Sirsa, June 23
Amid protests by Sikhs at several places in the country seeking the arrest of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the dera chief returned to the sect headquarters, located on the outskirts of the city, by a helicopter this afternoon. Though neither officials nor senior functionaries of the dera confirmed his arrival, a dera source said “Guruji has returned”.

Earlier in the day, V. Umashankar, deputy commissioner, in a hurriedly called press conference, urged the media, especially news channels, to practise utmost restraint while presenting the news pertaining to the dera-Sikh row. He said without proper verification, news must not be released.

He said to maintain law and order, two companies of the Rapid Action Force and a company of the BSF arrived today. Besides, two companies of the Haryana Armed Police had already been deployed at sensitive areas of the district.

Meanwhile, the 60-member peace committee, which had played a pivotal role during the height of the dera-Sikh row, has been reactivated. Comprising members from various walks of life, its members are contacting prominent persons of both communities.

Besides, it would liaison between the two groups and the district administration and would inform about any development to the authorities at the earliest.

An unprecedented security cover has been provided on Begu Road leading to the dera headquarters. The road has been barricaded and before entering, each vehicle has to register its number with the police personnel manning it.

Ambala, June 23
The police has been deployed in Naraingarh in Ambala district after tension brewed between the Dera followers and members of the Akali Dal, who burnt an effigy of the Dera chief, here today.

The police has also tightened its vigil at important places, gurdwaras and nam charcha ghars of the Dera to insure no untoward incident occurs.

SP Sibash Kabiraj said: “We have deployed five patrolling parties and an armed company in Naraingarh after today’s incident. At other places, too, we have increased the vigil.”

Tension erupted after members of the Sikh community gathered at Ratgarh Sahib Gurdwara at a condolence meet for the youth who had died in the firing incident in Mumbai.

They also took out a protest against the Dera chief and the government and burnt the effigy of the Dera chief and also gave a memorandum to the SDM.

Following the incident, followers of the Dera chief started gathering at the nam charcha ghar. The situation was later diffused after the administration and the SP assured them that necessary action would be taken.

Meanwhile, in Ambala City, the local unit of the Akali Dal organised a meeting in Gurdawara Badshai Bagh to protest against the Mumbai incident.

Joginder Singh Aharwan, state president, Akali Dal, presided over the meeting. He demanded that the security provided to the Dera chief should be withdrawn immediately as he was an accused in two murder cases.

He also said the district administration should not allow the Dera chief to address his followers when he would visit Ambala during the hearing of his case on July 5.

Gurgaon, June 23
Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam has decided to reintroduce the voluntary disclosure scheme (VDS) to declare unauthorised extension of load. The scheme will remain operative up to July 31.

A spokesman for the nigam said the VDS would be for consumers of domestic, non-domestic, agriculture and industries sector in rural as well as urban areas.

Under the scheme, the domestic and non-domestic consumers desirous of declaring their unauthorised load can voluntarily fill ‘application and agreement’ (A&A) form giving details of load to be extended. They are not required to submit any fresh terms and conditions and affidavits.

For extending the load up to 20 kW, consumers of domestic and non-domestic categories will not be required to submit any test report. However, for extension of load beyond 20 kW, they will have to submit the test report.

The domestic consumers shall have to deposit advance consumption security at new rates, while the non-domestic consumers will be required to deposit fixed connection charges for getting the unauthorised load regularised. No penalty would be imposed on them.

The farmers can also declare the extended load of motors of their tubewell connections by submitting an A&A form. They would have to submit a test report for the extended load along with ACS.

Similarly, the industrial consumers can also declare their load by submitting the A&A form along with revised test report. He would have to deposit the requisite ACS and service connection charges for the extended load. In case the consumer revises his contract demand, he shall also have to submit revised contract demand undertaking as per existing practice.

In case the extended load causes a change in category of consumer from LT to HT, the consumer will be required to declare his contract demand and complete other formalities necessary for the change in category.

Rewari, June 23
Union defence minister A.K. Antony will lay the foundation stone of a Sainik School in Gothara-Pali village, 15 km from here, on July 5.

Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, union minister of state for defence production Rao Inderjit Singh and union minister of state for defence M.M. Pallam Raju will also be present on the occasion.

The village panchayat has already donated 50 acres for the purpose.

This will be the second Sainik School in the state. It will be constructed at a cost of Rs 25 crore.

This information was given by Rao Inderjit Singh at a press conference here today.

Describing southern Haryana as a traditional nursery of the armed forces, he said the school would fulfil a long-standing demand of the inhabitants of the region.

The minister said admissions to classes VI and VII of the school would be made shortly and classes would be held in the building of Government Primary School in Sector 4 here.

The minister disclosed that a defence university would also be set up in Haryana, whose exact site was yet to be decided by the union ministry of defence.

He said a central university had also been sanctioned for Haryana which would be set up at an appropriate place of the choice of the University Grants Commission. Three sites at Sonepat, Faridabad and Rewari had been mooted for the purpose, he added.

Ruing the lack of infrastructural facilities in the Gurgaon region, which alone had been “enriching the state coffers” with its hefty share of over 45 per cent of the total revenue of the state, Rao wanted the constitution of a Gurgaon Development Authority to accomplish the holistic development in the region.

He said a committee comprising Karan Singh Dalal, MLA, as its chairman and two former chief secretaries - M.C. Gupta and Prem Prashant - as its members, had already submitted its report in this regard to the Chief Minister.

Sonepat, June 23
In order to ensure quality English among teachers, Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya has launched a training programme for teachers from schools and technical institutes.

Shiv Raman Gaur, higher education commissioner, inaugurated the programme that is being conducted by the Staff Training and Research Institute.

Speaking on the occasion, vice-chancellor Pankaj Mittal said despite having a capable teaching fraternity, the educationists were rarely using English as a medium of teaching. This at times affected the students who found it difficult to be accepted by the corporate sector due to poor English. To overcome this, the university had launched the programme, the vice-chancellor said.

Panipat, June 23
The district administration is all set to provide water connection to all rural families in the district under the Indira Gandhi Drinking Water Scheme.

Giving this information here today, additional deputy commissioner Amit Aggarwal said all houses in Babarpur and Ajijulapur villages would be covered under this scheme. He said public stand post fixed for water supply would be removed from these villages as they caused wastage of water.

The ADC said a project to strengthen the power supply system in Panipat city had been sent to World Bank, which would provide funds for the same. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 90 crore.

Earlier, addressing the monthly meeting of officers in the district, the ADC directed the district food and supply controller to launch a drive against commercial use of domestic LPG cylinders and adulteration in petrol and diesel. He directed officers of the health department to ensure all facilities in delivery huts. 

Gurgaon, June 23
Residents of New Palam Vihar today started a relay fast against the proposed demolition of around 200 houses following a HUDA move to construct a road through the colony.

Led by the Residents Welfare Association (RWA), New Palam Vihar, two families will sit on a relay fast daily till the acceptance of their demand for shifting the proposed road to a vacant space outside the colony. Though the residents have been pleading with the government and the local administration as well as the HUDA authorities for the past two years when a survey was conducted for acquiring land for the purpose, the decision to start a relay fast was taken after around 200 residents were served notices under section 9 of the Land Acquisition Act a week ago. Under this, the affected residents have been asked to submit details of houses or vacant areas under their ownership.

Vice-president of the RWA Kiran Khandpal said they resorted to this step after all their pleas for sparing the land on which houses have been built went unheeded. “We even submitted a plan to the chief administrator, HUDA, delineating an alternative route outside the colony for constructing the proposed road. In that case, there will be no need to demolish the houses already built,” said Khandpal.

The proposed road will cover 26 km from Dwarka to Kherki Daula villages. The colony which is part of Chauma and Pawala Khusrpur villages is inhabited by Kashmiri migrants, ex-servicemen and government employees.

Fatehabad, June 23
Shops and business establishments remained closed in Ratia town today on a call given by social and political organisations demanding action against the local authorities and the contractor in the Ghaggar road cave-in case in which two persons were killed on June 16.

Agitating residents, led by Partap Singh Chautala of the HJC (BL), Gian Chand Odh, INLD MLA, Jarnail Singh, a former MLA, Subhash Barala of the BJP and Ram Raj Mehta today held a demonstration and appealed to shopkeepers to close their shops.

Chandigarh, June 23
After allegedly entering into a suicide pact, a Karnal district resident and her “husband” today reportedly arrived at the Punjab and Haryana High Court carrying “celphos” tablets.

They were present in the court in connection with petitions pertaining to their recently held marriage.

The poisonous substance was reportedly recovered by assistant sub inspector Pawan Kumar as the couple was entering the court complex.

The matter was immediately brought to the notice of Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia of the high court.

In an attempt to ensure the safety of the two, Justice Ahluwalia without delay directed that the girl, Shalu, be kept at “Women Home” for the time being.

In the order reflecting the humanitarian side of law, Justice Ahluwalia also directed provision of security to the groom, Kulbir Singh.

Justice Ahluwalia observed: Haryana deputy advocate-general Ritu Punj has stated that when the couple was entering the court complex, tablets of sulphas was recovered by ASI Pawan Kumar.

Ms Punj states that the possibility of suicide pact between the couple cannot be ruled out.

“Shalu be kept in Women Home, Chandigarh, till June 25. Counsel for the petitioners stated that Kulbir Singh and Shalu were beaten up by Shalu’s parents, when they were approaching the court.

“There is nothing to substantiate the allegations. Pawan Kumar, ASI, who is present in the court, is directed to provide security to Kulbir Singh and the order be communicated to the DSP concerned telephonically.”

In an attempt to reach the bottom of the controversy involving the girl’s age, Justice Ahluwalia also directed the carrying out of ossification test at Sector 16 General Hospital.

The Judge also directed that the report should be submitted to the court on June 25.

A deputy superintendent of police was also asked to seize the hospital record regarding the girl’s date of birth.

The Judge observed, two vital questions of law were involved in the petition; whether the girl’s age could be determined while hearing writ of habeas corpus; and whether the court in a writ petition could annul the marriage while adjudicating the girl’s custody issue.

Going into the background of the case, the Judge observed that Shalu present in the court, decked up as bride with vermilion (sindhur), categorically stated she had married according to her free will; and was unwilling to accompany her parents.

Describing herself as a major, the girl added her age had been wrongly mentioned in the school-leaving certificate.

The Judge added: The question which this court is seized of is whether in a writ in the nature of a habeas corpus, age of Shalu can be determined…. Sunita Rani is present in the court with her husband Rajinder Kumar (parents). They both have stated that they cannot accept the marriage as this is an inter-caste marriage. Whether in a writ petition, this court can annul the marriage is another question, which the court has to answer while deciding the custody of Shalu. Both Sunita Rani and Rajinder Kumar have stated that Shalu was born in Bawa hospital, Neelokheri, and the delivery was conducted by a lady doctor named Bawa.

“The DSP, under whose jurisdiction Neelokheri falls, is directed to immediately seize the record… The statement of the lady doctor named Bawa be also recorded regarding the date of birth of Shalu”.

The case will now come up on June 25 for further hearing.

Chandigarh, June 23
Instead of being a somber affair focusing on the grim law and order situation and rising prices burning a hole in the common man’s pocket, the two-day working committee meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gurgaon, which ended yesterday, turned out to be a “fiery” affair.

If BJP MLA Ram Kumar Gautam raised the issue of the party’s poor performance in the recently held byelections, president of the state unit Atam Prakash Manchanda snubbed him, leading to a verbal duel as party workers watched on.

It is learnt that Gautam, known to be outspoken, brought up the issue of the abysmally poor performance of the BJP in the recent byelections where the party managed a total of 10,000 votes only in all three seats taken together. He condemned the choice of candidates, alleging that those chosen were not suitable for the seats in question. He went on to add that a restructuring exercise in the BJP was the need of the hour.

While he was still making his point, Manchanda intervened and said this particular issue was not on the agenda and not open to discussion. Heated arguments ensued before the party in charge of the state, Vijay Goel, came to Manchanda’s rescue. He snubbed Gautam, asking him to cut short his speech, make his point quickly and respect the word of the president.

Sources said before the meeting ended, Goel asked the members of the working committee to pen down names of two state leaders they though were capable of leading from the front.

Goel asked the members, comprising senior leaders, special invitees and district presidents, to give these names on paper slips without mentioning their own names. Though an informal exercise, sources said this assumed significance since there had been a recurring demand for change in the leadership in the state, especially after the results of the byelections.

The idea behind taking the names, however, remained unclear even though party workers said they were “hopeful of an outcome” in terms of leadership change, especially since the Lok Sabha elections were likely to come knocking anytime. Goel, however, said there was no move to change the leadership in the state.

In hushed tones, workers raised the demand for an alliance in the state though nothing concrete about the same emerged from the meeting. Other issues discussed at the meeting included money collection for the party, holding of a workers’ meeting, the Below Poverty Line lists, the Sarita suicide case and the breakdown of the law and order situation. A political resolution and another on inflation was passed by the committee. 

Kurukshetra, June 23
While inaugurating a seven-day national integrity and harmony youth camp at Kurukshetra University auditorium here today, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda gave a clarion call to the youth to follow the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi and maintain peace and harmony in the country.

Hooda said: “Our nation would be the second biggest economic power in the world in the next 10 years and the youth could contribute their might to it.” Hooda said even small nations, including Korea and Japan, had become more developed than India due to the contribution of their youth.

The youth should work for the national unity by rising itself above the biases of castes, creed and religion. He said Mahatma Gandhi saw the dream of gram swaraj so that the villagers could settle their disputes with mutual consent. He opined that if the youth could follow the Gandhian philosophy of truth and non-violence, India would feel secure. They should also get education as well as maintain discipline and inculcate patriotism among them so that the country could become prosperous, he added.

The chief minister also announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh to the camp organisers.

Subba Rao, director, Rashtriya Yuva Yojna, also emphasised on national integration. He said although 1,652 languages were spoken in India, integrity could not be maintained at gunpoint. Rather it could be maintained by tolerance and giving due respect to all languages.

He said: “Youth are adopting the path of terrorism and at this juncture they should take a pledge not to fight on the basis of religion, language, caste and creed. Rather, they should keep busy in constructive work.”

Rao hoped that the message of national unity and patriotism would spread from Kurukshetra from where the immortal message of The Bhagwad Gita was delivered by Lord Krishna.

Ram Prakash, member, Rajya Sabha and Suresh Rathi, president, Haryana Yuva Yojna, also spoke on the occasion while Prof R. P. Bajpai, vice-chancellor, Kurukshetra University; Mohinder Kumar, commissioner (Ambala division); Pankaj Aggrawal, deputy commissioner; and SP Amitabh Dhillon were also present.

About 650 youth from across the nation are participating in the camp.