Delhi underground

Towering concern
When cellular operators challenged the decision of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to increase the licence fee (for installation of mobile towers in the city) from Rs 1 lakh to R 5 lakh in the Delhi High Court, the civic body could not come up with adequate reasons in defence. The MCD told Justice Kailash Gambhir they required money for providing services and amenities to the public. Justice Gambhir, unconvinced, asked them what services they offered to cellular operators. When the MCD counsel failed to answer the query, Justice Gambhir took a dig, saying they should not connect everything happening in the Capital to the Commonwealth Games. “I hope you did not raise the fee for the Commonwealth Games. Tell us if you did so,” the judge told the MCD official.

All worked up
A certain upscale gym in Connaught Place does not take any kind of criticism lying down. When a high-profile journalist, a member of the gym, complained about its services, the gym authorities cancelled his membership. A lawyer, also a member of the gym, decided to take up the case formally but was shocked to find her membership cancelled as well. We do not know about losing weight, but the gym clearly does not want to lose sleep over fussy clients, however valid their complaints might be.

Who’s to blame?
Two days after the stampede at the New Delhi Railway station last week, the Railways produced CCTV camera footage, denying it even took place. The authorities maintained that the ‘unfortunate incident’ happened due to “tripping on the foot over-bridge”. As the footage raised a number of questions, a senior Railways official scrambled to explain again that the ‘incident’ had happened on the foot over-bridge (FOB) and not due to the swapping of platforms. “If it is proved that the incident was caused due to tripping on the FOB, no one will lose his/her job; however, if other conditions are factored in, it might result in quite a few people being shown the door,” he said.

Relief in a tangle
Officers at the Delhi Police headquarters were in for a harrowing time as a result of a file being passed around. There is no electricity at the headquarters since Tuesday — not even a fan moves to beat the heat. Tired officers were seen trudging up the stairs to their respective offices on eighth, ninth and tenth floors, with the lifts not working either. After signing in their attendance sheets, officers were seen moving out of the complex after giving this message to their PAs: Please call as soon as the electricity comes back. Senior officers say it is a “minor problem” caused by some faulty wires. But to get that repaired, a file has to be processed, which is being passed around from one office to another. Till then, the cops have to work in the dark or beat the heat in their official air-conditioned cars

Argument overruled
As the CBI concluded its arguments against Sajjan Kumar in the Sultanpuri case of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots last week, the courtroom grew exceedingly noisy as Kumar’s battery of lawyers chose to target CBI counsel D K Singh. Sajjan Kumar was the only one who maintained silence during the whole affair. In a white cotton suit and beige shoes, he looked on grimly while his counsel interjected Singh’s speech almost every minute. Singh would begin saying something, only to be interrupted midway. The judge had to finally intervene and ask Kumar’s lawyers to observe decorum. By then, CBI counsel Singh looked frazzled enough.

Two held for scuffle
A woman’s husband and her lovers were arrested on Saturday night following a scuffle near a Ghaziabad hotel. A K Vijaita, SP (City), Ghaziabad, said 28-year-old Gaurav Verma, a Delhi resident, and Bhupinder Singh, resident of Jagatpuri, were colleagues. “Verma started visiting Singh’s residence and grew intimate with Singh’s wife,” Vijaita said. Singh was suspicious of his wife. “He told his wife he was going to Chandigarh on an official trip and would return in a day or two. His wife told Verma who booked a room in a hotel in Ghaziabad. While both were sitting in the car outside the hotel, Singh approached them, broke the car’s window pane and started beating up Verma. Verma too attacked Singh,” added the senior police officer. The hotel staff informed the police, who arrived at the spot and arrested both men.

Rival gang members held
The Crime Branch has arrested four alleged members of two rival gangs, including their leaders, in the last week. The gang leaders were identified as Sunil Bihari and Teja. The others arrested have been identified as Kuldeep and Deepak, members of Teja’s gang. Both gangs are allegedly involved in robberies, pickpocketing and drug trafficking on the Delhi -Mumbai railway network. Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Neeraj Thakur said, “With Bihari’s arrest, we have solved the murder of one Santosh, a member of Teja’s gang, on April 8.” Teja was arrested from near the INA Market along with gang members Kuldeep and Deepak. He had recently been declared a Proclaimed Offender. 

Medical training for cops
Noida police personnel are being trained to minimise deaths in cases of accidents. The focus of the training is to impart skills on how to use life-saving devices like cardio-pulmonary rescue machines and techniques. The training-cum-seminar, organised by NGO Save Life foundation in collaboration with the Noida police, was attended by 80 police personnel. Traffic inspector S Saifuddin said: “There was a serious lack of skills on how to provide first-aid to victims of accidents. Mostly victims die on their way to hospital or soon after reaching hospitals. The training would help lower the death rate in such cases.”