NEW DELHI, May 23: Tourists who feel like ambling along during a sightseeing tour without being rushed through their favourite spots in a car or bus or even explore areas where vehicles may not be able to enter can now do so through segways, a mode of transportation popular in many countries.

Segway Tours kickstarted their India operations earlier this month here offering visitors to the national capital a tour along the Rajpath on segways.

The segway – a sort of a self balancing mini-bicycle powered by a battery. With dimensions no larger than the average adult body and the ability to emulate human balance, the Segway PT uses the same space as a pedestrian, and can go wherever a person can walk.

Segway Tours are already a rage at the foreign tourist destinations including Singapore, US and Europe.

The segway tour promises “an abundance of photo opportunities of historic buildings, monuments and memorials, including the Secretariat, Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Parliament House as well as the scenic beauty surrounding vaious Ministry buildings on Rajpath, Amar Jawan Jyoti and the India Gate.”

“Each ride is carried under the supervision of a tour supervisor and two marshals. Along the ride through fascinating sections of the city the visitors can hear informative historic and current facts about the area from them will also take care of the rider’s safety and security.

Each tourist is provided with a helmet (compulsory) and additional safety gears like elbow and knee pads to ensure an optimal tour experience,” says Rony Abraham, Head, Segway India.

Three 45 minute tours are conducted every morning from 5 to 8 am in groups of six.

A segway instructor says, “The excitement begins with a brief training session and for the remaining 45 minutes, the tourists get the opportunity to take their skills to the streets.”

While the tours are conducted irrespective of the weather rain or shine a tourist’s weight may be the only factor that plays spoilsport.

“The segway PT is appropriate for those weighing more than 40 kg and nor exceeding 100 kg. All, tourists should have the ability to make motions such as climbing and descending stairs without assistance. Children under the age of 12 are not recommended on the tour for safety reasons” says Abraham.

Each ride is priced Rs 1350 on weekdays and Rs 1640 on weekends.

“In other countries we have not faced any issues with the weather conditions. We are yet to test it as per Indian weather conditions. If not suitable we will not conduct the tours in extreme weather conditions like sandstorm” says Abraham.

Tour operator plans to expand their services in the city to include the Humayun’s tomb, the Garden of Five Senses and the Delhi Haat in the current tour.

“Even though this is a pilot project in India. We aim to expand our reach to multiple tourist destinations all over the country,” says Abraham. (PTI)

GHAZIABAD, May 23: The CBI today told a special court here that Rajesh and Nupur Talwar killed their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj in a fit of rage after finding them in a compromising position, a claim strongly refuted by the dentist couple.

Talwars contested CBI’s claim, saying that sex is no big deal in elite society and does not entail murders.

Resuming its argument on framing of charges in the May 2008 twin murder case, CBI counsel R K Saini told Special Judge Shyam Lal that on the fateful day Talwars had returned home late in the evening and not finding Aarushi and Hemraj in the living room went to their daughter’s room.

Saini said the room was locked from inside but Talwars opened it from outside with another key and found their daughter and Hemraj in a compromising position and got infuriated.

An angry Talwar picked up a golf stick and repeatedly hit Hemraj and his daughter with it, Saini said.

As the two fell unconscious, Talwars slit their throat with a surgical blade, a work done with the precision expected of experts like them, he said.

Nupur, however, personally, dismissed the charge saying that they belong to elite class of society where one does not kill anyone for indulging in such sexual acts.

She added that they dearly loved their daughter and there was no question of killing her even after finding her in a compromising position as the matter could have been resolved.

Refuting CBI’s allegations, Talwars’ counsel said the couple loved Aarushi dearly and they had given her a costly camera as a gift for her birthday, which was to follow towards May end and there was no way they could have killed their only daughter for whatsoever reason.

It was Hemraj, who killed Aarushi for committing theft in the house, the counsel claimed adding, however, that it was not clear as to who killed Hemraj and the CBI miserably failed in solving the case.

Talwars’ counsel also sought to refute the CBI’s allegation that they had cleaned private parts of the slain teenager to wipe off the evidence of her alleged sexual intercourse.

The Noida government hospital doctor, who conducted Aarushi’s autopsy, did no where mentioned in his report about the cleaning of the girl’s private organs, said the counsel adding that the doctor, however, later told the CBI that the girl’s private parts had been cleaned.

He questioned as to why the doctor did not mention this fact in the post mortem report itself.

Prosecution counsel Saini, however, stick to his gun and also quoted testimonies of Talwars’ another domestic aide Bharti and colony watch man to substantiate its allegations that the dentist couple was behind the murder.

Saini quoted Bharti, who said when she went to Talwars house on May 16 morning for doing the household job, the door was locked from outside and Nupur Talwar dropped the key from the first floor for her to open it and enter the house.

She said she did not find Hemraj inside the house.

Saini also quoted the guard of the colony to say that no one came to Talwars’ house at night and there was no question of any outsider entering the house to commit the crime.

Saini also said that after murdering Hemraj, they dragged his body to the terrace, where they locked it up.

The prosecution counsel reiterated the charges that they washed walls of Aarushi room to wipe blood stains off them and changed her bed sheet.

Aarushi was found murdered in her bedroom on May 15-16, 2008 with her throat slit. Hemraj’s body was found in the terrace the next day.

While Aarushi’s father Rajesh Talwar is presently out on bail, her mother Nupur has been lodged in Dasna jail. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, May 23: Rejecting allegations that the Government sprung a surprise by referring the Lokpal bill to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal today said political parties were consulted before taking the move.

“I regret that such allegations are being made,” he said when asked about the claims that the Government took help of Samajwadi Party to have the draft anti-graft law referred to a Rajya Sabha committee.

At a press conference here, Bansal said the Government was keen on the passage of the Lokpal Bill even on the last day of the budget session yesterday but it was battling with a number of amendments.

Asked about criticism of Team Anna for not bringing its version of the Bill to Parliament, the minister said there has to be a difference between mobocracy and democracy.

“We have to differentiate between mobocracy and democracy. Government should be sensitive and sensitised about views expressed outside the House but we cannot turn a proposal made by a handful of people into law,” Bansal said.

He said discussions were going on with the Opposition and other parties on amendments to the Lokpal Bill when SP member Naresh Agarwal suggested that the Bill be referred to a select committee.

Bansal insisted there was nothing Constitutionally incorrect in Agarwal moving the motion in the Rajya Sabha and it was done in accordance with the law.

The minister said the names of members of the select committee, to which the Bill was referred, were decided after consultations with all the parties concerned.

While BJP has given three names, BSP, SP, DMK and Trinamool Congress have also given names of their representatives in the committee, Bansal said.

He said AIADMK and BJD separately did not qualify for membership of the select committee because of their strength in the upper House. However, the Government asked them to name their consensus candidate after which AIADMK decided to nominate V Maitreyan as member of the committee.

“It would have been same whether a private member or the the government would have read out the list which was prepared after consultation with all concerned parties,” he said.

He said the Government was determined to pass a good Lokpal Bill with the consent of all political parties.

On allegations that the Government had pre-planned to refer the Bill to a select committee by hobnobbing with some parties, Bansal said discussions were held with all parties strictly in consonance with the principles of democracy.

“We had talked to everybody and such talks should happen. It was a collective decision,” he said.

Asked why he did not mention this when he was facing Opposition fire in the Rajya Sabha, Bansal said he chose not to disclose in the House whatever was discussed outside.

Bansal said he had objected to BJP member Rajiv Pratap Rudy’s comments on the composition of the panel, pointing out that his consent was taken as per Parliamentary rules.

To a question, Bansal said the Government cannot accept the demand to bring the CBI under the Lokpal as the Government has many responsibilities.

Bansal said discussions with political parties on the Lokpal Bill had continued till May 21 and some agreements on bringing useful amendments like doing away with Lokayukta appointment clause and changes in the procedures to remove a Lokpal were arrived at. (PTI)

MUMBAI, May 23: The absence of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa could cast a cloud over the BJP National Executive beginning here tomorrow which is all set to pave the way for a second term to party chief Nitin Gadkari.

The party has been insisting that all those invited are coming, but there is no official word so far from Gandhi Nagar whether Modi is attending the meet.

The meeting is significant as it is the first major gathering of the BJP top brass ahead of the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the two party-ruled states, scheduled by the year-end.

Modi had not also attended the last meeting of the National Executive held in Delhi in December, apparently peeved over the induction of his bete noire Sanjay Joshi into Uttar Pradesh election campaign by Gadkari. He had also not campaigned in the UP polls.

Yeddyurappa, who is unhappy over the failure of the party leadership to reinstate him, has already declared that he would not be going to Mumbai.

Modi’s known detractor Keshubhai Patel whom he replaced as Chief Minister over a decade ago, is planning to make it to the National Executive after staying away from it for three years.

A highlight of the National Executive is its formal endorsment of a resolution to amend the party constitution allowing a second term to the party President.

This will pave the way for Gadkari to stay in the saddle for another three years after he completes his current term in December.

With the party taking the view that the Congress-led UPA, which completed three years yesterday could fall any time due to growing internal contradictions, the talk of who should be projected as the PM candidate in the next Lok Sabha elections could revive here.

Interestingly, it was some 16-17 years ago in Mumbai that Atal Behari Vajpayee was declared the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate by the then party chief L K Advani.

Some two years later, BJP had its first government at the Centre with Vajpayee as the PM.

It is another story that it did not last long and was at the helm for just 13 days.

Later, the BJP-led NDA was in power at the Centre with Vajpayee heading the Government from 1998 to 2004.

Mumbai could also see efforts by BJP to enlarge the NDA given the fact that it was in search of new friends at a time when surveys are projecting an alarming picture about the prospects of the ruling party and a boost to the opposition in the next general election.

The party has been in political wilderness at the Centre for eight long years after May 2004.

The National Executive meet would provide opportunity to the opposition party to formulate a strategy on the Presidential election, party sources said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, May 23: The Central Vigilance Commission is awaiting nod from different departments for over four months to prosecute 49 government officials for their alleged involvement in corruption.

Of the total of 29 cases involving the officials, 11 are related to Ministry of Finance, four to Ministry of Railways and two each to State Bank of India, Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Home Affairs among others.

Besides, one case each involving officials of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, United bank of India, Dena Bank, Canara Bank, Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), Cabinet Secretariat, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi was pending for sanction of prosecution for over four months, according to a latest data of the probity watchdog.

“A reminder has been sent to the concerned departments citing details of a recent Supreme Court verdict on granting sanction for prosecution within four months time,” a CVC official said.

Citing the verdict, the CVC has said that “time limit of three months for grant of sanction for prosecution must be strictly adhered to. However, additional time of one month may be allowed where consultation is required with the Attorney General or any other law officer in the AG’s office”.

CVC officials said that there has been a delay in many cases beyond “considerable time” for grant of sanction for prosecution against corrupt government officials.

“The permission to prosecute such officials acts as a deterrent in the drive to eradicate corruption and bring transparency in the system,” the official said. (PTI)