DELHI (national capital territory)

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court expressed surprise over the choice of 13 December 2023 by the accused in the Parliament security breach case—a date coinciding with the 2001 Parliament attack. The bench observed that this could hardly be a mere coincidence, despite the accused claiming their actions were a protest against unemployment. Court Hearing and Observations The bench, comprising Justice Pratibha M. Singh and Justice Madhu Jain, was hearing the bail petitions of accused Manoranjan D., Sagar Sharma, and Lalit Jha under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). During proceedings, the court questioned Manoranjan’s lawyer on how the accused entered the Parliament premises. The lawyer replied that the accused staged a protest to highlight unemployment issues. When asked ...

New Delhi: In a major move to ease chronic traffic congestion at the Dhaula Kuan flyover, the road leading towards Naraina will be expanded to three lanes. To facilitate this, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has offered ₹18.41 crore to the Delhi Police for relocating and reconstructing the police chowki, along with compensation for 752 square meters of land required for the road widening. Details of the Road Expansion The plan involves widening the road towards Naraina by approximately 100–150 meters to reduce the bottleneck caused by the existing police chowki and nearby metro pillars. Currently, the Dhaula Kuan Police Chowki sits on 3,136.24 square meters of land, of which 1,300 square meters will be required for the road expansion. The remaining 1,836 square meters...

New Delhi: The number of electricity consumers availing the Delhi government’s free electricity scheme is steadily increasing. According to a report submitted by the city’s power distribution companies, nearly 68% of Delhi’s consumers benefited from the 200-unit free electricity scheme in the current financial year. Zero Bills for Millions Delhi has a total of 7 million electricity consumers. In 2025, out of these, 47,67,162 consumers received zero bills under the scheme. The number of beneficiaries has grown steadily over the past few years: YearDomestic ConsumersCommercial Consumers202140,35,82710,989202249,25,30510,735202335,89,2998,634202442,70,9646,515202547,59,4127,750 The data shows a significant increase in zero-billing consumers over the last two years. In 2022, the nu...

New Delhi: The Delhi Police have intensified action against gangs operating in the capital and NCR that target minors for criminal activities. Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the identification of such gangs and the enforcement of stringent measures against them. The meeting, held at Delhi Police Headquarters on Thursday, focused on inter-state coordination with senior police officers from various states and officials from central intelligence and enforcement agencies, especially in light of Republic Day security arrangements. High-Level Participation Special CP (Crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastava stated that several senior officials attended the meeting, including Special CPs for Traffic, Law and Order, Special Enforcement, Intelligen...

New Delhi: In a chilling case of cyber fraud, a 78-year-old retired officer in Delhi was subjected to a “digital arrest” for nine days, losing ₹2.19 crore of his lifetime savings to a gang of scammers. The perpetrators, posing as law enforcement officials, held the elderly man in constant fear and extracted large sums from him. Scammers Posing as Police and Officials The victim received a call in November from an unknown number. The caller, claiming to be Sumit Mishra from the Lucknow Police Headquarters, informed him about pending arrest warrants linked to a money-laundering case. Terrified, the victim complied with the scammers’ instructions, transferring funds repeatedly between 26 November and 4 December. During the fraud, the scammers alternated their identities, posing as a ...

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has urged members of the Delhi High Court Bar Association to contribute to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to provide shelter for patients, attendants, and their families who are forced to sleep outdoors in freezing temperatures near the hospital. During a hearing on Friday concerning the plight of patients and their families sleeping in subways and open areas around AIIMS, the institute submitted a status report proposing both short-term and long-term measures. As a long-term solution, AIIMS plans to establish a 3,000-bed rest facility on approximately 2 acres of land in Ansari Nagar (West Campus). This shelter will be developed in collaboration with the NGO Seva Sadan Arogya Foundation. The Delhi High Court requested financial assist...

New Delhi: A severe cold wave continues to grip Delhi and the broader northern region, with Thursday recording the coldest morning in the national capital since January 2023. The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s primary weather monitoring station, recorded a minimum temperature of just 2.9°C, while Palam dropped to 2.3°C, Lodhi Road settled at 3.4°C, R.K. Puram at 4.5°C, and I.N. Nagar at 2.7°C. The low in Palam marks the coldest since 2010, highlighting the persistence of the current cold wave across the city. Forecasts indicate that these frigid conditions may continue into Friday, affecting daily life and outdoor activities. Air Quality Reaches Dangerous LevelsCompounding the weather woes, air pollution across Delhi-NCR has surged to hazardous levels. According to the Central Pollu...

New Delhi: Delhi Metro commuters can now look forward to smoother travel from metro stations to their homes and workplaces, following a landmark agreement between Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Bharat Taxi. Under the partnership, DMRC has collaborated with Sahakar Taxi Operative Limited to launch an integrated last-mile connectivity service. In the first phase, this service will be available at ten major metro stations across the city. Metro officials highlighted that reaching one’s home or office from metro stations has long been a challenge for daily commuters. The new arrangement aims to address this gap by providing seamless and convenient transport options from the station to the final destination. Pilot Project for Bike Taxi ServiceAs part of the initiative, a pilot...

New Delhi: As the severe cold wave grips Delhi-NCR, the plight of the city’s homeless has come under the spotlight. While the Delhi government claims to have 322 night shelters with a total capacity of 19,724 beds, an on-ground inspection reveals a starkly different reality. Field visits to major shelters, including the Moti Khan commercial building shelter, show that only a fraction of the reported beds are actually available. Though officially listed with a capacity of 540, inspectors found just 15 functional beds—less than 3% of the claimed number. Even if fully occupied, each bed would have to accommodate 36 people, which is practically impossible. Similar discrepancies were observed elsewhere: Chhabi Ganj Ward-I Community Hall, with a listed capacity of 100, had only 38 beds; th...

New Delhi: The Delhi government has unveiled an ambitious plan to provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week water supply to over 5.2 million residents of the city. The project, estimated at ₹6,121 crore, will involve laying 2,741 km of new water supply pipelines and constructing 35 new underground reservoirs (UGRs) to store treated water. Water will be supplied from the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water command areas, with pressures of 17 meters and 22 meters, respectively. Delhi’s Water Minister, Parvesh Sahib Singh, stated that the government is working to ensure uninterrupted water supply across all parts of the city. Project Details: Chandrawal Water Command Area: Covers 96 sq km and supplies 9 assembly constituencies with a plant capacity of 95 MGD. New pipelines and capacity enhanceme...