SAD MLA assaults 1984 riots convict in court, says acted in self-defence
NEWDELHI:ONE of the two persons, convicted on Wednesday of killing two men during the 1984 antisikh riots, was assaulted on Thursday, allegedly by Delhi’s Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislator Manjinder Singh Sirsa, in Patiala House Courts, moments after a court reserved its order on the quantum of punishment.
The SAD MLA from west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden, Sirsa said he acted in self-defence after he was provoked and later attacked by people present in the courtroom, who were making derogatory remarks about the Sikh community.
Sirsa was present in the courtroom with his supporters when the convicts – Naresh Sehrawat and Yashpal Singh – were being taken by policemen to the lock-up on the premises where jail inmates are kept when they are brought for court hearings.
Court officials said the SAD leader broke the police cordon around the two convicts and allegedly slapped Yashpal. The assault was captured on a mobile phone by someone outside the courtroom. The video clip was later circulated on social media. In the video, Sirsa is seen being separated from the convicts by the police personnel after he assaulted Yashpal. However, both sides hurled abuses at each other. Thereafter, more police personnel were called in and the convicts were taken away.
The SAD legislator admitted to assaulting one of the convicts, but alleged that his reaction came following an attack on him and his supporters by some “hooligans”, who were present at the courtroom and who made “derogatory” remarks against Sikhs.
“Some supporters of the convicts started making remarks that hurt the sentiments of Sikhs. Then, they started assaulting me. I retaliated in self-defence. I have also filed a complaint against unknown persons at the Tilak Marg police station,” Sirsa said.
Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said no case was registered in connection with the ruckus. “It was not an assault but an attempt,” he said.
Senior advocate HS Phoolka, who appeared for the victims, condemned the incident, saying “such incidents are likely to adversely affect the case of the victim. Everyone should control their emotions and maintain peace on the court premises”.
Both the convicts were taken into custody on Wednesday after additional sessions judge Ajay Pandey held them guilty of killing Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh in Mahipalpur area of South Delhi during the riots.
The court reserved its order for November 20. NEW DELHI: Predicting that the peak electricity demand in Delhi could shoot up to 4,800MW in the coming months, power distribution companies on Thursday said they are “fully geared” for the winter.
Based on the data collated by them, power utilities said they are predicting the peak demand to increase by nearly 230MW this season. Last year, it had peaked at 4,511MW.
In 2016-17, the winter demand had touched 4,186MW, while in 2015-16, it was 4,125MW, a BSES spokesperson said.
The highest demand this year is being expected from south and west Delhi areas. BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), which supplies power to these areas said it is expecting to meet a maximum demand of 1,950MW from these pockets. BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) caters to east and central Delhi and is expecting a demand of 1,225 MW, while Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), in north and northwest areas, said it is forecasting a peak of up to 1,500 MW.
Discom TPDDL said it has entered into power banking arrangements with different states, including Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
“Under the arrangement, Tata Power-ddl exports power to these states during off-peak winter months and the same is imported during the summer months from May to September. The arrangement ensures nonstop supply to consumers,” Sanjay Banga, CEO, TPDDL, said.
The BSES discoms said they, too, have made arrangements for reliable supply during winter. “To meet today’s power challenges and to get a grip on so many varied and dynamic variables, BSES uses a mix of advanced statistical forecasting models, combined with state-of-the-art weather forecasting solutions, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and rich domain expertise provided by IMD-POSCO. These help the discoms build advanced models, which lead to higher accuracy planning and a huge saving of man-hours and time,” a spokesperson said.