H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Permission sought to book engineers
Shimla, November 7
The Vigilance Department has sought the permission of the government to register cases against five engineers and two contractors of the Public Works Department in connection with the irregularities revealed in the award and execution of projects in the Dharampur division.

CM promises jobs in HPSEB to sportspersons
Dharamsala, November 7
The Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today announced that sportspersons excelling at national and international levels would be recruited to the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board so that it continued to have a good track record in sports.

Rail celebrations to feature Anupam Kher
Shimla, November 7
Cine personalities Anupam Kher, Pooja Bhat and Muzaffar Ali will lend glamour to the week-long Kalka-Shimla rail centenary celebrations, commencing from November 9.

In-laws held on murder charge
Kangra, November 7
A woman who was married in March was allegedly killed by her in-laws at Bandi village on Wednesday night. Her husband along with three of his family members have been arrested, the police said.

Man killed, thrown into nullah
Kangra, November 7
One person was murdered and the body was thrown into a nullah in his native village Patola Icchi, near here, today. This was the second murder in the past 24 hours in the subdivision.

Gang that attacked martyr’s kin busted
Nurpur, November 7
The police claims to have busted a gang of six robbers allegedly involved in a number of robberies in the area, including the attack on family members of martyr Ramesh Chand of Jeora village on October 27.

IRB training camp concludes at Bangarh
Una, November 7
A 15-day pre-induction training camp for three companies of the first India Reserve Battalion, scheduled to leave for Chamba for anti-terrorist operations, concluded at the battalion headquarters in Bangarh, 10 km from here, today.

• DD tower snag irks residents

Permission sought to book engineers
Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 7
The Vigilance Department has sought the permission of the government to register cases against five engineers and two contractors of the Public Works Department in connection with the irregularities revealed in the award and execution of projects in the Dharampur division.

The government had forwarded the chargesheet to the department in July and it had been investigating for the past three months. After scrutiny of the investigation report the department shortlisted two cases for registration of FIRs. The first case pertains to deviation from the approved plans and the second involves serious irregularities like splitting a contract into small work orders to circumvent the tendering procedure and awarding contract on the basis of fake quotations. Both the cases pertain to 1998-99 period when Mr Mohinder Singh, who represents the Dharampur constituency, was the PWD minister.

In the first case, the contractor, Mr Suresh Kumar, who was awarded the construction work of a road to Lambi village, changed the alignment of the road on his own and diverted it to his own house. The road could not be completed as the new alignment involved private land and villagers obtained a stay on the work from the court. The 400m stretch of road, constructed after deviation, was not fit for plying vehicles because of a steep gradient. The PWD instead of penalising the contractor, who happens to be a relative of Mr Mohinder Singh, made all payments to him.

Besides, Mr Suresh Kumar, permission has been sought to book the executive engineer, assistant engineer and junior engineer concerned.

In the second case, the contract for the construction of the Mari Kamala road was allotted to Mr K.L. Rana, after splitting the Rs 55-lakh work into several small works ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh to bypass the tendering procedure. Investigations also revealed that fake quotations were used to complete the formalities for awarding the projects. A quotation was submitted in the name of a contractor, Mr Balam Ram, but the appended signatures did not match with his signature. On questioning Mr Balam Ram stated that he had not submitted any such quotation.

The department has sought permission to register an FIR against Mr K.L. Rana, contractor, and the executive engineer and assistant engineer concerned.

CM promises jobs in HPSEB to sportspersons
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, November 7
The Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today announced that sportspersons excelling at national and international levels would be recruited to the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board so that it continued to have a good track record in sports.

He was speaking at the inaugural function of the 19th state-level sports meet of the HPSEB at police grounds here today. The Chief Minister also announced a three-time enhancement of diet money for participating sportspersons. He said grant of Rs 5 lakh would be given to the HPSEB Sports Organisation every year.

Reiterating his assurance of a greater role for the HPSEB in the hydel generation programme of the state, Mr Virbhadra Singh said the board would be given opportunities to undertake projects of hydel generation. He also asked the board authorities to ensure that all projects under execution were completed on schedule.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said the Dhumal government had deprived the board of financial assistance made available through the budget and money paid by the IPH Department. He said the withdrawal of financial aid had turned the profitable board into a loss-making body. He said the IPH Department had paid Rs 33 crore to the board in March and from August, Rs 6 crore were being paid every month. He said by 2006, the HPSEB would once again become a profit-making PSU.

Earlier, HPSEB Chairman and president of the HPSEB Sports Organisation Kanwar Shamsher Singh welcomed the chief guest. At least 700 sportspersons are participating in the three-day event.

Rail celebrations to feature Anupam Kher
Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 7
Cine personalities Anupam Kher, Pooja Bhat and Muzaffar Ali will lend glamour to the week-long Kalka-Shimla rail centenary celebrations, commencing from November 9.

While Anupam Kher will stage his latest play “Anupam Kher ke Saath Kuchh Bhi ho Sakta Hai”, Muzaffar Ali will shoot the vintage car rally and other events. Pooja Bhat who has shot her latest film in the hill state, has also agreed to attend the celebrations.

Giving details, Mr Vijay Mankotia, the Tourism Minister, said the idea of inviting Anupam Kher was to revive the glory of the historic Gaiety Theatre, where famous stage artistes like Prithvi Raj Kapoor, Balraj Sahni, Madan Puri, Amrish Puri and Prem Chopra performed.

However, in view the enthusiasm of the local people to see him perform, the venue for November 10 had been shifted to the bigger Himachal Pradesh University auditorium, which could accommodate about a thousand people. He would also have an interactive session with students of DAV School, Lakkar Bazar, on the same day. Gaiety Theatre would have a series of performances by top-class groups sponsored by the National School of Drama and the North Zone Cultural Centre.

About 40 cars will participate in the vintage car rally being organised. The rally will be flagged off in Delhi tomorrow reach Parwanoo. It will culminate at Shimla the following day. The cars will roll down the prohibited Mall, accompanied by mounted Cavalry, an Army band and other regalia to participate in the festivities on the Ridge.

The commemorative run of the train pulled by a 97-year-old steam engine on November 9 will carry Mr Nitish Kumar, Union Minister for Railways, Mr V.S. Kokje, Governor, and Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, among others to Kaithlighat.

In-laws held on murder charge
Our Correspondent

Kangra, November 7
A woman who was married in March was allegedly killed by her in-laws at Bandi village on Wednesday night. Her husband along with three of his family members have been arrested, the police said.

Kangra district police chief S. Zahoor H. Zaidi said that according to an FIR lodged by the father of the deceased, Mr Raguvir Singh, his daughter Reeta Devi was allegedly beaten up and strangulated to death by her husband, her father-in-law Jagat Ram, brother-in-law Ravinder Kumar and sister-in-law Sandiaya Devi.

Mr Zaidi said Mr Raguvir Singh also alleged that he was often told by his daughter that she was tortured by her in-laws.

Her father was informed that his daughter had died. The police had taken the body in its possession and registered a case under Sections 302 and 34, IPC. All four accused had been arrested.

Man killed, thrown into nullah
Our Correspondent

Kangra, November 7
One person was murdered and the body was thrown into a nullah in his native village Patola Icchi, near here, today.

This was the second murder in the past 24 hours in the subdivision.

According to the police, Hans Raj had gone to the fields at 9.30 pm last night when his wife heard screams from the direction of the fields. She told the police that she did not dare to come out of the house in the darkness. In the morning, Bagahta Ram, up-pradhan of the village, infomed the police of the murder.

The body was sent for post-mortem and a case under Section 302, IPC was registered. The police rounded up three persons in this connection.

Yesterday, a newly married housewife, Reetu Devi, was allegedly murdered by her in-laws at Bandi village under Kangra police station. The police arrested her husband, brother-in-law and his wife, and her father-in-law.

Gang that attacked martyr’s kin busted
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, November 7
The police claims to have busted a gang of six robbers allegedly involved in a number of robberies in the area, including the attack on family members of martyr Ramesh Chand of Jeora village on October 27.

According to Mr Suresh Thakur, DSP, the police had nabbed Anju and Shamboo of Kholi village, near Kangra, Ranjeet and Sanju of Kandor village, near Nurpur and Deepak and Kamal of Dehri village of Nurpur subdivision.

It was suspected that this gang had attacked family members of Ramesh Chand. After injuring the victims, the robbers had locked them in a room and decamped with jewellery and cash.

A case under Sections 342, 380, 457, 395, and 506, IPC, has been registered.

IRB training camp concludes at Bangarh

Una, November 7
A 15-day pre-induction training camp for three companies of the first India Reserve Battalion (IRB), scheduled to leave for Chamba for anti-terrorist operations, concluded at the battalion headquarters in Bangarh, 10 km from here, today.

The IRB Commanding Officer, Mr Shiv Pal Singh Verma, said the 300 strong contingent would replace three other companies of their own battalion, which are already deployed there for the last two years.

Mr Verma informed that in Chamba the three companies were located inside the state border with headquarters at Bairagah, Jhajha Koti and Tarela and every company had three outer check posts (OCPs), each catering to about 10 km area.

Replying to a question, he said the battalion did not have the provision of sniffer dog squads, but added that there was a proposal to induct these in sensitive districts. — UNI

DD tower snag irks residents
Our Correspondent

Chamba, November 7
Resentment prevails among residents of Bhattiyat subdivision and its adjoining areas in Chamba district over the breakdown of the Doordarshan (DD) relay transmitter installed on a hillock near Chowari.

The residents said the failure of the tower was a recurring problem and despite several complaints, prompt repairs were not carried out.