Rohtak, September 27
Rahul (24), an accused in a theft case, was found dead in the lock-up of the Civil Lines police station here this morning. Rahul was a resident of Karol Bagh in Delhi.

As per the provision under the law in the event of a custodial death, Judicial Magistrate First Class Chanderhaas visited the police station and inspected the lock-up where the youth was found dead.

Rohtak SSP Alok Mittal said the DSP (City) had also been directed to inquire into the incident and submit his report.

After preliminary investigation into the matter, three police officials have been placed under suspension.

Rahul was nabbed by Lakshman, the watchman of Shiv Shankar Dharamshala in Patel Nagar locality of the town, and some other local residents while he was allegedly trying to break into Lakshman’s room last evening.

After reportedly beating up the youth, the residents handed him over to the police at the Gandhi Camp police post.

The police got his medical examination conducted and registered a case under Sections 380, 454 and 511 of the IPC.

Rahul was later lodged in the lock-up of the Civil Lines police station. He was to be produced in court today.

According to the police, the youth had a cup of tea around 7.30 am. However, when a policeman went to take him to court around 815 am., he was found dead.

The suspended police officials include ASI Jai Singh, the in charge of the Gandhi camp police post, ASI Gian Singh and head constable Raj Karan, the investigating official in the case.

Rohtak, September 27
The 198th meeting of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) Executive Council (EC) was organised at university faculty house here today amid protest demonstration and slogan-raising by members of the MDU Non-Teaching Employees Association.

A heavy posse of police personnel, including a considerable number of women cops, had been deployed at the venue of the meeting in view of the volatile situation.

At the meeting held under the chairmanship of MDU vice-chancellor Ram Phal Hooda, the EC also noted the guidelines for the re-employment of superannuated non-teaching employees. The MDUNTEA was opposing this item on the EC agenda.

During the discussions, the vice-chancellor maintained that the interests of non-teaching employees would not be adversely affected due to the policy.

The council approved recommendations of the building committee for various construction works on campus as well as at PG regional centre, Meerpur (Rewari).

These new construction works include those of a new administrative block, students’ activity centre, several hostels and teachers’ club.

The EC also approved the recommendations of the selection committees for the appointment of lecturers in the department of psychology and under the self-financing scheme in the University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Department of Business Economics and Institute of Hotel and Tourism Management.

The EC also approved the grant of provisional affiliation to 26 new colleges of education, 29 new engineering/management institutes and three new degree colleges at the meeting. In all 49 items were considered and except one, all items were approved.

Fatehabad, September 27
Two teenaged girls, both sisters, and a young boy died under mysterious circumstances at the Jakhal railway station here today.

Prima facie, it appears to be a case of suicide, but there are several facts that make the case complicated.

The girls - Reena (19) and Meenu (15) - have been identified by their brother Manoj, whom the police called on the basis of a mobile number written in the suicide note left by the girls.

The girls in their suicide note said they were taking this extreme step on their own will and no one was responsible for their deaths. Manoj has refused to identify the boy. The word “AL” has been found tattooed on the boy’s arm.

Manoj informed the police that he had given Rs 7 lakh to his sisters from the proceeds of a plot sold by him.

The girls were to hand over the money to their parents, but instead of doing so,
they disappeared.

The police, however, found only Rs 10 from the girls and railway tickets from Beas to Jind from the pocket of the boy.

The girls belonged to Karela village in Jind district and were living in Jind town with their elder sister for studies.

Vendors working on the platform informed the police that the three disembarked from a train coming from Beas (Punjab) at about 1 am. Later, they were seen wandering on the platform.

At about 3 am, the elder sister, Reena, went running towards stationmaster’s room but fell unconscious. She was crying for help.

When the people on the railway station rushed to save her, she was already dead. Vendors told the railway staff that they had seen the girl roaming on the platform with another girl and a boy.

When people went towards that direction, they found Meenu dead and the boy gasping for breath.

The boy was rushed to a hospital, but he too died before any medical aid
could be provided.

It is believed that it is a case of elopement and the three were carrying the pesticide with them, which they allegedly took by mixing it in soft drinks.

Chandigarh, September 27
The Bharatiya Janta Party is inching towards a tie-up with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and a formal announcement regarding it is expected next week.

The meeting of the state unit of the BJP yesterday, meanwhile, turned out to be an exercise in “preparing” the state leaders to accept the decision of the BJP top brass at the national level without question.

While the much-hyped visit of BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu fizzled out contrary to
the high expectations of the party leadership, the state executive was addressed
by the Haryana in charge of the party, Vijay Goel, who asked them to be prepared
for “anything”.

Sources in the BJP said his “sermon” was only indicative of the fact that the party leadership was likely to go ahead with an alliance with the INLD despite resistance from within the state leadership.

It is learnt that in his address to the executive, he even added that the nomination of V.K. Malhotra as BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Delhi had been accepted without dissent from any quarter.

He advised them to similarly flow with the tide and accept the decision of
the party high command with regard to an alliance in the state no matter what
their reservations.

Also, the sources added that though Naidu was sure to come for yesterday’s meeting, there were apprehensions that his presence could rake up the issue of an alliance with the INLD all over again.

At the meeting, it was resolved that the authority to take a decision on the alliance be given to the central command of the party.

Sources in the INLD said a pact with the BJP had been nearly clinched though seat-sharing and other issues would be subsequently resolved.

“The formality of holding a state executive meeting before a formal announcement has been done. Now, we are nearly there though the finer nuances of the alliance will be gradually worked out. A formal announcement is expected sometime next week, after the meeting of the national leaders of the BJP on September 30,” the sources added.

In fact, there was talk of top leaders of the BJP attending the rally organised by INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the late Devi Lal.

The sources said while L.K. Advani was expected to address the rally, the proposal was shot down in view of the fact that a formal announcement of the BJP-INLD pact had not been made.

BJP leaders added that another logic weighing in favour of the INLD was that the party would never join hands with the Congress.

Chandigarh, September 27
Peeved about the condition of roads in Gurgaon, union minister of state for defence production Rao Inderjit Singh is in no mood to let the officials responsible for the sorry state of affairs in Gurgaon off the hook easily.

Speaking to The Tribune here today, he said he would write to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and chief secretary Dharamvir to fix responsibility for this official apathy and take action against the officers concerned.

“I am going to write to the Chief Minister and the chief secretary for action against officials who chose to neglect their duty and are now conveniently passing the buck. Also, I am going to seek a vigilance inquiry against contractors who carpeted roads in some pockets of Gurgaon last year. These very roads are now in a pitiable state. With contracts for road repairs being offered now, I certainly don’t want them to pocket contracts all over again and repeating their shoddy job. They should be brought to book,” the minister, who was elected from the Mahendragarh parliamentary constituency, said.

He emphasised that when new contracts for repairs and carpeting of roads are floated, these contractors should not be allowed to bag any till they are able to justify their “previous poor performance” so that a repeat can be avoided.

Stating that a sum of Rs 92 crore would be spent to improve roads in Gurgaon in the next three months, the minister added that the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation would incur Rs 10 crore every month to maintain the roads within its jurisdiction.

Chandigarh, September 27
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that it is in favour of "strong action" against investigating officers found blameworthy of tainted probe.

In a significant ruling, the Division Bench of Justice K.S. Garewal and Justice Jitendra Chauhan ruled they were aware of the fact that sometimes shoddy investigation was "purposely done to benefit one party at the cost of opposite party involved in litigation, ultimately resulting in victimisation of the innocent and often the poor”.

The Judges added the practice was undermining “the confidence and belief of the common man in the justice delivery system".

The ruling comes at a time when the country is struggling to improve conviction rate of offences under the IPC. Currently it is hovering around 37 per cent.

In the judgment that comes as a wake up call to powers at the helm of affairs,
the Bench ruled: We, with great restrain, observe that when the state files an
appeal, it is imperative and expected from the state, the officers involved in the
process of filing the appeal, to examine the deficiencies that have crept in during
the course of investigation.

"If the investigation is tainted for the reasons other than protecting the interest of the state, a strong action against such investigating officer becomes a necessity in the interest of justice and for keeping the hope and belief of the common man alive in the system of justice."

The directions, calling for stringent action, have been issued on an appeal by
Haryana in a 2003 case of voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery and
other offences registered at a police station in Palwal under Sections 393, 394
and 398 of the IPC.

The appeal was directed against the orders of the Faridabad Sessions Judge pronounced in December last year, whereby the accused in the case were given benefit of doubt before being acquitted.

The complainant in the case, Shyam Lal, had alleged that the accused on a motorcycle had tried to snatch a bag containing over Rs 2 lakh at knife-point after throwing chilly powder in his and a companion's eyes.

The accused were, however, apprehended with the assistance of the passersby,
it was alleged.

After going through the evidence, the Bench ruled: A careful analysis of all circumstances narrated in the case makes the occurrence doubtful, at least in the manner the prosecution has sought to establish it.

Virtually passing strictures against the investigating agency, the Bench added: We are not able to resist ourselves from noting the fact that the present case is badly investigated and demonstrates absolute lack of commitment and competence on the part of the investigating officer.

The Judges added the complainant's conduct was "very unusual and on close appreciation of evidence on record, did not evoke any confidence in the assertion made by him".

Sirsa, September 27
K.C. Bhardwaj, vice-chancellor of Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, today denied that he had ever adopted a vindictive attitude towards Ritika, a lecturer in the food science and technology department, or her husband Baljit Singh Yadav, also a lecturer in the same department, and alleged that their action yesterday was an effort to intimidate and browbeat him.

Ritika and Yadav threatened to commit suicide in front of the office of the vice- chancellor yesterday, when they were allegedly denied an opportunity to meet him.

Talking to The Tribune today, Bhardwaj denied the allegation of the couple that he had been vindictive towards them ever since they have approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court against him.

Bhardwaj said Ritika was appointed in the university as a guest faculty before his joining as the vice-chancellor on September 9, 2004, for a period of one year or till a regular teacher joined, whatever was earlier.

But, before she could be removed on the completion of a year, she brought a court order on September 7, 2005, staying her termination.

The court, Bhardwaj maintained, passed its final order on December 21, 2006, authorising the university to remove the contractual teachers on end of the session.

In the meantime, Ritika got a stay from a local court in June 2007 so she could not be removed at the end of the session 2006-07.

But in appeal, the district court vacated her stay on September 11, 2008.

It was in compliance of the court orders that orders removing Ritika from services were issued on September 17.

The vice-chancellor alleged instead of receiving orders, Ritika proceeded on leave.

The vice-chancellor maintained that as there was enough workload to appoint a guest faculty, Ritika was given a fresh offer of appointment as a guest faculty on September 24.

He maintained that till then he was not aware of the orders dated September 23 issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court staying operation of orders of district court and consequently Ritika's termination orders dated September 17, 2008.

Bhardwaj maintained that when Ritika came to his office yesterday, he told her to give in writing to the chairperson whatever she had to say.

“But suddenly Yadav created a ruckus in the office and I had to call the police to avoid any unruly scene,” Bhardwaj added.

He said an order regarding continuing the services of Ritika was issued yesterday evening itself and hence there was no question of having prejudice against her or her husband.

Karnal, September 27
Paddy growers along the GT Road belt in Haryana, who used hybrid seed procured from some Hyderabad companies, are a worried lot.

The seed, which was a craze among farmers because of its high yield, has turned out to be a spoiler, resulting in crop losses ranging between 15 and 30 per cent.

The farmers in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal, Panipat and the adjoining areas, who used the hybrid seed, are the worst affected.

The local agriculture office received nearly 400 complaints from the farmers and on inspection of fields by officials of the department, it was found that there was substance in the complaints.

Wazir Singh, subdivisional agriculture officer, Karnal, confirmed that complaints had been received and the inquiry was complete in 90 per cent cases.

“We are giving reports to the complainants and they can initiate necessary action for getting relief or compensation from the seed companies,” he told The Tribune.

The height of plant and grain size, which should have be uniform in at least 90 per cent of the crop, did not match, indicating that there may have be “mixing of seed”.

It appears that the companies who have a contract agreement with local farmers for multiplication of seed did not have enough time to conduct GOT (grow out test).

The seeds were grown in March-April and supplied to the farmers by April-end, leaving no scope for conducting the GOT and the farmers could detect this deficiency only after the crop grew and reached maturity.

A farmer from Indri, who suffered about 30 per cent loss due to “defective” seed, said it was difficult to get damages from the companies and there was no option except to go to the Consumer Court for relief, but it would take time.

Karnal, September 27
Renowned agro-scientist, Padma Shri Dr J.P.S.Yadav, today underlined the need for holistic and synergistic management of saline and sodic soil and poor quality of water in various cropping system to improve livelihood of small and marginal farmers.

Inaugurating a 21-day summer school on “Chemical change and nutrients transformation in sodic and poor quality water irrigated soils”, sponsored by the HRD division of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, at Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI) here, he said these issues needed to be addressed adequately at a time when Indian agriculture was at “crossroads”.

He appreciated the alternate land use initiated during 1975-80 for improving soil health with respect to soil organic carbon and plant nutrition.

The CSSRI director, Dr Gurbachan Singh, stressed the use of remote sensing, GIS and GPS in research on saline/sodic soils.

He also mentioned about new dimensions of research in saline/sodic soil with respect to multi-enterprise agriculture and conservation agriculture and emerging trend of aluminum, iron, and manganese toxicity during waterlogging of sodic soil.

Course director N.P.S. Yaduvanshi described the roadmap of summer school and its importance to address the issues related to the management of saline/sodic soils.

Meanwhile, a one-day Kharif Kisan Mela will be held on September 30 from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm.

The mela will be organised by the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI). It is organised twice a year for kharif and rabi crops.

Karnal, September 27
The railway board has accepted the long-pending demand of the local people for halting of the superfast Shan-e-Punjab train at the Karnal railway station.

Disclosing this here today, Karnal MP Arvind Sharma said the Delhi-Amritsar superfast train would have a stopover at Karnal from October 1. He said he would be present on the occasion.

The decision has come as a major relief to a large number of Karnal-based Punjabis, especially Sikhs, who frequently visit Amritsar for paying obeisance at the Golden Temple and followers of the Radha Swami cult who go to Beas for seeking blessings.

Kaithal, September 27
A team of the district administration, which went to Chhot village here today to demarcate a panchayat land to be allotted to SCs and OBCs in pursuance of the state government announcement, faced heavy resistance from villagers and had to retreat from the village.

Expressing resentment, the villagers did not allow the officials concerned to do their job. BDPO Suresh Ravash and revenue officers escorted by the police along with a JCB machine reached the village in the morning.

As they were preparing to demarcate the panchayat land, the villagers reached the spot. They expressed resentment over the move and said they would not allow the village land to be distributed among the SCs and BCs.

They said the villagers were not taken into confidence and they would strongly resist such a move by the government.

Sensing the mood of the hostile crowd, the team of officers left the site. Meanwhile, it is learnt that villagers have decided to call a meeting of various communities to discuss the issue and decide the next course of action. No senior officer of the administration was available for comments.