Yet another case of drugging
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, Oct 15 — A local businessman on way home from Delhi in a Haryana Roadways bus was drugged and robbed by two men, aged around 35, at a tourist complex in Panipat last night.

The victim, Mr Rajinder Kumar Maini (38), who has a shop in Sector 7 here, had boarded the bus from Delhi at around 7.30 p.m yesterday after making his purchases, was lucky enough to reach Chandigarh bus stand around midnight, though in an unconscious state.

Mr Gupta, who was left unattended by the bus conductor at the bus stand where he spent the whole night, was dropped by an autorickshaw driver at his house here this morning.

On regaining consciousness at the local General Hospital, where he was admitted by his family members, he found that his gold ring, a gold chain and Rs 800 cash was missing. A consignment of goods purchased by Mr Gupta was, however, left untouched by the robbers — apparently due to its size.

Mr Gupta said two youths, one sporting a beard, who boarded the bus from Delhi engaged him in conversation. When the bus reached the tourist complex at Panipat an unsuspecting Mr Gupta accepted a cup of coffee, apparently mixed with some drug. Doctors attending the businessman said he had been heavily drugged.

The wife of the victim said that her husband was in a semi-conscious state when he was admitted to hospital.

2 get life term for killing children
Tribune News Service

AMBALA, Oct 15 — The District and Sessions Judge, Ambala, Mr A.S. Garg, today awarded life imprisonment to Baljinder Singh, alias Babla, and Suresh Kumar for murdering two children last year.

The bodies of Baljinder, alias Rinku (11) and Pardeep, alias Bittu (9), both students of Class IV, were recovered from a village well at the instance of the accused persons on October 9, 1997.

Babla had to return some money to Mr Malkiat Singh, father of Rinku.

After hearing the Public Prosecutor, Mr R.R. Gupta, Mr P.C. Sharma, counsel for the complainant, and Mr Ravinder Goel, who was appointed as amicus curiae, Mr Garg held that in such offences direct evidence was difficult to make available. The offenders committed such offences in secrecy and kept all the evidence secret and concealed.

Such offenders could be connected with the alleged crime on the basis of the circumstances which prima facie and definitely linked the offenders with the commission of the offence and led to an inescapable conclusion that the accused and none else committed the crime.

The accused claimed in their defence that they had been involved in the case due to party factionalism and suspicion. However, as the judge noted, they did not bring even a single person in their defence who could testify that they were of good character or they had been falsely implicated.

Disagreeing with the defence counsel who pleaded that the testimony of witnesses related to the deceased should not be relied upon in the absence of independent corroboration, Mr Garg held that it had been laid down in several important judicial pronouncements that a 'relation witness' was a good witness and would be the last person to spare the real culprit.

Mr Garg also noted the fact that the accused, Suresh Kumar, was earlier convicted for raping a 70-year-old woman in 1991.

The judge said that in such a case the recovery of the bodies at the instance of the offenders was more than sufficient and would be deemed to be convincing evidence of their guilt.

Besides awarding life imprisonment to the convicts, the judge also fined them Rs 10,000 each in default of which they were sentenced to undergo a further rigorous imprisonment of six months under Section 302 of the IPC.

They were also awarded rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and a fine of Rs 10,000 each under Section 364 (abduction) of the IPC. They have also been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and fined Rs 10,000 each under Section 20 of the IPC.

Mr Garg ordered that all the substantive sentences would run concurrently.

Irate farmers block traffic
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Oct 15 — Traffic on the Sonepat-Rohtak road remained blocked for more than five hours by farmers of Sisana village, about 25 km from here, yesterday in protest against the erratic power supply and unscheduled and unannounced power cuts for long hours.

According to a report reaching here, this is for the fifth time that the irate residents have resorted to this sort of agitation in the past two months. The irate residents did not allow any vehicle to pass through the road.

The entire traffic for Rohtak and Sonepat cities was diverted via Sampla and Kharkhauda. Similarly, the Gohana-based vehicles plied via Sehri village route. This led to great inconvenience to the public.

On receipt of information, Mr R.K. Garg, Executive Engineer of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Board reached the site and persuaded the residents to lift the blockade.

Many residents alleged that the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal had failed to ensure the round-the-clock power supply to the consumers as promised by him at the time of last assembly elections in the state.

Meanwhile, frequent power trippings on the essential load in the city are continuing and this has caused widespread resentment among the consumers. Local faults have become a routine and the authorities concerned have failed to improve the power supply position.

Residents of Gohana, a sub-divisional town in this district, are critical of the authorities of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Board for not withdrawing the power cuts in the urban areas despite the announcement made by the board.

Many residents alleged that repeated complaints made to the authorities concerned in this regard have fallen on deaf ears.

Meanwhile residents of Murthal and its adjoining villages today protested against the erratic power supply in the area and demanded regular power supply in all sectors.

WB satisfied with pace of work
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 — The World Bank has expressed satisfaction with the pace of work of the Hathni Kund barrage being constructed over the Yamuna to replace more than a century old Tajewala headworks.

The Water Resources Specialist (Operation and Maintenance) of the bank, Mr Geoff Spencer, who called on the Haryana Minister of State for Irrigation, Mr Harsh Kumar, here last evening, reviewed the progress made by the state under the Haryana Water Resources Consolidation (HWRC) Project being funded by the bank.

Mr Geoff was accompanied by a consultant of the bank, Mr MM Shah.

Mr Geoff also expressed his satisfaction over the training programme, design of major structures under the project and also the recently set up Haryana Irrigation Research and Management Institute (HIRMI), Kurukshetra.

Mr Geoff also assured the Irrigation Minister of the bank's full cooperation in the state's continued endeavour to deliver the developmental objectives of the HWRC Project. He emphasised the importance of participatory irrigation management of the canal system with active involvement of the beneficiaries.

Mr Harsh Kumar apprised Mr Geoff about the steps being taken by the state government to fulfil the aspirations of the farming community by strengthening the irrigation system. He said the Hathni Kund barrage would be completed three months ahead of the scheduled date.

The Haryana Commissioner and secretary, Irrigation, Mrs Urvashi Gulati, and senior officers of the Irrigation Department were also present at the meeting.

Workshop on disaster prevention
Tribune News Service

GURGAON, Oct 15 — A workshop on "disaster prevention and the role of media" organised here by the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) urged upon the media to take initiatives in disseminating information on disasters.

Speaking on the occasion, a weather and climate scientist Dr S.M. Kulshrestha, emphasised on the need for community-based disaster preparedness (CBDP) and added that media had a unique role in promoting and sustaining it. Media persons are quick, sensible, knowledgeable, autonomous, sensitive and fearless. With these attributes they were ideal allies of communities in disaster preparedness, he added.

Dr Kulshrestha, who is a former Director General of Meteorology, said the media could help creating and sustaining awareness, sensitising the communities and upgrading information and quelling misinformation and rumours at the time of disaster.

According to Dr Kulshrestha, disaster mitigation has two district components: Disaster preparedness and disaster relief. Disaster relief demands adequate infrastructural support and quick response on the part of the entire system managed primarily by governments and institutions has to involve all sections of the society. For disaster preparedness local communities and local institutions which have to create and sustain ways and means, he added.

Dr Pramod Samantaray, a General Manager with Indian Drugs and Pharmaceutical Ltd (a Government of India Undertaking), and Dr Abhay Kumar Shrivastava of the Faculty of Disaster Management, HIPA, also spoke.

Media persons expressed concern that the government had a tendency to suppress facts related to disasters which led to rumours.

Mini-kits for farmers
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 — The Haryana Agriculture Department will supply 37,550 mini-kits of wheat to farmers for demonstration of pre-released and recently released varieties like Raj-3765, PBW-343, PBW-396 and UP-2338 in order to increase the productivity during the current season.

This was stated by the Haryana Minister of State for Agriculture, Mrs Krishna Gahlawat, here today. She said the demonstration would cover an area of 3755 hectares. The seed would be distributed to the farmers free of cost, but 10 per cent of the expenditure made on items meant for popularisation of the programme like pamphlets, farm melas and video films would be recovered from the cultivators. Likewise, 5000 mini-kits of Alfa -93, a variety of barley, would also be distributed amongst the farmers to enable them to produce quality seeds for their own requirement for next year.

She said the Integrated Cereals Development Programme in area under wheat based cropping system was a centrally sponsored scheme, being implemented on 75:25 share basis between the Union Government and the State Government. Under this scheme, field demonstration and training of farmers were organised in 55 blocks where average yield of cereals was below the state or national average.

"BJP playing casteist politics"
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 — Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi, younger MLA son of the former Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, has accused the BJP of playing casteist politics for the sake of petty electoral gains.

In a statement issued here today, Mr Bishnoi said so far it was widely known that the BJP was a communal party, playing upon religious sentiments of the electorate. However, the way the BJP changed its Chief Ministers in Delhi had exposed its casteist character also.

First, the BJP appointed Mr Sahib Singh Verma as the Chief Minister of Delhi, solely to please a particular community. Now it had changed its horses midstream and made Mrs Sushma Swaraj the Chief Minister to please another community. However, Mr Bishnoi said, such "poll gimmicks" by a party which had been discredited by its misrule would not mislead the electorate.

Claiming that the BJP was faced with a certain defeat in the ensuing Assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Mr Bishnoi said the people had realised from their experience in the past few months that the BJP was unable to deliver the goods.

Mr Bishnoi said under the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Congress had once again become a focal point for all secular forces and the party was heading for a massive victory in the ensuing Assembly elections. He also predicted that the days of the Vajpayee Government were numbered and that there would be a change in the government after the November elections.

Repair of roads: HUDA asked to give details
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, Oct 15 — The district administration has called for the details of the expenditure incurred by HUDA in the repair of roads in the urban estate in the past one-and-a-half years.

This was disclosed by the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Saroj Siwatch, at a press conference held after the monthly meeting of the District Grievances Redressal Committee meeting here today.

She said that three committees each headed by an HCS officer would verify the details supplied by HUDA. The panels would also verify the quality of work and cost incurred in repair of roads. Details of works done in the district by other government agencies would also be reviewed.

Meanwhile, the state Local Government Minister, Dr Kamla Verma, who conducted the monthly meeting, said all 15 complaints received at the meeting were redressed.

Gang of thieves busted
From Our Correspondent

YAMUNANAGAR, Oct 15 — The Yamunanagar police has busted an inter-state gang of thieves. Mr Sheel Madhur, Superintendent of Police, while talking to newsmen here today informed that seven persons were arrested and goods worth Rs 2.5 lakh recovered from them.

He said one four-wheeler Tata 407, two motor cycles (Suzuki), a few television sets and cycles were recovered. The suspects were identified as Pradeep Kumar, Sandeep, Ajay and Pradeep. He said six cases of theft registered with Farakhpur police station (Yamunanagar) were solved.

Mr Madhur further informed that three motor cyclists, Joginder, Amarjit and Vijay Kumar were also arrested and one pistol and live cartridges were recovered from them.