Woman held at IGI airport with pistol
NEW DELHI: A woman was arrested at IGI airport here for allegedly carrying a country-made pistol while she was on way to board a Mumbai-bound flight, police said on Monday.
Vandana Kaushal was to catch a flight to Mumbai from the Indira Gandhi International airport here yesterday when she was intercepted after a firearm was found in her check-in baggage during security checking.
According to a senior police official, the security officials at the airport detected the firearm inside her check-in baggage during screening and asked her to produce documents regarding it. However, she could not produce any valid document.
"Kaushal took out the country-made pistol and a live cartridge from the baggage. A case under Arms Act has been registered against her," the official said.
She was produced in a court which granted her bail for a surety of Rs 10,000.
20 -yr - old man shot in S Delhi
NEW DELHI: A youth in his midtwenties was allegedly shot by unidentified men in the Vasant Vihar area in south Delhi on Sunday night.
The incident was reported from a forested area near Baba Ganganath mandir. The victim, as yet unidentified, was found with two gunshot injuries. "An eyewitness heard some shots and informed police around 9.10pm. The youth was taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre where he was declared brought dead. Prima facie, it appears to be fallout of personal enmity. We have registered a case of murder," said a senior police officer.
The youth was unable to give a statement before he succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital, said cops.
Bangalore airport fined for poor amenities
Bangalore: In a first of its kind, the consumer forum has slapped a fine on Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) for maintaining poor amenities for passengers in the airport, while directing it to show improvement within 30 days.
Hearing a petition of S N Subramanya (80), Bangalore Rural District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum issued directives to BIAL to improve seating arrangements in the international arrival hall and introduce a proper system so that passengers can get proper updates from the information centre on time.
While fixing a time line of 30 days from April 13, the forum has directed BIAL to submit a compliance report within 45 days from the scheduled date.
The forum has also directed BIAL to pay for the cost of litigation, while compensating for mental agony the petitioner undergone.Our legal cell has just received a copy of the order. Let us study the order before updating and deciding what steps should be taken," said Anjana Kher Marray, spokesperson of the BIAL.
Subramanya, a retired employee of ITI, is suffering from Parkinson disease and other old-age ailments. He was at the BIAL at 12.45 pm on November 12, 2010 to receive his son-in-law and son, who were arriving from the US on a visit. The flight was delayed till 2.15 am and he was forced to sit on the cold floor since there were no unoccupied seats at the arrival hall.
During his wait, he approached the information centre, but was unable to get proper information, because the person there did not know much, other than arrival and departure time of flights.
As a result of sitting on the cold floor and due to his frail health, his ailments were aggravated. He petitioned the consumer forum that heard the case and pronounced the verdict on 13 April.
Interestingly, Akshay Ram Apte, a lawyer and manager (Legal) at the BIAL, argued that while several passengers were using the airport, none have come up with such complaints. The juries quipped they had also suffered with the same problems in the airport, but normally people won't have the patience and resolve as Subramanya has "and therefore we must appreciate his fighting spirit at his age."
"Patience and a tireless fighting spirit are required for this type of struggle to achieve success," Subramanya said.
"I am worried that most youngsters are not interested in these sorts of issues. It was good to see young people taking part in Anna Hazare's movement, but it must not be a short-lived euphoria. The sprit must be evident in their relentless fight against corruption in day-to-day life, even with small issues like the one with BIAL," he added.
The court has bunched several petitions into one, and closed the hearings on March 15, 2010, and judgment is reserved.
Allahabad's women thieves caught on camera
Allahabad: Two women were caught on CCTV cameras stealing jewellery worth Rs. 1,25,000 in Allahabad.
The incident took place on Tuesday at 'Som and sons' jewellery shop in the civil lines area of Meena Bazaar in the city.
As one of the women diverted the minds of the shopkeepers, the other one quietly kept a jewellery box inside her purse. However, they did not realise that there were seven CCTV cameras installed in the place that captured their act.
To portray themselves as genuine customers, the women even ordered for a set of jewellery and paid Rs. 1000 in advance.They said that they would pay the remaining amount in the evening. However, later in the evening, when the shopkeepers were recounting the number of sets, they found one missing, which alerted them.
On checking the CCTV footage, the shopkeepers realised that they had been looted by the two women. The city police was intimated about it and an FIR was lodged.
Gangs sell stolen SUVs to political parties
MUMBAI: Five gangs specializing in vehicle thefts are active in the city, police say. Within minutes of stealing a vehicle, they take it out of city limits, beyond the reach of police nakabandis.
The most common vehicles stolen are SUVs like Bolero, Scorpio and Qualis. Next are sedans. "Most of the SUVs are sold to political parties, which use them for organizing rallies. We have not received complaints of such specific nature, but arrested gang members have told us so," a police officer said.
He said it takes hardly 20 minutes for a gang to make duplicate keys of a parked vehicle, do its job and flee. "The gang strikes after conducting a recce of the targeted spot. It is difficult to notice the members since they travel in a car."
Joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy said vehicle theft involves several stages—from the theft proper to the sale of the stolen property—each executed by a different group. "Each group's role finishes at its assigned step. One group steals the vehicle, another takes it out of the city, while yet another does the fake documentation.
Though the thieves alter the look of a vehicle and change the engine or chassis so that identifying the vehicle becomes so much more difficult, they are still susceptible to detection, said an officer from the anti-motor vehicle theft division of the crime branch. "A vehicle's original engine number can be recovered at a forensic science laboratory, which easily finds out if the number engraved on the engine is genuine or not .
Key to car safety: Loosen purse strings after your big splurge
The recent stealing of Bollywood actor Ashutosh Rana's car has brought focus on a problem waiting to be highlighted. The incident is a high-profile example of rising car thefts in the city. Police say that all car buyers need to do is shell out a few thousands more on anti-burglar devices and it would secure their expensive dream machines.
"People ignore guidelines issued by police about safeguarding vehicles," said a police officer. "Even bureaucrats, businessmen and Bollywood actors do not follow these. Hardly anyone of them has installed in his or her car anti-theft devices, which cost a little extra. But putting them in place will ensure peace of mind. Your car would not get stolen. We strongly appeal to people to follow the guidelines, because it is in their interest.
A car buyer becomes complacent because of the insurance cover and does not want to spend even a bit more on security, says joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy. "Few among the elite classes follow precautions on security," he said. "Others, despite car thefts, do not seem to bother much. We have managed to curb thefts to a great extent with an increase in bandobast on highways and at the city's important entry and exit points, but it is for the car owner to take the first preventive steps.
"Such steps include not only taking care to properly park the car, but also installing anti-theft devices like alarms.
He said manufacturing companies should fit every car with a GPS (Global Positioning System) auto theft recovery unit. "Manufacturers and insurance companies should provide guidance to customers while selling their products. People tend to pay for the overall product and ignore spending extra once they have bought it.
With a GPS unit, one can locate one's car on a GPS navigation device or a GPS-compatible mobile phone almost immediately after realizing that the car has been stolen. A police officer said installing GPS units in vehicles would not be costly if manufacturers buy them in bulk. "In many countries, car manufacturers make anti-theft devices like GPS units and engine locking systems part of the accessories. An engine locking system is particularly useful because after a stolen car is traced through GPS, its engine can be immediately locked, disabling the car.
An insurance agent said that at present, insurance companies provide discounts on policies if cars are equipped with anti-theft devices. "To avail of the discounts, customers need to submit documents pertaining to the device bought." He said the reason people do not install such devices is fear that their cars will be damaged if any upgrade is done externally. "They fear that an outsider is not aware of the technology used by the manufacturer."