 |
|
|
HCS Selection Scam
CBI custody for Dr Amit’s crony
3 minors raped in Jind dist
Sex Determination |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cases Sans Independent Witnesses
High Court
Demolition process begins
20 assembly segments selected for delimitation
Special packages likely for crime-free villages
‘Tare Zameen Par’ gets tax exemption
BJP wants to make most of Jind rally
Former DEO booked for forgery
Rs 22 lakh stolen from bank almirah
|
|
HCS Selection Scam
Chandigarh, February 20 Bangar had alleged yesterday that the map which was attached with the answer sheet of Kuldhir, son of Sher Singh Badshami, the then political adviser to former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, was removed by someone to give an impression that
the candidate had been awarded marks for five questions while he attempted only four. He had supported the demand for a CBI inquiry to find out how the map was removed. This question came up before the Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Justice K.S. Ahluwalia, when the hearing on a petition filed by Karan Singh Dalal, MLA, challenging the
HCS selections of 2002 resumed today. At the start of the proceedings, it was alleged on behalf of Kuldhir Singh that officers of the HPSC in connivance with the secretary had removed the map. Counsel for the petitioner Mohan Jain produced a copy of the question paper which read that “draw an outline of map of India indicating the following…Also add a small note of one page to it…” Jain said as per the question paper, the map was to be “drawn” and not to be “attached” and one page note was also to be written. In spite of this, Kuldhir was given 11 marks for this question. Apart from this, Kuldhir Singh, Jain said had crossed page numbers 18 to 21 in his English paper, but later at pages 20 and 21, which were also crossed, he had written answers which were
duly marked and added in the total. Counsel for the respondents also raised the question of maintainability of the petition as a PIL, which was rejected by the bench, which said the issue involved was of great public importance and directly related to the faith of the common man in the institution of the Public Service Commission. The bench was also astonished that though the matter involved was of
great importance for the public, it had been pending since 2002. Jain also brought to the notice of the court that the reply to the inspection report had been filed by the HPSC through its officer on special duty, whereas, it should have been filed either by the secretary or the chairman. The court directed that the reply should be filed again by present chairman M.S. Saini. The case will come up for further hearing on February 27. |
|
CBI custody for Dr Amit’s crony
Ambala, February 20 The Moradabad police, on February 1, had arrested K.K. Aggarwal, a doctor and an alleged accomplice of Dr Amit, from Alwar in Rajasthan following disclosures made by Upendra Kumar Aggarwal, another key accused and currently in the police custody. Earlier, the police had filed an FIR against K.K. Aggarwal in the Palam Vihar police station in Gurgaon on January 27. The Moradabad police disclosed that a few people had also complained against K.K. Aggarwal in Alwar for following shady practises. K.K. Aggarwal was produced in the CBI Court. His lawyer argued that Aggarwal was not party to the scam and was unaware of the happenings. The CBI lawyers, however, argued that Aggarwal was essential to their investigation as he was the one who used to administer anaesthesia to the patients before their kidneys were removed. They also stated that Aggarwal was paid Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000, while for the same work other doctors are paid Rs 700 to Rs 1000. The CBI lawyers argued that Aggarwal would be instrumental to help them give clues and also to identify patients of Dr Amit. K.K. Aggarwal is said to be the kidney racket kingpin, Dr Amit’s, liaison man. Talking to The Tribune Aggarwal admitted that he had worked with Dr Amit, however, he stated that he used to only administer anaesthesia and was not aware of what happened to the patients thereafter. |
|
3 minors raped in Jind dist
Jind, February 20 Besides, at least six houses and shops have been made the target by thieves, who decamped with cash and valuables worth several thousands in separate cases in the district since yesterday. The police has registered cases in this regard. A 16-year-old girl of Dilluwala village became the latest victim of rape this morning when a youth, Sandeep, who was her neighbour, allegedly raped her on finding her alone. The girl was on her way to provide eatables to her grandmother residing in a house about a 100 metres away, when the accused accosted her and forcibly took her to a house and allegedly raped her. The girl narrated the incident to her parents who lodged a complaint with the police. The police has arrested the accused. The second case was reported from Kila Zafargarh village where a youth, Vinod, allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl in the nearby fields while she was returning home after collecting some wood and dry fodder last evening. The victim belongs to a poor family. The police has arrested the suspect. The third incident took place in Hathwala village where a 13- year-old girl was allegedly raped by a local resident, Praveen Kumar, while the victim was on her way back home last evening. Praveen has been arrested by the police. Meanwhile, several cases of theft have been reported in the city and nearby areas in the past 24 hours. Thieves struck at six houses in Hakikat Nagar here last night and took away cash and valuables. An amount of Rs 10,000 was stolen from the house of Devender Kumar in this locality. The burglars also struck at three shops at Julana and a government school at Lalitkhera from where they took away cylinders and two computers of the Edusat system. |
|
Sex Determination
Fatehabad, February 20 Those convicted include a doctor couple, Rajesh Goyal and his wife Darshana Goyal, and the manager of their hospital, Geet Mittal. According to reports, Charanjit Kaur, who works for an NGO, ASHA, in Sandhanwaas village, informed Dr Hira Lal Gupta, in charge of the general hospital at Jakhal in the district, that a village woman, Sukhvinder Kaur, had approached the doctor couple for determination of the sex of her unborn child and the doctor couple, after charging Rs 2,000 from her, had asked her to visit their Tohana-based Parkash Mission Hospital on February 14, 2006. Sukhvinder Kaur had five daughters and was pregnant for the sixth time. Dr Gupta informed the civil surgeon, who in turn constituted a raiding party comprising Dr D.K. Dadhitch, Dr Asha Bhutani, district drugs inspector Rajinder Herna, besides Dr Hira Lal Gupta for nabbing the doctor couple “red-handed”. The team raided the basement of Parkash Mission Hospital at Tohana on February 14, 2006, when the sex determination test was in progress. The doctor couple, however, managed to give them the slip. The raiding party sealed the ultrasound machine installed in the hospital and filed a criminal case under the PNDT Act against the doctor couple and their relative Geet Mittal, who is the manager of the hospital. Tohana Judicial Magistrate Sudeep Goyal, who heard the case, found the trio guilty of the offence and sentenced them to one-year imprisonment each and a fine of Rs 1,000 each. |
|
Cases Sans Independent Witnesses
Chandigarh, February 20 The ruling by a High Court Division Bench comes on a state appeal against the acquittal of two brothers hailing from Rohtak district in a murder case. Reversing the trial court’s orders and sentencing the accused to life imprisonment, the Bench, comprising Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice S.D. Anand, ruled: “The counsel for the respondent-accused raised the plea that in spite of proven availability of people in the vicinity, no independent witness was examined by the trial court. “It is a matter of common knowledge that public at large have the tendency of refraining from getting associated with the investigations of a case by the police. One does not have to strain to find out the causes thereof. “The village mates in the rural segment wish to stay away for the fear of reprisal and also because they would not wish to spoil their relationship by deposing against a fellow villager. “Though the plea raised suggests an ideal situation, all that the courts are required to do is to be extra cautious in assessing the value to be attached to the testimony of relation-witnesses”. Referring to the murder case involving brothers Mange Ram and Hari Om, the judges added: “In that backdrop, the validity of the prosecution’s plea has been tested on the touchstone of appropriate appreciation and found to be in order and acceptable. “Allowing the state appeal, the judges ruled Hari Om stood convicted for murder, while other accused Mange Ram was convicted for murder and common intention under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC. The two were initially booked by the police in the FIR registered under Sections 302, 324 and 34 of the IPC after the death of Nando on June 20, 1994. The two were acquitted by a Rohtak court on March 15, 1997. |
|
|
High Court
Chandigarh, February 20 In a petition filed in public interest, he has sought directions to the union government to restrain ministers and departments concerned from showing disrespect to national leaders. He has annexed newspaper clipping, wherein advertisements have appeared on November 14, January 30 and February 4 in support of his contention. After preliminary hearing, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia has issued notice to the union government for July 7. |
|
|
Demolition
process begins
Fatehabad, February 20 The team included tehsildar Gian Parkash Bishnoi, junior engineer Kitab Singh and SHO Shiv Kumar. A number of police personnel also accompanied the team. Narwal has said the houses and shops constructed in the colony would be demolished after February 23. The town planner has also termed Maharaja Agarsen School, a CBSE affiliated school, running in the vicinity of the colony as unauthorised and said the school would also be demolished after February 23. Incidentally, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Vijender Jain are coming to Fatehabad on February 23 to address a seminar on female foeticide and the district authorities are busy making arrangements for the function
till then. Agarsen Colony was carved out on a piece of 34 acres of industrial land in the year 1991. Anil Garg, a former municipal chief had approved the plan of the colony on March 6, 1992. But the town planner said no colony could have been approved on the land reserved for the industrial purposes. Angry exchange of words were witnessed between the town planner and the plot owners, when the demolition process was in progress. Residents alleged that the municipal authorities had even accepted the development charges for the colony before approving its site plan and hence, town-planning officials were not justified in the action of demolition. |
|
20 assembly segments selected for delimitation
Chandigarh, February 20 The exercise has been launched following the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) directive to the chief electoral officers (CEOs) asking them to undertake one case study and incorporate the lessons while universalising the process of delimitation in the whole state. The ECI has fixed February 29 as the last date for the completion of the pilot process. Gohana, represented in the assembly by rebel Congress MLA Dharampal Malik, is among the 20 segments shortlisted by the CEO’s office here for delimitation. One, however, should not read any meaning into the inclusion of Gohana in the list because the new layout of the constituencies will come into the picture only at the time of a general election. It is widely anticipated that byelections may take place in three assembly segments of the state in the wake of the disqualification procedure initiated against rebel legislators Bhajan Lal, Malik and Rakesh Kamboj. In case the MLAs are disqualified and byelections are to take place to the three seats, these will be held on the basis of the old constituency map and not in the restructured constituencies brought about by the Delimitation Commission. The next Lok Sabha elections, ordinarily slated to take place in 2009, should be the first elections in the case of Haryana when voting would be held according to the redrawn map of the constituencies. Even important politicians, including a cabinet minister, turned out
to be unaware of the separation of the delimitation process from
byelections. Kalka, Ambala City, Yamunanagar, Thanesar, Kaithal, Karnal, Samalkha, Jind, Hansi, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Dadri, Sohna, Nuh, Palwal, Rewari, Mahendragarh, Jhajjar and Meham are the 19 other assembly constituencies for which the delimitation exercise is underway in Haryana. The 20 constituencies selected by the CEO’s office here for this phase of delimitation are said to be those where the work in this regard is particularly challenging in nature. |
|
Special packages likely for crime-free villages
Hisar, February 20 Talking to mediapersons after addressing a meeting of the SPs of all districts and the IGs of all ranges, he said women constables would be posted in villages to help check crime under special plans prepared by the police to refurbish its public image. Dalal said the police had undertaken several social welfare projects which had created a good impact. In this context he cited the examples of Fatehabad and Hisar districts where drug deaddiction and cattle welfare programmes were undertaken, respectively. He said the high number of cases of vehicle theft in Gurgaon was a worrying point. Likewsie, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts had become notorious for the smuggling of poppy husk. The DGP said it was planned to provide video-conferencing and signal jammer facilities in all jails in the near future. |
|
‘Tare Zameen Par’ gets tax exemption
Chandigarh, February 20 Excise and taxation minister Birender Singh said the film deals with a sensitive social problem about children, which require urgent attention of society. The movie had portrayed the issue very beautifully and tried to educate the parents and teachers how to take care of their children so that they could grow into useful members of society with self-esteem, he said in a statement. The revenue implication of the state government’s action was that it would have to bear a loss of Rs 15 lakh due to exemption of entertainment tax on this movie, he added.
— PTI |
|
BJP wants to make most of Jind rally
Faridabad, February 20 Former minister from Haryana and senior party leader Krishan Pal Gujjar said here that the rally would set in motion the election mood of the party, both for the Lok Sabha and the subsequent assembly elections in the state. The party, which is all set to launch its yatra from three centres of the state on February 24, which will culminate in a rally at Jind on March 16, feels that the occasion must be used to “silence its political opponents” who have been “theorising” on its possible alliance with any party. National vice-president of the Kisan Morcha of the BJP and party MP from
Sonepat, Kishan Singh Sangwan, said it was the INLD’s cadre, inspired by its head and former Chief Minister Om Prakash
Chautala, which was “spreading rumours” about their party’s possible alliance with the
BJP. Addressing a workers’ meeting at Gurgaon yesterday, he is reported to have stated that a section in the INLD was indulging in spreading the rumours to prevent party leaders and supporters from switching over to the
BJP. He asserted that there was no possibility of the BJP entering into an electoral tie-up with the
INLD. |
|
|
Former DEO booked for forgery
Yamunanagar, February 20 The case was registered on a complaint of the Haryana Rajkiya Adhyapak Sangh. He had allegedly submitted a fake “handicap certificate” to the education department made from a Sonepat hospital. The sangh had filed a complaint that Sharma had got a fake medical certificate and used the same
for getting extension in service. The sangh had also filed a complaint that the DEO had misappropriated funds in the purchase of fans and tubelights for government schools in the district. The commissioner and secretary of the education department of Haryana
had suspended Sharma and two block education officers Kuldeep Mehta (Bilaspur) and Krishna Grover (Radaur) in this connection. |
|
Rs 22 lakh stolen from bank almirah
Hansi (Hisar), February 20 The police said the bank’s deputy manager, accountant and peon took out the amount from the bank’s strongroom to feed the cash into the ATM. The deputy manager put the cash in a bag and kept it in an almirah. He went to the manager’s cabin to inform him that he was leaving for the ATM. When he returned after a minute, the cash was missing from the bag. The police has registered a case and investigations were on. |
| 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 | |
Ambala, February 20
