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| Monday,
December 23, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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AHULANA KNOT UNTIED Sonepat, December 22 The mill, it may be recalled, was closed down on December 18 following incidents of arson and violence on the issue of recruitment. In the meantime, a delegation of INLD legislators and leaders called on Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in New Delhi and requested him not to close down the mill indefinitely, as the sugarcane growers of the area would suffer a huge financial loss. The Chief Minister agreed to the plea of the party legislators and leaders and directed the mill management to restart crushing of sugarcane in the mill. Mr Chautala also made it clear that he was revoking his decision in the interest of the sugarcane growers whose crop worth about Rs 48 crore is standing in the fields and the mill had to suffer a loss of Rs 9 crore. Meanwhile, on the instructions of the Haryana Government, the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairman of Ch Devi Lal Sugar Mills in Ahulana village, Mr S N Roy, had released the list of employees, both technical and non-technical, recruited by the management. According to official sources, as many as 55 persons have been recruited from Ahulana village itself. Of these, 28 persons are recruited on temporary posts and the remaining 27 on permanent posts. Temporary employees are likely to be made permanent in the near future. The number of employees would come to 800 during the next crushing season. There are total 458 posts in the mill at present, and 421 of them have been filled so far. The remaining 27 will be filled by the management shortly. Of the 421 employees, 226 belonged to Gohana subdivision, 71 to Sonepat and 27 to Ahulana village. The village-wise list is as under: Barota 2, Kathura 6, Issapur Kheri 9, Nuran Khera 6, Garhwal 5, Bali Qutabpur 3, Bhawar 1, Baroda 8, Kohla 9, Gudhi 5, Banwasa 4, Butana 9, Kasanda 1, Gangana 3, one each from Madina, Chidana, Jauli, Garhi Ujale Khan, Jawahra, Jasrana, Siwanka, Bichpari, Poothi, Mahmoodpur, Wazirpura, Anyat, Rana Kheri, Chhichhrana, Rukhi, Bidhal and Gawana, Katwal 2, Shamri 2, Rewara 2, Bhainswal Kalan 2, Khanpur Kalan 6, Khanpur Khurd 3, Gamri 3, Anwali 5, Ahmadpur Majra, two each from Lath, Tihar Malik, Rindhana, Mirzapur Kheri, Dhanana, Garhi Sarai Namdar Khan and Kheri Damkan, and four each from Mundlana, Jagsi and Bazirpura. Official sources also revealed that 61 residents of Gohana town have got employment in the mill. Similarly, 71 residents of Sonepat City and 38 villagers have been recruited. Moreover, 14 persons from Panipat district, five from Jhajjar district, two from Karnal district, seven from Fatehabad district, 24 from Jind district, 25 from Rohtak district, one from Gurgaon district, seven from Hisar district, three from Bhiwani district, three each from Yamunanagar and Kurukshetra districts and one each from Sirsa, Kaithal and Faridabad have been recruited. The sugarcane growers of Rohtak and Jind districts have been supplying their produce to the Ahulana sugar mill. Some of the employees working in the Meham, Rohtak and Jind sugar mills have succeeded in getting employment in the Ahulana mill. At least, 28 technicians from Punjab and UP have got employment in the mills. These include two from Punjab. Twenty security guards, four safai workers and four workers for handling the sugar mills have also been recruited and all of them belong to Ahulana village. Meanwhile, Mr Jagjit Singh Sangwan, MLA and the president of the Nationalist Congress Party, has urged the people of Ahulana village to shun dharnas, rallies and demonstrations but should file a suit in the court if they wanted justice on the issue of recruitment. Speaking to mediapersons here yesterday evening, he described Mr Om Prakash Chautala as the biggest enemy of farmers and said that his government was using lathis and firing to crush the voice of farmers and other people. |
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Ghaziabad
Court murder: Teenager not sorry for killing gangster Ghaziabad, December 22 He claimed he was shot at by the police even after he had raised both his hands for surrender. Sonu, who is a class IX student of Rajputana Inter College, Pilkhua, feels rather satisfied that he was able to avenge the death of his paternal uncle Rajinder Tomar, alias Papan Tomar,“I could not stand the sight of two minor children and widow of my late uncle Papan Tomar,” Sonu said. In the presence of police officials, the young Sonu Tomar said that he was not at all sorry for having killed Lokesh Pandit. Sonu is admitted to Sarvodya Hospital for treatment with gunshots in his leg and back. He is stated to be out of danger. Apart from Lokesh Pandit, Satya Prakash, Rajinder and Satish had also appeared in the court. As the judge concerned was on leave, they were given a new date on February 10, 2003. Lokesh, who is alleged to have stabbed his friend Papan Tomar in the back for ‘colluding’ with the police in a case of encounter death, was himself shot in the back yesterday. Sonu said that his aunt’s family would badly miss Papan Tomar and whenever he saw his aunt Mrs Papan Tomar, her four-year-old son Ankur and daughter Urvashi,2, their very sight would make his blood boil. Their helplessness strengthened his resolve to avenge his uncle Papan’s death. He was on a look-out for Lokesh, who seldom stepped out of his home. The court hearing gave him an opportunity to settle a score with Lokesh, Sonu said. He had made a meticulous plan in this connection. On December 17, he came to the court premises and found out the next date in a case against Lokesh under the Gangster Act. He had come fully prepared for Lokesh, knowing well that he would be coming to the Ghaziabad Court on December 21. |
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Alleged
killer of DU Reader held New Delhi, December 22 The police have recovered a German Mauser pistol and 12 live cartridges from his possession. Ashok reportedly killed the Reader to settle a score. The teacher had caught him cheating in the Chemistry paper in second year final examinations in 1999. Holding the Reader M N Singh responsible for ruining his career, Ashok had nursed a grudge against him for the last five years, and finally decided to eliminate him inside the college premises. Ashok appeared as an ex-student and passed his second year examinations in 2001. He sat for final year examinations in Physics and Chemistry in 2002, but failed in both the subjects. Again he took the supplementary examinations in November 2002, but lost hope after that. The DCP (North-West), Mr Sanjay Singh, said that on the fateful day, Ashok armed with a German Mauser pistol took his Tata Indica Car DL8CG 1874 and parked the car next to the college. He gained entry into the college after jumping the wall at the back of the college, and shot the teacher thrice and fled. Thereafter he went to his aunt’s house in Jind, Haryana to evade arrest. During investigations, the police found out the antecedents of Ashok who married on November 30. Police teams were sent to his in-laws’ house in Gurgoan and aunt’s house in Jind. Finally he was arrested from his aunt’s house. |
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HC notice to Apollo on CGHS scheme New Delhi, December 22 A Bench comprising Justice Usha Mehra and Justice Madan B Lokur also issued a notice to Escort Heart Institute on the applicability of the CGHS scheme to it and sought replies from the two hospitals by January 10. The court also directed the Center to give wide publicity about the extension of medical facilities to the government servants for specialised treatment in super specialty private hospitals, including Apollo and Escorts. It said that due publicity to the scheme should be provided and the relevant terms and conditions of its agreement with private hospitals at the CGHS dispensaries’ notice board as well as in newspapers should be followed. The Centre and some private hospitals had agreed to an arrangement that the latter would not charge a sum more than what the agreed upon from any CGHS beneficiary or members of his family for a period of two years from the date of signing of the contract, the court said. The private hospitals were asked not to discriminate against the CGHS beneficiaries in providing medical treatment. It also added none of these hospitals should refuse admission or demand advance money from patients referred to them under the scheme. |
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SURAJKUND FEST BEGINS Faridabad, December 22 Mr Chautala said that a permanent site would promote industry, business and entertainment. It would not only help attract investment in the state but would also be able to provide avenues of employment and income generation for the residents here. He claimed that the Trade Fest marked the beginning of a new era of business growth here. The Arts and Crafts Mela organised here in February had already become a famous national event attracting lakhs of people, he said. The India International Trade Fair organised at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi might lose its position if infrastructure of international standard could be set up here, the Chief Minister said. He claimed that industrial growth had gained momentum in the past three years with over 140 large and 4,000 medium and small units started functioning in the state. The software exports from Haryana had touched Rs 3,000 crore per year. Using the occasion to list the achievements of his government, the Chief Minister said that an additional 792 mw of power had been generated in the past 40 months. He said seventh and eighth units at the Panipat thermal plant would be ready to produce power within 29 months, which, he said, would be a kind of record. He said that the state government had been promoting the growth of fruit and flower plants and their processing to provide better returns to farmers. Four food parks would be set up at Rai (Sonepat), Narwana, Dabwali and Saha to set up food processing units. Earlier, Mr Bhasker Chatterjee, Commissioner, Tourism, stated that about 343 stalls had been set up. A large number of companies are participating in the fair, which would continue till December 29. Finance Minister Sampat Singh, Co-operation Minister K. S. Bhadana, three MLAs, several bureaucrats and a large number of workers of the ruling Indian National Lok Dal were present on the occasion. |
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Blind Assn march turns violent, 16 cops hurt New Delhi: Over 16 policemen were injured by a mob of activists of the Blind Association and the Indian Student’s Association who tried to march to Khalsa College on Mall Road in North district demanding one per cent reservation in Class 3 and 4 posts in Delhi University. The irate activists took to the streets and damaged several vehicles, including a DTC bus. The police arrested 93 persons, including the general secretary of the Blind Association, S. K. Mohanty. They have been remanded in judicial custody. The mob of activists carrying lathis and rods resorted to violence against the policemen who stopped them from reaching Khalsa College. The group broke the barricades set up by the police and injured Head Constable Manohar Singh, Constable Gopal and the Additional SHO of Maurice Nagar and Additional SHO of Timarpur police stations. Mr Manohar Singh has been admitted in a serious condition in Hindu Ram Hospital and Mr Gopal in Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital. The two SHOs were injured in the face and hand respectively. Delhi University had announced that the protest was illegal and asked the police to clear the agitators in the morning. However, the unrelenting mob today afternoon took to the streets and damaged several public vehicles, including a DTC bus. TNS
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MEERUT Meerut, December 22 The incident occurred about 50 metres ahead of a busy crossing on the Garh Road. Eyewitnesses told the ‘NCR Tribune’ that the robbers were waiting at the Shastrinagar turning on the Garh Road. They boarded a Maruti car and fled after the snatching the bag. Mr Saxena informed the police soon after the incident. Medical College police station SHO Sanjay Sirohi, Circle Officer N. P. Singh and SHO of Nauchandi police station rushed to the spot. Later, SP (City) D.K. Chaudhary also reached the scene and flashed a message on the wireless to check all vehicles on every road connecting the city. Mr Chaudhary also showed an album of photographs of known robbers of the area to Mr Saxena to identify the criminals. The SP told mediapersons that some insiders, who had a definite information about the cash being carried by the duo, could have masterminded the robbery.
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Vajpayee govt exposed in petrol pump Rohtak, December 22 Reacting to the Supreme Court decision, the party accused that the intention behind scrapping of the total list of allottees by the Prime Minister was a cover up of the clandestine allotments made to thousands of Sangh Parivar beneficiaries. It was also an attempt to escape from widespread criticism, the party added. The CPM hoped that the two-judge committee constituted by the Supreme Court would reveal the arbitrary nature and favouritism adopted in the allotment and also expose those responsible. The CPM has also strongly condemned the BJP for shamelessly defending former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in the UTI scam despite the fact that the parliamentary committee had found the Finance Ministry chiefly responsible for the scam. It alleged that the BJP, after losing mass support thanks to its record corruption and scandals, was shamelessly embarking on a Gujarat-type dangerous strategy to achieve electoral benefits by appealing to the emotive issues to foment hate and violence in the name of pseudo-Hinduism. The party has expressed serious apprehensions over the ambiguous stand of the Chautala government towards regularisation of illegal residential colonies in towns and cities across Haryana. This has led to a lot of fear and uncertainty among residents. In view of this, the CPM demanded that the Haryana Government should come out with a white paper spelling out its stand and future plans and also disclose the official reasons for frequently altering its own decision. |
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NOIDA Noida, December 22 The administration announced over two years ago that a wall would be constructed to separate Sector 41 from Agarpur village, but till date nothing has been done, says RWA president Satish Khanna. On the contrary, the authority has, to the surprise of the residents, replaced the wooden bridge with a concrete bridge, although two bridges already link it with Sector 40. The concrete bridge has only increased vehicular traffic in the sector, to the dismay of the residents. When two bridges already exist within a distance of 500 metres, there is no need for a third bridge, says Lt Col (retd) H. L. Kapur. The RWA had demanded the construction of a circular road. However, this proposal is still lying in the cold storage. In fact, the authority’s layout plan of Sector 41 does contain the provision for a circular road. But the needs of the residents here are being overlooked allegedly due to some encroachment mafia. The construction of this road will give the villagers a direct access to the Noida-Dadri road. By allowing a way to all anti-social elements through the sector by way of another bridge while ignoring the need of a circular road, the authority is shirking its responsibility, say residents. The thieves are having a field day. In the last fortnight, there have been half a dozen incidents of theft in houses of F-Block alone, according to RWA general secretary R. P. Khosla. As the sector is open from all sides, it is beyond the means of the RWA to ensure security in the sector. Slum dwellers in H, D and F Blocks are another source of nuisance and insecurity. The office-bearers of the RWA are at a loss as to why the authority is ignoring their just demands. “It is sad that the authority has taken a very unfortunate attitude in the matter. Every time we approach the senior officers of the Noida administration, we get nothing but tall promises and hollow assurances,” they say. Pensioners and senior citizens, who had put their hard-earned savings into building a comfortable home in a peaceful and secure environment, are today a worried lot and are at their wits’ end as to which door they must go and knock at now.
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SPECIAL FOCUS
ON SONEPAT Sonepat, December 22 In the name of beautification, land worth crores of rupees has been encroached upon by the house owners, particularly those occupying the ground floor. The vacant stretches of the land, between the boundary walls of their homes and the roads, are usurped in the name of green drive. The strip of land is spruced up and a lawn is laid. With no objection from any quarters, the house owners start fencing the area off with barbed wires, making the area part of their domain. And some time later, the area is converted from public property to private with the help of permanent walls. Emboldened by civic apathy, more and more house owners are indulging in land encroachments. In the Model Town area, several influential persons have grabbed municipal land worth crores of rupees. In Indira Colony, a resident constructed a ‘pucca’ wall on a street near a dharamshala. Everywhere in the city, makeshift stalls have been put by the shopkeepers on public land in connivance with the officials of the Municipal Council and the PWD (B&R). Most of the residents have covered up the drains in front of their houses, making it impossible for it to be cleaned. This results in the blockage of storm water drains leading to floods during the rainy season. The encroachment of the land forces the pedestrians to walk on metalled roads, thus exposing them to accidents. Another major problem is that once the land is encroached upon, future development of the road is severely impaired. Can the Municipal Council be sure that when they need the area for further development, the landlords will hand it over? According to the provisions of the Indian Limitation Act, if the residents can prove the land to be under their possession for the last 30 years or so, they cannot be removed from that land. So the landowners can claim possession of the land worth crores of rupees without any investment on their part. Though the Municipal Council, the PWD (B&R), HUDA and other official agencies turn a blind eye towards such encroachments, some residents have started feeling the inconveniences. In almost all the main bazaars, where the footpaths have been illegally occupied by the shopkeepers, transport services are badly hit. It is difficult to manoeuvre vehicles through the narrow roads, which are encroached upon by shopkeepers or used as parking space. The district administration launched a special anti-encroachment campaign last year. It was able to recover over Rs 100 crores worth of municipal, public and HUDA land from illegal occupants in the past one year. The residents of the district lauded the efforts of the administration in which it demolished unauthorised structures and concrete platforms built by the shopkeepers in different parts of the city. |
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Mrs Chautala, grandchildren attend Trade Fest Faridabad, December 22 The district officials and the catering department of the Trade Fest were seen giving special attention to the VVIP guests. The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, arrived about one hour late for the inaugural function. Few people turned up on the opening day of the Trade Fest. The inauguration hall, where the opening ceremony was held, was open to only the invited guests and workers of the ruling party. Many of the stalls were seen lying vacant as it had failed to attract traders. Security personnel were conspicuous all around as more than 1,000 security personnel were posted on the opening day of the Trade Fest. |
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Police
Medal for Gallantry to five Delhi cops New Delhi, December 22 Mr Rajbir Singh, Mr Mohan Chand Sharma and Mr Anil Tyagi have been awarded the medal for displaying conspicuous gallantry, courage and devotion to duty of high order during an encounter with militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba who had struck at the Red Fort on December 22, 2000. Vinod Kumar Yadav has been awarded the medal posthumously for his courage to arrest a criminal who shot him dead. He was posted with the Civil Lines police station. In January last year, he along with his colleague was conducting surprise checking of bad characters in the area when they noticed a Maruti car parked on the wrong side. On checking, the occupants of the car started running away. They were chased and confronted by Vinod and his colleague. After a hot chase, Vinod caught hold of one of them who fired at him from point-blank range. The SI sustained serious bullet injuries and was admitted to a hospital where he died. Head Constable Balram was the PSO of Mr Ram Kumar Gupta, a businessman in Azadpur Sabzi Mandi. A few inter-state criminals shot at the businessman and the constable with country-made pistols. The constable took position behind the bags of vegetables and fired from his service revolver at the assailants injuring one of them. Mr Gupta and a few others were saved, the police said. |
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Rally demands CBI probe into scribe’s death Jhajjar, December 22 Representatives of various journalists unions congregated at the local Punjabi Dharamshala and condemned the Dera’s alleged attempt to suppress the voice of the Press and the murder of the journalist. Later, the journalists led by Mr K. B. Pandit, president of the Haryana Patrakar Sangh, and Mr Praveen Khurana, secretary of the state unit of the National Union of Journalists, took out a procession that culminated at the Deputy Commissioner’s office. Later, they gave a memorandum to the DC to be handed over to the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L. K. Advani, demanding a thorough probe by the CBI into the murder of the journalist and the dubious functioning of Sacha Sauda. Various social and political leaders and lawyers expressed their solidarity with the journalists. |
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Achievers
honoured at national seminar New Delhi, December 22 The seminar highlighted the contributions and efforts of many individuals and organisations in the fields of industry, commerce, healthcare, technology, engineering, information technology, sports, tourism, etc. The chief guest on the occasion was the Minister of State for Labour, Mr Ashok Pradhan. Speaking on the occasion, he said India has become a force to reckon with and has emerged as a self-reliant and a strong economic power. He also presented awards to individuals and organisations for outstanding performances in their respective fields. Chief executives, directors and promoters of various organisations from India and abroad, besides many leading technocrats, doctors and educationists, participated in the seminar. The seminar was organised to bring together entrepreneurs and organisations and to recognise and appreciate their achievements in their respective fields. Some of the other prominent persons present on the occasion were Bandaru Dattatraya, Minister of State for Railway, Dr Bhishma Narayan Singh, former Governor of Tamil Nadu, B Satyanarain Reddy, former Governor of UP and Orissa, and Dr G. V. G. Krishnamurthy, former Election Commissioner |
Noida
police claim success in arresting crime Noida, December 22 Besides, about 98 per cent of the wanted criminals in the district had been arrested. Those arrested also included about 27 dreaded criminals. According to the figures given by the SSP, the number of murder incidents, this year, has come down by 39 per cent as compared to last year. There had been no incidents of kidnapping in the district in the current year, he disclosed. As against 44 incidents in 2001, there were only 15 dacoities this year. The crime graph had registered a decline of 21.66 per cent in total number of crimes, he said. Out of the total of 1,807 criminals, 1,783 had already been arrested and goods worth Rs 20 lakh had been recovered from them. Those arrested included members of gangs and mafiosi. The SSP said that of a total of 1,950 complaints received on the tehsil days, 1,798 were resolved within a week and the rest were sorted out within a fortnight. The police had made a big breakthrough with the recovery of Rs 50 lakh worth of heroin recently. Besides, over Rs 2 crore worth of property was also confiscated from the criminals. The SSP was all praise for SP (City) Vijay Bhushan and SP (Rural) Pushpak Jyoti for their effective and successful campaigns against the arrest of crime in the district.
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Four of family commit suicide Faridabad, December 22 It is learnt that the deceased, Devender Dagar, his wife Omvati, son Aman and daughter Anjali left their house on a motorcycle and later jumped before a train. While they left no suicide note, it is reported that they had left home stating that they would be going to their in-laws’ house. It is stated that they had a quarrel with other members of the family, including parents. The family had been residing in Tuhiram Colony. Devender Dagar had been working as a teacher in Government High School at Agwanpur village since 1995. He belonged to Gughera village of Palwal subdivision. The bodies were recovered later.
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Murder
witness shot Sonepat, December 22 |
SHOWCASE Hindustan Sanitaryware and Industries has launched ‘Studio’, an innovative European water closet with duel flush system, which enables efficient utilisation of water. The cistern has two push buttons– one can press the large button for a total flush of six liters and the small button for a partial flush of three liters. Envy for all:
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Hair
enrichment: Raj Oil Mills have launched ‘Cocoraj Enriche,’ a coconut oil, which enriches the hair and removes stickiness. Continuous usage of the product not only stops hair loss but also thickens the hair density. Fashion dressing:
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