RTO Delhi:Get driving licence from any city RTO

Get driving licence from any city RTO

A positive step. It will be possible to go to an RTO nearer to you now.

However will it bring down the harassment at the RTO offices, play of touts or graft?

Megha Suri | TNN

New Delhi: In about 10 days’ time, you will be able to get a driving licence issued from any of the 13 regional transport offices (RTOs) in Delhi, irrespective of where you stay in the capital. To bring down levels of corruption, all RTOs and the transport department unit at Burari are being interlinked and all records transferred to a central server.

Work on the project is nearing completion, after which the transport department will start trial runs. Interlinked RTOs would free the applicants from the current restriction of having to go to only the transport office which serves their area of residence.

NEW LICENSING FACILITY IN 10 DAYS To check graft, records being transferred to central server
New Delhi: To bring down levels of corruption, all RTOs and the transport department unit at Burari are being interlinked and all records transferred to a central server.
Though licence-seekers will now be free to apply at any RTO, they will need to complete all formalities — like the driving test for learners licence, payment of fees, final road test for permanent licence and the printing of the smart card — at the same RTO.

The driving licence will subsequently be delivered by courier to the applicant’s permanent address. Details of new licences etc, will get uploaded onto the centralized database, real time.

The department is also in the process of creating a centralized pool of information so that all records of present licence holders can be accessed by officials from any RTO. To get the new facility rolling, the transport department is now in the final stages of linking the existing databases of all the 13 RTOs and the Burari unit.
Official said there was a problem at the Sarai Kale Khan RTO, where the linking was stuck due to technical difficulties.

But the matter has been sorted out and even this RTO will be connected to the central server in 2-3 days. The ongoing festive season has caused some delays, but the new facility is expected to be in place in 10 days.

‘‘The new centralized system is being put in place to bring about more transparency in the process. We are going to launch a massive public awareness campaign to tell people about it. This way, the government will ensure that it doesn’t get sabotaged. The dummy run will start in 10 days and the teething troubles will be sorted out at the earliest,’’ said R K Verma, transport commissioner.

Another major step being taken is the weeding out of touts at RTOs who stamp medical certificates mandatory for every application for a driving licence. A cabinet note has been sent by the department which proposes that such medical certificates will be issued only by government hospitals and dispensaries.

At present, any registered medical practitioner can certify whether an applicant is fit to drive or not. Recently, the government had also started online tracking of applications for driving licences, which has got a good response from applicants.

GOA: Foreigners beware when buying property

Change In Laws, Builder Scams Threaten Investment Of Hundreds Of Foreigners In State

Nicola Smith

Hundreds of Britons may lose their holiday homes and life savings in Goa after falling foul of changes in local laws and scams by builders and lawyers. Some allege they are victims of racism and have been told to ‘‘go home’’.

Many invested tens of thousands of pounds a few years ago in legitimate transactions, only to be told the rules had changed and their properties may be confiscated. In one of the most common scenarios in Goa, British buyers were told by local lawyers and the Reserve Bank of India that they could legally own property if they set up an Indian company and made the transaction through it. By 2007, the rules on foreigners owning property through a business appeared to have changed, though only in Goa.

The region used to be part of the hippie trail, but has reinvented itself as a package-holiday centre. It attracts 1,00,000 British holidaymakers a year, 60% of its foreign tourist trade.

The new interpretation of the law by the Goan authorities has left hundreds, such as Su Peplow, 57, from Bedfordshire, without property deeds and facing large financial losses.

In 2005, Peplow, a quality director for a human tissue research association, decided to retire to Goa with her husband. They settled on a two-storey flat under construction in Cavelossim, a fishing village, and invested more than £20,000. The couple signed a contract for a
56-month lease with a right to buy. Like many others, they hired local lawyers to help them and were advised to set up a business to buy the flat.

Peplow’s husband died in 2006 and she decided to proceed with the purchase alone. She paid the builder for registration of the deeds, transfer of the utilities into her name, land tax and stamp duties. She also handed over £6,500 for furniture and renovation, and paid legal fees.

After she paid the final instalment to the builder, he reportedly said he could not transfer the deeds as he would be ‘‘breaking Goan laws’’. Her lawyer disappeared and she stands to lose her entire investment when the lease runs out.

Another Briton said despite a letter from RBI affirming that she had done everything legally, she was told by a local subregistrar that he ‘‘couldn’t register our property as I was white and a foreigner’’.

Vikram Varma, a local lawyer, said more than 1,000 people could have been caught out by changes in the laws and by builders’ scams. The British deputy high commissioner is being sent to Goa to hear people’s concerns.

The enforcement directorate and Goan government declined to comment.

The difficulties coincided with a popular movement opposing the purchase of large tracts of land by Indian and Russian developers as Goans fear losing their cultural identity.

SUNDAY TIMES, LONDON

Delhi Traffic Lights: Some Hope?

Harassed citizens of Delhi have to endure unending traffic snarls due to poor infrastructure made worse by bad maintenance of roads, haphazard dumping of earthwork, metal rods and mulba by contractors working on various projects under the ‘watchful eyes ‘ of MCD, DDA, NDMC.

Traffic lights are almost always on a blink, adding to chaos.

The traffic police do pitch in when the traffic lights are not working, (sometimes for months on end, as in Vasant Kunj, GK I etc).

Why are the traffic lights not working? Who is answerable for the lakhs of litres of fuel wasted by the hundreds of cars, motor cycles , scooters and trucks caught in jams due to non functional traffic lights?

At last the Delhi police is promising some action. But will it deliver?

Traffic signals: Light at the end of tunnel

Upkeep Tenders Invited, Fines For Slackness

Megha Suri | TNN

New Delhi: After months of braving chaos at intersections where traffic signals have stopped working — an average of 90 across the city — there is finally respite. Delhi traffic police has invited a tender for maintenance of signals and blinkers, and this time, the contract includes stringent penalty clauses for non-performance. The contract of the existing companies end in the first week of October.

The tender, published on August 29, is for maintenance of 725 traffic signals and 424 blinkers for the next two years. It will also cover installation of new signals and blinkers. As for the 220 signals which are going to be fitted with intelligent traffic signals (ITS) before the Commonwealth Games, the agreement with the contractors will be amended to include maintenance of them as well.

After the recent downpours, over 130 traffic signals stopped working in the city, leading to complete chaos. The traffic police have now redone the contract clauses to prevent a repeat of the present chaos once the new contracts come into effect. The new agreement sets a time frame for repair of signals — all minor fault should be rectified within six hours of receipt of complaints while all major repairs and replacement work will be carried out within two days.

If any traffic signal remains non-functional for over five days, the police will not pay maintenance charge for that signal. Thereafter, a penalty of Rs 500 will be charged. Even after a work contract is awarded, delays will not be tolerated. The contractor will have to finish the assigned work within a stipulated time. Delays will call for a penalty of 10% of total bill for first 7 days and 20% thereafter.

The new contract will have a clause to ensure that contractors are not paid for cable faults and damages to controllers due to short circuits. They will be asked to fit good quality auto cut devices.

The traffic police will regularly review performance of contractors and will terminate contracts and even blacklist companies if performance is not up to the mark. For monitoring, the contractor will have to install a computerised fault monitoring system.

Said S N Shrivastava, joint commissioner of police (traffic): ‘‘We are trying to improve functioning of traffic signals and ensure monitoring. The penalty clauses in the contract have been made stringent.’’

Getting tough with contractors
Total no. of signals | 725 Total no. of blinkers | 424 No. of posts to be fitted with intelligent traffic signals | 220 No. of signals not working daily | 90 (avg) No. of signals not working after heavy rain | 130 (avg)

Non-functional signals
No maintenance charge will be paid for signals or blinkers which are not working for over 5 days. Thereafter, a penalty of Rs 500 per day will be charged

Blacklisting for shoddy work
The traffic police will regularly review performance of contractors. The contract can be cancelled and the firm blacklisted if work is not up to the mark

Higher penalties for delayed repairs
The contractor will have to finish assigned work in stipulated time. Delays will call for a penalty of 10% of total bill for first 7 days and 20% thereafter

No more cable faults
The contractor will not be paid for cable faults, the most common justification for non-functional signals. They have been asked to fit good quality auto-cut devices to prevent short-circuits

Fault monitoring system
Contractor need to install a computerized fault monitoring system within 15 days that will automatically generate a circle-wise daily activity report for faulty signals & blinkers

Police: A brave cop

Brave heart cop helps nab dacoit

Dragged For 200 Mtrs As He Held On To Steering Wheel Of Suspects’ Jeep

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: The daring act of a c o n s t abl e helped the Pune rural police nab a suspect belonging to a six-member gang that allegedly committed a dacoity at a f a r m e r ’s house at Ranjani village near Manchar — about 60 km from here — in the wee hours of Friday.
Police constable S N Swami held on to the steering wheel of a jeep in which the suspects were trying to flee. He was dragged for nearly 200 metres, after which the driver lost control of the vehicle and it crashed to a halt.

The gang of six dacoits had forced their way into farmer Laxman Nana Bhor’s house around 2 am on Friday. They threatened the Bhor family with sharp weapons; snatched Bhor’s gold ring, his wife Sunita’s gold chain, other silver ornaments and cash of Rs 8,000, and fled. The Bhors immediately informed the Manchar police about the incident.
Assistant police inspector Dyaneshwar Ganore of the Manchar police told TOI, “Our team immediately rushed to the spot. Bhor showed us the direction in which the suspects had fled.”

Members of the Gram Surksha Dal also gathered to help the police. “When we were heading towards Belhe road, we saw a jeep that looked suspicious. Seeing our police jeep, it started gathering speed, but we gave chase and blocked its path, bringing it to a halt. There were six persons in the jeep. The driver told us that they were coming from Bhimashankar,” Ganore said.

“Police constable S N Swami tried to remove the key from the ignition. However, the driver started the jeep and drove towards Nimgaon Sava village with constable Swami holding on to the steering wheel. Swami was dragged for about 200 metres and fell to the road, a few meters away from us,” Ganore said.

The driver, meanwhile, lost control of the jeep and it overturned. Gram Surksha Dal members, who were present, immediately pulled one of the suspects out of the vehicle and started thrashing him. “We ran towards the jeep and managed to rescue the man from the clutches of the Gram Surksha Dal members. However, the other suspects managed to escape,” Ganore said.

The police recovered sandalwood and weapons from the jeep. The suspect has been identified as Rajendra Sitaram Jadhav (25) of Pathardi in Ahmednagar district. “We have sent a team to Pathardi to look for the other suspects,” Ganore said.

Investigations have revealed that the gang was involved in many sandalwood thefts in the district, Ganore further said.
A close shave

Pune: “If I could have managed to remove the keys from the jeep, we would have been able to nab all the suspects,” said police constable S N Swami.

“As the driver told us they were coming from Bhimashankar, we became suspicious. I tried to remove the keys from the ignition, but the driver started the jeep and increased its speed. My hand was stuck in the steering wheel, while my body was suspended outside the jeep.

I somehow managed to hold on to the wheel,” he said.
“One of them hit my hand with a weapon and due to the impact, I fell on the road,” Swami added. TNN

S N Swami

Andher Nagari:Judiciary:HC nails five cops for rape frame-up

This is just one of the many cases where there has been miscarriage of justice.

Today the entire policing, prosecuting, and judicial system is so convoluted that criminals are seldom touched and innocents are punished regularly with impunity.

HC nails five cops for rape frame-up

Policemen Face Up To 7 Yrs In Jail For False Charges

What about the prosecutor who prosecuted innocent persons,and the judge who sent innocent persons to Jail?

Ed

Abhinav Garg | TNN

New Delhi: Five policemen who framed four men in a gangrape case at the instance of a prostitute, resulting in the accused’ conviction a decade ago, have now been nailed by the Delhi High Court which on Friday slapped criminal charges against them.

Justice S Muralidhar, while acquitting the four convicts, Pankaj Chaudhary, Gunjesh Chaudhary (brothers), Jai Lal and Mohammed Kasim found that the cops who were posted in Hauz Khas station in 1997, had framed these men.

HC has now asked the registrar general to ask the trial court to begin criminal proceedings against the five cops
— SI Jai Bhagwan, ASI Prem Chand, inspector H M Bakshi, the then SHO and two head constables Ratan Lal and Sagar Chand.

All five face the possibility of minimum seven year jail term under various sections of IPC for fabricating evidence and giving false evidence in court and have been slapped with a fine of Rs 25,000 each, payable to the innocent men. Interestingly, an internal inquiry by Delhi Police had established as early as 2001 that the four were framed by the five policemen.

The woman who alleged she was a gangrape victim, on whose testimony the men were convicted in 2000, will also face action for lying, HC ruled.‘‘This case is an instance of how a false criminal case, instituted in connivance with obliging police officials can virtually ruin the lives of innocent persons..it also demonstrates the value of the right to appeal and need for self corrective measures within the police and judiciary,’’ Justice Muralidhar noted in his verdict, lamenting that the four men had to carry the stigma of being rapists for all 12 years which is ‘‘unlikely to be erased for sometime notwithstanding their acquittal by this judgement.’’

Granting them relief with costs, HC also gave three months time to the state government to compensate the men, also leaving it open to them to knock the doors of human rights commission for relief. The case stemmed from an FIR lodged by Hauz Khas police station in 1997 where a woman alleged she had been gangraped by four men in Katwaria Sarai area of the capital.

The cops fabricated evidence to suit the allegations, leading to the four men being convicted for the crime by a trial court in 2000. The real reason, as was discovered later, was that the men had protested against her presence in their area, asking her to leave. She retaliated by alleging rape.

However, in an interesting twist, a second FIR lodged on the same night, surfaced from the same police station, recording that the woman had been arrested for prostitution and was cooling her heels in the lockup at the time she alleged she was gangraped. This led to the men moving HC, urging it to declare them innocent as they had clearly been framed, as also concluded by the police inquiry. B

But the entire process of inquiry, retrial on the basis of additional evidence and HC dealing with their appeals took up the next nine years, with the result that justice has come to these men only in 2009.
abhinav.garg@timesgroup.com

Election 09: Jokers, cheats, imposters

Man climbs tree for a Congress ticket to contest

By Kay Benedict in New Delhi

DRAMA in the amphitheatre of the Indian political scene is far from rare. Every few days, there are speeches, fights and claims of friendship to keep the avid election- watcher entertained.

The latest to jump onto the bandwagon of the theatre of the absurd is 50- year- old Prempal Singh.

On Saturday, a little after Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan completed the party’s daily briefing at the All- India Congress Committee ( AICC) headquarters, there was a flashback of a scene from 1970s blockbuster Sholay . A la Dharmendra — who played a character who threatened to jump off a tower if he was not allowed to marry his lady love — Singh was perched atop a 30- ft high tree, refusing to disembark unless he was given a ticket to contest from Hatharas in Uttar Pradesh.

The bare- chested ex- MLA was clad in a white dhoti and sported a Gandhi cap. From his green perch, he threw a bunch of his bio- data to the eagerly waiting throng of television and print journalists. According to Singh’s biodata, he was a legislator from Uttar Pradesh’s Jalesar during 1985- 1989.

He was keen to contest the Lok Sabha election from Hatharas constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Castes.

His friend Mohammed Mansur Alam said his name had been earlier cleared for Hatharas but later, an outsider was allotted the ticket.

While the crowd below urged him to descend, he nonchalantly gave bytes to television crew, some of whom had also managed to climb up the tree along with their video cameras and equipment.

Those who had to enjoy the action from below seemed to be ruing their poor fitness level and their inability to give Singh company.

One national English channel went to the ludicrous extent of asking its bulky correspondent to climb the tree to do a “ phone- in” with the man on top! From the tree top, he raised slogans hailing Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, and Priyanka.

In his elements, Singh raised slogans against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for calling the Congress “ a budhia ( old woman)” and challenged him to climb the tree to prove his youthfulness.

Once he came down, the police took him into custody.

But anyone who thought Singh was serious about threatening to jump off was clearly mistaken.

Mentioned in the bio- data under the header ‘ Notable Actions’ in his resume he proudly mentioned his earlier “ heroic deeds”. He has a) Climbed a tree in front of 10, Janpath and remained there for eight hours trying to persuade Sonia Gandhi to become prime minister in 2004. He hadn’t mentioned what brought him down on the occasion.

b) Jumped into the Lok Sabha from the visitors’ gallery to protest against Mayawati’s abusive language.

Andhra Pradesh

Netas girdle up for rigging

Koride Mahesh | TNN

Hyderabad: It happens only in India. A six-year-old boy cast a vote at a polling booth in Engine Bowli in the Old City in the 2004 assembly elections. Similarly, a burqa-clad ‘person’ voted 17 times at a polling booth at Yakutpura, each time wiping clean the indelible ink mark with a chemical solution.

Though the polling staff knew, they could do nothing. “A political party brought the boy to cast a vote, but agents of other parties did not object. So, we could not do anything,” an official, who was manning the polling booth then, told TOI.
This is a regular occurrence at around 200 polling booths in the city. Most of them are located in the Yakutpura, Charminar, Chandrayangutta, Karwan, Nampally and Malakpet assembly constituencies. Interestingly, there are some polling booths in the upmarket Jubilee Hills constituency too.

With the polling day nearing, some candidates in the city are preparing for ‘cycling’ (a person voting more than once) and ‘rigging’ in polling booths.

The candidates engage some people in each polling booth to cast as many votes as they can. This is possible by removing the voting ink put on their finger after casting their vote. The ink, made of silver nitrate by mixing some other chemicals, dyes and aromatic materials, is generally removed by using acetonebased chemicals and hair oil.

“Bogus voters who resort to such practices first dip their finger in hair oil or acetone based nail polish remover or the liquid supplied with whitener before getting into a polling booth. After the ink is applied in the polling booth, they come out and remove it following the same method,” an officer said.

K Sowmya of National Election Watch, an NGO, AP chapter, said, “It was observed that those who resort to such malpractices, remove the voting ink within a few seconds after it is applied.”
Another organisation ‘Ennikala Nigha Vedika’ (Election Watch AP) brought this problem to the notice of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) I V Subba Rao a few days ago.

“This time the polling officers have been asked to put the ink half on the nail and half on the skin so that erasing the ink mark is not easy,” M Veda Kumar, state convenor of Election Watch AP told TOI.

“Several mistakes in the voter’s list and EPICs, and missing images in the list help parties to bring bogus voters on the polling day,” a former corporator of the city said.

Rigging normally takes place between 7 am and 9 am, and between 3 pm and 5 pm, an official who worked as presiding officer in Hyderabad said. Interestingly, agents of rival political parties are also managed by the dominant political party in the area. “Either they manage polling agents of other parties at the booths or they threaten them. The agents keep quiet and the officials do not react unless there is objection from the agents,” a RO said. There are 212 such polling stations in 15 assembly constituencies in the city. Of them, nearly 190 are in the Old City alone.
VULNERABLE SPOTS
KARWAN
Booths include Subzimandi, Balappa Doddi, Mochivadi, Prasanthnagar, Pensionpura, Langer Houz, MD Lines, Moghalgunj and Risala Bazar.
CHARMINAR
Sultan Shahi, Bidi Bazar, Talab Meer Jumla, Gowlipura, Moghalpura, Meta Ki Khidki and Darulshifa.
CHANDRAYANGUTTA
Uppuguda, Talla Kunta, Jangamet and Riyasatgar.
SECUNDERABAD
Chinta Bavi, Manikeshwarinagr (polling booths 182 and 183), Tukaramgate and Addagutta.

OH Calcutta

Trees scarred in campaign flurry

Arpit Basu | TNN

Kolkata: Political leaders are good at advocating environmental causes. But when the time comes to act, they are the first to destroy the environment. For, despite a Supreme Court ruling that bans hoardings on trees, parties have blatantly flouted that and pinned posters on several tree trunks across the city.

When a TOI team visited Harish Mukherjee Road on Tuesday, it found that most trees along its eastern pavement, from Harish Park to Muktadal, had hoardings pinned on their trunks. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s house is just a few metres from the spot.

The team then headed for Pyari Mohan Ray Road and found that Trinamool activists had pinned large flex-boards on the trunks of at least 20 trees lining the pavement. Most boards carried photographs of Mamata Banerjee.

“Leaders should understand that in an age of global warming, trees are more essential than political campaigns. Such practices will severely affect trees and, in turn, make the human species extinct,” said Ravi Menon, a veteran green activist.

Though hoardings on Harish Mukherjee Road clearly stated that they were sponsored by the local ward committee, the local councillor was not aware that they were pinned on trees in violation of a Supreme Court order. “Did our men pin the hoardings on the trunks of trees? I have to check that out,” said local councillor Ratan Malakar.

Firhad Hakim, the local Trinamool councillor of Pyari Mohan Roy Road, looked a bit more active. “I know the Supreme Court verdict has been flouted. It was a mistake and we have to rectify it,” he said, claiming that he had already asked his partymen to remove all hoardings pinned on trees. These should be tied to lamp posts instead, Hakim had directed.

Joydeep Kundu, another green activist, was not happy with the councillor’s stand. “At a time when the Trinamool leader is raising questions on how safe the environment would be after the chemical hub, how can her party supporters flout a Supreme Court order and pin hoardings on trees?” he wondered.

RTI:Bangalore activist was murdered

Autopsy Exposes Cops’ False Story

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: In a twist to the tale of RTI activist Venkatesh’s death, the postmortem report has contradicted the police’s claim that he died in an accident.

The body of Venkatesh, 49, was found on Nagarabhavi Main Road on Monday night. The autopsy reveals it was murder. The deceased was instrumental in BDA’s recovery of encroached land worth over Rs 30 crore. Jnanabharati police, after inspecting the body and spot, had concluded the death was due to a road accident.

There were said to be cut injuries on the neck and the case was transferred to Kamakshipalya police station, with recommendation to register a case of accident. The postmortem report released on Thursday revealed Venkatesh was hit with a blunt weapon on the head before being assaulted on the neck with a sharp one.

HE HAD MANY ENEMIES
As an RTI activist, Venkatesh had developed enmity with many people. Police said he was building a house in Nagarabhavi, behind the house of a water supply businessman. The land that BDA recovered is said to have been encroached upon by this man’s brother.

Moreover, Venkatesh had quarrelled with his brothers and moved to his inlaws’ place, sources said. He exposed many misdeeds in the area, earning the wrath of the land mafia.

Additional commissioner of police (law and order) M R Pujar said the issue has not come to his notice. “I will look into it and if the post-mortem report says it is murder, we will register a fresh case and investigate.”

Green activist beaten up for taking photos

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Pune: Senior environmentalist and writer Shyam Chainani of Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) was allegedly beaten up at Koregaon Park while taking photographs for a heritage book on Pune and other Indian cities.

S i x t y – s i x – ye a r- o l d Chainani, a founder of BEAG, was a part of the Pune Municipal Corporation’s environmental conservation committee. He was in Pune to visit certain officials associated with heritage structures. He has written a book titled ‘Heritage & Environment – An Indian Diary’.

Narrating the incident, Chainani said, “I visited a few officers and environmentalists in Pune for this project. I was taking pictures in Koregaon Park for the book, when two security guards from a nearby bungalow walked towards me and tried to stop me from taking pictures.”

“I protested, saying that I was taking photographs at a public place. More persons joined in. They snatched my camera and took away the roll. Then, they threw my camera on the road. They did not stop at that. They even took out another camera which was kept in my car and tried to damage it,” he said.

Chainani could not file a police complaint. “I had to leave for Mumbai due to some urgent work so could not lodge a complaint. But, I will send a letter from Mumbai to the authorities concerned,” he said.

Senior Supreme Court advocate from Pune, N P Bhog, who is an associate of BEAG said, “Non-governmental organisations in Pune will take up the matter with the police commissioner soon.”

Chainani was taking the photographs for a book

NOIDA: A police station without powers

A police station without powers

By Akash Vashishtha in Noida

Noida’s all- women station doesn’t even have aphone THE MAYAWATI government might have set up all- women police stations across the state as part of its agenda to provide women with basic safety. But in reality, these ostentatious stations serve no purpose. With barely any resource or power, they are a mere tool for the government to make tall claims on addressing women’s safety. Noida’s Sector- 39 all- women police station is a classic example of this. Set up three months ago on UP chief minister Mayawati’s directions, the station exists at a little- known location and is being operated from just a single room. The remaining rooms are being used as an election office by the district administration staff. According to sources, the police station merely has 15 policewomen — many of whom are assigned duties in other police posts — and a clerk, who is not experienced enough to note down complaints. Moreover, the policewomen housed at the station can only register cases on dowry harassment or domestic physical abuse, said a woman officer requesting anonymity. “ We are authorised to register cases under Sections ¾ 498A, 294 and 354 of the IPC,” she said. If victims of rape, assault or snatchings approach the Sector- 39 station, they will be turned away without any assistance. Sharmila Singh, a victim of sexual harassment at her workplace, a security agency in Noida, had to return dejected on the grounds of “ unauthorisation” of the women police officers on duty. In the past three months, since being set up, the station has received only six to seven cases in a district ridden with crime against women. “ There are negligible or no complaints at all in a month. Most of the cases come to us through other police stations for our reference and action. We do not file or attend to any original case. In the last three months, we haven’t received any direct complaint,” she added. This is just the tip of the iceberg. This police station is also bereft of arms or ammunition — even lathis . The lady officers cannot even defend themselves, leave alone attending a distress call. In fact, it is practically impossible for anyone to place a distress call or for the police officers to attend one in the absence of a telephone connection as well as a police vehicle. “ We don’t even have a landline phone. How can any woman in distress call for us or complain? We have been persistently demanding a phone, a vehicle and some arms but there has been no response to the requests. We have also been asking for an experienced clerk. When we can’t even defend ourselves, how can one expect us to help other women?” she said. “ We use our mobile phones at our personal cost. Nobody can call us for assistance. This police station is of no help to any woman. Nobody comes here to file any complaint,” said another officer. In absence of a police vehicle, most officers commute on personal vehicles to attend to any complaint that they are directed to. Moreover, they have not been allotted staff quarters and have also been restricted to reside within Noida. “ If we have to go on an urgent complaint on field, we commute on our scooters. We have also been asked by our senior officers to stay in Noida. We are staying in rented accommodations. We haven’t even been given staff quarters,” the officer said. To add to insult to injury, in this station that is no good to women or the lady police officers stationed there, one cannot even find water to drink.

Indian Students in Mebourne face racist attacks

Australian police to Indian students:

Don’t speak loudly in public

19 Feb 2009, 2029 hrs IST, IANS

MELBOURNE: In an effort to counter attacks on international students, mostly of Indian origin, police in this Australian city are asking the

young expatriates to moderate their social behaviour and not to speak loudly in their native language.

The law-enforcing authorities in Melbourne have been perturbed by a rise in violent attacks, dubbed as “curry bashing”, on students from the Indian subcontinent.

According to an estimate, around 35,000 Indian students are studying in various institutes in this second largest city of Australia.

The Indian students would be “taught”, according to a front page article in The Age newspaper Thursday, to moderate their social behaviour and not to speak loudly in native Indian languages while in public.

Indian students would also be advised against making an obvious display of wealth and not to carry laptops and iPods in late night trains.

Melbourne, which is considered one of the safest destinations in the world, has seen the crime rate go up in western suburbs by as much as 27 percent last financial year. Indian students have been at the receiving end in a number of these violent robberies.

Now the Melbourne Police is making a special effort to counter what is believed to be racially-motivated attacks.

“They need to make sure they walk through a well-lit route, even if it might be longer, and they are not openly displaying signs of wealth with iPods and phones, and not talking loudly in their native language,” Inspector Scott Mahony of Melbourne Police has been quoted by The Age as saying Thursday.

Some organizations have already expressed their views about the current drive. The Federation of Indian Students of Australia (FISA) is one such grouping.

“It’s not being told to other communities or other students, ‘Don’t speak loudly in your native tongue, don’t carry laptops’,” the FISA head Raman Vaid has said.

It is believed the Australian authorities are seriously worried about the negative message such attacks can convey to students who plan to come to Australia in the future.

“Melbourne is one of the most peaceful cities and such attacks are an aberration. I am sure police would be able to control such negative incidents and restore Indian students’ confidence pretty soon,” Indian education consultant Pankaj Sharma said.

NRI: St Louis :Four Indian students killed in accident

A sad day:

Four Indians die after US cop’s car on wrong side hits their vehicle.

Anita Lakshmi, 23,

Anusha Anumolu, 23,

Priya Muppvarapu, 22 —

Satya Chinta, 25,

Nitesh Adusumilli, 27, (critically injured)

One Indian and US cop critically injured.

Cop Christine L. Miller, a patrol officer. (critically injured)

FOUR INDIAN students killed in a road accident in the US were hit by a car driven by an off- duty woman police officer going the wrong way, according to media reports citing investigators.

The four students were killed last Saturday in Des Peres St. Louis, Missouri, when a car they were travelling in was broadsided by Christine L. Miller, a patrol officer. The officer was speeding and possibly drunk, investigators said. Nitesh Adusumilli, 27, who was driving the victims’ car and Miller were both listed in critical condition on Sunday at St. John’s Mercy Medical Centre in Creve Coeur. Miller, the highway patrol said, was “ clinging on to life”.

Miller was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of Dougherty Ferry Road when her Mitsubishi Eclipse struck the passenger side of Adusumilli’s Honda, the police said. Adusumilli’s fiancée, Anita Lakshmi, 23, was dead along with Anusha Anumolu, 23, and Priya Muppvarapu, 22 — Lakshmi’s roommates — and Satya Chinta, 25, Lakshmi’s cousin.

Adusumilli works at AMDOCS, a software firm in Chesterfield. His mother is a yoga instructor in India; his dad, a real estate agent. The rest were studying IT at Eastern Illinois University. IANS

Survivor of crash shielded from news

By Todd C. Frankel

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

03/23/2009

DES PERES — They were returning home after a night out of dinner and bowling — five Indian twenty-somethings having fun in All-American fashion.

Their lives bridged two worlds, the traditional and modern. They pursued jobs and education in the United States. But their families mostly remained back in India. One couple out that night planned to marry in May — a traditional marriage arranged by their families thousands of miles away.

They were headed home to Nitesh Adusumilli’s place in Ballwin. But as they turned onto Dougherty Ferry Road early Saturday morning, their car was struck by an off-duty police officer driving the wrong way, police said.

Four in Adusumilli’s car died. Adusumilli, 27, was listed in serious condition Sunday at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. He was aware, recognizing faces, but visitors were warned not to disclose details of the auto accident, said Suren Pathuri, president of the Telugu Association of St. Louis, a group for speakers of the Indian dialect.

Off-duty Sunset Hills cop who killed 4 may

face manslaughter charges

By Carolyn Tuft

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

03/23/2009

DES PERES — Police are considering manslaughter charges against an off-duty Sunset Hills police officer who struck a car, killing four college students.

“Obviously, it’s manslaughter that we are looking at,” said Sgt. Al Nothum of the Missouri Highway Patrol. “We have strong suspicions that she had been drinking prior to the crash.”

While toxicology tests are probably complete at the hospital, Missouri Highway Patrol accident reconstruction officers may not get the results for some time, Nothum said. The troopers’ investigation will take at least three weeks.

Then, the case will be referred to the St. Louis County prosecutor’s office. It will be up to St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch’s office as to what charges, if any, will be filed.

The officer, Christine L. Miller, 41, of Kirkwood, is a 12-year veteran of the Sunset Hills police department. She is still in critical condition, Nothum said.

Miller has one son — Brian C. Miller, 22 — who currently faces manslaughter charges. Prosecutors in Laclede County, Mo., allege that Brian C. Miller was intoxicated when he crashed his car last year into a tree in the southwest Missouri county and killed a passenger.

Brian Miller is charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter. The charge alleges that he was intoxicated when he crashed his 1997 Acura at 6:20 p.m. on July 27. His passenger, Salvatore R. Carrabino, 23, died.

A second passenger, Aaron M. Stanton of Lee’s Summit, was seriously injured in the crash in Laclede County. Brian C. Miller is also charged with second-degree assault in connection with Stanton’s injuries. Prosecutors allege in that case that Miller was driving while intoxicated, court records show.

In the Laclede County accident, police say that Miller was driving along State KK in Lebanon when Miller lost control of his car. The car left the right side of the road and struck a tree. Brian Miller was also seriously injured.

At 1:45 a.m. on Saturday, Christine L. Miller was driving her Mitsubishi Eclipse the wrong way when it crashed head on into the vehicle carrying five people, including the four who were killed.

The victims in the crash included three graduate students studying technology at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill. They were Anusha Anumolu, 23; Prya Muppvarapu, 22; and Anitha Lakshmi Veerapaneni, 23. They were roommates who also previously attended Oklahoma City University.

Our earlier story: Survivor of crash shielded from news

The trio were in the St. Louis area with the third person killed in the crash — Satya Chinta, 25, of Aurora, Ill., who was Veerapaneni’s cousin.

Nitesh Adusumilli, 27, of Ballwin, was driving the vehicle carrying the women who were killed. Adusumilli is listed in serious condition today at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur.