A Delhi court on Saturday rejected the anticipatory bail application of former National Stock Exchange (NSE) chief Chitra Ramkrishna in connection with a CBI inquiry into a 2018 case of manipulation of the bourse. Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal termed the CBI investigation “lackadaisical”, saying the agency had not taken action against the main beneficiaries of the co-location scam, “who seem to be enjoying merrily at the expense of common citizenry for the reasons best known”.
In other news, in the Shahdara gangrape-assault case, the Delhi Police has prepared a chargesheet, listing key evidence found during the probe. This includes 5 video clips of the attack recorded by the accused on their phone, the victim’s hair from the autorickshaw she was abducted in, and a trimmer and scissors used to cut the hair.
Ankit Gujjar used phone inside Tihar to make requests for money transfers: CBI
Ankit Gujjar was allegedly murdered in Tihar Jail. (File Photo)
The Central Bureau of Investigation in a report before the Delhi High Court has said that gangster Ankit Gujjar (29), who was allegedly murdered inside Tihar Jail in August last year, was unathorisedly using a mobile number inside the jail to contact his family and friends to make requests for transfer of payments to various persons, including jail officials.
Delhi: BJP sharpens attack on AAP with ‘booze referendum at over 1,000 locations’
With MCD elections around the corner, the BJP’s Delhi unit Friday conducted a “referendum” at 1,120 places across the city to “collect the opinion of about 10 lakh people” on the Delhi government’s new excise policy.
About 50,000 party workers, MLAs, district morcha presidents and vice-presidents participated in the drive, during which boxes were placed at residential areas to seek “feedback” from the public.
Three flights - one carrying 154 Indians from Slovakia, the other carrying 183 Indian nationals from Hungary and a third one carrying 210 Indians from Romania - landed in Delhi on Sunday.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's ambitious project of 'Streetscaping, Redevelopment and Beautification' is facing a hurdle. The work on one of the seven stretches on Vikas Marg near Laxmi Nagar, being redeveloped as the pilot project has been stayed by the court for damaging trees, said officials.
The ongoing construction and civil work on the 2.7-kilometre-long stretch on Vikas Marg from Mother Dairy to Nirwana Road has been stopped after the Public Works Department (PWD) damaged several trees falling on this stretch. It has also allegedly cut three trees on this stretch.
"The road is one of the most congested, poorly designed, broken with no space for pedestrians. The construction work of streetscaping was going on on this stretch and during the redevelopment work, the entire roads from pavement to sewer and drain lines gets repaired. Now, while carrying such work, trees are transplanted and damages happenes but the department takes all measures to avoid damage and provide better road to public," said a senior PWD official.
An Indian student, who was evacuated from Ukraine and reached Delhi on Sunday, brought his two feline friends with him. 'My cats are my life, I could not have left them behind in Ukraine. I request everyone to bring back their pets with them,' he told ANI.
Beautiful artworks made from old tyres, bottles, unused items adorn Eco Mitra Park in South Delhi’s Sarita Vihar started by South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). The environment-friendly park has been developed by SDMC in association with a trust.
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While it was Jawaharlal Nehru who was the real driving force behind the non-aligned movement, it was only after his death and under the prime ministerial tenure of his daughter that several roads in Delhi came up in honour of leaders of countries who were part of the movement. Most of them stand forgotten in world history, but continue to be remembered in the broad boulevards of New Delhi.
Gamal Abdel Nasser Marg, for instance, came up near Hauz Khas, while Kwame Nkrumah Marg exists in Chanakyapuri. “These roads in Delhi carrying foreign names were generally very close friends of India, who may have been forgotten by their own country, but are gratefully remembered in India,” said Mani Shankar Aiyar, former member of Parliament and politician in the Indian National Congress. Read more
More than a fortnight after the district administration had directed 140 families – 100 in EWS flats and 40 in other apartments – living in NBCC Green View group housing society in Gurgaon’s Sector 37D to vacate their houses by March 1, citing safety concerns, the department of town and country planning (DTCP) said that the process is likely to be completed by Monday.
The decision was taken in the aftermath of the collapse at Chintels Paradiso in Sector 109, where two women were killed when a portion of the sixth floor crashed all the way through to the first floor, prompting the government to order structural audits of several societies. Read more
A Delhi court Saturday rejected the bail application of former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in a money laundering case connected to the Northeast Delhi riots, being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat observed: “On prima facie reading of the complaint and material placed on record and considering the embargo of Section 45(1) PMLA, it cannot be held that the applicant is not guilty of the alleged offences or that he is not likely to commit any such offence while on bail.” Read more
It was a usual day for e-rickshaw driver Bharamdutt Rajput (20) when a man boarded his vehicle along with two young girls from Balaji temple at Vivek Vihar and asked to be dropped off at Chintamani Chowk in Jhilmil Industrial Area 2 km away. En route, he heard one of the girls asking the man to drop them after giving them food. Sensing something suspicious, Rajput immediately alerted a Delhi traffic policeman who caught the man.
Police said he was a vagabond who had allegedly kidnapped the two girls to push them into begging. DCP (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said the accused, Sanjay Kumar (40), is a resident of Bihar’s Chhapra. He has been arrested. Read more
The NIA has arrested a suspected smuggler for his alleged involvement in smuggling gold and Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in the country, an official said on Saturday.
Abdul Wahid of Uttar Pradesh's Sant Kabir Nagar who currently resides in Delhi's Bhajanpura was arrested Friday, the official of the premier investigation agency said.
The case pertains to the January 12 seizure of FICN of face value of Rs 10 lakh and 175 gms gold worth Rs 8.5 lakh at terminal-3 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport by Customs officials from Mohammad Shahjan, the NIA official said. After forensic examination, it was found that the seized FICN was of high quality and subsequently sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were invoked, the official said. Earlier, two accused were arrested by the NIA in the case. (PTI)
Water Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday inaugurated a fully automated sewage treatment plant that can treat over 31 crore litres of wastewater per day at the Coronation Pillar Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) here.
The STP will treat the wastewater generated from Shakti Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Roop Nagar, Delhi University Campus and Nehru Vihar among other areas. Sewage from unauthorised colonies such as Swaroop Nagar, Bhalswa, Sant Nagar and Wazirabad group of colonies will also be treated here, which will eventually lead to cleaning River Yamuna, Jain said.
“The sewage which directly falls into the supplementary drain will be now trapped and treated at the Coronation Pillar STP through the pumping station available in Burari. The treated wastewater will then fall into the supplementary drain before getting merged with the river Yamuna,” the minister said. (PTI)
A Delhi court Saturday rejected the bail application of former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in a money laundering case connected to the Northeast Delhi riots, being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat observed: "On prima facie reading of the complaint and material placed on record and considering the embargo of Section 45(1) PMLA, it cannot be held that the applicant is not guilty of the alleged offences or that he is not likely to commit any such offence while on bail."
The court said there are "statements of witnesses and even the accused/applicant recorded under Section 50 of PMLA which are admissible”.
"To contend that those statements are false or untruthful or contain discrepancies is not to be entertained at this stage," it said. Read More
Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 27.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday, normal during the season, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The minimum temperature was recorded at 13.5 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average, it added.
The humidity levels oscillated between 85 per cent and 47 per cent.
The city is expected to witness a partly cloudy sky on Sunday. The maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 28 degrees Celsius and 13 degrees Celsius respectively, the weather department said.
The 24-hour air quality of the city was recorded in the "moderate" category on Saturday with the AQI clocking 115 at 4 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). (PTI)
A Delhi court on Saturday dismissed former AAP Councilor Tahir Hussain's bail plea in a money laundering case related to the February 2020 riots in the city's northeast.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat dismissed the bail plea, saying there was not enough ground to grant the relief to the accused. The court accepted the arguments advanced by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) N K Matta that there was sufficient material on record against the accused and the case of money laundering was made out against him.
The SPP had also argued that there is sufficient evidence and witnesses to the effect that the accused was involved in the funding of riots. (PTI)
The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Board has given in-principle approval for the deployment of 1,500 electric buses under an initiative of Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), paving the way for a clean public transport system in the national capital, officials said on Saturday.
The Board, in its meeting last week, authorised the DTC chairman to take further necessary actions on the matter.
Through its 'Grand Challenge' scheme, CESL proposes to deploy 5,450 single-decker and 130 double-decker buses in five metros -- Bangalore, Delhi, Surat, Hyderabad and Kolkata -- in the first phase. The DTC Board approved the engagement of 1,500 AC low-floor electric buses -- 921 buses under FAME-II scheme and 579 buses under non-FAME-II category. (PTI)
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Saturday said the city government's Business Blasters programme, which aims to encourage entrepreneurial mindset among students, will be started in private schools also from next year.
He was speaking at the Business Blasters Investment Summit and Expo at the Thyagraj Stadium here where over 100 business ideas of government school students were presented to investors.
"The Business Blasters programme will also be extended to private schools from next year. A meeting will be held on March 7 to discuss how it can be rolled out in private schools,” Sisodia said at the event. (PTI)
Following the “compelling situation” in war-torn Ukraine, the National Medical Commission (NMC) on Friday said that MBBS students, who have returned the country without completing their internships, will be able to do so in Indian medical colleges and hospitals.
“There are some foreign medical graduates with incomplete internship due to such compelling situations which is beyond their control, such as the pandemic Covid-19 and war etc. Considering the agony and stress faced by these foreign medical graduates, their application to complete the remaining part of their internship in India is considered eligible. Accordingly, the same may be processed by state medical councils,” a circular from NMC, which now governs medical education in the country after the Medical Council of India was disbanded in 2020, stated. Read More
The Delhi government has provided administrative approval and estimate sanctions for streetscaping of four more sample stretches of Aurobindo Marg, Lodhi Road, Nelsan Mandela Road and Jagatpuri to Karkardooma stretch, officials said on Saturday.
According to Public Works Department (PWD) officials, these stretches are part of nine sample stretches on which Delhi's roads will be redesigned. Officials said since the approval has been granted by the government, the streetscaping and beautification work of these sample stretches is likely to begin soon.
PWD officials said under the project, 600 metre stretch of Lodhi Road, 810 metre portion of Aurobindo Marg, 1km stretch of Nelson Mandela Road and 800 metre part of Jagatputi-Karkardooma road will be redesigned and beautified. (PTI)
In a major boon for commuters, especially those relying on public transport, a dedicated skywalk providing seamless connectivity between the New Delhi railway station and the neighbouring metro station was thrown open for public on Saturday. The 242-metre long modern facility will also help in streamlining the traffic flow on the Ajmeri Gate side of the railway station, officials said. The skywalk has been provided with escalators along with facilities such as CCTV surveillance cameras.
"The dedicated skywalk, constructed by the DMRC in collaboration with Northern Railway, for providing seamless connectivity between the Ajmeri Gate side and the adjacent New Delhi Metro stations on the Yellow Line and the Airport Express Line was opened for passenger use from today morning," a DMRC spokesperson said.
The newly-constructed skywalk is an extension of the foot over bridge (FOB) inside the railway station and connects the Ajmeri Gate side of the railway platform with the New Delhi metro station as well as the multi-level parking across Bhavbhuti Marg through multiple entry and exit points. (PTI)
Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, lodged in Tihar Jail in the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl case, will soon be giving coaching classes on wrestling and physical fitness to his fellow inmates, prison authorities said on Friday.The development comes in view of a decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases across the national capital and inside prison premises, they said.
The Tihar Jail administration said they had earlier planned to involve Kumar in sports activities, but the plan had to be halted in view of the third wave of COVID-19 in Delhi.
"We had decided to allow this earlier but could not do so in view of the third wave of Covid. Now, with normalisation of the situation, routine activities in prisons are being restored. So, we will allow Sushil Kumar to give coaching classes on wrestling and physical fitness to other inmates who are interested," Director General (Delhi Prisons) Sandeep Goel told PTI.
The Supreme Court has stayed a Delhi High Court order which laid down guidelines regarding feeding of stray dogs while observing that citizens have the right to feed community canines.
A bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Aniruddha Bose issued notices to the Animal Welfare Board of India, Delhi government and others on an appeal filed by an NGO against the High Court order.
"Issue notice, returnable in six weeks. Meanwhile, operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed," the bench said.
The top court was hearing an appeal filed by the Humane Foundation for People & Animals challenging the June 24, 2021 order of the High Court. The NGO contended that the High Court's directions can lead to an increase in the menace of stray dogs. ---PTI