The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	INLD takes lead in campaigning Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Karnal, April 3 While the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) may have delayed the announcement of party candidates for the Karnal and Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituencies, party President and Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala has left nothing to chance as far as his mass-contact campaign is concerned. In the past two and half months he has visited 75 out of the 90 Assembly segments while the main Opposition parties, the Congress, HVP and the BJP, are yet to put up any significant show of strength. Though the road show of Congress President Sonia Gandhi did give a boost the party workers amidst prevailing factionalism, the lukewarm response to the Bharat Uday Yatra of Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani has forced the state BJP to rethink its strategy for the “Jat land”. As far as the poll campaign of the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) is concerned, it has been working in the traditional style of “nukkar sabhas” for the past few weeks despite the health problems being faced by its President, Mr Bansi Lal. He is suffering from a viral infection. Talking to The Tribune, Mr Chautala said development was the biggest issue in the state, other issues being projected by the Opposition notwithstanding. The break-up with the BJP would have no adverse effect on the INLD’s prospects as the BJP leadership had never been close to the public in the state, he contended. He said the real fight would be between the INLD and the Congress. but he left the INLD had an edge over all rival parties, including the Congress, as far as mass-contact campaigns were concerned. The chances of winning all the seats were bright for his party, claimed Mr Chautala. Sources in the INLD revealed that the party would begin its second phase of the campaign on April 5, after the meeting of the working committee called to discuss the candidates for Karnal and Kurukshetra. High-tech canvassing has been planned by the party. It will show a documentary film on the development works initiated by the government during the past four years. More than 25 mobile screens have been hired for the purpose.
	99 villages identified hyper-sensitive Our Correspondent Sirsa, April 3 For the coming elections, the administration has identified 99 villages as hyper-sensitive in which 289 polling booths will be established. A number of sensitive villages this time are 106 where 257 booths will be set up. The maximum numbers of hyper-sensitive villages are in the Fatehabad, Ellenabad (reserved) and Rori assembly segments whereas maximum hyper- sensitive booths(49) are in the Dabwali (reserved) constituency. Twelve villages and 40 polling booths in Bhattu Kalan, 3 villages with 11 polling booths in Tohana, 8 villages 27 polling booths in Ratia (reserved), 16 villages 40 polling booths in Fatehabad , 9 villages with 23 polling booths in Darba Kalan, 16 villages 39 polling booths in Ellenabad reserved, 10 villages 22 polling booths in Sirsa and 16 villages 38 polling booths that fall in Rori have been identified as hyper-sensitive. In Fatehabad district 518 polling booths in four assembly constituencies are being established In nine assembly segments of Sirsa district 653 polling booths are being created. These are: 126 in Darba Kalan, 133 in Ellenabad (reserved), 128 in Sirsa, 135 in Rori and 131 in Dabwali reserved constituency.
	BJP seeks transfer of DC, SSP Rohtak, April 3 Alleging that the Rohtak DC, who is also the returning officer for the Rohtak parliamentary constituency, the SSP are working as the “agents” of the ruling INLD, the Haryana BJP has demanded immediate transfer of both officers for “violating the model code of conduct”. Addressing a press conference at the state party headquarters here today, state BJP general secretary Vir Kumar Yadav asserted that the presence of Rohtak DC-cum-returning officer Ashok Kumar Yadav and SSP Alok Kumar Roy at a meeting of the ruling INLD leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s son Abhay Singh, amounted to violation of the poll code. — PTI
	Bhadana ‘did not want’ to join Cong Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 3 Mr Kartar Singh Bhadana, who recently resigned from the Om Prakash Chautala-led Haryana Government, never showed any inclination to join the Congress. Mr Bhajan Lal, HPCC chief, also did not try to persuade Mr Bhadana to defect from the INLD and join the Congress. This was stated by Mr Krishan Murti Hooda, HPCC spokesperson, in a statement here today. Mr Hooda was reacting to allegations levelled by the newly-formed Ekta Shakti yesterday about Mr Bhajan Lal turning down Mr Bhadana’s request for induction into the Congress. The Ekta Shakti alleged that the HPCC President’s refusal to entertain Mr Bhadana’s request was an indication of secret understanding between him and Mr Chautala.
	Admn curbs on pamphlets, wall posters Tribune News Service Karnal, April 3 The district administration of Karnal has asked the local newspaper agents to stop putting pamphlets and other material of publicity inside the main newspapers while supplying them to the readers. Besides this, painters have been asked not to paint any kind of publicity material on the walls of private and government buildings without prior permission from the authorities concerned. The owners of the local printing presses have also been asked to maintain proper record of the persons/organisations who place orders for printing material. Revealing this to TNS, Mr R.S. Doon, District Magistrate, said specific orders under the Haryana Municipal (Control on Advertisement) Act 1976, and Haryana Defacement of Property Act 1989, have been issued by the administration in this regard. He has warned that criminal proceedings would be initiated as per the existing laws against anybody found violating the two Acts. He said a number of complaints in this regard had been received. “Such illegal activities will not be allowed to be carried out by anybody”, he warned. He said the local Municipal Council had been asked to identify all such violations and serve notices to the violators. On the other hand, the district Electoral Officer has also been asked to keep a vigil on the political parties and take appropriate action as and when required, he added. Meanwhile, officials of the local MC are busy preparing notices on all violations of the Haryana Municipal (Control on Advertisement) Act 1976, and Haryana Defeacement of Property Act 1989, in the city. Another official of the local administration revealed that the MC had identified hundreds of violations of these two Acts in the city. In reply to a question, the DM said the local newspaper agents were illegally supplying publicity material in the form of pamphlets and a few local newspapers by putting these inside the main newspapers. The newspapers agents have been verbally asked to stop putting pamphlets, local newspapers by calling a meeting of all the agents had earlier this week. The district administration was presently studying various Acts to initiate legal action against the newspaper agents for any such violations in future, said a senior official of the district administration.
	Procure wife, get duped Sushil Manav Fatehabad: A novel way of duping people by selling ‘brides’ to marriageable men for a price and then the bride running away from her ‘husband’s’ home within days of the marriage has come to light in the district. Several families have fallen prey to such gangs in which the ‘brides’, procured for a price ranging between Rs 25,000 and Rs 40,000, have run away from their ‘in-laws’ homes within days of their marriage. In one case the procured wife escaped after administering milk laced with intoxicants to her ‘husband’ and his family members. In another case, an alert husband, who thwarted an escape attempt by his ‘procured’ wife, has been receiving threats from a broker, through whom he procured the woman. A sharp decline in the ratio of females as compared to males in this part of the country has been forcing people to procure wives for their marriageable sons, particularly in the villages. People with small landholdings and men with some type of physical handicaps in particular find it hard to get a match in their own caste. This forces them to search for ‘wives’ from Bihar and other states. Many persons from this area have been successfully married to girls from Bihar and other eastern states for the last many years though they bought their brides. This phenomenon of procuring brides for a price has, of late, given rise to new types of gangs who have been duping people by first selling brides to marriageable men and then engineering their escape. These gangs are selling the same girls to different persons. Mr Ram Chander, a resident of Dulet village in this district, married Ms Pammi, a beautiful girl from Bihar on February 3, 2003. He procured her from a broker from Hanumangarh (Rajasthan) for Rs 27,000. He paid Rs 5000 to the broker as his commission and got ornaments worth Rs 7000 for his procured wife before bringing her to his village. Mr Ram Chander is a middle-aged man and his earlier wife had died due to illness. On February 14, Ms Pammi allegedly administered milk laced with intoxicants to Mr Ram Chander, his parents and brothers and ran away in the thick of night. Mr Ramesh (23), a resident of Hasanga village in this district, procured a bride for Rs 40,000 on February 23 this year through a broker. After staying with her husband for 15 days, the bride threatened to lodge an FIR against Mr Ramesh and his family for demanding dowry. She ran away the same evening. Mr Neki Ram (28) of the same village procured his bride for Rs 33,000 on February 28 this year. She, however, fled on the night intervening March 7 and March 8 when all members of the family of Mr Neki Ram were asleep. Mr Parkash (35) from Buan village in this district purchased his wife for Rs 40,000 from Kurukshetra. Due to his poor eyesight his parents could not find a match in his own caste. The woman left for Kurukshetra after three days on the pretext of meeting her mother but never returned. Mr Parkash approached the broker through whom he had procured his wife but he demanded Rs 10,000 more. Mr Parkash came back empty handed. Mr Bhup Singh of Dhani Bija Lamba village ‘purchased’ his bride for Rs 21,000 but the woman fled the following next night. Baljit, younger brother of Mr Bhup Singh spotted her at Fatehabad bus stand the next day. When he tried to get hold of his ‘sister-in-law’, she threatened to raise an alarm and call the police. By the time Baljit informed his brother and other family members the woman had again disappeared. But the case of Mr Krishan, a resident of Mohammadpur Rohi village in this district is quite interesting, as he has been thwarting the attempts of escape by his procured wife for the past one month. Mr Krishan procured his bride Ritu for Rs 27,000 from Mr Hari Singh, a broker from Ganganagar. Mr Krishan paid Rs 5000 to the broker too as his commission. Ten days after the ‘marriage’ Hari Singh took Ritu to Ganganagar so that she could meet her mother. When Mr Krishan went there to bring his ‘wife’ back, the broker demanded Rs 5000 more. Krishan told him to collect the money from his residence and brought back his wife. He, however, refused to give any more money to Mr Hari Singh when the latter came to his village to collect the assured amount of Rs 5000. Mr Krishan and his family members have been receiving threats from the broker and his men now. The story of Baljit, a widower who son of Mr Chandgi Ram and Ms Dhapa, is still perplexing. The man left the village to bring a procured wife on December 7, 2003 and has not returned since. According to family sources, Baljit, father of two children, came in contact with a Jind based broker, who promised to procure a Bihari bride for Rs 35,000. Baljit borrowed the amount from his ‘arhtiya’ and left for Jind. The family contacted the broker when Baljit did not return even after 15 days. The broker told the family members that Baljit was to accompany him to Bihar but left for home from Delhi railway station. The family members are still clueless about his whereabouts. They have written to the authorities but to no avail. An interesting part of the story is that most cases go unreported, as the police is not informed for fear of action. The number of cases where men have been duped is large.
	Highways authority team looks into traffic chaos Our Correspondent Panipat, April 3 Taking note of spurt in the number of accidents and frequent traffic jams on the National Highway passing through the city, a team of officials of the National Highways Authority and a seven-member team constituted by the High Court has inspected the conditions on the GT Road here. The Tribune had highlighted the problems being faced by commuters on the National-Highway in a report on April 1. Members of the team surveyed the flow of traffic on this stretch of the GT road till late in the evening. The members of the teams also held meetings with the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Balwan Singh, and the Superintendent of Police, Panipat, and discussed traffic-related problems. The National Highways Authority officials informed the High Court team that the tenders related to the elevation of the Flyover project on the National Highway would be passed by August this year. The flyover project is meant to elevate 6 km flyover and 4 km railing adjacent to the GT Road passing through the city. Interestingly in order to present a “pretty picture” the district administration had removed the phariwalas, makeshift shops and rickshaw pullers from near the GT Road before the visit of the team.
	Visually challenged man held in human trafficking case Karnal, April 3 The Haryana Police has unearthed a case of human trafficking with the arrest of an official with the Blind Relief Federation, who assisted 10 persons reach foreign shores by misusing facilities provided to him. Accused R.P. Singh, secretary of the Federation of Blind Relief for Northern and North-East states, was entitled to take one person along with him on foreign trips. Misusing this facility, R.P. Singh reportedly helped 10 persons go abroad during the past five years, mostly to the UK and other European countries, taking Rs 10 lakh to 15 lakh from each person. The police arrested the accused on March 31 on a complaint by Mr Tejinder Singh and Mr Gurdev Singh, saying they were cheated by R.P. Singh of Rs 12 lakh on the false promise of procuring British visas for them. Sources said he had even opened offices in Delhi and Ghaziabad to lure people with the promise of taking them abroad. The complainants, both from Chakra village in Karnal district, said they were given visas to the UK after they paid the money. But when they reached the airport, they were told by the aviation authorities that their visas were fake. Subsequently, they filed a case with the police on March 30. R.P. Singh was arrested by the Haryana Police from Lucknow and produced in a local court here. He was remanded in five-day police custody. — UNI
	Tributes paid to Tohra Tribune Reporters Yamunanagar, April 3 Management, staff and students of Guru Nanak Khalsa Institutions, Yamunanagar, paid tributes to Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra, President, SGPC, at a meeting yesterday. Condoling the death of Tohra, Mr Bhupinder Singh Jauhar, Chairman, Khalsa Institutions, Yamunanagar, and Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Jamna Auto Industries, said void caused by the death of Tohra could never be filled. He said Tohra was an honest, dedicated and committed leader of the Sikh community, who struggled throughout his life for the cause of the Sikhs. His quest for knowledge continued throughout life. The management, staff and students of the institutions observed a two-minute silence. Mr Jauhar declared a holiday in all Khalsa institutions for the day as mark of respect to the departed soul. He said Tohra’s contribution in establishing Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Yamunanagar, would always be remembered. KURUKSHETRA: The Haryana State Sikh Forum at a condolence meeting held under the chairmanship of its president, Mr Jagjit Singh Virk, here on Friday expressed grief and sorrow over the death of Jathedar Tohra. Mr Virk declared that the forum had decided to put off its proposed state-level meeting convened for discussing Haryana Sikhs’ problems at Panipat on April 11 for the present.
	Ambala Cantt mourns Jaguar pilot’s death Rahul Das Tribune News Service Ambala, April 3 It was a sad day for the Air Force fraternity at Ambala Cantonment when news of fighter pilot Gagan Oberoi's death reached here. Flt Lt Oberoi and Flt Lt Mayank Mayur, who were piloting deep-penetration Jaguar fighter aircraft, had gone missing during training flights near the Sonmarg valley yesterday. Flt Lt Oberoi's death was confirmed by Air Force officers today. A pall of gloom descended on the residence of Flt Lt Oberoi at Air Force married officers’ accommodation in Ambala Cantonment. Flt Lt Oberoi was married to an Air Force officer, Flt Lt Nidhi. The couple had celebrated their marriage anniversary last month. People present at the Oberoi residence said Flt Lt Oberoi hailed from Meerut. They said he was a good fighter pilot, who always believed in team work. “He was a hardworking officer who discharged all duties with sincerity,” they said. Flt Lt Oberoi, 26, had joined the Air Force about five years age. His parents are expected to reach Ambala Cantonment tomorrow. A number of Air Force officers and their wives were present at the residence of Flt Lt Oberoi to offer condolences. There is no official word as yet about the fate of Flt Lt Oberoi's colleague, Flt Lt Mayank Mayur. Flt Lt Mayank Mayur hailed from Meerut. He had joined the Air Force in 1997.
	Do not change opinion for convenience: VC Our Correspondent Yamunanagar, April 3 Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University, Chandigarh delivering convocation address at Mukand Lal National College, here today called upon students to serve India. Prof Pathak was addressing the students after 800 graduates and postgraduates were awarded degrees by Principal Dr Ramesh Kumar. Prof Pathak said that it was the need of the hour to have thinking and strong generations. They should be open to new ideas. But must never change opinions for the sake of convenience. He went on to add that we should not forget human values, sensibilities and virtues. Money, promotion, even desire for fame should not create hurdles in the path of excellence. Dr K.L. Johar, former Vice-Chancellor, Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar and General Secretary of the college, Managing Committee, discribed Mr Pathak as a great scientist. Dr Ramesh Kumar Principal said that the college had been declared the best college of the Kurukshetra University and recommended to the UGC for creating centre of excellence.
	70-year old murdered Our Correspondent Panipat, April 3 Tall claims of the police regarding improved law and order situation have fallen flat with yet another murder of a 70-year-old man in the New Dalvir colony, about 5 km from here, last night. This is second gruesome murder in the past three days. Panic has gripped the residents following the murders as the police has failed to find any clue about the past murders. In the present case, Dhayan was apparently murdered with a sharp-edged weapon. Sources claimed that robbery was the motive of the murder as the house was found ransacked. The incident took place in the midnight when the deceased was sleeping alone in the house. The police has started investigation. An 18-year-old son of an industrialist was stabbed to death, while four other family members sustained serious injuries when five assailants, armed with weapons, had entered their house for robbery on April 1. The police is still clueless about the identity of the assailants.
	Seminar on child abuse Tribune News Service Madhuban, April 3 There is a need to change the mindset and acuity of the people towards crime against children so as to curb this menace with social participation in the country. Mr Justice H.K. Seema of the Supreme Court expressed these views while presiding over a seminar on “Child abuse and role of the law” organised jointly by the Res Publican Law Society (RPLS) New Delhi, and the Haryana police at Haryana Police Academy here this evening. Mr P.M. Nair, Nodal Officer of the National Human Rights Commission, (NHRC), in his address said the role of police was important to bring the criminals to justice. Earlier, Mr Kumud L. Das, secretary of RPLS, welcomed the participants while Mr Vikas N. Rai, Inspector-General of the Haryana Armed Police, Madhuban, gave introductory remarks on the subject of discussion. Prof Vinod Dixit from the faculty of law in the University of Delhi, Mr Shashi B. Upadhyay, vice-president of the RPLS, Ms Swaran K. Mehra, Additional Sessions Judge of Delhi, and Mr Arvind Jain, an advocate of Supreme Court, presented their papers on ”Child abuse and role of law”.