Delhi bomb case: Wife’s illness, court fine, high rent drove scientist over edge
Getting fined for not appearing before court; his wife being detected with cancer; having to pay Rs 50,000 rent; and the possibility of facing criminal charges — these are some of the key factors that, police believe, drove a 47-year-old DRDO scientist over the edge and prompted him to allegedly plant a bomb inside Rohini court to kill his neighbour.
Police found that scientist Bharat Bhushan Kataria’s neighbour had filed a criminal case against him and during the hearings on November 1, the court fined Kataria Rs 1,000 for “unnecessary adjournment”.
Delhi: AP Dhillon concert set to be cancelled, SDM raises Covid red flag
The Vasant Vihar Sub Divisional Magistrate has directed Andaz Hotel in Aerocity to cancel the concert of Punjabi singer A P Dhillon citing violation of Covid guidelines by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). The event was to be held Saturday night.
“The Delhi Disaster Management Authority is satisfied that the NCT of Delhi is threatened with the spread of Covid-19 epidemic, which has already been declared as a pandemic by the World health Organisation and has considered it necessary to take effective measures to prevent its spread and issued various orders/instructions from time to time to all authorities concerned to take all required measures to appropriately deal with the situation in NCT of Delhi,” Vasant Vihar SDM Ankur Prakash Meshram said in an order dated December 17 sent to Naresh Madan of Andaz Hotel as well as Vijay Malhotra, the Director of Security at the hotel.
Eight high-rise commercial buildings in areas such as Connaught Place and KG Marg have been sent notices for not renewing their fire safety certificate, Delhi Fire Service officials said on Tuesday.
These buildings come under the fire department's Connaught Place jurisdiction, they said.
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Notices have been sent to the management of Mercantile House on KG Marg, Surya Kiran Building at Connaught Place, Akashdeep building on Barakhamba Road, Ambadeep building, Allahabad Bank building and Punjab National Bank building, among others, so far, Delhi Fire Service (DFS) director Atul Garg said. (PTI)
Three men, including a teenager, were arrested over the last few days for allegedly stabbing to death a 20-year-old IAS aspirant and injuring another in an alleged case of road rage that took place in Delhi’s Mangolpuri area on December 14.
DCP (Outer) Parvinder Singh said, “We have arrested three men — Raunak Kumar (19), Rohit Kumar (22) and Mukesh Kumar (22) — for stabbing the victim to take revenge for a minor incident of road rage.”
Five joint research projects between the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) and Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) will be provided seed grants for interdisciplinary research in the fields of computer science and engineering, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), electronics and communication engineering, computational biology, social science, humanities and quantum computing.
The two institutes had signed an MoU earlier this year to “establish a collaborative platform for mutual benefit”. The MoU intended to “initiate wide-ranging partnerships in academics, research, product & process development, and human resource development with profound socio-economic impact”.
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The Delhi government Monday sacked three doctors of a mohalla clinic in connection with the death of three minor children, allegedly due to an adverse reaction to a drug. Health Minister Satyendar Jain said an enquiry has been ordered into the incident, which took place in October. The children, one of whom was three years old, had died, allegedly after consuming a cough syrup prescribed by doctors at the mohalla clinic. They were admitted to Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital. One child died on October 13 and the other two died in the same month.
The Delhi Transport Department has received 12 bids from some top companies for the installation of 100 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations with 500 points across the city, said an official. As per officials, the tendering process was scheduled to start in February and installation work in by June-August. However, the first tender issued for setting out 100 charging stations failed and the project got delayed due to the outbreak of Covid second wave
Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on Monday launched Project 'Abhaya', a joint initiative of the force and an NGO for safety and security of girls, officials said here. Abhaya means "one who is fearless", and the joint initiative by the Delhi Police and NGO Shakti Foundation is aimed at empowering, educating and making children aware, they said. Speaking on the occasion, Asthana underlined that protection of women, children and the weaker sections is the utmost responsibility of any society, and police personnel have to be extra-cautious and devoted while dealing with such matters, Delhi Police PRO Chinmoy Biswal said in a statement.
The air quality in Delhi is forecasted to be in the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi. The AQI could remain ‘very poor’ on Wednesday and Thursday as well, the forecast indicates. Calm conditions and slow winds are keeping the air quality ‘very poor,’ and it is likely to remain so till Dec 25.
The 24-hour average AQI at Jahangirpuri, Bawana, Anand Vihar, Mundka, Wazirpur, and Ashok Vihar was in the ‘severe’ category at 10 am on Tuesday. The AQI at Jahangirpuri stood at 443, while it was 434 at Anand Vihar.
The minimum temperature recorded in Delhi over the past 24 hours was 4 degrees Celsius at the Safdarjung weather station, with cold wave conditions persisting. This is four degrees below the normal for this time of the year.
The Safdarjung, Lodi Road and Aya Nagar weather observatories of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded cold wave conditions over the past 24 hours. The minimum temperature at Aya Nagar was 3.8 degrees Celsius, a little more than four degrees below the normal. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature at Lodhi Road was 3.7 degrees Celsius, around 3.3 degrees below the normal for this time of the year.
A 54-year-old woman and a nine-year-old girl have succumbed to dengue in the past one-and-a-half months, taking the total number of fatalities due to the vector-borne disease reported in Delhi this year to 17, according to a report released on Monday. Till December 11, the official dengue death tally maintained by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the nodal agency for tabulating data on vector-borne diseases in the city, was 15.
The total number of dengue cases have also risen to over 9,400. About 150 fresh cases have been logged in the last one week, far less than what was being reported till two weeks ago. According to the civic body's report on vector-borne diseases released on Monday, a total of 9,414 dengue cases and 17 deaths have been recorded this season till December 18.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) will open one English medium school in each of its wards from the new academic session, according to an official statement on Monday. According to an official, initially, 104 English medium schools will be opened in SDMC wards. The move is being made in view of the impact and importance of English in the present scenario, the statement said. "Due to the increasing social and employment impact of the English language, the need for English medium schools was being felt for a long time. So, the Education Department of SDMC is going to start one fully English Medium School in each ward of the civic agency from the new session," the municipal corporation said in a statement. (PTI)
A Delhi court has convicted a wedding organiser for flouting COVID-19 norms by allowing a gathering of more than 50 people at the function in 2020, where none of the guests wore masks or maintained social distancing. Allegations against convict Sunil Narula were that he organised the marriage function at his farmhouse in Delhi's Nawada Housing Complex on December 11, 2020, where he allowed more than 50 people without following the prescribed rules. On a complaint filed by his neighbour, two police officers went to the farmhouse, where they saw that none of the guests wore masks and no social distancing norms were followed by the farmhouse owner. --PTI
Delhi on Monday recorded 91 fresh cases of Covid-19 while the positivity rate in the city touched 0.2% first time since June. With Omicron cases on the rise across the country, the Delhi government decided to conduct genome tests of all samples testing positive for coronavirus, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. So far, only samples of international travellers were being sent for genome sequencing.
With the Covid positive and Omicron cases increasing across the city, the Delhi government has decided to conduct genome sequencing tests of all samples testing positive for Covid-19, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday. As of now, only samples of international travellers were being sent for genome sequencing.
Kejriwal also requested the Centre to allow the Delhi government to start administering booster shots to fully vaccinated people.
“About 99 per cent of the people are vaccinated with first dose and 70 per cent with second dose. We have all facilities and arrangements to start the booster dose drive in the city. If Centre gives permission, the government will start the drive and give booster shots to all the health workers first, and later to others,” said Kejriwal. Read more
After Sports and Entrepreneurship, Arvind Kejriwal government proposes a Delhi Teachers University. The Cabinet has passed the Bill and it will be presented in the next Assembly meeting for discussion.
Six new Omicron cases have been detected in Delhi, taking the total number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus variant in the city to 28. According to sources, two of these cases are admitted in Lok Nayak Hospital and four in Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, which is one of the private hospitals where suspected Omicron cases from the Indira Gandhi International Airport are being isolated. Read More
Cabinet has approved to extension of free ration distribution to all Delhi people with rations cards. Free ration distribution will continue till 31st May 2022. (ENS)
The Chief Minister further said that home Isolation is highly preferred for Omircron cases and the Delhi government will strengthen the home quarantine programme. Kejriwal added that he will hold a review meeting on the matter on December 23.
CM Arvind Kejriwal also requested the Central government to allow the Delhi govt to give booster shots to the residents. “99 per cent people are vaccinated with the first dose and 70 per cent with the second. We have facilities and arrangements to start booster shots for the fully vaccinated. If the Centre allows, booster doses will be provided to health workers first and later for the others,” he added.
As Omicron cases are on the rise across the country, the Delhi government has decided to conduct genome tests of all samples testing positive for Covid-19, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday. To date, only samples of international travellers were being sent for genome sequencing.
Construction and demolition activities will be permitted in the National Capital Region with immediate effect, the Commission for Air Quality Management said in an order issued on Monday. Entry of trucks will also be permitted into Delhi. Entry of trucks carrying non-essentials, except for those running on CNG and electric trucks, had been banned till today.
A Delhi court has granted bail to a man wanted by authorities in Thailand for allegedly smuggling 840 radiated tortoises. The tortoises, originally found in Madagascar, are known for its bright yellow carapace and are listed as critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Read More
Delhi on Monday reported two more Omicron cases, news agency ANI reported, taking its tally to 24. The government has, as such, intensified random testing at Metro stations, markets, tourist places, and other areas which see a high footfall as the national capital recorded 107 new Covid-19 cases and one related death in the last 24 hours.
Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority’s scheme to channel water from the Ganga for daily use in villages in the area has cleared the final hurdle as the laying of pipelines is completed. As per officials, the laying of pipelines under the Eastern Peripheral Expressway had been halted due to a delay in getting permission from the highway authorities. The Rs 800-crore scheme, initially conceived in 2005, is likely to be completed by next month. The officials have also tested the water supply between Dehra and Bisara. Read More
Parts of Northwest India have been experiencing a cold wave lately. In its morning update, the IMD said that cold wave conditions would continue over parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh till December 21. The IMD records a cold wave when the minimum temperature is equal to or less than 10 degrees Celsius at a weather station in the plains and is 4.5 degrees to 6.4 degrees below the normal temperature for that period. A cold wave may also be recorded at a station in the plains when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 4 degrees Celsius.
The air quality in the national capital is likely to be in the ‘poor’ or lower end of the ‘very poor’ category on Monday, going by the Air Quality Early Warning System forecast. The AQI as a 24-hour average was in the ‘very poor’ category at several stations at 9 am on Monday. The AQI was over 350 at Anand Vihar, Jahangirpuri, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Patparganj, Sonia Vihar and Mundka. (ENS)
The Janata Dal United (JDU) has announced that it will be contesting the upcoming Delhi Municipal Corporation elections in areas having a sizeable Poorvanchali population. The announcement was made by the party’s National General Secretary and Minister in the Bihar government Sanjay Kumar Jha on Sunday. Read More
Cases of snatching, theft and kidnapping saw a significant rise at Delhi’s railway stations this year, said officials on Monday. The Delhi Police and Railway Protection Force recorded a total of 1,714 cases from January to October this year, a 37 per cent surge in crimes from last year. According to police data, 68 cases of theft and 12 cases of kidnapping were reported this year as compared to 44 theft cases and 6 kidnapping cases in 2020. As many as 1,556 e-FIRs were registered online for theft and 17 cases of motor vehicle theft were also reported from the railway stations. Read More
A 22-year-old man was beaten to death, allegedly by three of his friends, in Palwal on December 14, with a video of the incident purportedly showing the accused assaulting him because he is Muslim. Police have arrested the three men — Aakash alias Diljale, Vishal and Kalua — and say they have confessed to killing Rahul Khan following an altercation in an inebriated state.
A video clip purportedly shows the accused hitting the victim repeatedly on his face with what appears to be a stick and saying that he is a Muslim while they are Hindus. The 31-second clip purportedly shows the victim, with blood on his face and clothes, collapse after repeated blows, prompting one of the accused to say, “He has died.” Read More
The minimum temperature in Delhi fell to 3.2 degree Celsius on Monday, five degrees below the normal for this time of the year and the lowest minimum temperature recorded so far this season. For the second consecutive day, the minimum temperature has fallen below 5 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature over the past 24 hours stood at 19.2 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal.
Most private schools in Delhi reopen on Monday for classes VI and above but administrators say that repeated closures and uncertainty with the emergence of Omicron has made planning a challenge. On Saturday, schools reopened for students of Class VI onwards with the Delhi government issuing an order shortly after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) advised it to take an immediate decision to this effect. Read More
Delhi saw the biggest single-day spike in new cases of Covid-19 in almost six months on Sunday, with 107 people testing positive for the infection. The test positivity rate — the percentage of coronavirus tests that returned a positive result — was 0.17%, also the highest in almost six months. The last time Delhi reported more new infections in a day was on June 25, when 115 cases were detected. Read More
With the capital reporting 22 cases of the Omicron variant, the Delhi government has intensified random Covid testing at Metro stations, markets, tourist places, and other areas which see a high footfall. Since the last 15 days, each of the 11 districts has been carrying out about 4,000-5,000 tests daily. Apart from testing, the districts are also vigorously carrying out vaccination, enforcing Covid- appropriate behaviour, and prosecuting those who violate protocol in public places. Read More
A 47-year-old DRDO scientist who was arrested by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell on Friday in connection with the recent blast inside the Rohini district court complex allegedly tried to commit suicide by consuming a toxic substance while in police custody. More details here.
Delhi on Sunday recorded 107 new cases of Covid-19 and one death in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate in the city stands at 0.17 per cent with 540 active cases. Over 61,000 tests were conducted on Saturday, results for which were reported today, according to the latest health bulletin released by the Delhi government.
The Delhi High Court has granted bail to three persons accused of duping a seller on an online marketplace, stating that while online cheating and fraud have become rampant, it cannot remiss in performing its duty of upholding liberty.
Justice Subramonium Prasad warned the three accused not to indulge in the same offence again and ordered that their bail would be subject to furnishing bail bonds of Rs 25,000 with the two sureties of the like amount. (PTI)
BJP leader and Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday claimed that the Yogi Adityanath-led government has demolished the 'legacy of cut, commission, corruption' and 'politics of danga (riots) and dabangs (musclemen)' in Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to reporters here, Naqvi said the chief minister has ensured the safety and dignity of the common people by demolishing the 'den' of goons.
He said the BJP rule under Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh is an era of 'iqbal' (authority), insaaf' (justice) and Imaan (integrity)' where inclusive development, security and prosperity of the country is of the 'utmost' priority.
He alleged the 'dynasty' is trying to dominate the democracy to protect the '3Bs' -- 'brotherhood of balwayi (rioters) bahubali (strongmen) and beyimani (dishonesty)'. (PTI)
The Vasant Vihar Sub Divisional Magistrate has directed Andaz Hotel in Aerocity to cancel the concert of Punjabi singer A P Dhillon citing violation of Covid guidelines by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). The event was to be held Saturday night.
“The Delhi Disaster Management Authority is satisfied that the NCT of Delhi is threatened with the spread of Covid-19 epidemic, which has already been declared as a pandemic by the World health Organisation and has considered it necessary to take effective measures to prevent its spread and issued various orders/instructions from time to time to all authorities concerned to take all required measures to appropriately deal with the situation in NCT of Delhi,” Vasant Vihar SDM Ankur Prakash Meshram said in an order dated December 17 sent to Naresh Madan of Andaz Hotel as well as Vijay Malhotra, the Director of Security at the hotel. Read more
The strike by resident doctors at several Centre-run hospitals in Delhi has left patients in the lurch.
Near the emergency block at Safdarjung Hospital on Friday, Praveen Kumar sat on the pavement, leaning against a wall with his leg in a cast. After an accident last month, a procedure was scheduled for his leg on Saturday and he was required to get admitted on Friday.
“We met a doctor who said that the surgery will not happen because of the strike. We were told to wait till Monday. This is the second time that it is being rescheduled. It was supposed to have happened earlier this month,” said Praveen, a resident of Faridabad, who plans on spending two days outside the hospital with his wife, rather than travel the long distance back home. Read more
South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s Mayor Mukesh Suryan said that a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatric Ward, and PSA Oxygen Plant have been started at Mata Gujri Hospital in Tilak Nagar.
SDMC has started these units in collaboration with Save The Children (STC) to improve health infrastructure in view of any possibility of a third wave of Covid-19, he said. Read more
One policeman was injured after an overloaded dumper truck carrying stones allegedly rammed into a police vehicle, on patrol to check illegal mining, in Haryana’s Nuh on Friday night.
The superintendent of police, Nuh, under whose supervision the inspection was going on, and his team jumped out of a police SUV as the dumper allegedly tried to run over them, in a bid to escape, near a hotel on the Nuh-Alwar road at Ganduri village. Read more
Delhi recorded the coldest morning of the winter season so far on Sunday, with the mercury dipping to 4.6 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung. The temperature was three degrees below normal.
Safdarjung — the official weather observatory for Delhi — recorded warmer temperatures than Lodhi Road, which recorded a minimum temperature of 3.6 degrees Celsius.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s forecast, the maximum temperature on Sunday is expected to be around 18 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, with cold day conditions prevailing. Read more
After witnessing the poor condition and upkeep of the existing footpaths, walkways and manholes across the city, Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) has issued guidelines to its engineering staff for their maintenance. Making footpaths walkable should be done on priority, the department told the staff.
In the standard operating procedure (SOP), a copy of which is with The Indian Express, the PWD said: “In existing footpaths, it has been observed that at several places, paver blocks have settled, manhole covers are not placed properly, paver blocks are missing in patches, kerb stones at few places and malba lying on footpaths and vegetation are growing at some places. It is suggested that the total length of footpath in the division be distributed among all the field staff and these officers should own that much of the footpath and personally ensure that improvements are implemented from one end to another.” Read more
Passengers traveling on the Violet Line on Sunday morning were stranded at the metro stations for nearly about 30 minutes after the train services were delayed due to a signal failure on Sunday.
The Delhi Metro in an official tweet said: “Services were delayed due to minor signalling issue but it is resolved now. It was small issue and the services on the section are fine and normal now.” Read more
With Omicron cases on the rise, four private hospitals in the city have been directed by the Delhi government to set up isolation facilities for suspected Covid patients arriving at the international airport.
Passengers testing positive for Covid or suspected of it upon arrival from “at-risk” countries at IGI Airport are being referred for isolation. Lok Nayak Hospital had been declared the designated centre for all such cases and it has set aside 100 beds for this purpose. Now, the Delhi government is roping in private hospitals for the same. Read more
Two men, allegedly involved in several incidents of carjacking in Delhi, were arrested on early Saturday morning after an exchange of fire from Central Delhi’s Rani Jhansi Road.
Deputy commissioner of police (central district) Shweta Chauhan said: “The accused have been identified as Ishtiyaq (40), a resident of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, and Akil (35), a resident of Muzaffarnagar, also in the UP. The arrest was made based on information about a car theft in the central district,” she said. Read more
From inaction against builders to irregularities in schemes, the Comptroller and Auditor General audit has found several lapses by the Noida Authority that led to the non-completion of projects.
A performance audit report by the CAG on land acquisition and allotment of properties in Noida between 2005-06 and 2017-18 highlighted many anomalies and discrepancies resulting in loss to the exchequer. As per the report, in 24 schemes in which allotments were made from 2005 to 2018, 1,30,005 flats were sanctioned for construction, against which only 72,697 were completed as of March 31, 2020: “As a result, the home buyers are saddled with incomplete projects wherein they have invested their life savings.” Read more
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday said the Delhi government will be sending senior citizens to Velankanni in Tamil Nadu on free pilgrimage under the Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojna on January 7 next year. The church is a noted pilgrimage spot for Christians, especially Catholics.
The announcement was made during the annual Christmas celebrations on the Delhi Assembly premises. Read more
Delhi on Saturday recorded 86 fresh Covid-19 cases in a day, the highest in over five months, and had zero deaths, according to city’s health department. The capital now has total 22 Omicron cases. Three private hospitals have been directed by the Delhi government to set up isolation units for patients coming from ‘at risk’ countries.
Observing that the approach of the investigating agency with regard to the examination of the role of police officers in a multi-crore theft case is “quite inert and soft”, a Gurgaon court has directed the Haryana Police Special Task Force (STF) to examine the role of all officers who have dealt with the case. The court further directed the STF to trace the source of the money as well as the purpose for which it was stored, and to unravel all “mysterious aspects of the case”. Read more