Sheila Dikshit condoles Madiba’s death
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday conveyed her condolence on the demise of former South African President Nelson Mandela. She described him a true Gandhian and an outstanding world personality. “We all Indians have great respect for him. His enormous contribution in elimination of Apartheid would always be remembered. Dr Mandela would continue to inspire all human rights activists across the globe,” she said in a statement. Dikshit further stated that Mandela’s struggle in South Africa turned him a champion of the values of equality and freedom of expression and he was a trusted friend of India.
OSSA demands Bharat Ratna for Biju Patnaik
Delhi-based organisation Odia Society for Social Advancement (OSSA) has demanded Bharat Ratna for former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik. The association has recently staged a day-long dharna under the leadership of its president Manoj Nayak at Odisha Bhawan in New Delhi. While pressing for award for Patnaik, he said that Bhumiputra and buccaneer of India, Patnaik, was one and only leader of India who participated in Independence movements of India, Indonesia, Nepal, Tibet and Bangladesh. “He is the first Indian to have landed his aircraft with Indian troops in Srinagar after Independence when Pakistan attacked to Srinagar airport. And he was the only leader of India who used to flown Indian freedom fighters to secret places for meetings and distributed or dropped hand-written leaflets of Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Sarojini Naidu all over India,” Nayak said.
Call centre cab collision hurts 3 of a family
Three persons of the same family were critically injured after a call centre cab rammed into their car on Friday morning in East Delhi’s Akshardham area. The injured have been identified as Ashok Paniwal (60), Madhuri Paliwal (50), and their son Rajat (24). According to police, the incident took place around 5.30am. Rajat was taking his parents to New Delhi Railway station as they had to catch a train to Bhopal. When he reached the Akshardham flyover, a cab which was coming from the opposite direction swerved dangerously, crossed the road divider and hit his car. The cab, a hired vehicle of a call centre did not have passengers during the time of the incident. The driver of the car fled from the spot soon after the mishap. Passersby made a PCR call after which policemen reached the spot and rescued all the three injured from the mangled vehicle after breaking its windows. They were rushed to Kailash Hospital in Noida where their condition is stated to be critical.