CITY

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2014

DELHI TODAY
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Nov

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WED

06 36

SET 17 34
RISE 16 33
SET 04 41

Nov

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Nov

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06

SET 17 34
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07

SET 17 33
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THU

FRI

Police vigil, shortened processions and peaceful public participation ensured that Muharram was observed in a
tension-free atmosphere in the sensitive Bawana and Trilokpuri areas. But for commuters, it was a difficult day.

Bawana goes incident-free on Muharram

Shubhomoy Sikdar
NEW DELHI: A revised route un-

der the watchful eyes of the

police ensured a peaceful
Muharram procession in Bawana on Monday.
Only two days earlier, a
Mahapanchayat attended by
a large number of villagers
had opposed the traditional
route of the procession taken
out by the Muslims of the resettlement colony.
Over a dozen small and big
processions were taken out
within the colony. Some of
the pick-up trucks carrying
processions had policemen
sitting in them.
Camera-mounted drones,
the Delhi Polices new surveillance device which was
recently used to assist
searches in riot-effected Trilokpuri, was also deployed to
monitor the situation.
Even as the decision to cut
short the procession is being
described as one taken unanimously by procession organisers, some like Bano, a local
housewife, could not hide
their disappointment.

even when the atmosphere

was extremely volatile in the
aftermath of the Babri Masjid
demolition in 1992, there was
no trouble in our area. As a
matter of fact, people took
refuge in our colony. Nothing
changed post resettlement
but it seems politics will
change that, said Manish, a
student.
Meanwhile, those in the
villages Hindu localities
claimed they were prepared
for trouble caused in case of
a diversion in the route. The
preparations included mobilisation of locals and arming
them with sticks. Some of
them arrived at the resettlement colony since morning
to keep an eye on the situation and alert those in their
areas.
The largely rural Outer
Delhi neighbourhood of BaSecurity personnel keeping a vigil during the Muharram procession at
wana has been gripped by
Bawana in Outer Delhi on Tuesday. PHOTO: R. V. MOORTHY
communal tension in recent
This is all because of poli- the more-troubled Trilokpu- two communities have had a times after those from the
tics that objections are being ri, but the Hindus in the re- harmonious
co-existence largely Hindu villages on the
raised now. For so long, no settlement colony here since they started living to- outskirts blamed the Musone had a problem, she said. extended their support and gether in East Delhi nearly lims in the resettlement coloThey may not have led the cooperation to their Muslim two decades ago.
ny of carrying out cow
Muharram procession like neighbours. It is said that the
My parents tell me that slaughter last month.

A day of traffic jams and diversions

Jatin Anand
NEW DELHI: Muharram proc-

essions and traffic diversions

led to gridlocks across the
Capital throughout Tuesday,
leaving commuters fuming.
According to the traffic
police, large swathes of arterial roads such as GT Karnal
Road, Ring Road and Outer
Ring Road witnessed massive jams despite deployment of personnel to manage
congestion.
There were either diver- A view of the massive traffic jam on Ashoka Road
sions that prolonged travellon Tuesday evening. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
ing time or led to congestion
on stretches ill equipped to officer.
reported from the India Gate
One of the worst-hit areas C-Hexagon, the Mandi
handle massive footfall,
said a senior traffic police was Central Delhi with jams House roundabout, Ashoka

BPO employee killed,

three injured in accident
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI: A 20-year-old BPO

employee was killed while

three others were injured
when a car they were travelling in rammed a stationary truck near the Nehru
Place yover in South Delhi
on Tuesday morning.
According to the police,
the accident occurred when
the driver of the car, in an
attempt to save a pedestrian,
lost control over the vehicle
and hit a parked truck from
behind.
The truck was loaded with
construction material meant
for the Delhi Metro construction site nearby.
The deceased has been
identied as Vignesh Mahesh. The injured persons
have been identied as Vigneshs colleagues Sachin Kumar (25), Saurabh Roy (22)
and driver of the taxi, Sunil

(35). All the three are undergoing treatment at AIIMS

Trauma Centre.
The incident took place
around 2-30 a.m. when the
taxi was headed towards
Chirag Dilli to drop the call
centre staff home from their
office in Noida. The taxi had
reached near Nehru Place
bus stop when the accident
happened. The car smashed
into the back portion of the
truck which was loaded with
rods. The impact was so
powerful that the front portion of the taxi was completely damaged. The police
had used gas cutters to cut
the taxi and rescue the injured occupants, said the
officer.
The police have registered
a case of causing death due to
negligence
registered
against the taxi driver and
have booked the truck driver
for improper parking.

Road, Baba Kharak Singh

Marg and Parliament Street
among others.
In South Delhi, the Tazia
procession at Jor Bagh and
adjacent areas led to a major
spill over on Mathura Road.
It took me three hours to
get home in Greater Kailash
from my office at Connaught
Place, complained Vibhor
Sharma (32), a software
executive.
First I got stuck at the
outer circle in Connaught
Place and then on the BRT
corridor. There were traffic
policemen around but they
did little to ease the situation, he added.
Commuters also had to

bear the brunt of inadequate

information about the diversions that were in place with
many alleging that the traffic
police were not helpful
enough in helping them navigate through these.
Even the traffic policemen deputed at diversions
didnt know where they
would lead, complained
Ajay
Rana
(27),
a
businessman.
They just kept diverting
vehicles and suggesting that
puzzled drivers ask the next
policeman for directions.
Basically they just wanted
the vehicle to leave their
point as fast as possible, Rana added.

Hindu-Muslim unity at Trilokpuri

Kritika Sharma
NEW DELHI: Setting a precedent for communal harmony in the Capital, the
Muharram procession in
riot-scarred Trilokpuri saw
the participation of both
Hindus and Muslims. Members of the Aman Committee formed by the local
police in the area had on
Monday volunteered to lead
the procession.
The gesture of solidarity
was in response to the jagran day, when the Muslims had helped with prasad
distribution.
Aman committee volunteers, with identity cards
hung around their necks,
lead the procession which
started from near the Mayur
Vihar police station around
2-30 p.m. and ended around
3-45 p.m.
A member of the committee, Hans Raj said: This is a
message to the anti-social
elements. Hindus and Muslims live here like brothers
and we will continue to live
in peace. No outsider can
create ssures between us.
The procession, which
took place in the presence of
unprecedented
security,
was however reduced in
number this year. It saw a
gathering of around 700
people as opposed to around

A Muharram procession being taken out in

Trilokpuri on Tuesday. PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT
1,500 last year. The locals attributed it to the fear in peoples minds.
The route of the procession was also cut short this
time, and participants walked for around 3 km to reach
the karbala site in Mayur Vihar on Tuesday.
For security purposes, the
police did not even allow the
participants to carry swords
and other weapons along
with them, a usual fare at
such processions.
We had to cut short the
route because the situation

is still tense in the area. Also,

we could not have allowed
them to carry weapons as
people from other community were scared, said a senior
police officer.
The Delhi Police were all
ready with the security arrangements in the area. With
six companies of the Delhi
Police, two companies of the
Border Security Force and
one crew of mounted police,
the entire area resembled a
fortress. The police were also
using drones every ten minutes to monitor the situation.

IN THE CAPITAL TODAY

India Habitat Centre: Dreams to
reality painting exhibition by
Nirmala Pillai, Open Palm Court
Gallery, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
India International Rural
Cultural Centre: Hindustani vocal
recital by Bhola Nath Mishra,
Government Girls Senior
Secondary School, AH-Block,
Shalimar Bagh, 9 a.m. Also at
Government Girls Senior
Secondary School, BL-Block,
Shalimar Bagh, 11 a.m.
Blood Donation Week: Launch at
DAV schools across Delhi,
organised by Arya Pradeshik
Upsabha and Arya Yuva Samaj,
8.30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Alcoholics Anonymous:
Meetings Aakarshan Group:
Paschim Vihar, Delhi Government
dispensary, GA2 Block, opposite
Radha Krishna Temple; Living
Sober Group: Rohini Sector-13,
Delhi Govt. dispensary, near
Bhagwati Hospital; Sayam Ek
Kadam Group: 68 Khyber Pass,
Civil Lines; Prashanti Group: Lord
Mahavir School, Sector-29,
adjacent to Brahmaputra
Shopping Complex; Aajaz Group:
Welcome Seelampur, Delhi Govt.
dispensary, Janata Flat, 7 p.m.

Held for smuggling drugs

Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI: The Narcotics
Control Bureau has arrested
three men for allegedly
smuggling
high-quality
hashish from Himachal Pradesh to the Capital. Among
those arrested is a 22-yearold student of Noidas Amity
University who supplied the
drug to other students, said
the police.
The Delhi Zonal Unit of
the NCB has also purportedly seized nearly 1.5 kg of the
contraband grown in Himachal and is famous as Malana cream among its
consumers.
The hashish was being
brought from Himachal to
Delhi via Volvo buses. The
driver and helper of the bus,
who were acting as carriers
on behalf of their suppliers
based in Himachal, have
been apprehended, said

NCB Zonal Director (Delhi)

Rohit Sharma.
Mr. Sharma added that
two men, identied as Ramlal and Krishan Chand, both
residents of Himachal Pardesh had brought a number
of small consignments, each
weighing around 250-300
grams, to be delivered to different parties.
Based on a tip-off, an NCB
team laid a trap in Delhis
Timarpur area, where most
of the buses coming from
Himachal come to a halt.
Once the duo alighted
from the bus to deliver the
consignments, NCB sleuths
caught them red-handed
while handing over a part of
the consignment to one
Raghav Sehajpaul, a Noida
resident and a student of
Amity University. Raghav
revealed that he had taken to
smuggling to earn quick
money, said Mr. Sharma.

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