Bikers target bizmen, snatch crores

NEW DELHI: Three robberies were reported from different spots in Delhi in a span of 24 hours. While bike-borne robbers targeted a diamond merchant in Karol Bagh and made off with precious stones worth Rs 2 crore, several lakhs were looted from businessmen in east and New Delhi areas.

The first incident took place on Wednesday evening. Satish Shah (55), a Mumbai-based merchant, had arrived in Delhi with his employee, Anand, on Tuesday and had been staying in Good Time hotel in Karol Bagh, central Delhi. He was carrying diamonds worth Rs 2 crore which were insured, a source said.

On Tuesday, they went to jewellers in Chandni Chowk and Karol Bagh where they showed them jewellery samples and took orders. On Wednesday, they repeated the drill with jewellers in Moti Nagar, Pitampura and Shalimar Bagh. When it was late afternoon, they boarded a cab to return to the hotel.

They were near Liberty Cinema around 5.30pm when three men on a black bike forced their cab to stop and two of them got down and approached the car. They banged on the window with the butt of a pistol, got it opened and snatched the bag containing the diamonds away. Shah suffered a panic attack coupled with heart palpitations and Anand, too, was terrified. Around 7.30pm, they called up the police. A case of armed robbery was registered at Deshbandhu Gupta Road PS.

The second incident took place on Thursday afternoon. Two employees of a Noida property firm were robbed of Rs 29 lakh by a bike-borne trio near Hilton hotel close to Mayur Vihar in east Delhi. It was reported around 12.40pm. Rakesh Sinha (36) and Raj Kumar Garg were on their way to Gurgaon for a business deal in their Maruti Swift. Sinha had withdrawn money from a bank in Preet Vihar and had kept Rs 25 lakh in a bag and Rs 4 lakh in another on the rear seat of the car he was driving.

Three men on a bike intercepted his car and knocked on the window next to the driver's seat. As Sinha rolled down the glass, one of them asked for directions but, sensing something wrong, Sinha stepped on the accelerator lightly and the car moved ahead. The bikers then smashed one of the windows and Sinha braked. One of them whipped out a knife and snatched his bag. Sinha told police none of the robbers were wearing helmets but their faces were covered. A case has been registered at Kalyanpuri PS.

In the third incident, the collection agent of a businessman was robbed of a sum of Rs 7 lakh on Ridge Road near the Babu Asaram camp in New Delhi on Thursday afternoon. Arun Kumar had collected the money from a customer and was going to his factory in Naraina on a motorbike.

"When he reached Ridge Road, two men on a black motorbike started following him and finally overtook his bike near the camp. One of them pulled out a pistol and asked him to stop. As soon as he stopped, they snatched his bag and fled," an officer said.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Transport ministry seeks report from Delhi govt on car fires

NEW DELHI: The road transport and highways ministry has asked the Delhi government to submit investigation reports and findings of the two recent incidents of cars going up in flames. A top ministry official said Delhi's transport department should conduct a thorough probe by its specialized staff to find out the reasons of the running vehicles catching fire.

"There are different reports including poor maintenance of vehicle and wire system that may have been the cause of the mishaps. But only a detailed investigation can zero down on the reason and that will help us to taking necessary measures. We have asked the state transport wing to submit the report as soon as they can," said a ministry official.

Recently a Toyato Etios of diesel variant caught fine on Outer Ring Road in Mangolpuri/ Pitampura area in West Delhi killing one person while in the second incident a youth had a narrow escape when his parked Audi Q7 caught fire and even gutted a Maruti 800 parked next to it.

While the ministry claimed it would take necessary steps after getting the reports, transport experts said this was nothing else than a lip service.

"Under section-135 of the Central Motor Vehicle Act, it's mandatory for each state government to have an accident analysis system. But this does not exist. After every accident a sub-inspector comes and forensic teams visit the site to pick up samples. Unless you have the mandatory auto-recall mechanism and product liability on the manufacturers, you can't have a piecemeal approach to ask the state governments to investigate each accident," said S P Singh of IFTRT, an advocacy group.

Admitting that the country has a long way to go, road transport secretary Vijay Chhibber told TOI that there is a need to have specialized manpower to investigate accidents. "This is being practised in countries like United States. We are looking at collaboration with the US road safety watchdog NHTSA," he said.

A release issued by International Road Federation (IRF) said Chhibber told a gathering on road safety that to meet higher mileage vehicle manufacturers are compromising on safety standards. "Recent move by his ministry and the industry ministry to introduce anti-lock braking system in two wheelers was shunned by the manufacturers asking for couple of more years to introduce it."

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stepmothers break out of Cinderella mould, get their own day

NEW DELHI: Many may be unaware that Sunday (May 18) is Stepmother's Day, just as many may be unaware of the emotional and social landmine stepmothers must traverse when they remarry into a family with children.

A stepmother fills an ambiguous role in an already complicated family dynamic. Especially if she has no biological children of her own, a stepmother finds herself in an environment where she is expected to fill the role of caregiver and homemaker, all while being constantly reminded that she will never truly be a 'mother' to her husband's children.

India's family dynamic is changing. With divorce rates slowly increasing, remarriage is becoming more common. However, a stepmother walks into an already broken family. Remarriages have a low success rate, with 60-70% of remarriages breaking down within a few years - higher if children are involved.

The reason, argues Dr Geeta Maheshwari - author of a new book on stepmothers - is that there is a cultural image of the "evil stepmother", and Indian society has no concept or support for stepmothers. "No one wants to talk about this issue. With remarriages at an all time high, we have to prepare to carve a place in society for stepmothers," she explains.

"I married late in life for companionship, and remember assuring my adult stepdaughters that I would not trespass on their lives and that we could be friends. But they did not see it that way," remembers Sunita Sharma (name changed). "They were convinced I was intruding on their household and their personal lives. When my oldest stepdaughter married, the household dynamic got so toxic that I moved out. I gave more than a 100% in the relationship and in fitting into the family, but my stepchildren never changed their opinion of me."

The stepmother is a natural outsider, seen as the 'father's wife' rather than 'another parent', and any attempt at stepping into the role of mother can be bitter opposed by children who do not want their biological mother to be replaced.

Experts say the first step to a successful remarriage is preparing the children for the impending change in their lives. Their anxieties and sense of betrayal must to be addressed, if need be, by a counsellor.

The husband has to play a major to play in making it work, says Maheshwari. "Men are more fathers than husbands when they remarry," she points out. If the husband respects and backs up the stepmother's decisions in front of his children, her position will be cemented. As a father he has to prove to his children that they are loved and cherished, but if that means putting them before his wife or spoiling them in an attempt to cover his guilt over a divorce, a healthy family dynamic cannot be reached.

The husband is, in the end, the middle-man and his support and effort to create a relationship between his children and new wife is crucial in making a remarriage work, says Maheshwari.

For a woman, remarriage can be a rewarding process, providing love and nurture to kids who aren't biologically her own. Despite a cultural stereotype working against them, as long as there is a social awareness and support, and women are aware of what struggles lay ahead, it can be an enriching achievement.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bikers target bizmen, snatch crores

NEW DELHI: Three robberies were reported from different spots in Delhi in a span of 24 hours. While bike-borne robbers targeted a diamond merchant in Karol Bagh and made off with precious stones worth Rs 2 crore, several lakhs were looted from businessmen in east and New Delhi areas.

The first incident took place on Wednesday evening. Satish Shah (55), a Mumbai-based merchant, had arrived in Delhi with his employee, Anand, on Tuesday and had been staying in Good Time hotel in Karol Bagh, central Delhi. He was carrying diamonds worth Rs 2 crore which were insured, a source said.

On Tuesday, they went to jewellers in Chandni Chowk and Karol Bagh where they showed them jewellery samples and took orders. On Wednesday, they repeated the drill with jewellers in Moti Nagar, Pitampura and Shalimar Bagh. When it was late afternoon, they boarded a cab to return to the hotel.

They were near Liberty Cinema around 5.30pm when three men on a black bike forced their cab to stop and two of them got down and approached the car. They banged on the window with the butt of a pistol, got it opened and snatched the bag containing the diamonds away. Shah suffered a panic attack coupled with heart palpitations and Anand, too, was terrified. Around 7.30pm, they called up the police. A case of armed robbery was registered at Deshbandhu Gupta Road PS.

The second incident took place on Thursday afternoon. Two employees of a Noida property firm were robbed of Rs 29 lakh by a bike-borne trio near Hilton hotel close to Mayur Vihar in east Delhi. It was reported around 12.40pm. Rakesh Sinha (36) and Raj Kumar Garg were on their way to Gurgaon for a business deal in their Maruti Swift. Sinha had withdrawn money from a bank in Preet Vihar and had kept Rs 25 lakh in a bag and Rs 4 lakh in another on the rear seat of the car he was driving.

Three men on a bike intercepted his car and knocked on the window next to the driver's seat. As Sinha rolled down the glass, one of them asked for directions but, sensing something wrong, Sinha stepped on the accelerator lightly and the car moved ahead. The bikers then smashed one of the windows and Sinha braked. One of them whipped out a knife and snatched his bag. Sinha told police none of the robbers were wearing helmets but their faces were covered. A case has been registered at Kalyanpuri PS.

In the third incident, the collection agent of a businessman was robbed of a sum of Rs 7 lakh on Ridge Road near the Babu Asaram camp in New Delhi on Thursday afternoon. Arun Kumar had collected the money from a customer and was going to his factory in Naraina on a motorbike.

"When he reached Ridge Road, two men on a black motorbike started following him and finally overtook his bike near the camp. One of them pulled out a pistol and asked him to stop. As soon as he stopped, they snatched his bag and fled," an officer said.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Election results: BJP leading in all seven Delhi seatsÂ

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday took early leads in all the seven Lok Sabha seats of the national capital, with the AAP at the second position and Congress trailing at a poor third.

According to officials, two-time winning candidate and union minister Kapil Sibal was trailing at the third position from the Chandni Chowk constituency.

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Harsh Vardhan was leading from this seat by more than 52,000 votes from the AAP candidate Ashutosh, who is in the second position.

Congress candidate Ajay Maken too was trailing at the third position from the New Delhi constituency. BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi was leading from here.

The Aam Admi Party (AAP), which bagged 28 seats in the December assembly elections and headed a government for 49 days, seemed to have been relegated to the second position in all the constituencies.

AAP's Rakhi Birla was at the second position ahead of Congress' Krishna Tirath in the northwest Delhi. BJP's Udit Raj was leading from this seat.

The Congress seemed to be suffering a rout as it was trailing in all the seats.

In 2009, the Congress had bagged all the seven seats.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing techie: Case lodged

NEW DELHI: Almost a month after a Singapore-based engineer went missing from IGI Airport, police have registered a case of abduction.

Police said the man has been spotted in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh and checked into a hotel there. Ankala Parveen (27) arrived in Delhi on April 4.

His father, who lives in Vijaywada in Karnataka, said he lost touch with Parveen after he landed in Delhi.

"We found Parveen's belongings in Chamba but could not locate him," said M I Haider, DCP (airport).

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Delhi University suspends GN Saibaba arrested for 'Maoist links'

NEW DELHI: Delhi University has suspended GN Saibaba, an English teacher at Ram Lal Anand College, who was arrested on May 9, 2014 for alleged Maoist links.

College officials confirmed that the governing body had "recommended his suspension yesterday (Wednesday) and the vice chancellor gave his approval today (Thursday)." "The order has been issued," they said.

This is exactly what Saibaba's family and supporters had feared. His wife, AS Vasantha told supporters and the press on Wednesday that the university was trying to suspend him. She was also afraid the family may be asked to vacate the warden's quarters at Gwyer Hall in north campus but Malay Neerav, joint-dean, students' welfare, says no order has been passed regarding the accommodations yet.

The DU wing of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the students' union had held a protest at Arts Faculty in north campus to demand his suspension.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Barapullah Ph-III expected to clear final hurdle today

NEW DELHI: Barapullah Phase-III, an elevated road from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar, is expected to get clearance from the Yamuna Standing Committee on Thursday. This will be the last approval among a set of three and the project will then be forwarded to the Delhi government for sanction of funds.

"The elevated road will span the Yamuna and hence needed approval from the Central Water and Power Research Station in Pune. It has completed the hydraulic model study and recommended the nodt. The YSC meeting will take place in the central water commission office on Thursday where it is expected to grant the approval. The project will be sent to the government for sanctions. If sanctions come through in the next three months, we hope to tender the project by October and start work by the end of this year," said an official.

PWD has already started the process of appointing a structural consultant. It has received approvals from Delhi Urban Arts Commission and UTTIPEC though the latter is yet to sign on the drawings. This is also expected by next week.

Phase-III of the Barapullah will connect south Delhi to east Delhi without having to cross the congested Ring Road. The stretch exists up till Sarai Kale Khan. The third phase will include a bridge from this point up to Mayur Vihar.

Officials said that the bridge will be constructed on silts to ensure that the flood plain is not affected.

"The extension of this phase of the elevated road will include integration with the Metro station as well as the flyover at Mayur Vihar Phase-I, which is proposed to be made into a two carriageway flyover. Loops will be made to facilitate movement in all directions. The road will have cycle tracks and a footpath. It will have four lanes and loops to ensure that traffic can also turn towards Noida," said officials.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man gets 7 years jail for rape

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court has sentenced a man to seven years in jail for raping his neighbour and threatening to kill her minor son. Dismissing Amar Singh's claim that he was implicated, Justice S Muralidhar convicted him for the crime.

"It does appear that Singh was upset with the victim for whatever reason and subjected her to sexual intercourse without her consent. In the presence of her son, it is unlikely that she would have consented to an act of sexual intercourse by him. Additionally, the fact that the vaginal swab of the victim showed the presence of semen coupled with the failure of the appellant to give his semen sample proves beyond reasonable doubt that she was raped by him," the court held.

The trial court had also junked Singh's defence that he knew the victim and they were in a live-in relationship few years ago.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Trial court orders man, wife out of his mother’s house

NEW DELHI: A trial court has directed a man and his wife to vacate the house owned by his mother on her plea that the couple were "mentally torturing" her. Directing the couple to vacate the house within a month, the court also ordered the couple to pay Rs 8,000 per month as damages from the date of filing of the petition till they vacate the house.

"It has been held that the plaintiff (the mother) is entitled to the possession of property from defendants (son and daughter-in-law ) and, as such, the defendants cannot be permitted to create third party rights in respect of the property," Additional District Judge Vinod Yadav said.

The woman, a Delhi government schoolteacher, said that she had built the house at Sitapuri Extension with her own earnings in 1982 and allowed the son and daughterin-law to live with her. She alleged that she was subjected to mental torture by them and they had taken away her right to lead a life with dignity and honour.

"Rather than serving his mother in her old age and taking care of sisters, the son in conspiracy with his wife started harassing her and even went to the extent of beating her," the woman's counsel had contended before the court.

The mother's claim was opposed by the son, saying the property was purchased by his father in his mother's name and he has full right over it. The man alleged that "his mother was mentally ill" and was undergoing treatment . However, the court dismissed the son's plea.

The court observed that the couple's behviour showed that they were interested in extorting money from the woman.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More