Delhi Underground

Planning for posterity
With his term nearing completion,Delhi Mayor Kanwar Sain seems intent on having his name carved in stone — literally. After seemingly distancing himself from all administrative work in the Municipal Corporation in Delhi (MCD),it appears Sain is busy concentrating on attending inauguration and foundation ceremonies. He has been on an inauguration spree since last month,and has been conspicuous by his presence at ceremonies inaugurating buildings,railway underbridges and overbridges. He has also laid the foundation stones for a few projects. In the past week alone,Sain was part of four such ceremonies.

Rule of the apes
A police station in the New Delhi district is encountering a peculiar problem. The issue here is neither complainants nor criminals — but monkeys. Simians in groups of 10 to 15 are a common sight at the Barakhamba police station. They steal valuable files,fruits and other food items — in one instance,one of them even pulled at the television wire till the set came crashing down. The cops seem resigned to the fact now and do not even bother chasing them. An officer has instructed his subordinates to shut the doors and windows and chant ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ when things threaten to go out of hand.

Hanging fire
All liquor bottles being sold in the Capital were supposed to sport barcodes by January this year. But the government’s ambitious plan — intended to prevent circulation of spurious liquor — hit a roadblock after Finance Minister A K Walia refused to give a go-ahead to the project. Just as the I-T department was ready to issue tenders for the project,Walia,who is also in charge of the Excise department,demanded that the project be given to the Excise department. While the project has been handed over,it seems the sale of ‘checked’ alcohol will take more time. “Maybe two more months,” officials say.

Wrong number
In the backdrop of the Delhi government’s daily tussle with the MCD over sharing of responsibility and authority,Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta recently found himself attending distress calls about stray cattle creating havoc in far eastern corners of the city. While Mehta’s stint as the municipal commissioner ended five years ago,it seems the caller still had his number saved as that of the MCD commissioner’s. The official politely did the needful and passed on the present commissioner K S Mehra’s number to the caller.

Quoting out of context
Writing a voluminous judgment may not always help in getting it ratified by higher courts. At times,in fact,the practice can invite ire after the judge in appeal reads the judgment in its entirety,only to find irrelevant rulings being quoted. A High Court judge recently came down heavily on trial court judges who follow such a practice when he observed that a bulky judgment cited a number of rulings that were completely irrelevant to the present case. Stunned by the ‘adventurism’,the senior judge issued a warning to all such judges against referring to “irrelevant” rulings.

Holds barred
When Abu Salem walked into a Tis Hazari courtroom clad a red T-shirt,blue jeans and shiny leather shoes,there was no policeman escorting him. Salem,with his face threaded and eyebrows done,casually leaned against the wall talking to the co-accused in the case; the policemen stood around smiling at his occasional remark. Undertrials are usually escorted into the courtroom by at least two policemen holding their hands. Salem,surrounded by Maharashtra policemen and Delhi Police personnel,was an exception. He was somewhat free.

Youth stabbed
A youth was allegedly stabbed to death by unidentified assailants in Pandav Nagar on Sunday. Dheeraj Kumar (18) was at the Sanjay Jheel Park when the incident took place,the police said.

Former informer held
A day after former police informer Anup Juneja was arrested by the Delhi Police in Mumbai,he was flown-in on Sunday. He is accused of hatching a conspiracy.