Assailants go on shooting spree in East Delhi to find ‘target’, kill him
A group of 10-12 men went on a shooting spree in East Delhi in search of their target, a 24-year-old man, before they found him in Laxmi Nagar and allegedly shot him dead on Wednesday. An hour before they killed the victim, police said the accused allegedly fired at a family in Shakarpur who escaped narrowly.
Police said they have identified the main accused, but no arrests have been made yet.
Pulling up the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) for not paying salaries to doctors and other frontline workers posted in its hospitals, the Delhi High Court Thursday termed it “shocking” and said the corporation needs to set its house in order.
“We cannot set your house in order. You will have to do it. We cannot be running the EDMC. Were you a private enterprise, we would have asked you to be wound up. If you can’t manage your resources, then shut shop,” the division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh told the EDMC.
With cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) declining, government hospitals in the city such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Lok Nayak, and Guru Teg Bahadue hospital have resumed routine hospitalisations and surgeries.
“In view of the decreased need of hospitalisation of Covid-19 positive patients and also considering the relaxation of curbs imposed earlier …, it has been decided that routine inpatient admissions including elective surgeries in general wards as well as private wards in AIIMS hospital and all centres be resumed with immediate effect on restricted basis as per availability of staff, inpatient beds, and OT services,” read an order by the hospital’s medical superintendent Dr DK Sharma. Read More
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After a hiatus of many months in the matter connected to the Northeast Delhi riots, the Delhi High Court Friday said it will hear the Public Interest Litigations seeking SIT investigation into the violence and action against various political leaders for alleged hate speeches from February 8. Action against police officials for allegedly being complicit in the riots is also being sought by the petitioners.
The division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, to which the matter was transferred last week from the division bench headed by Chief Justice D N Patel, asked the counsel to collate the prayers in the petitions to allow it make a determination that which of the reliefs sought still survive and which have become infructuous over time.
“The first step would be to figure out which of the prayers in which of the petition survive. We don’t want to flog a dead horse. If something is already over, done with, on the rails then we are not to interfere in that,” said the court, adding the question on the scope of a PIL in a criminal matter will also need to be dealt with. Read More
Schools are set to reopen again on Monday, without the 50% cap on classroom capacity this time. While some schools see this as paving the way back to “normalcy”, others think it will be limited by the continuation of the “hybrid mode” of teaching-learning.
Students of classes IX to XII will be back in school from Monday, and nursery to class VIII from February 14. Following the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting on Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that while they will reopen in the hybrid mode, the aim is to move towards doing away with it as cases decline further.
Though the Union Ministry of Education has left it to states and union territories to take a call on the need for parental consent, an education department official said that a nod from parents will continue to be a prerequisite for children attending physical classes. However, the earlier cap of education institutes being allowed to function at only 50% of classroom capacity is being done away with. Read More
The Delhi High Court Friday asked the Delhi government to consider and decide a representation claiming that 'GAMEKING 11', a fantasy sports game, is a skill, not gamble and the authorities including the police should not create any hindrance in its operation.
Justice V Kameswar Rao asked the authorities concerned to convey their decision to petitioner Dream7 Entertainment Pvt Ltd which argued that other high courts have held that other similar fantasy sports games amounted to games of skill.
Senior lawyer Vinay K Garg, appearing for the petitioner, contended that 'GAMEKING 11' required a player to select his team of 11 but “did not gamble on the performance of actual player”.
“What is the skill? There is no skill in choosing Messi and Maradona,” the court questioned. (PTI)
PMLA has no concept of local jurisdiction as it provides for a pan-India probe, the Enforcement Directorate argued on Friday before the Delhi High Court which reserved order on the petition by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and his wife against the summons to appear in Delhi in connection with the money laundering probe linked to an alleged coal scam in West Bengal.
“We shall conclude this case today. This judgement, I'm reserving,” said Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar after hearing Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the ED, and senior advocate Kapil Sibal on behalf of the petitioners.
Banerjee, who is the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and his wife Rujira have challenged the September 10 summons issued to them and sought a direction to the ED not to summon them for appearance in Delhi since they are residents of West Bengal. (PTI)
Following a dip in Covid-19 cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday decided to reopen schools for students in Class 9 to 12 in a phased manner from Monday (February 7). It has also allowed gyms to reopen, but with restrictions.
“Several restrictions have been lifted following talks with DDMA. The livelihood of people will now be back on track. Schools for Classes 9 to 12 will be reopened from Monday while following a hybrid model. If cases continue to decline, schools will be allowed to run on a hybrid mode only in the coming days,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia after the meeting. Read more
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said restaurants in Delhi can remain open till 11 pm. They were earlier forced to shut at 10 pm.
The night curfew in the capital will continue, the DDMA order said on Friday. The curfew which was earlier from 10 pm to 5 am is now from 11 pm to 5 am.
1. Schools, colleges, and coaching centres will open with strict Covid-19 protocols.
2, Classes 9 to 12 will reopen in a phased manner, unvaccinated teachers will not be permitted.
3. Night curfew will continue but will begin at 11 pm instead of 10 pm.
4. Offices will be allowed to function at 100 percent capacity.
5. Single drivers in cars exempted from wearing masks.
6. Gyms allowed to reopen with restrictions.
Schools, colleges, and gyms will reopen in the city with strict Covid-19 protocols, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority said on Friday. The order said classes 9 to 12 will open in a phased manner and unvaccinated teachers will not be permitted. The night curfew will continue in the capital but will begin at 11 pm instead. Offices are now allowed to function with a 100 percent capacity, the order added.
A 44-yar-old taxi driver was found murdered in Gurgaon on Thursday morning. The police said a preliminary probe has found that he was shot in the head from close range by an unidentified accused.
The deceased has been identified as Sanjay Singh, a resident of Rithoj village. He had been unemployed for over two months, said the police. Read more
The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) has launched a petition appealing to the President - the university's visitor - to institute a one-time absorption policy for adhoc teachers.
The DUTA stated: "These Assistant Professors, despite contributing prime years in their lives, have been languishing for a long time... They are deprived of all rightful benefits such as annual increments, promotions, medical benefits, leaves, child care leaves, despite performing the same duties as their professional counterparts." Read more
Gyms across the national capital requested the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to allow them to reopen for business as DDMA is set to hold a meeting today at 12 pm today regarding relaxation in Covid norms.
DDMA will review the Covid situation and discuss the re-opening of schools and easing of other restrictions like reopening of gyms, spas, and lifting of night curfew. Read more
The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has written to the Vice-Chancellor raising several issues with the new proposed undergraduate curriculum framework.
As is the case with almost all teachers’ bodies in the university, the prime concern raised by DUTA is the reduction of credits requirements of students to 164 for four years and 132 for a three-year honours degree. Read more
AAP leader and MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak Thursday alleged that the BJP-ruled South MCD was “looting crores of rupees” on the pretext of licences for EV charging stations, “despite PM Narendra Modi having ended the need for licences”.
The party was reacting to reports that the Corporation was planning to introduce a new policy to charge a licence fee to allow private entities to set up e-vehicle charging stations. The Delhi government has a policy in place that encourages businesses and establishments to set up stations at reasonable rates with no licence fee at all. Read more
Industry associations Thursday welcomed the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s stay on the Haryana government’s law that sought to reserve 75% jobs in the private sector for those from the state.
The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidate Act, 2020, a poll promise of the Jannayak Janta Party, stipulates that firms with 10 or more employees must reserve 75% of all jobs which offer a salary of less than Rs 30,000 a month to those having a domicile (resident certificate) of Haryana. Read more
Urging Delhi High Court to defer the hearings in a case seeking criminalisation of marital rape to await the outcome of a consultative process with stakeholders, the Centre on Thursday said the question involved “will have far-reaching socio-legal implications in the country”. It said the matter needs a comprehensive approach rather than a strictly legal one.
While the Centre’s counsel have made repeated requests in the court in the last few weeks for adjournment of the proceedings, the Centre for the first time placed its request on record by way of an affidavit on Thursday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said in an affidavit before the court, “…considering the social impact involved, intimate family relations being the subject matter and this Hon’ble Court not having the privilege of having been fully familiarised with ground realities prevailing in different parts of society…taking a decision merely based upon arguments of (a) few lawyers may not serve the ends of justice.” Read More
Pulling up the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) for not paying salaries to doctors and other frontline workers posted in its hospitals, the Delhi High Court Thursday termed it “shocking” and said the corporation needs to set its house in order.
“We cannot set your house in order. You will have to do it. We cannot be running the EDMC. Were you a private enterprise, we would have asked you to be wound up. If you can’t manage your resources, then shut shop,” the division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh told the EDMC.
The court further told the EDMC that it has employed people who have families to take care of and asked whether only doctors have not been paid their salaries. “Two months is shocking,” said the court, while referring to the non-payment of salaries for the months of November and December. Read More
Delhi on Thursday recorded a maximum temperature of 14.4 degrees Celsius. This is the lowest temperature recorded during the month of February in 19 years.
Delhi on Thursday reported 2,668 new Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths, as the positivity rate also dropped to 4.3 per cent. The city currently has 13,630 active cases.
The Centre on Thursday filed an affidavit before the Delhi High Court asking the court to defer the hearing of petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape. This is the first time the government has made such a request on record. Earlier, the request was made orally by government counsels.
"In the most respectful submission of the Central Government, considering the social impact involved, the intimate family relations being the subject matter and this Hon'ble Court not having the privilege of having been fully familiarised with ground realities prevailing in different parts of society of this large, populous and diverse country, taking a decision merely based upon the arguments of a few lawyers may not serve the ends of justice," the affidavit stated.
The Ministry of Home Affairs stated in the affidavit that the government can assist the court only after holding a consultative process. "Any assistance of the Central Government can be meaningful and effective only after a consultative process with the participation of all stakeholders. Absence of any such consultative process by the executive/ legislature may result in some injustice to one section or the other," it said.
The Delhi High Court Thursday refused to permit outdoor sports activity in the national capital amid the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority should be allowed to do its work.
Justice V Kameswar, who was dealing with a petition against the prohibition on such activities on account of the third wave, observed that there was no reason to continue the petition when the DDMA was scheduled to hold its meeting on February 4 to further examine the situation.
The judge also stated that the restricted opening of malls and cinema halls cannot be compared with the prayer sought in the present case as the former provided employment to people associated with that industry. (PTI)
Delhi University has constituted a four-member committee to oversee its admission process for the academic session 2022-2023.
The university has decided to discontinue the cut-off system for undergraduate admissions and conduct the admissions through the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET).
Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh has constituted a four-member committee to “look after the work of admission for the academic session 2022-2023”. Its members are dean (admissions) Haneet Gandhi, joint dean (admissions) Sanjeev Singh, joint dean (admissions-UG) Ajay Jaiswal, and deputy dean (admissions) Amit Pundir. Read More
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has extended the last date for the first phase of the amnesty scheme for payment of property tax from January 31 to February 15.
The civic body standing committee chairman Jogi Ram Jain said that in the first phase of the amnesty scheme, 100 per cent waiver of interest and penalty and 15 per cent rebate on principal amount is being given to taxpayers on lump-sum payment of outstanding property tax. Read more
Delhi on Wednesday recorded 3,028 new Covid-19 cases and 27 fatalities. The positivity rate is now at 4.73 percent, which has come down below 5 percent after a month. The city currently has 3,028 active cases, with 4,479 patients having been discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours.
Delhi University’s Academic Council will meet on February 9 to discuss adopting the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework 2022 (UGCF) to be implemented from the academic session 2022-23, when the university shifts to a four-year undergraduate programme, registrar Vikas Gupta said in a notice on February 1.
The DU uploaded the draft on its website on January 21 and invited suggestions from stakeholders till January 30. However, a 50-word limit was given for the same. Read more
A 25-year-old inmate lodged at the Bhondsi Jail died by suicide on Tuesday, the police said.
According to the police, Vijaypal, a resident of Jhajjar, was arrested a week ago for allegedly molesting a minor girl in Gurgaon. They added that the incident was reported at around 5 pm on Tuesday after jail officials informed Bhondsi police station. Read more
While women drivers in Delhi account for 8 per cent of those driving in the national capital, they are responsible for only 1 per cent of fatal accidents in the city, data released by the transport department showed.
A total of 4,720 accidents were reported in Delhi in 2021, leading to 1,239 fatalities and 4,273 injuries. 90 per cent of those injured were men, the report analysis prepared by the lead agency of the Road Safety Branch, Transport Department, read. Read more
As Covid-19 cases continue to dip the city — 3,028 were reported at a positivity rate of 4.73% on Wednesday — the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will meet on Friday to discuss the reopening of schools and gyms, sources said.
“DDMA will have a meeting on Friday and the matter of reopening of schools and gyms across the city will be discussed. Covid cases are under control, so there will be some relaxation. Almost all the children aged between 15 and 17 years have got at least one shot of the vaccine. Hence, schools may be reopened for students of Classes 9 to 12,” sources added. Read more
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the Centre’s response to 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Abu Salem’s plea that he cannot be imprisoned for more than 25 years in view of the treaty between India and Portugal according to which he was extradited.
Salem was extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005. In 2017, a designated Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court had sentenced Salem to life imprisonment after holding him and five others guilty in the Mumbai serial blasts case that left 257 people dead. Read more
Two new Ramsar sites — Khijadiya wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira wildlife sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh — were announced on the occasion of World Wetlands Day at Sultanpur national park in Gurgaon Wednesday. Forest and Wildlife Department officials said India has a network of 49 such sites, the highest in South Asia, covering 10,93,636 hectares.
The Union Environment Ministry had notified the Sultanpur National Park and Bhindawas wildlife sanctuary in Jhajjar as Ramsar sites — the first two such sites in Haryana — in August 2021. Read more
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday said a meeting was held to discuss a master plan to redevelop the AIIMS here into a "world-class university".
In a tweet, Baijal said the CEO of NITI Aayog, vice-chairman of the DDA and AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria and other senior officials of the institute took part in the meeting. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), located in the heart of Delhi, was set up in 1956 and is run by the central government.
"Chaired a meeting regarding Master Plan for redevelopment of AIIMS, New Delhi into a world class Medical University along with CEO NITI Aayog, VC DDA @official_dda, Dr Randeep Guleria-AIIMS & other senior officials of AIIMS," he tweeted. (PTI)
Delhi recorded 3,028 new Covid-19 infections and 27 fatalities. Delhi has 3,028 active cases at present and the positivity rate is at 4.73 per cent.
A 13-year-old girl died after allegedly inhaling carbon monoxide gas that leaked from a geyser in her bathroom at Dwarka, police said. The family alleged the geyser, purchased a month ago from an electronics shop at Najafgarh, had a one-year warranty.
DCP (Dwarka) Shankar Choudhary said the incident took place on January 31 when the victim was found unconscious in her bathroom at Platinum Heights Apartment, at Sector 18A, Dwarka. “She was taken to Venkateshwar Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. Her postmortem was conducted at DDU hospital and as per a medico-legal case (MLC) and enquiry, she died after inhaling carbon monoxide while taking a bath. No foul play has been found so far,” he said. Read more
A total of 4,267 ad-hoc teachers are employed in various colleges of Delhi University, Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar said on Wednesday. Sarkar gave the information in response to a written question in Rajya Sabha.
According to the statistics shared by Sarkar, the maximum number of ad-hoc teachers are in Ramjas College (137) followed by Sri Venkateswara College (131), Deshbandhu College (127) and Kalindi College for Women (120). Read more
The main conspirators of the northeast Delhi riots UAPA case had tried to deflect the blame of the riots on the Bhim Army and BJP leader Kapil Mishra, the prosecution told a Delhi court while opposing the bail of seven applicants.
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad made the submissions before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat. He was opposing the bail applications of former JNU student Umar Khalid and six others.
The SPP managed to conclude the factual points of conspiracy but is yet to argue the individual role of seven applicants in this case. The bail applications of the applicants have been pending for a long time following which the court decided to club the applications and hear them together to save time. The hearing will take place on Thursday.
“What is important is that on one side we have seen you say that after the call of (Bharath bandh) Bhim Army there is escalation. Then complaint against Kapil Mishra. This is a message from Khalid Saifi. First front Bhim Army and second front you are opening is Kapil Mishra,” the SPP submitted. (PTI)
The Delhi Government has inducted a new batch of 30 junior engineers and 22 green fellows to strengthen the city's environmental governance and management, an official statement said on Wednesday.
The engineers and fellows will add strength to the government's environment enforcement and regulatory measures, it said. The Green Fellows are part of a unique Fellowship Program started by the city government for young professionals to contribute to Delhi's green initiatives while the Junior Environmental Engineers will act as a force multiplier for the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the city government said in a statement.
"The Green Delhi Fellowship program is a one-of-a-kind initiative by the Arvind Kejriwal government for young, motivated professionals to innovatively and creatively support Delhi's environmental governance. (PTI)
To celebrate India's success at Olympics and Para Olympics 2021 and honour the champions, the Public Works Department (PWD) is going to dedicate a nearly one kilomtere long stretch in North Delhi to Olympic champions such as Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Ravi Dhaiya and others, and will name Olympics Vithi or Olympics Boulevard.
The sports-themed stretch, the first of its kind, will be redeveloped and redesigned as part of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's ambitious streetscaping project. The estimated length of the stretch is 900 metres and it will be redeveloped on Road Number 51 from Mukundpur Chowk to MCD colony near Model Town.
The Olympics Vithi or Olympics Boulevard will have a sports look and sculptures and statues of javelin thrower and Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra throwing a Javelin, Badminton Player PV Sindhu, Boxer Lovlina Borghain, Wrestler Ravi Dhaiya, Weighlifter Mirabai Chanu, wrestler Bajrang Punia among others. The size of these statue and sculptures will be 15 to 20 feet height, with 2-3mm sheet metal thickness with integrated lighting system to give them an aesthetic look.
The Delhi Commission for Women issued summons to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) to give protection to the 20-year-old woman who was abducted, allegedly gangraped by her neighbours and paraded in Delhi’s Shahdara last week.
The Commission said they are looking for an immediate plan to protect the victim and her family as the accused have a criminal background. So far, the Delhi Police arrested nine persons and apprehended three minors in the case.
The matter came to light after the DCW issued a notice to the Delhi Police in the matter and asked them to arrest the accused. Senior Delhi Police officers said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the matter and all the accused named in the FIR have already been caught. (ENS)
January recorded the highest number of Covid cases in Gurgaon since the pandemic began. According to data from district health bulletin, in January 2022, a total of 64,991 Covid cases were reported, higher than the case load during the second wave in April 2021, when 59,540 cases were recorded.
Since then, cases had steadily declined till December 2021, when the omicron variant reared its head. Read more
THE Delhi High Court Tuesday granted bail to two accused in the murder case of Northeast Delhi riots victim Akbari and denied relief to another accused, saying that he was an active member of the mob who set her house on fire.
85-year-old Akbari died of asphyxia after inhaling smoke when her house at Bhajanpura was set ablaze by the mob who had gathered in support of the CAA. Read more
The trial runs on the 17 km priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, which will connect Sahibabad to Duhai, will begin this year and the completed corridor will be opened for public use by March next year, said officials.
Currently, the work on the 16 km viaduct of priority section, 1,200 piers, and 9,900 piles have been concreted and the foundation work has been completed for 56 km of the corridor. Read more
The national capital witnessed dense fog Wednesday, with the visibility at the Indira Gandhi International and Safdarjung Airports falling to 50 metres in the morning. Some flights had to be delayed because of the dip in visibility.
Delhi, which is prone to long and sustained spells of dense fog each winter, has so far had only a few fog days, which have not thrown life out of gear in the national capital. Read more
The transport department in Delhi has identified about 16 high-risk accident-prone corridors where at least 10 people have been killed every kilometre. It has also found 22 junctions as high-risk for all road users and about 40 intersections and junctions as unsafe for pedestrians and motorcyclists. Of the 40 junctions, 20 are unsafe for pedestrians and 20 for two-wheeler users. Read more
Another major private school body in Delhi has written to the Lieutenant Governor requesting the reopening of schools closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Progressive Schools’ Conference (NPSC) raised the issue of the learning losses suffered by children to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
The NPSC has some of the most prominent schools in Delhi under its wing, such as Sanskriti School, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, the various branches of Delhi Public School and Modern School. After the Action Committee Unaided Private Schools wrote to the LG’s office on Sunday , the NPSC too has now urged the L-G to put schools’ reopening on priority, stating that there is “absolutely no justification to keep schools closed”. Read more
Delhi administered just over 65,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses on Tuesday, of which 78 per cent were in either children between the ages of 15 to 17 or those between the ages of 18 and 45, as per the data from the government’s CoWIN portal. The numbers in older age groups, for whom the vaccination drive started first, have tapered off over the last two weeks.
The Indian Express had earlier reported that the vaccination figures in Delhi were dipping as the capital had reached saturation in older age groups. Read more
On the occasion of World Wetlands Day, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday announced that the state will bring an ecotourism policy focusing on homestays to promote tourism in villages around the two Ramsar sites of Haryana, Sultanpur National Park and Bhindawass Wetland in Jhajjar.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced two new Ramsar Sites in India, Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh. India now has total 49 Ramsar sites - highest in South Asia.
Khattar said, "I had gone to Uttarakhand and our party representatives have been campaigning in UP. From everywhere, we are receiving reports that BJP will win the election and form the government in both the States. Even in Punjab, BJP will play a significant role and may even form the government."
January recorded the highest number of Covid cases in Gurgaon since the pandemic began. According to data from district health bulletin, in January 2022, a total of 64,991 Covid cases were reported, higher than the case load during the second wave in April 2021, when 59,540 cases were recorded.
Since then, cases had steadily declined till December 2021, when the omicron variant reared its head. Read more
The Delhi Police has been allocated Rs 10,355 crore in the Union Budget for 2022-23, an increase of Rs 1,701 crore from the last fiscal. The Delhi Police was allocated Rs 8,654 crore in 2021-22.
According to the police, Rs 9,808 crore has been allocated for establishment-related expenditure while Rs 287 crore will be incurred under the capital section for installation of CCTV security surveillance system across Delhi and procurement of various advanced equipment for law and order modernisation. Read more