Bhiwani, March 22
As many as 81 cases of unfair means, including one of impersonation, were registered in the state during the paper of social science of the matriculation examination being conducted by the Haryana School Education Board. Two teachers were relieved for dereliction of duty.

A board spokesman said 3,06,123 candidates appeared today for the examination. The secretary of the board inspected eight examination centres in Panipat district, including Aher, Kurana, Seenk, Nara and Matlauda and registered four cases of unfair means.

He said the Gurgaon control room reported that the flying team led by the District Education Officer relieved a supervisor, Ved Ram, deputed at Government Senior Secondary School, Fatehpur Billoch, at Palwal-I examination centre for dereliction of duty.

According to reports received from Kurukshetra control room, the invigilator, Brij Pal Singh of Government High School, Alipur, who was deputed at Barada-3 examination centre in Ambala district, was relieved from duty for dereliction of duty.

He said the flying team detected a case of impersonation at the Ismailabad examination centre in Kurukshetra district where Dinesh was appearing for the paper in place of the candidate, Amit Sharma.

Chandigarh, March 22
The Opposition INLD became the butt of jokes in the Haryana Assembly today as members of the Treasury Benches alleged that INLD ministers and legislators were terrorised by Mr Om Prakash Chautala and his two sons when the party was in power in the state.

The INLD brigade found it hard to bear the onslaught and left the House for the rest of the day. Mr Birender Singh's appeal to the INLD legislators to give up Mr Chautala and choose some good person such as former Finance Minister Sampat Singh or the MLA, Mr Sita Ram, as their leader, evoked laughter from members.

The Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and the Industry Minister, Mr L. D. Arora, told stories about the alleged tyranny of Mr Chautala against his own party legislators. Mr Hooda said when he was visiting a constituency during the Chautala regime, he learnt that the local MLA belonging to the INLD had been thrashed by members of the Chautala family. Mr Hooda , who was then in the Opposition, asked people why they did not intervene. Pat came the reply:“The MLA was thrashed in the air when he was flying with the Chief Minister in a government aircraft”.

Mr Arora narrated a story of how Birbal made a lamb scared of eating grass by beating it up whenever it tried to have a mouthful. For a similar reason the INLD legislators could never ask Mr Chautala to expand his Council of Ministers, he said.

As the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Randeep Surjewala's name had figured in the Volcker controversy, the INLD legislators have adopted the strategy of plugging their ears with their fingers to shut out Mr Surjewala. Mr Surjewala has started describing this posture as "holding of the ears" by the INLD legislators to apologise for the last government's misdeeds. The Minister has actually started telling the INLD MLAs to hold their ears whenever he gets up to speak in the House. As a result, the INLD was today forced to refrain from carrying out the “symbolic boycott” of Mr Surjewala.

Chandigarh, March 22
The Haryana Finance Minister, Mr Birender Singh, today said it had been decided that the state government would not stand guarantee for money raised from the market by big organisations like the HSIDC, HUDA and the power sector corporations.

The Finance Minister was giving his reply in the Assembly to the issues raised by members during the discussion on the Budget proposals.

Mr Birender Singh also mooted the creation of separate cadres for doctors for postings in the rural and urban areas. This would solve the problem of shortage of doctors in health institutions in the rural areas.

The Finance Minister announced that it had been decided to increase the Budget provision of Rs 40 crore for the empowerment of Dalits to Rs 80 crore.

The exchequer would bear a burden of Rs 544 crore as a result of concessions given to various sections of society. On the request of various organisations of traders, VAT had been either reduced or withdrawn on 36 items. This would put a burden of Rs 84 crore on the exchequer. Similarly, exemption of tax on fertiliser would cost the exchequer Rs 60 crore. Retaining the existing 12 per cent tax on diesel would cost the state Rs 400 crore.

He said the plan allocation had been increased to over Rs 3,300 crore for 2006-07 as against Rs 3,007 crore in 2005-06. The previous government never utilised the full quota of plan expenditure.

Non-plan expenditure had also been raised to strengthen capital assets and maintain these. The fiscal deficit was less than 2.6 per cent and was within the limits prescribed by the 12th Finance Commission. As a result of the new excise policy, there would be no monopoly on the liquor trade. Unlike Chandigarh and Punjab, liquor was exempted from VAT in Haryana.

On the issue of power, he said Rs 465 crore had been provided in the Budget for equity participation in the case of setting up of joint venture power projects.

The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which had been implemented in two districts of Haryana, would be implemented in the remaining districts in the next three years. The beneficiaries would get Rs 95 per day.

He said if the quantum of debt was viewed in the context of GDP, it would emerge that it had decreased to 31.99 per cent from 37.16 in 2003-04. He said 62 km of new roads had been constructed during this financial year and 3,213 km of roads were given a facelift.

Significantly, in a departure from the past, three ministers, including the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, also gave replies to issues pertaining to the departments headed by them. Mr Hooda, who also holds the portfolio of Home, asked INLD Deputy Leader Sushil Indora to ask anyone about the law and order situation in the state and find out for himself whether it had improved or not.

The Chief Minister also said that over Rs 30 crore would be spent on creating sports infrastructure in the rural areas. He also talked about the jump in government funding of various welfare schemes for Dalits and women.

Fatehabad, March 22
The district administration has taken several steps to prevent farmers of the neighbouring states of Punjab and Rajasthan from sneaking into grain markets of this district with their mustard crop.

Farmers of these states had been trying to sell their crop in this district due to higher price in Haryana.

The support price of mustard is Rs 1715 per quintal throughout the country. While the government procurement agencies purchase the crop on the support price, private traders tend to purchase this on much lower rates.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr O P Langayan, told mediapersons here yesterday that the Haryana government had made elaborate arrangements for the purchase of mustard on the support price through Hafed. As the district has common borders with Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan and Mansa and Sangrur districts of Punjab, farmers from these states tend to sneak into the district with the produce.

Sonepat, March 22
A Chandigarh resident, 14-year-old Pinki, who was allegedly sold by her father to a woman of Gobindpuri in Delhi, escaped from the woman’s house.

According to the statement given by Pinki to the police, she has been residing with her mother at Chandigarh and her father had been living at Mumbai along with her step-mother. Her father, who was in Chandigarh now a days, handed her over to a woman, Sitara. She was brought to Delhi by the woman telling Pinki that she was to work as maid servant.

However, on Monday three youths came to Sitara’s residence. She asked Pinki to go with them. When Pinki refused to go with them, she was beaten up and told that her father had sold her.

Scared Pinki managed to escape from Sitara’s house and boarded a bus. But she was asked to get down from the bus at Kundli border on GT Road. She was harassed by some anti-social elements after she got down from the bus in the late evening. But some passers-by took her to Kundli police station.

The SHO of Kundli police station has sent her under the protection of a constable to Chandigarh to hand her over to her mother. The police has so far reportedly not registered a case.

Hisar, March 22
Karan Singh, watchman of Government School, Kheri Barki village in the district, has been arrested by the Agroha police in connection with a rape case registered against him.

A 21-year-old woman of Samayan village had lodged an FIR against Karan Singh, in which she had accused him of raping her along with a few other persons. The police claims that the accused has confessed to having raped the woman.

The accused was produced in a local court, which sent him in judicial custody.

However, no accomplices of the accused has been identified or arrested so far and the police has filed the case with the arrest of Karan Singh.

The Agroha police had also registered a case under Sections 376, 506 and 34 of the IPC in this regard.

Chandigarh, March 22
Mr Siddharth Mehla, a Karnal-based youth who has just completed his MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad, has been offered one of the highest compensation packages in the country. He has been selected by Barclays Capital as an Associate in Singapore. His annual salary figure will be $1,85,000 (US).

Having completed his primary schooling from St. Theresa’s Convent School, Karnal, and his senior secondary from D.P.S., R.K. Puram, New Delhi, he graduated with a B.Tech from IIT, Delhi.

After gaining work experience with Evalueserve, a business research firm in Gurgaon, he was offered admission in all six IIMs.

Talking to TNS, he said recruiters were rewarding students with substantial work experience. Another trend is Indian MBA students being made lateral offers by overseas recruiters, and their being treated at par with their counterparts from US B-schools.

He attributes his success to his father, Dr. R.S. Mehla, who recently retired as Additional Director of Agriculture, Haryana, and his mother, Mrs Shakuntala Mehla.

Ambala, March 22
Five policemen were today dismissed from service by the of Superintendent of Police, Ambala, in a case where a prisoner, who was undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital Ambala City, had escaped.

The prisoner, Gulzar, had escaped on August 31 last year and he was later arrested. Gulzar is alleged to be involved in a murder case in village Segta.

The SP, Ambala, Mr Rajbir Deswal, dismissed Head Constable Raj Kumar, Constable Chander Bhan, Constable Suraj Mal, Constable Daya Vir and Constable Satyavan.

Mr Deswal said the police personnel had been dimissed from service after they had been found guilty for dereliction of duty. "An inquiry was conducted by a gazetted officer. Following the inquiry, the policemen have been dismissed," 
he said.

He said such incidents were viewed with seriousness and stringent action sent across the message to all police personnel that dereliction of duty would not be tolerated. He said the policemen, who were put on escort duty, must undertake the work with sincerity.

Gulzar was lodged in the Ambala Central Jail. After he complained of sickness, he was shifted to the Civil Hospital, Ambala City. He managed to escape from the hospital after the policement on duty had consumed alcohol.

Following the receipt of information about Gulzar's escape from the Civil Hospital, a manhunt was started. Gulzar was later arrested from Ambala City. A case was registered against the policemen on duty.

Meanwhile, about two dozen satta players were nabbed from different parts of Ambala Cantt today. The raiding team, comprising the CIA staff, was led by Mr Deswal. Raids were carried out at the Industrial Area, Mahesh Nagar and Subzi Mandi.

As lottery is banned in Haryana, the satta operators used to issue slips for the Punjab state lottery. Cash and five TV sets with control box have been recovered from the satta operators.