A passenger being tested for Covid at New Delhi Railway Station. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)Delhi News Highlights: Delhi recorded 1,447 new Covid cases and one more death on Friday, while the positivity rate dropped to 5.98 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here. These fresh cases came out of 24,203 tests conducted the previous day, it said. The infection tally has risen to 19,28,841 while the death toll stands at 26,243. Delhi had recorded 1,934 Covid cases and zero death on Thursday, while the positivity rate had stood 8.10 per cent.
Sources in the Delhi government said Friday that the office of the Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has not yet cleared a file that would allow Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to go to Singapore to attend the World Cities Summit. The summit is scheduled for August 2-3. “Several files have been stuck with the LG for many days because of a lack of administrative experience. Even files related to small matters are stuck. Among these is the file for the CM to go to Singapore to attend the World Cities Summit. That file has been pending for three weeks,” a source said. Kejriwal had said on June 2 that High Commissioner of Singapore Simon Wong had invited him and he had accepted the invitation. Sources said that the file was sent to Saxena on June 7.
The CBI on Friday conducted searches at five locations in Delhi after registering an FIR against Delhi-based packaging company Rave Scans Pvt Ltd for allegedly defrauding a consortium of banks to the tune of Rs 69.33 crore, officials said Friday. The CBI acted on a complaint from Indian Overseas Bank alleging serious manipulation in the finances of the company.
The judge allowed the application filed by one Shashank Jadon seeking permission to appear in the entrance exam, after noting that a similar request made by him in the year 2020. (File photo)
A draft of Delhi’s new state action plan on climate change has been prepared and is to be presented before a steering committee chaired by the Chief Secretary before it is made public for comments, according to officials in the Environment Department.
It will then be submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for approval. The process of consulting different departments to put the plan together began in January this year, and the draft was prepared by the Environment Department with GIZ providing technical assistance, according to a senior official in the department. Stakeholder consultations for Delhi’s previous climate action plan lasted for as long as seven years – from 2011 to 2018 – and the plan was finalised in 2019. The plan later expired, since it was meant to be for a decade, and the projections in it were also made for a decade, the official added. Read More
The Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti, a conglomerate of 22 Hindu outfits which had spearheaded protests against namaz in Gurgaon, submitted a memorandum to the district authorities Friday demanding that new licences to set up meat shops in Gurgaon not be issued.
In the memorandum addressed to the Haryana Chief Minister, the group members said, “We demand that no new licence for meat shops is given in Gurgaon. All shops within a radius of 10 km of the Sheetla Mata temple complex in the city should also be shut.”
Mahavir Bhardwaj, state president, Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti, said, “In 2017, the Chief Minister had announced that no licences will be issued for new meat shops in residential areas of Gurgaon and only the old ones shall be renewed. We are merely reiterating the demand and reminding the government, in light of a recent notification regarding licences for meat shops. The process of issuing new licences should be stopped. We also request that all meat shops in the vicinity of Sheetla Mata temple be closed since lakhs of devotees from across the world visit the temple and their sentiments are hurt by the spate in the number of illegal meat shops.” Read More
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday orally assured the Delhi High Court that no coercive action will be taken against Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram till July 12, when his anticipatory bail plea in the alleged Chinese Visas scam will be taken up for hearing.
Justice Jasmeet Singh also asked the ED to file a status report on the matter before the next date of hearing.
At the request of counsel for Karti and ED, the court listed the matter for further hearing on July 12. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, orally assured the court that nothing will happen till July 12. (PTI)
Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Friday launched a drive by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for pruning old trees in the city's Connaught Place area.
The move comes in the wake of at least 77 trees being uprooted, some of them decades old, in Lutyens' Delhi in the fierce thunderstorm and heavy rains that lashed the capital on May 30.
According to data provided by the NDMC, the Lutyens' Delhi area has lost as many as 1,813 trees since 2015. Officials claimed that around 300 heritage trees were also lost between 2015-16 and 2021-22.
Two men, including a former employee of a telecom company, were arrested for allegedly stealing parts of mobile towers in Delhi, police said on Friday. The accused have been identified as Deepak (23) and Dhanpal (22), residents of Sant Nagar, Burari, they added.
Deepak is a former employee of a telecom company while Dhanpal is his neighbour and school friend, police said.
On June 14, a case was registered at the Civil Lines police station regarding the theft of the base band from a mobile tower installed on the roof of a house in Aruna Nagar, a senior police officer said. Police zeroed in on the accused after going through the CCTV footage obtained from the area and on the basis of secret information, and arrested them, Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said. (PTI)
The CBI on Friday conducted searches at five locations in Delhi after registering an FIR against Delhi-based packaging company Rave Scans Pvt Ltd for allegedly defrauding a consortium of banks to the tune of Rs 69.33 crore, officials said Friday.
The CBI acted on a complaint from Indian Overseas Bank alleging serious manipulation in the finances of the company. This included diversion of funds, fabrication of account books and forgery in account books to defraud the banks during 2011-16, the officials said. Following the FIR, the CBI conducted the searches on Friday at the premises of the accused former directors of the company across Delhi, they said.
The bank alleged that the company and its directors -- Rakesh Bhatnagar, Bhavnesh Kumar Kanwar, Premnath Arora and Anuradha Bhatnagar -- resorted to various fraudulent activities causing wrongful loss of Rs 69.33 crore to banks and corresponding wrongful gain to themselves. The agency has booked the accused under the charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, officials said. ---PTI
The Delhi Police’s vigilance department registered a case against a sub-inspector and his associates for allegedly running an extortion racket. The matter came to light when a Delhi-based businessman, who is in judicial custody, wrote to the Delhi Police commissioner saying he was receiving threats calls from the sub-inspector and his officers demanding Rs 15 lakh. Read more
Two men were arrested and three juveniles apprehended for allegedly being involved in robbing a dairy shop owner in Dwarka’s Uttam Nagar area on Sunday, the police said, adding that one of the juveniles was an employee of the shop.
Officers identified the accused as Uttam Nagar residents Sumit (19) and Rupesh (20) and said the latter was previously involved in a case registered under sections 356 (assault while attempting theft) 379 (theft) and 334 (voluntary hurt on provocation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Read more
The Delhi State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT) will conduct a State Achievement Survey (SAS) later this year.
This achievement survey will be conducted in October for students of classes III, V, VIII and X in Delhi government, government-aided and private schools in the city. It will not be conducted in central government-run schools in Delhi. Read more
According to senior PWD officials, the roads are repaired every five years and several stretches in East Delhi are due for repair. The roads have developed potholes and cracks, so the stretches will be repaired with cold milling techniques to increase life. “To give extra life to the roads, PWD will lay a 2-3 inch bituminous layer and the potholes and patches will be repaired. With this, the commuters will experience a smooth ride without bumps,” an official said. Read more
Taking cognisance of recent incidents of robberies and thefts from cash vans, the Gurgaon police on Thursday issued several directives to banks, private security agencies and cash-handling agencies for safe transportation of cash under Section 71 of Haryana Police Act.
Police said the orders had been issued after a “spate of incidents involving robberies from cash vans in transit and ATM thefts”. On April 18, a group of robbers had snatched Rs 96.93 lakh from the employees of a cash collection firm after throwing chilli powder on Sohna Road in Gurgaon. In another incident last month, a group of men had attempted to loot cash outside a bank in the Civil Lines area. Read more
The number of active Covid-19 cases in Delhi has remained over 5,000 for six days in a row, City doctors, however, say that hospitalisation continues to be low, with most patients coming in for the treatment of other ailments and incidentally testing positive for the infection.
The symptoms continue to be similar to the third wave, with most patients consulting doctors with fever, cough and cold, sore throat, and gasto-intestinal problems such as diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, and lack of appetite.
More than 1,500 children studying in Delhi’s private schools who lost their parents to Covid have been adjusted as EWS students so they can continue studying without paying fees.
After the distress caused by the second wave in April-May 2021, governments had announced a slew of measures to aid families who had lost their primary earners to the virus. The large number of children impacted by the deaths of their parents and guardians was also at the epicentre of discussions. Read more
Vehicles carrying raw vegetables, fruit, grains, milk and such essential commodities will, however, be allowed, they said. According to an official, entry of the vehicles will be banned from October 1 to February 28 next year.
Vehicular pollution leads to deterioration of air quality during the winter months, he said. The decision has been met with criticism from transporters and traders, who said it will lead to losses, and urged the government to think of alternative measures to curb pollution.
Diesel-run trucks transporting essential goods will be allowed, apart from CNG and electric trucks, officials said, adding that there will be no ban on private vehicles and the order is applicable only on commercial vehicles. ---PTI
Three men were arrested for allegedly honey-trapping a person by posing themselves as policemen, officials said on Thursday. The accused have been identified as Pawan (37), Manjeet (33) and Deepak (29), all residents of Haryana.
The woman gang member Honey Preet is absconding, police said. On May 1, a 55-year-old man had complained that Preet had befriended him on social media and invited him over to her flat in Paschim Vihar here. As he was spending time with her, the three men entered the flat in the guise of policemen.
They extorted Rs 1.5 lakh from him threatening that he would be booked in a case if he did not heed to their demand, an officer said. Based on the complaint, a police team raided the flat and learnt from the building owner that the three accused had been living there on rent and Preet used to visit them.
However, after the complaint, they had vacated the flat. The building owner gave the police the rent agreement signed by Pawan.
The victim identified the accused through a photograph, the officer said. ---PTI
A day after a 28-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stabbing six personnel inside the cyber cell police station in Shahdara, police booked him for attempted murder and for allegedly trying to commit suicide.
Police said during questioning, the accused, Bharat Bhati, revealed he had some grievances but hasn’t shared them. Read more
A 10-year-old boy died while he was allegedly trying to perform a stunt with a skipping rope at his home in Northeast Delhi on Wednesday. Police said the boy had watched a video of the act, and was trying to copy it when the skipping rope accidentally got tangled around his neck and he died of suffocation.
The incident took place in the Kartar Nagar area around 7 pm. Police believe the stunt involved tying the rope around the neck. Read more
Observing that education is a fundamental right, a Delhi court has allowed a murder accused to appear for the All India Law Entrance Test.
Vacation Judge Chandra Shekhar of Rouse Avenue Court allowed the application filed by one Shashank Jadon, seeking permission to appear for an entrance exam, after noting that a similar request made by him in the year 2020 was allowed by the concerned court. Read more
A fire broke out in a shop in Rohini’s Pooth Kalan area Thursday afternoon, causing one death.
Delhi Fire Services officials said a 25-year-old man died in the fire and several others were rescued.
DFS chief Atul Garg said, “A total of eight fire tenders were dispatched to the site. Seven people have been rescued from the building so far.” Read More