How a modest water sports club in Delhi is giving wings to dreams of many youngsters
Ten years ago, when Chandan Kumar (now 25) was in Class 10, he spotted his friend Anil Rathi in an Army uniform. Dazzled by the uniform, he asked his friend how he managed to get into the force. That’s when Rathi took him to Soniya Vihar Water Sports Club, the place where the former learned canoeing and kayaking which eventually paved the way for him to join the Army through sports quota.
“That was the first time I saw people canoeing and kayaking,” Kumar recalled. “I had always been interested in sports and immediately wanted to master this too,” he said.
Now a sepoy at the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Kumar credits his selection wholly to his love for canoeing.
For Kumar, like many others who come to the club, the sports club is not just an outlet for recreation but also a route to get the coveted government job, particularly in the defence forces, and a way out of their middle-class life.
Said Manjeet Shekhawat, the head coach at the club, “Our aim is to not only train students in different water sports but to also enable them to get government jobs through the sports quota.”
Perhaps, his students securing defence jobs is a way for Shekhawat to realise his own dreams. Shekhawat earlier wanted to get into the Border Security Force (BSF) but couldn’t due to the rigid height requirements of the paramilitary force. Since then, he has been training children and athletes at the Soniya Vihar club, which was established six years ago.
A Delhi court that on Wednesday convicted four men of the murder of television journalist Soumya Vishwanathan during committing an organised crime and a fifth accused for receiving the proceeds of the crime under the MCOCA, detailed the reasons why they were convicted under the stringent act.
The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) is a special law for prevention and control of criminal activity by organised crime syndicates or gangs.
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According to the prosecution, Ravi Kapoor shot at Vishwanathan from a country-made pistol on September 30, 2008 on Nelson Mandela Marg in south Delhi while chasing the victim's car with a design to rob her. Amit Shukla, Ajay Kumar and Baljeet Malik were also with Kapoor at the time of the incident.
Police recovered the car used in the murder from the fifth accused, Ajay Sethi alias Chacha.
Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey said the prosecution had duly proved that numerous FIRs across different police stations were registered against all the accused from 2002 till their arrest in 2009. (PTI)
Over 301 demolition activities have been carried out by civic authorities across the national capital in last 15 days in order to curb unauthorised construction, officials said on Wednesday.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), in a statement, said that 77 sealing actions have been carried out in the same period across its 12 zones.
The department has been trying to curb the menace of unauthorised constructions in different areas, it said.
These actions were conducted in several areas across the city, especially in unauthorised colonies and agricultural lands, since last 15 days, the statement said. (PTI)
Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena has approved an increase in the Adhoc Monthly Relief to Kashmiri migrants in the national capital from Rs 10,000 to Rs 27,000 per month, Raj Niwas officials said on Wednesday.
The Adhoc Monthly Relief (AMR) was last increased in 2007 when the amount was doubled from Rs 5,000 per family fixed in 1995, they added.
"This enhancement of 170 per cent (almost 2.7 times) in the AMR comes after a long gap of 16 years, when the AMR amount was doubled from Rs 5,000 per month to Rs 10,000 per month in 2007. In 1995, the Delhi government had fixed the AMR amount at Rs 5000 per month," an official said.
AMR is provided to Kashmiri migrants under the “Security Related Expenditure (Relief & Rehabilitation)", introduced by the central government in 1989-90 to support those who had to migrate from the Kashmir Valley due to militancy.
In Delhi, AMR is provided to migrant families registered by the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi from 1990-93.
At present, approximately 2,000 families in the national capital are being paid AMR at a rate of Rs 3,250 per person per month, subject to a maximum of four people per family. This amount is shared by the Delhi government, whih pays Rs 1,000, and the Centre, which pays Rs 2,250. The monthly expenditure incurred on AMR is approximately Rs 2.5 crore. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court has summoned trial court record in the abetment to suicide case of deceased air hostess Geetika Sharma's mother, who died six months after her daughter, on a plea by the State challenging setting aside of the summons to former Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said the trial court record of the case be summoned in digitised form for October 31.
The State's revision petition challenging the trial court's October 26, 2020 order setting aside the summons issued to Kanda and his aide Aruna Chadha is also listed for hearing on October 31.
The high court's order came on a plea filed by the State through additional public prosecutor Amit Sahni which said the trial court record of the case is essential for the adjudication of this matter.
In October 2020, an additional sessions judge had set aside a magisterial court's order summoning Kanda and Chadha as accused in the case. (PTI)
A court here on Wednesday sent Lava International MD Hari Om Rai and Chinese national Guangwen Kuang to judicial custody till October 30 in a money laundering case against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo.
Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala, however, extended by two days the custodial interrogation of co-accused Nitin Garg.
The court passed the order on an application moved by the Enforcement Directorate.
The three accused were produced before the court on completion of their ED custody granted earlier. They were arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). (PTI)
The Bar Council of India (BCI) Wednesday approached the Delhi High Court against a direction to it to process the enrolment of a South Korean national as an advocate.
BCI chairman senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra argued that foreign lawyers are not allowed to practice in courts here as their entry has been permitted in a limited manner and the order of a single judge setting aside its refusal to allow the South Korean citizen's request for enrolment cannot be sustained.
Mishra also submitted that the apex bar body has verify the factum of "reciprocity" of similar permission to practice for Indian nationals in South Korea.
"This will open a floodgate," he argued, adding that this is may later result in the entry of lawyers from Pakistan and Nepal into the country. (PTI)
More than 15 years after she was killed, a Delhi court on Wednesday held four men guilty of murder, robbery, and offences under the MCOCA in the 2008 Soumya Vishwanathan case. Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik, and Ajay Kumar were held guilty of murder while Ajay Sethi was convicted of stealing property under sections of the MCOCA 1999. The court will announce the quantum of sentence next week.
Here are the five things to know about the case: Read more
Two men allegedly robbed Rs 3,200 from a scrap dealer and tried to kill him by strangulating him in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, police said on Wednesday.
A CCTV footage of the incident surfaced on social media, purportedly showing the two men talking to the scrap dealer, and then robbing him of Rs 3,200, they said.
Police said one of the two men allegedly strangulated the scrap dealer. When the scrap dealer fell unconscious on the road, the duo, thinking him to be dead, fled from the spot.
The footage also showed that the scrap dealer later regained consciousness, they said.
"We have recorded the statement of the scrap dealer identified as Sanjay (32). According to his statement, he was robbed off Rs 3,200. The incident occurred on October 16 near Gurudwara, Fateh Nagar," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vichitra Veer. (PTI)
The four accused Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik, and Ajay Kumar held guilty of murder, robbery and offences under MCOCA.
- Ajay Sethi is convicted under section 411 IPC (dishonestly stealing property) and sections of the MCOCA act 1999.
- Soumya Vishwanathan, a 25-year-old journalist at Headlines Today — what is now India Today — was killed at Vasant Vihar’s Nelson Mandela Road in what police claimed was a case of armed robbery in the early hours of 30 September, 2008.
- Five people — Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik, Ajay Sethi, and Ajay Kumar — are facing charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) as well as charges of murder (Section 302), robbery (Section 390) and common intent (Section 34) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
The matter is now listed for October 26 for sentencing.
The Delhi government will run a month-long campaign to curb industrial pollution starting October 20, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.
He told reporters here that 66 teams have been set up to keep an eye on the fuels being used in over 1,700 industrial units in the capital.
"Though these units have shifted to natural gas, we will ensure that there's no laxity on their part," Rai said.
The minister had on Tuesday demanded that the Centre impose a complete ban on firecrackers and allow the movement of only CNG and electric vehicles in the entire National Capital Region in a bid to curb air pollution.
Rai, in a letter to Bhupender Yadav, his counterpart at the Centre, said the Delhi government has taken numerous steps to curb air pollution during the winter season. "But these steps will not be effective until Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh deal with the sources of pollution in the NCR region," he said.
A report by independent environment think tank Centre for Science and Environment shows that 31 per cent of Delhi's pollution comes from sources within the national capital while 69 per cent is from sources in NCR states, he said.
Gautam Buddha Nagar police Tuesday started a 15-day special inspection drive to act against vehicle owners for violating pollution control norms as part of implementing the revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
Officials said that the traffic police will conduct checks at various designated points across the district.
They said that primarily the action will be taken against five categories of violators, which include 10-year-old diesel vehicles, 15-year-old petrol vehicles, vehicles with expired pollution certificates, fitness certificate expired vehicles and action against those who burn stubble and others.
"Gautam Adani buys coal in Indonesia and by the time it reaches India, its price doubles. He has taken approximately 12,000 crores from the pockets of the poorest people in India," claims Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at press conference in Delhi.
When asked why he is not raising questions about Sharad Pawar's meeting with Adani despite INDIA alliance united on Adani issue, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, " I have not asked Sharad Pawar, he is not the Prime Minister of India. Sharad Pawar is not protecting Adani, Mr Modi is and that's why I asked Mr Modi this question. If Sharad Pawar was sitting as PM of India and protecting Adani, then I would be asking Sharad Pawar this question".
The Delhi Development Authority has launched a mega e-auction for prime plots, built-up shops, kiosks and mobile tower sites among other properties, officials said on Wednesday.
Online bidding of these properties has been scheduled for three days from November 7 to 9, and the exercise has been grouped for public convenience, they said.
"The DDA (Delhi Development Authority) has invited bids for 50 institutional plots, including 20 religious sites on leasehold basis, 12 industrial plots, 46 residential plots, two group housing plots, 28 commercial plots and 19 small-size residential plots at Rohini, all on freehold basis," the urban body said in a statement. PTI
AAP MP Sanjay Singh told the Delhi High Court Tuesday that his arrest was “malicious”, “flouting the procedure” laid down while arguing his plea against the arrest and remand in the money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the now scrapped Delhi excise policy.
In his plea, Singh has also sought his release “forthwith” from custody. He was arrested on October 4; he was remanded to five-day day ED custody on October 5, which was extended till October 13 on October 10. Subsequently, on October 13, Singh was sent to 14-day judicial custody. Read the full report here
The Delhi Police have arrested three people for allegedly creating ghost companies on fictitious documents and duping wholesalers by generating leads on an e-commerce website, officers said Tuesday.
DCP (North) Manoj Kumar Meena said they received a complaint by one Sandeep Kumar at the cyber police station of the North district through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), informing that he is a wholesaler of fancy furniture and got himself registered on IndiaMART for boosting his business. READ ON
The Delhi High Court pulled up the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) for restricting Persons with Disabilities (PwD) from applying in a recruitment process, directing them to strictly comply with the 4 per cent reservation for PwDs as per The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 (RPwD).
Expressing concern on the status quoist approach of departments in the implementation of the law, a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula in its October 16 order said, “From 1995 to 2016, the legislative wisdom experienced a significant growth. However, the status quoist approach in implementation of the legislation in its true spirit still prevails. We are reminded of the classic French expression – Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – which means the more things change, the more they stay the same”. READ THE FULL REPORT
A special court has stayed the summons issued against BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain by a magisterial court here on a woman's complaint alleging rape and criminal intimidation.
Special judge M K Nagpal passed the order on a revision petition filed by Hussain against the order of the magisterial court that had directed him to appear before it on October 20.
In the order passed on October 17, the judge also issued a notice to the complainant on the petition and sought her response by November 8.
"In view of the submissions being made by counsel representing the petitioner, it is also being directed that till then, the operation of the impugned order and further proceedings in the case shall remain stayed," the judge said. PTI
The overall Air Quality Index in Delhi was recorded in the 'moderate' category at 9 am on Wednesday and the minimum temperature settled at 17.3 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, officials said.
The city witnessed poor air quality on Sunday and Monday. It improved slightly afterwards as gusty winds accompanied by rains lashed parts of the national capital on Monday night.
On Wednesday, the overall AQI was recorded at 130, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research.
The India Metrological Department predicted clear skies over the city during the day with no possibility of rainfall.
Apart from this, the government has also set timelines for other modes of vehicles — both passenger service providers and delivery service providers — to convert to electric. The file now awaits the Lt-Governor’s approval, following which the policy will be notified.
To control rush and expedite routine and pending works at district offices, the Delhi Government has transferred seven more women officers from the Directorate of Education to sub-registrar offices across the city immediately.
With this, Delhi now has 29 sub-registrars and all of them are women officers. The seven new sub-registrars have been posted as joint sub-registrars in Kashmere Gate, Pitampura, Janakpuri, Kapashera, Punjabi Bagh, and Basai Darapur.
“Currently, in all the above-mentioned SR offices, there is a huge workload and all of them see heavy rush and crowd every day. Due to this, the pendency started increasing, so to avoid the same, additional woman officers have been posted to speed up the work as well as reduce the rush,” said a government official.
Some sat in huddles, others anxiously paced about the lawns, and all had phones raised to their ears intently listening to the live stream of the Supreme Court’s proceedings. The morning’s earlier hubbub had simmered to a hushed, tense silence.
After a point, the court’s lengthy verdict was met with confusion. “Are they approving it or not?” one person asked. Eventually, an air of resignation set in once it became clear that the apex court had declined to legalise same-sex marriage. (Must read)
A resident of Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park was in for a shock after he found a six-foot-long Indian rock python inside his car. (Read more to know what happened next)
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court that was headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, unanimously ruled against legalising same sex marriage in India today (October 17). The bench also ruled in a 3:2 verdict against civil unions for non-heterosexual couples. It comprised Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha. (Must read)
AAP MP Raghav Chadha has been relieved from the requirement to vacate his government bungalow, as the Delhi High Court has nullified a prior trial court order today. (Know more here)
After rainfall and strong winds brought the temperature down in Delhi-NCR Monday night, light rain remains on the forecast for Tuesday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast for Delhi on Tuesday said that the city is likely to see cloudy skies and light rainfall. A cool day is expected with the maximum temperature likely to settle at around 27 degrees Celsius, which is below the normal of 33.2 degrees Celsius for this time of the year.
The minimum temperature early on Tuesday was 17.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below the normal, while strong winds on Monday also meant that the maximum temperature on Monday remained three degrees below normal, settling at 30.5 degrees Celsius.
The maximum temperature is likely to remain at around 28 or 29 degrees till October 20, going by the IMD forecast. Over the next six days, the minimum temperature is likely to range from 17 to 19 degrees Celsius.
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Four people, including a minor boy, were injured after a light structure fell on them near the stage of the Shri Dharmik Ramleela programme in North Delhi late Monday. According to the Delhi Police, one of the poles bearing the lights fell on the floor during the strong winds and heavy rain Monday night.
The incident took place in front of the main stage where the actors were performing during the programme at 15 August Park, Red Fort, organised by the Nav Shri Dharmik Ramlila Committee.
Read more
Accusing it of criminal neglect with regard to the cleanliness of the Yamuna, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sought Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s intervention against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi government in the matter.
Sources said the party had sought time from Saxena to seek an inquiry into an alleged scam involving thousands of crores in the name of cleaning the river.
A delegation consisting of Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and Northeast Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari had on Monday visited the river’s bank and also travelled on a boat on the river to assess the situation. Read more
Ten years ago, when Chandan Kumar (now 25) was in Class 10, he spotted his friend Anil Rathi in an Army uniform. Dazzled by the uniform, he asked his friend how he managed to get into the force. That’s when Rathi took him to Soniya Vihar Water Sports Club, the place where the former learned canoeing and kayaking which eventually paved the way for him to join the Army through sports quota.
“That was the first time I saw people canoeing and kayaking,” Kumar recalled. “I had always been interested in sports and immediately wanted to master this too,” he said.
Now a sepoy at the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Kumar credits his selection wholly to his love for canoeing. Continue reading..
“Every day when we sit together for dinner, I still miss keeping aside a plate for my daughter. I imagine she is here with us, but I cannot change the hard reality,” said a 60-year-old woman as she ironed clothes in front of house number D5 at Noida’s Sector 31, near Nithari village.
Around 2005-06, it was at this very house where her 10-year-old daughter and many other children were allegedly raped and murdered. Two culprits had been arrested then — house owner Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surinder Koli. Seventeen years later, the families were in for another shock as the Allahabad High Court Monday acquitted Pandher in two cases and Koli in 12 over lack of evidence.
Read on.
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