 |
|
|
Permission to prosecute IAS officer refused
Hooda govt a failure, says BJP
BJP to assess govt’s achievements on
Hooda dummy CM, says Pratap Chautala
Cong ‘Navnirman’ rally today
Hisar being decked up for the Congress “Navnirman” rally to be organised on Sunday.
— A Tribune photograph
Confiscate passport of Chautala, says Cong leader
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Govt moots plan to recruit 9,000 teachers through SSC
Slaughter houses around Air Force station to go
5 booked for harassing Dalits
Speaker for education revolution in villages
Hoteliers hail new liquor policy
Undertrial escapes from police custody
Blind murder case solved
Surcharge on power bills reduced
Boy burnt to death
G. Prasanna Kumar
House to meet on March 17
|
|
Permission to prosecute IAS officer refused
Chandigarh, March 4 The CBI’s allegation against Mr Devinder Singh, who belongs to the 1987 IAS batch, was that fake arms licences were validated when he was the Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon. Mr Devinder Singh had been consistently denying the allegation. According to sources, the Union Ministry of Personnel (UMOP) has written to the CBI that no prima facie case for an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act had been made out on the basis of the case records and other facts. The Union Government agreed with the view of the Haryana Government, which had opposed the sanction for prosecution in its letter of December 23, 2004. In its letter to the CBI, the UMOP, the sources say, said that the Haryana Government had issued a “detailed, well-reasoned speaking order justifying on merit refusal of request for sanction of prosecution under Section 197(1) of the CrPC”. Endorsing what the Haryana Government had written, the UMOP said the case essentially involved “conspiracy or
collusion” of officers in the office of the SDM, Gurgaon, with a gun dealer, Mr R.N. Sharma. The CBI has not come out with any credible material evidence as regards the criminal liability of Mr Devinder Singh. “The state government has brought out in its report that the SDM, Gurgaon, who is one of the accused persons in this case, has nowhere mentioned that Mr Devinder Singh tried to influence him or directed him verbally or in writing to validate the fake licences issued from outside Haryana.” The Ministry also pointed out that the CBI had not brought out any evidence of any illegal pecuniary gain to Mr Devinder Singh or misuse of his official position. The Ministry also noted that the Haryana Government had written that Mr Devinder Singh had acted “swiftly and decisively” by ordering the registration of a criminal case and ensuring that the inquiry was taken to its logical conclusion. It also pointed out that the CBI had not made the IAS officer an accused in the charge sheet filed by the agency in the court of the Special Judge, Ambala. The UMOP wrote that “in view of the absence of essential ingredients of criminal culpability as pointed out by the state government, which has not been countered by the CBI... no case can be said to have been made out against Mr Devinder Singh. “Even if it was still decided by the Central Government to make a case against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act, it will not be feasible for the CBI to criminally prosecute Mr Devinder Singh in the absence of sanction to prosecute, as the allegation of the officer being involved in a criminal conspiracy will not be sustainable, if the alleged Indian Penal Code offences are taken out of the purview of the cases.” |
|
Hooda govt a failure, says BJP
Chandigarh, March 4 Addressing a press conference here, Mr I.D.
Swamy, BJP spokesman in Haryana and former Union Minister of State for Home, and Mr Krishan Pal Gurjar, former leader of the BJP MLAs in Haryana, said the government should instead organise a function to mourn its failure. The BJP leaders said the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had made a mark as an “escapist”. They said the Congress memorandum on corruption charges against the INLD supremo, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had been entrusted to the CBI by the state government because it did not want to take upon itself the job of looking into the allegations. The BJP leaders alleged the Chief Minister was also charting an escape route for the government’s failure to pay compensation to the farmers whose crops were damaged by frost. They alleged that Mr Hooda was trying to befool the people by issuing statements that he had sought Rs 265 crore from the Centre for compensating the affected farmers. If the government was serious about giving compensation to the farmers, this could have been accomplished by releasing money from the Calamity Relief Fund, the two BJP leaders said. They said the shortage of power had adversely affected the supply of water to farmers for irrigation. The BJP said the only achievement the government could claim was the waiving of the pending electricity dues of villagers. Mr Swamy and Mr Gurjar, however, added that the government should have also rewarded those urban and rural consumers who had been paying their bills regularly. The BJP also demanded that market price of land should be paid to farmers whose lands was being acquired by the government for the 25,000 acre special economic zone to be set up by the Reliance Group in the state. Later, responding to questions, Mr Swamy and Mr Gurjar said they would welcome the HPCC chief, Mr Bhajan Lal, if he wanted to join the BJP. They claimed that some senior Congress MLAs, who were upset at not being made Chief Parliamentary Secretary or Parliamentary Secretary, were in touch with the BJP. |
|
BJP to assess govt’s achievements on March 8
Panipat, March 4 Addressing mediapersons here today, Mr Ganeshi Lal said the state government was going slow on all projects, causing lots of problems to the residents. He said the BJP would hold a function on March 8 at Hisar to assess the achievements of the Congress government and national vice-president of the party Mukthar Abbas Naqvi would be present. Coming heavily on the Hooda government, he said the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, and his ministerial colleagues had publicly refused to allow even a drop of water outside Punjab and the Haryana Government had kept silent on it. He urged the state government to seek the intervention of the Union Agriculture Minister in this matter to ensure that public money did not again go into the drain in the SYL style. He said records showed that every farmer in the state was under debt and was struggling hard to survive. The Hooda government had no moral right to celebrate its completion of one year, as there was massive dearth of power in the state. He termed the reported refusal of the PMO to grant financial aid to the farmers of Haryana whose mustard crop was damaged this season as an unfortunate incident. He said it was regrettable that farmers were seeking “approval” to commit suicide and the Centre Government had failed to solve the problem of the farmers. |
|
Hooda dummy CM, says Pratap Chautala
Hisar, March 4 Talking to The Tribune here yesterday, he asserted that the situation in Haryana was akin to that during the President’s rule with bureaucracy dominating the scene and the Chief Minister being reduced to the level of a dummy or rubber-stamp Chief Minister.
— TNS |
|
Cong ‘Navnirman’ rally today
Hisar, March 4 A police control room and a media centre have been established even as the district administration and police authorities are busy in finalising the arrangements. Haryana Director-General of Police Kunwar Nirmal Singh has visited the city to take stock of the situation. The Hisar range Inspector-General of Police, Mr Yashpal Singhal, and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Arshinder Singh Chawla, are supervising the security measures. Apart from deputing dog squads, Black Cat commandoes, bomb-disposal teams, fire brigade, TV cameras, ambulance and crane services have also been arranged to ensure proper security and smooth conduct of the rally. A number of policemen in plain clothes would also be there to prevent any untoward incident. Police forces have been called from various parts of the state, which include four companies of the Haryana Armed Police. Elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure smooth flow of traffic and parking of vehicles. Congress leaders, including state ministers Savitri Devi Jindal, Kiran Chaudhary, local MP Jai Prakash, and several party MLAs and other local leaders are holding a series of public meetings to invite people for the rally. Mr Janardan Dwivedi, in charge of Haryana affairs in the All-India Congress Committee, is expected to attend the rally in which Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is likely to make several significant announcements. On the other hand, state Congress president Bhajan Lal and his son and Congress MP from Bhiwani Kuldeep Bishnoi are keeping away from the rally. |
|
Confiscate passport of Chautala, says Cong leader
Chandigarh, March 4 In a statement issued here today, Mr Surjewala, who had headed a committee of Congressmen which had prepared a chargesheet against the Chautala, said the Director of the CBI should constitute a team of dedicated officers to conduct the probe against the Chautalas. He said FIRs should be registered against the Chautalas at a number of places because they allegedly had “nami and benami property” throughout the country as well as abroad. He said their bank lockers should also be sealed immediately. |
|
Govt moots plan to recruit 9,000 teachers through SSC
Panipat, March 4 Talking to The Tribune here this afternoon, Mr R. S. Gujral, Financial Commissioner and the Principal Secretary, Education, said those who had applied earlier for contractual appointments would be considered for regular appointment now. The state government had earlier received applications from as many as 13,000 teachers for appointment on contract basis. Mr Gujral told TNS that the office of the Director, Higher Education, was in the process of finalising details and an announcement would be made in this regard soon. He added that special care had been taken to ensure that the candidates were not required to apply again and their earlier applications would be considered. Mr Gujral was in town to preside over the convocation function of SD College. As many as 650 students from different streams were awarded degrees on the occasion. Commenting on the recent incidents of girl students being sexually abused by teachers, Mr Gujral termed these cases as highly unfortunate and said instructions had been given to the Block Education Officers
(BEOs) and District Education Officers (DEOs) to keep a vigil on the erring teachers. He said the officials had been instructed to pass on confidential information against the erring teacher and Principals. He said the department had dealt strictly with such cases and the accused had even been dismissed. In reply to a query regarding the demand of the retired teachers for the grant of DA on pension, Mr Gujral said decision on the demand had been delayed as the legal remembrance cell had objected to certain points. But he had forwarded the file to the CMO for clearance. |
|
Tension in Barara over places of worship
Ambala, March 4 The Sikhs had been objecting to the construction by the Muslims. The group of Sikhs forced the shopkeepers to close the shutters. In the afternoon, they went to a shop owned by Ashfaq Ahmed Khan, Fashion Tailors, and threatened him with dire consequences. “We
called up the police. We were told that policemen were at the disputed
site,” Ashfaq said. Earlier this week, a construction in the gurdwara had affected the mosque structure and it had led to tension in the area. SDM Mukesh Ahuja had helped in resolving the issue. It was decided that the mosque structure affected during the construction at the gurdwara would be reconstructed. The reconstruction of the structure in the mosque began last evening. This morning, members of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha opposed the construction. They said they had not been taken into confidence before the settlement on the issue was reached. The members said the settlement had been reached by those persons who were not members of the gurdwara committee. The members of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha went to the police station to lodge their protest over the matter. In the meantime, a section of the Sikhs demolished the structure under construction. President of the Masjid Railway Station, Barara, Naseem Khan claimed that the mosque was constructed before 1947. “Two
years back, a lintel had been raised at the mosque and the matter was
taken to court,” he said. He said on Shivratri, they noticed that the mosque had been demolished and construction was being carried out in the gurdwara. “We
immediately informed the authorities about this development. Following
this, a settlement was reached to reconstruct the demolished structure,”
he said. Mr Khan said this morning, the Sikhs objected to the reconstruction and they gathered at the mosque site. “We
have stopped work and are waiting for the authorities to take suitable
action,” he said. SDM Mukesh Ahuja, who was present on the spot, said they were making efforts for an amicable resolution of the conflict.
|
|
Slaughter houses around Air Force station to go
Sirsa, March 4 This was stated by Deputy Commissioner Vimal Chandra after a meeting with members of the Air Force Area Environment Management Committee at his camp office. Following the meeting, Mr Chandra directed the Block Development and Panchayat Officers (BDPOs) concerned to ensure that no illegal slaughterhouses were allowed to operate in The DC also directed the local municipal authorities to issue no-objection certificates for any construction activity, publicity balloons, mobile towers only as per the Air Force rules. Mr Chandra said no building of more than 20 feet in height could be constructed in a radius of 1 km around the Air Force Station. No building could be constructed in the scheduled area on either side of the national highway up to a distance of 1 km. “Strict action would be taken against the persons violating these directions,” the Deputy Commissioner said, adding that the rules were aimed at preventing any flight-related mishaps as high-rise structures and other objects could cause accidents. |
|
5 booked for harassing Dalits
Sonepat, March 4 However, no arrest has been made. The action of the police and the district administration has caused tension in the area and a large number of policemen have been deployed to maintain law and order in the village. It is stated that the residents of the dominating community had built a boundary wall of a temple which blocked the way to the houses of the Dalits, who thereupon migrated to Rohtak. The Dalit families were brought back to the village on the directions of Deputy Commissioner Neerja Shelha. But the Dalits had to spend the night in the open on account of the hostile attitude adopted by the dominating community. It is reported that as many as eight Dalit families have again migrated from the village in a bid to save themselves from the wrath of the villagers, who have also called a maha panchayat of eight villages for taking a future course of action after the registration of a criminal case against the sarpanch and four others. |
|
Speaker for education revolution in villages
Jhajjar, March 4 While stressing upon the need to bring an education revolution in the countryside, the Speaker maintained that the dream of a developed nation could not be realised until the people residing in the rural areas remained ignorant about the advancement in the field of science, technology, telecommunication and industry. Earlier, 106 fresh graduates were awarded engineering degrees by Mr Kadian, who was the chief guest on the occasion. Two students, Punam Bhutani and Sikha Bhambri, who topped in the MDU examination in their steams, were awarded gold medals. |
|
Hoteliers hail new liquor policy
Karnal, March 4 The president of the FHRAI, Mr Manbir Chaudhary, said the policy would not only help in doing away with smuggling of liquor from neighbouring states, it would also encourage healthy competition among vend owners who would be more consumer friendly. Terming the new excise policy a historical one, he said it would put an end to nexus between liquor cartels. Mr Chaudhary thanked the government for abolishing classic bar licence for hotels, restaurants and clubs etc for serving imported liquor. Earlier, Rs 5 lakh had to be paid to get the classic bar licence. |
|
Undertrial escapes from police custody
Karnal, March 4 According to police sources, the accused, Chattar Singh of Dera Amupur in Karnal district, managed to flee from the complex after pushing aside Head Constable Joga Singh near the main gate at around 1 pm today. Joga Singh along with another Head Constable Mohinder Singh chased him but in vain. Chattar was lodged in Patiala jail after his arrest in a case filed against him at Samana police station under the NDPS Act in March last year. An FIR under Section 224 of the IPC has been registered at Civil Lines police station. |
|
Blind murder case solved
Karnal, March 4 The CIA staff nabbed Pradeep, alias Deepa, Pramod (both of Islam Nagar), and Jaswant Singh, alias Mintoo of ward number 5, Indri who had reportedly confessed to crime. Sudesh’s body was found lying on Indergarh road at Indri in February 2000. The matter was handed-over to CIA after the registration of an FIR under Sections 302, 201 and 34 of the IPC.
— TNS |
|
Surcharge on power bills reduced
Chandigarh, March 4 The government reduced the existing rate of 5 per cent bimonthly surcharge to 3 per cent in the case of domestic and non-domestic consumers. The monthly surcharge of 2 per cent in the case of other categories of consumers would now be
1.5 per cent. |
|
Boy burnt to death
Sonepat, March 4 According to police sources, the injured was rushed to the PGIMS at Rohtak for further treatment. It is stated that the fire broke out from a short-circuit in the fridge. There was an explosion when the fire broke out in the fridge. The fire was brought under control after about three hours. The police has registered a case and further investigations are in progress. |
|
G. Prasanna Kumar
Chandigarh, March 4 |
|
House to meet on March 17
Chandigarh, March 4 |
|
Appointed
Chandigarh, March 4 |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Hisar, March 4
