UP: No proof required to buy bicycles

By OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Varanasi, May 21: The Uttar Pradesh government has denied issuing any order that makes it mandatory for those purchasing bicycles to produce their identity and residence proof.

The Varanasi administration on Tuesday had issued an order that requires all persons purchasing bicycles to deposit residence and identity proofs with the seller and the latter is required to mention the same on the bill.

"Customers purchasing bicycles are now required to deposit ID proofs, and their address and telephone numbers will have to be written on the bills," Vijay Prakash ,senior superintendent of police, had said.

He had further clarified that electoral photo identity cards, driving licenses, ration cards, or government/public sector could be provided identity proofs would be accepted. The additional director-general of police (law and order) Brij Lal, however, denied in Lucknow that the state government had issued any such order. "The bicycle is meant for the poor and those living in rural areas and any kind of control on its sale is totally impractical," he said.

Sources said that the orders in Varanasi were issued "at the local level" after bicycles were used for the third time in Jaipur last week to trigger off blasts. Earlier, bicycles had been used in Malegaon blasts and then to trigger off explosions in UP courts in 2007.

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Sketch of one more suspect released

By Our Correspondent

Jaipur, May 21: The Jaipur police released one more sketch of a suspect on Wednesday. A few more sketches are to be released soon. Meanwhile, the police arrested over 51 Bangladeshi nationals in the state.

"We have released one more sketch," said Jaipur SP Raghvendra Suhasa. Parliamentary Affairs minister Rajendra Rathore told mediapersons the investigation was going on and that chief minister Vasundhara Raje herself was keeping track of it.

Meanwhile, the Rajasthan police on Wednesday released a 3-dimensional sketch of a 24-26-year-old clean-shaven fair complexioned man who is a key suspect behind blasts.