Doc assaulted in road rage in Malviya Nagar, injured in ear
A 48-year-old doctor struggles to hear after being thrashed by a group of men, in an alleged case of road rage reported from south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar on Monday evening.
The victim, Dr Asif Siddiqui, worked with Safdarjung Hospital for 10 years before starting his own medical centre in the city. He was out in the market near his home in Malviya Nagar when he was assaulted.
The doctor told Hindustan Times that his Hyundai Getz car had brushed past a motorcycle, a few hundred metres from his home, after which the bike riders verbally abused him.
“They began using vulgar language against me and began banging against my car. Since I was aware of a police post in the area, I began driving towards it to save myself,” said the doctor.
But the assailants allegedly called their friends in the market and a small mob chased the car. They caught up with him in no time and allegedly forced him to come out of the car after smashing the window using a brick.
“The mob was shouting maaro-maaro. One man punched my ear, someone else targeted my eyes. They began beating me till I fell unconscious,” he alleged.
When he regained his consciousness, he called the police after which he was taken to a hospital. “I have received injuries all across my body, but my ears have been affected the worst. I am unable to hear properly through my left ear and am undergoing treatment,” the doctor claimed.
The police have registered a case and said they were close to nabbing some of the suspects. The victim has said that he can identify some of the assailants if they are paraded before him.
China has adopted an aggressive stance at the border, with its state media even warning of impending war. Beijing wants India to withdraw its troops for the two sides to initiate negotiations.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay also reiterated India’s hope of resolving border issues with China through diplomatic means. India is in close contact with the Bhutan government on developments unfolding at the tri-junction, he added.
When asked if India has briefed other nations about the Doklam standoff, Baglay said it would not be prudent of him to speak about diplomatic initiatives on sensitive issues.
Though such programmes to engage visitors are held in zoos across the world, Lucknow was the first to start the trend in India.
Delhi zoo officials said this was just the beginning and more such parties would be held in future to mark the birthdays of animals. Though this time only 60 students from one school were invited, the authorities plan to host a bigger party next time.
“Next in line is Rita. She is a chimpanzee and the oldest member of the zoo. She is 57 years old. We are preparing a list of animals whose exact date of birth is known,” said Renu Singh, director of the National Zoological Park in New Delhi.
The birthday cat, however, went about its day nonchalantly. Seemingly unimpressed by buzz outside, he focused on his partner Kalpana and their four cubs kept in an adjacent enclosure.
“There won’t be any special treatment for him as we don’t want to disturb his routine and feeding habits. We will just give him some pieces of chicken apart from the daily buffalo meat he takes. It is just a symbolic gesture,” said Singh.
Officials said Vijay was one of the best breeders in the zoo and had fathered more than six cubs. Vijay was born in the zoo in 2007 to Laxman and Yamuna. While Laxman died in 2009, Vijay’s mother was shifted to the Gwalior zoo around six years back.
“But as July 21 is a Friday this time (a zoo holiday), we decided to celebrate his birthday a day before,” said Raja Ram Singh, joint director of the zoo. son’s privacy. Dignity flows out of liberty and privacy flows out of dignity,” he said.
“If government recognizes dignity then privacy has to be protected.”
On the second day of the hearing, the debate was on how far can a person assert his right to privacy and remain anonymous in this age of the all-intrusive internet.
Justice DY Chandrachud, a member of the bench, said all depends on whether the data were used for legitimate or illegal purposes.
“What is wrong if the government wants to put in place socioeconomic programmes and have data to identify people who can be the beneficiaries? But if profiling is done then that could impinge one’s privacy,” he told senior counsel Anand Grover, representing petitioner and social activist Aruna Roy.
Justice Chandrachud illustrated his point with queries.
“Can a man say I want a passport but would not furnish details of my parents or spouse in the form prescribed? How far a citizen can say I will remain anonymous, especially when the state conducts census, surveys, etc. and collate all information?” he asked. Grover agreed that identification was not a problem but trouble begins when the government starts tracking people, an apprehension expressed in the Aadhaar case.
“Data are made available to the private sector, which is not under anybody’s control,” he said. But Justice Chandrachud wondered if 99% of citizens are “unconcerned” about sharing personal data with private players, how is it different if the state has the same information?
The counsel asked the court not to define privacy but just indicate parameters to determine privacy infringements.
“It could be whether state interest is so compelling that one’s privacy has to be done away with,” he suggested.
Senior advocate S Poovaya highlighted how the British government destroyed data collected for an identification project after a new law said the system violated privacy rights.
The hearing on Thursday ended with all petitioners completing their arguments. The attorney general will speak in court during the next hearing on July 25 to report the government’s stand. could be seen waiting impatiently for the pilgrims to pass even around 10.30 pm. “Because of the pilgrims, it took me over three hours to get back home today. Bikers made things even worse by plying on the wrong side of the road,” said Sanjeev Sharma, who was returning to Janakpuri from Noida.
A road cave-in at India Gate’s C-Hexagon on Wednesday continued to haunt motorists well into the next afternoon. “It took me longer to get past the portion that had collapsed. Though policemen were deployed to manage the traffic, waterlogged roads made their task difficult,” said Gautam Bhargav, a banker.
According to the New Delhi Municipal Council, the cave-in was caused by a defunct communication cable. “Trenchless technology was used to lay the cable 10 years ago. This involved installation by digging two holes on either side of the road. Water may have entered this abandoned line and loosened the soil, resulting in the cave-in,” an official said.
Delhi received over 28 mm rainfall till Thursday afternoon, and the maximum was recorded till 8.30 am. Although the temperature dropped to 25 degrees Celsius (two degrees below normal) at night, mercury levels hovered at the 34-degree mark through the day. The city can expect cloudy skies through Friday, with light rain in the evening. However, mercury levels may spike over the weekend. Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal. However, she got 65, indicating cracks in the opposition camp, especially the SP.
About a dozen legislators from the opposition camp in Maharashtra voted for Kovind. The BJP, the Shiv Sena and some smaller parties that assured their support to the NDA candidate constituted 195 MLAs, but Kovind ended up with 208 votes.
The opposition camp comprising 42 MLAs of the Congress and 41 of the Nationalist Congress Party had the support of nine MLAs from the AIMIM, SP and other parties. But Kumar got only 77 votes.
The BJP that has made strong forays in West Bengal secured the support of at least five MLAs from the opposition camp. The BJP and its ally, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, have three MLAs each. Kovind secured 11 votes.
In Tamil Nadu, both factions of the AIADMK voted for the NDA’s presidential candidate. It was one of the few states such as Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Uttarakhand that didn’t witness any cross-voting.
In Madhya Pradesh, Kumar got the support of 57 MLAs. The Congress has 56 MLAs in the state and Kumar had the assured support of four BSP MLAs and three Independents.
Of the 776 members in Parliament, eight did not vote. The votes of 21 were declared invalid.