accused were put up for trial in the fast track court. One of the accused, Ram Singh, is dead.

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Five-year-old rape victim battles for life; doctor shocked at 'barbaric' assault

NEW DELHI: A 200 ml bottle and pieces of candle were inserted into the private parts of the five-year-old rape victim, a doctor said on Friday, adding that he had "never seen such a case".

"Upon examination, we found a 200 ml bottle and two or three pieces of candle inserted into her private parts. This is the first time that I have seen such barbarism with a five-year-old," RK Bansal, medical superintendent, Swami Dayanand Hospital, told reporters.

"There were injuries on her lips and cheeks and bruise marks on her neck, suggesting that attempts were made to strangle her. The blood pressure was way below normal, and she had fever when she was admitted," the doctor said.

"The child's condition is very critical. She is in ICU right now and will be under observation for the next 24-48 hours," he said.

The girl was abducted on April 15 and kept hostage for two days without food and water in a flat owned by the attacker, said to be in his 30s. He lived on the ground floor of the building in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar, in which the victim's family also stayed, police said.

The girl, who was raped repeatedly, was rescued when members of her family heard her screams on Wednesday evening, police said.

Meanwhile, family, neighbours and activists of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday protested outside the hospital where she was admitted in a serious condition.

Protestors gathered outside the Swami Dayanand Hospital in Shahdara, east Delhi and raised slogans against Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Police.

They demanded immediate arrest of the accused in the case and said the girl should be shifted to a better hospital like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS).

"The police tried to suppress the matter and even offered Rs 2,000 to the family to keep quiet. On top of that, the child was admitted to a hospital which does not even have proper facilities and equipment," AAP spokesperson Aswathi Muralidharan said.

"We want a better hospital and immediate arrest of the accused," she said.

The girl's father told reporters that he had earlier approached the police with a complaint that his daughter was missing, but they failed to register his complaint.

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Sandeep Dikshit, Walia heckled at Dayanand hospital

NEW DELHI: East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit and Delhi health minister A K Walia were heckled by protesters on Friday afternoon at Swami Dayanand hospital where they had gone to meet a five-year-old rape victim.

As soon as Dikshit and Walia arrived at the hospital, some protesters, including Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members, tried to stop them from entering the hospital premises and manhandled them.

Dikshit and Walia arrived a few minutes before the girl was shifted to Lok Nayak hospital from Swami Dayanand hospital for better treatment.

The girl was abducted April 15 and kept hostage for two days without food and water in a flat owned by the attacker, said to be in his 30s. He lived on the ground floor of the building in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar, in which the victim's family also stayed, police said.

The girl, who was raped repeatedly, was rescued when members of her family heard her screams Wednesday evening, police said.

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Another rape: Anger rises, protests spread in Delhi as 5-year-old victim battles for life

NEW DELHI: A 200 ml bottle and pieces of candle were inserted into the private parts of the five-year-old rape victim, a doctor said on Friday, adding that he had "never seen such a case".

"Upon examination, we found a 200 ml bottle and two or three pieces of candle inserted into her private parts. This is the first time that I have seen such barbarism with a five-year-old," RK Bansal, medical superintendent, Swami Dayanand Hospital, told reporters.

"There were injuries on her lips and cheeks and bruise marks on her neck, suggesting that attempts were made to strangle her. The blood pressure was way below normal, and she had fever when she was admitted," the doctor said.

"The child's condition is very critical. She is in ICU right now and will be under observation for the next 24-48 hours," he said.

The girl was abducted on April 15 and kept hostage for two days without food and water in a flat owned by the attacker, said to be in his 30s. He lived on the ground floor of the building in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar, in which the victim's family also stayed, police said.

The girl, who was raped repeatedly, was rescued when members of her family heard her screams on Wednesday evening, police said.

Meanwhile, family, neighbours and activists of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday protested outside the hospital where she was admitted in a serious condition.

Protestors gathered outside the Swami Dayanand Hospital in Shahdara, east Delhi and raised slogans against Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Police.

They demanded immediate arrest of the accused in the case and said the girl should be shifted to a better hospital like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS).

"The police tried to suppress the matter and even offered Rs 2,000 to the family to keep quiet. On top of that, the child was admitted to a hospital which does not even have proper facilities and equipment," AAP spokesperson Aswathi Muralidharan said.

"We want a better hospital and immediate arrest of the accused," she said.

The girl's father told reporters that he had earlier approached the police with a complaint that his daughter was missing, but they failed to register his complaint.

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ACP slaps girl protester, suspended

NEW DELHI: An assistant commissioner of police on Friday slapped a young girl inside a hospital where she and others were protesting against the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl and was immediately suspended.

Delhi health minister AK Walia was also heckled inside the Swami Dayanand Hospital when he arrived there to meet the victim.

BS Ahlawat slapped the girl at least four times inside the hospital when she and others were on protest. He has been suspended with immediate effect by police commissioner Neeraj Kumar.

"We regret for this unfortunate act and BS Ahlawat who was seen on camera, all this misconduct, he has been placed under suspension and departmental inquiry has been ordered. Such kind of act cannot be tolerated," Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.

The protesters mostly belonging to Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP gathered at the hospital this morning after the news of the girl's ordeal came to light.

There was chaos as Walia and Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit came to the hospital where protesters also blocked their vehicle.

"We have ordered the personnel to remain calm and peaceful and handle the crowd professionally and no such act will be repeated," Bhagat said.

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Another rape: Anger rises, protests spread in Delhi as 5-year-old victim battles for life

NEW DELHI: A five-year-old girl, who was raped allegedly by a neighbour after holding her captive for four days, is battling for life due to infection contracted from foreign objects found inside her body, doctors said on Friday.

The incident reported on Thursday from Gandhi Nagar triggered protests outside Swami Dayanand Hospital.

Dr RK Bansal of the hospital said the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical for the girl and that there were injuries and bruises on her private parts, chest, lips and cheeks. She had some bruises on her neck which indicated that the accused might have tried to strangle her.

"She was scared and not fully conscious. Initially she did not allow us to proceed with the examination as she was in tremendous pain. She had fever also and after giving medicines, it became normal. However, the fever recurred and we found she had some infection.

"After giving anaesthesia, more tests were conducted and we found that there were some foreign objects like candle and a 200 ml bottle of hair oil inside her body," Bansal said, adding that they were not giving her food as she had infection in her stomach also.

Bansal said it was one of the worst cases his team of doctors had attended to.

Police is on the hunt for the accused, who stayed on the ground floor of the building where the victim and her family lived. The girl was rescued from the accused's house on Thursday, four days after she went missing.

The minor's family claimed that the police was "insensitive" by not registering a case in time and that some policemen told them that they should be happy that the girl was alive, allegations which were denied by the force.

"When I went to lodge an FIR, police refused to register the case. If they had made a better attempt, they would have found her. Police told me to be happy that she was alive," her father alleged.

He also alleged that doctors refused to give any information beyond that his daughter was critical.

The girl's mother said the victim went out to play and was kidnapped. "The man then locked her up in his room and raped her. I want justice from the government," she said.

A relative of the girl alleged that when they went to the police station to enquire about the case, the personnel told them that now they should pray for her recovery as she has been rescued.

A senior police official denied the allegations saying they found the child from the same building where the girl was staying and rushed the victim to the hospital.

He said they also immediately registered a case of kidnapping as soon as the matter was reported to them.

Sources said senior doctors from LNJP hospital will visit the victim and then take a decision on the next course of treatment.

The incident saw protests outside the hospital where the girl is undergoing treatment.

The protesters included family members of the minor, neighbours and activists of Aam Aadmi Party.

"The five-year-old rape victim is critical and is in a shabby municipality hospital. Why cannot the government and police shift her to a better hospital?" AAP leader Manish Sisodia said.

In a letter to chief minister Sheila Dikshit, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai claimed that the incident showed the administration's "inhuman" attitude towards the common person.

"The victim has been admitted by your administration and police to a small hospital where only minimal facilities are available," they said alleging that police tried to win over the parents by offering them money to hush up the case.

"We appeal to you to shift the girl to AIIMS so that her life is saved," they said.

Protests in Delhi

Scores of people protested outside the hospital where the girl is undergoing treatment.

Doctors at Swami Dayanand Hospital treating the girl said the victim suffered serious injuries to her private parts resulting in serious infection. The girl is in intensive care unit.

They said the child's condition is very critical and some foreign objects were found inside her.

The victim's family alleged that police were reluctant in filing a rape case and they acted late in locating her.

Police is on the hunt for the neighbour who is absconding. He lived on the ground floor of the building in Gandhi Nagar in which the victim also stayed.

A senior police official said the girl was in a serious condition when she was rescued from the flat.

The girl's mother said the victim went out to play and was kidnapped. "The man then locked her up in his room and raped her. I want justice from the government," she said.

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Chandni Chowk to get wider walkways

NEW DELHI: There have been too many solutions in the past to decongest Chandni Chowk and redevelop it. Now there is another one. PWD has suggested widening of the pavements on both sides to 2.5 metres and stop roadside parking. Also battery-operated rickshaws shouldn't be allowed here, the plan suggests.

"We are aiming to start work on the project within six months without any delay. Therefore we have made feasible changes in the existing plan that has been lying in limbo for past many years," said Rajkumar Chauhan, PWD minister. On Wednesday chief minister Sheila Dikshit had held a review meeting with the PWD minister and had sought expedition of work.

The Chandni Chowk redevelopment work was recently handed over to PWD which was earlier with the municipal corporation. Walking out of the meeting, Chauhan said that the civic body has decided to extend the "heritage look" planned for Chandni Chowk to the perpendicular road connecting Darya ganj and Kauria Pul as well.

"We have also decided to change the design of lights and pavements. New designs are closest to Mughal era in appearance," he added.

The previous plan had suggested creating of a central verge wherein one side was to be reserved for traffic and the other from pedestrians. Motorized vehicles were not allowed in the area except for school buses, emergency and police vehicles. Cycle rickshaws were only allowed to ply in a dedicated way in the residential and surrounding areas. The old plan had also suggested that one part of the central verge (on Chandni Chowk road) will have special tramps plying from Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid and back.

The new Chandni Chowk will not have any over head electric wires or telephone lines. Sources said both BSES and MTNL, have already submitted their work estimates. "We are aiming to finish all the tender work within next six months," said Chauhan.

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‘CCTV feed doesn’t show attack on Vinay’

NEW DELHI: Almost two weeks after an accused in the Nirbhaya gang rape claimed that he was assaulted by Tihar Jail inmates leading to a fractured hand, a fast-track court on Wednesday said no such incident is seen in the CCTV footage provided by the jail authorities.

"I have examined the CCTV footage provided by the jail superintendent of Tihar qua allegation of beating made to accused Vinay Sharma. No such alleged incident is seen in the said CCTV footage," additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna said.

The judge passed the order after viewing the CCTV footage provided by the superintendent of Jail number 7, where the Vinay is lodged at present, after the accused appeared before the court with a fractured hand on April 5 and pleaded that he should not be sent back to Tihar.

Vinay's counsel A P Singh had then told the court that he was badly beaten up by cell inmates.

The jail officials had, however, refuted the allegations that the accused was attacked in jail and claimed he was injured during a fight with one of the co-accused Akshay Singh in the van while returning to the prison from court.

The court, which has till date recorded statement of 65 prosecution witnesses took note of the conduct of the counsel of accused Mukesh, M L Sharma who failed to appear before the court and was granted "last opportunity" to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses.

The court asked Mukesh if he wanted to have a counsel from a legal aid, but he refused. The judge also considered appointing an amicus curiae, who could assist the court in absence of defence counsel so as to avoid any delay in the trial.

Accused Vinay also sought the court's permission that the gym owner, where he was working, should be directed to give his pending remuneration of Rs 6,500 to his family members as his parents are in need of it.

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2 Nigerians held with 1kg heroin

NEW DELHI: Two Nigerians were arrested with around 1kg heroin from Janakpuri in west Delhi.

According to the police, the two accused have been identified as Ifeaya (22) and Christopher Cbibuike (35).

Cops said that the duo were involved in supplying heroin to China using a new modus operandi. The duo reportedly opened a firm in Janakpuri and then exported auto parts to foreign locations. They put drugs like heroin and cannabis inside these parts and then stuffed them with PVC-made fibre to escape detection at the airport.

According to sources, the consignment was headed towards a hardware store in China's Guangdong province.

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Capital gets ready for Bhakti Sangeet Festival

NEW DELHI: Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi will display a lesser-known aspect of his music by singing spiritual Sufi numbers at the Bhakti Sangeet Festival to be held at Nehru Park in the capital from April 19.

The three-day festival will also witness Dhrupad maestros Gundecha brothers and classical singer Kaushiki Chakroborty. Others to grace the occasion include Dhruv Sangari, Sudha Raghuraman, Mohd Ahmad Khan Warsi Rampuri and Kalapini Komkali. Entry is free.

According to Sindhu Mishra, deputy secretary, Sahitya Kala Parishad, the festival is a tribute to the Bhakti and Sufi saints who laid the foundation of India's composite culture. "The festival is as much an ode to them as to the Ultimate Being," she says.

The festival boasts a range of devotional singing from bhajans, Vedic chanting, Carnatic music to qawwali and sufiana kalams.

Organised by Sahitya Kala Parishad and Department of Art and Culture, Delhi government, the festival's chief guest will be chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

Vedic chants from Kothamangalam Vasudevan Namboothiri, Kothamangalam Madhavan Namboothiri and Dr N M Narayanan will include a session of Rig Veda chanting as part of the opening day programme.

The second and third day will have chants from Yajur Veda and Sam Veda respectively. While A S Subramaniyan Namboothiri, Krishnan T J and Devanarayanan P N will sing from Yajur Veda, N Makarabhushanam, S Sailesh and S Parthasarathy will chant from the Sam Veda.

The festival also brings together the music of states like Punjab, Rajasthan and Karnataka on one platform. Madan Gopal Singh will present the Sufi poetry of Punjab and Jaipu Khan Langa will bring the rich bhakti folk music of Rajasthan.

The festival will also experience the music from the Saguna and Nirguna Bhakti traditions of Hinduism, words from the saints of South India, Shiv bhajans in the Dhrupad traditions and qawwalis of the mystics. "The programme not only depicts Indian spirituality but also brings together the devotional music of different genres, highlighting the richness and diversity of our culture," says Mishra.

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