Jhajjar, November 20
Demanding quick completion of magisterial inquiry into the Dhakla encounter and stern action against the guilty in the case, residents of Dhakla village along with representatives of various social and political outfits not only blocked various roads passing through the Silani gate area for around two hours, but also smashed the windowpanes of a roadways bus and a car in front of the mini-secretariat here today.

Earlier, a state-level “Yuva bacho, nyay dilwao sammelan” was organised on the premises of the mini-secretariat. In the sammelan, several allegations were levelled against the police administration regarding the Dhakla encounter by the speakers.

Sources said the decision of blocking the Jhajjar-Gurgaon road, Jhajjar-Rewari road and the Jhajjar-Badli road was taken after the sammelan concluded in afternoon. Implementing the decision, residents of the village and representatives of different organisations blocked the roads in groups. The protesters raised slogans against the police administration demanding justice into the Dhakla encounter. Thereafter, they smashed the windowpanes of a roadways bus and a car near the mini-secretariat. This bus was on its way to Gurgaon from Jhajjar.

Additional deputy commissioner Saaket Kumar tried to pacify the protesters. The protesters lifted the blockade following the assurance from the ADC of prompt completion of magisterial inquiry and stern action against the guilty.

The protesters also constituted a six-member committee comprising advocates Balwan Singh, Mahender Dhakla, Hosiyar Singh, Om Prakash Kablana, Rajesh Dhankar and Rajender Singh that would help the district administration into the inquiry.

A youth accused in several attempt to murder cases was killed and two cops received bullet injuries in an encounter in Dhakla village on October 12. The police had gone to the village to raid the house of the deceased after receiving a tip off that a most-wanted criminal was hiding in their house. There was exchange of fire as the criminals opened fire on the police party and the police returned the fire in which Jasbir, accused in attempt to murder cases, sustained bullet injuries and died on the spot. A police head constable and a constable also suffered bullet injuries in the encounter.

Later, Sombir, brother of Jasbir, had met the SP along with other villagers and alleged that his brother was killed. Sombir had alleged that the police picked up Jasbir from their house and then shot him dead in the street outside the house. Jhajjar SDM Satyender Duhan has been investigating the case.

Karnal, November 20
Police investigations into the Kanta abortion case have raised strong suspicion over the veracity of the complaint. The police is now also doubting the version of the complainant.

The scrutiny of mobile phone calls made by Kanta and her mother-in-law revealed that contrary to the claim of Kanta that she was taken to some dera in Uttar Pradesh and administered some substance, which led to her abortion, all calls were traced to Karnal, Jundala and nearby places.

Another query that cropped up during the investigations was that how the eight-month-old pregnancy could be terminated by medicines without any effect on the woman concerned. The police suspects that the entire story was cooked up.

Kanta, a resident of Anand Vihar locality, had filed a complaint with the police that she was forced to abort her child eight times allegedly by her in-laws.

Her brother Sanjay had lodged a complaint after she had disappeared from her parents’ place, where she had gone to avoid another abortion and suspected that she had been abducted. Vijay, husband of victim, had also accompanied Sanjay to the police station for filing the complaint indicating that he disapproved the action of his parents. Kanta had alleged that her in-laws were deeply under the influence of some tantriks, who had convinced them that their son would die if a child was born to his wife.

She alleged that whenever she would expect a baby, her in-laws gave her some substance, which led to her abortion. This happened seven times and this time she went to her parents’ home to save her child but her in-laws abducted her from the locality and took her to some lonely place which looked like a dera.

New Delhi, November 20
A regional centre of UNESCO for training and education in biotechnology will be set up in Faridabad to act as the focal point for cooperation in biotechnology among the member countries of UNESCO in the Asian region.

A meeting of the union cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, today gave its approval for the establishment of the centre, which will be a category-II institution of UNESCO with a revised budget of Rs 99.55 crore.

“The centre will be a regional hub for interdisciplinary education and training in biotechnology with emphasis on novel education programmes relevant to industry, including bio-drug discovery science, nano-science and medicine, imaging techniques, designer crops, bioengineering and bio-materials, intellectual property, technology transfer and regulation to fulfil and overcome the acute shortage of skilled human resources in India,” Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, told mediapersons.

He said a Board of Governors would govern the centre with representation from India, UNESCO and its member countries.

Collaboration with UNESCO will ensure gateways to international institutions such as the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) and the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) and usher in skill acquisition in the global context,” Chavan said.

The centre would be the first inter-disciplinary institution in life sciences and biotechnology in India with a unique international character to offer novel educational and training courses in the inter-disciplinary and related areas of biotechnology.

Chavan said it would also be a place for the designing of new and novel programmes for education and training, which could be then assimilated by the existing universities in India and the region. — UNI

Chandigarh, November 20
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice on a petition seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan and IAS officer L.S.M. Salins for allegedly not complying with court orders on transfer and reinstatement benefits in true spirit.

The notice by Justice Permod Kohli was issued for February 17 next year while taking up district food and supplies officer Dilawar Singh’s petition. Dilawar had alleged that the respondents were not complying with the judgments dated May 8, 2006, and September 17, 2007, “intentionally, deliberately and wilfully”.

He added that the respondents were “liable to be punished under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971”.

Going into the background of the matter, Dilawar Singh asserted “he was made a shuttlecock” and transferred four times in eight months for “his simple fault of abiding by the rules and regulations”. The petitioner asserted “this outrageous approach of the respondents force landed him in the high court by way of challenging the order of transfer from Faridabad to Chandigarh.

Taking up the matter, the high court quashed the transfer orders on May 8, 2006. A special leave petition filed in the apex court against the order was dismissed on January 3, 2007.

The petitioner added “irked by the judgment of the high court dated May 8, 2006, he was placed under suspension” by Chander Mohan vide order dated August 22, 2006, with a view to circumventing the order dated May 8, 2006.

The counsel for the petitioner, Vijay Kumar Jindal, who is also Punjab Additional Advocate-General, said an inquiry was conducted by the state vigilance bureau, Gurgaon, into certain allegations against the petitioner, which were found to be false. The suspension order, too, was challenged and final orders were passed on September 17, 2007.

Jindal added Chander Mohan, while reinstating the petitioner, posted him to Chandigarh on October 11, 2007, despite the fact that Dilawar Singh had already joined at Faridabad on October 1, 2007.

He asserted the order of transfer was “basically punitive”. “When the order dated August 22, 2006, fell like a palace of cards, one fails to understand as to what could come in the way of the position prevailing before that date when the petitioner was posted at Faridabad,” he said.

Gurgaon, November 20
With a view to abolishing child labour in the district, the local administration has constituted block-level committees which will conduct raids and inspect premises on getting complaints of child labour.

Deputy commissioner Deepti Umashankar has passed orders regarding the formation of these committees. These have been asked to submit their fortnightly checking reports by the 16th of every month to the deputy commissioner's office.

The situation of child labour in the district will be closely monitored and it will be ensured that no child under 14 years of age is employed in any organisation or business establishment, the DC asserted.

The administration has constituted four such committees for each block of the district, namely Gurgaon, Sohna, Patoudi and Farrukhnagar. Each committee consists of five officers. SDM, Gurgaon (north), J.S. Sangwan is in charge of the committee constituted for the Gurgaon block and it includes the deputy labour commissioner (DLC), circles I and II, inspector (Food and Supplies Department), child development programme officer (CDPO) and block development and panchayat officer (BDPO) as its members.

Similarly, SDM, Gurgaon (south), K.K. Gupta has been made in charge of the block-level committee of Sohna and the food supply inspector, Sohna, CDPO, Sohna, BDPO, Sohna, and DLC, circles I and II, are its members.

As per orders of the deputy commissioner, land acquisition officer of HUDA Vatsal Vashista is in charge of the block-level committee of Patoudi to check child labour and the labour officer, food supply inspector, CDPO and BDPO of the block are its members.

General manager of Haryana Roadways (Gurgaon depot) Ajay Malik is in charge of the committee for the Farrukhnagar block with the labour officer, food and supply inspector, CDPO and BDPO of Farrukhnagar as its members.

Umashankar said anybody who employed a child under 14 years of age as a labourer would have to pay a fine of up to Rs 20,000 for the first time and if a violation of the Child Labour Prevention Act was found for the second time, there was a provision for imprisonment up to three months. Deputy labour commissioner G.S.Thakur said 26 schools were being run in the district for bringing dropouts and self-employed children into mainstream education.

The government had also set up three rehabilitation centres at Bahadurgarh, Yamunanagar and Hisar for rescued child labourers.The child labourers rescued in Gurgaon would be sent to the Bahadurgarh centre because of its proximity to the city, he added. 

Chandigarh, November 20
To curb the inter-state sale of fertilisers and ensure a constant supply to farmers, the Haryana government has asked all district magistrates to keep a strict vigil on any inter-state movement of diammonium phosphate (DAP).

With farmers in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Rajasthan complaining of a severe shortage of fertilisers, instances of DAP being smuggled to those states have come to light. With the rabi sowing season in full swing in the state, the chief secretary, Haryana, has now issued directions to all deputy commissioners to check any inter-state sale on the part of private traders.

It is learnt that recently inter-state sale was detected through Ambala and Dabwali, which prompted the administration to issue these directions. Sources in the agriculture department informed TNS that the total DAP requirement in Haryana for the rabi season was four lakh metric tonnes. “While 1.20 lakh metric tonnes was already available with the state before the sowing season began, another 2.04 lakh metric tonnes was provided to the state by the union ministry of fertilisers. Till date, 2. 78 lakh metric tonnes of fertiliser has been sold to farmers, and we have additional stocks of 45,000 metric tonnes,” said a senior official.

He said the state was comfortably placed with regard to DAP and MoP (muriate of potash) availability, with another 10,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser being in transit. “However, there is a shortage of fertilisers in the neighbouring states, which has led to traders selling their goods there, or farmers from the neighbouring states buying fertilisers from Haryana. If this trend continues, Haryana, too, could face a shortage,” he asserted.

Officials say that though most fertilisers are being sold through the cooperative sector, there was need to keep a check on sale through the private sector and stop any inter-state sales. “As it is, the Government of India has been asking the state governments to start importing fertilisers on their own through Indian Potash Limited. Though we have declined to import fertilisers on our own on the grounds that we lack the core competence to do so, we have to be cautious and ensure judicious sale within the state,” said the official.

Chandigarh, November 20
Mixing revelry with drinking this marriage season can cost partygoers dear. Alarmed at the number of accidents and deaths due to drunken driving particularly during the marriage season, the Haryana police has asked banquet halls to display banners educating the public against drinking and driving.

Under a special campaign covering the marriage season till the mid of December, the police will set up special nakas to check drunken driving. It has already established sobriety check posts at toll plazas along highways in the state.

Director-general of police Ranjeev Dalal said banquet halls and marriage palaces had been issued instructions to display banners on permissible limits for drinking while driving. They had also been asked to distribute pamphlets and stickers to highlight this offence.

“We want to run a parallel awareness campaign so that the public is informed on what the law says about drunken driving. As per the excise law, only 30 mg (one small peg) is allowed and anything beyond that can invite a challan or even land you in jail,” he said.

While the banquet hall owners will shoulder the responsibility of the awareness campaign, the police will focus on setting up nakas and carrying out checks along the highway.

The police has set up sobriety check points at toll plazas in Kurukshetra, Panipat, Gurgaon and Palwal, Surajur (Panchkula) and Hisar on the National Highway. The cops will stop cars at random and make queries from drivers. If they are found to be “high on spirits”, they will have to undergo the alchometer test and face the music.

“We don’t want drunken drivers to be behind the wheel, putting their life and the life of others on the road in danger. This along with over speeding and fatigue are the three main causes of road accidents. Challaning is not our aim, ensuring people reach back safe to their homes is. We are hoping to address this problem and curb the tendency of drunken driving through this special campaign,” Dalal said.

The sobriety check post project was started in April this year on a pilot basis. While 2,756 persons have been challaned, licences of 46 defaulters have been cancelled.

The police decided to widen this net after the positive outcome of this project.

Rohtak, November 20
Dr Veena Singh Ghalaut, professor and head of the department of Biochemistry of Pt B.D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, has been nominated as the president of the Association of Medical Biochemists of India for 2009.

The announcement came in the recently concluded 16th annual conference of the association held at Chandigarh. While Dr Ghalaut has been one of the few woman professors so far who have been elected as the head of a national-level association of such a nature, she made the medical faculty here feel proud when she chaired two sessions in the conference.

The highlight of the conference had been the participation of Dr A.K Campbell, director, Darwin Research Centre and head of the Biochemistry Department of the university of Wales, Cardiff, UK, who delivered special lectures.

One of the main topics that came up for the discussion at the meeting included the common problem of the Lactose Intolerance, which causes the allergic disorders. Dr Ghalaut also delivered a lecture on the topic of Molecular marker for Leukemia.

Dabwali (Sirsa), November 20
The Haryana government has approved in principle the setting up of a kinnow processing plant at Abubshahr, near here, at a cost of Rs 75 crore.

This was stated by MP from the Rohtak constituency Deepender Singh Hooda here last evening.

Hooda was addressing people after laying the foundation stone of the building of the Block Development Office at Dabwali.

The office to be built at a cost of Rs 45 lakh will be equipped with the latest facilities.Construction work on the office will be completed within six months.

He said the state government had initiated development work in all districts of the state without discriminating against any district.

Hooda said a kinnow grading plant at Abubshahr was in the final stages of completion.The cost of the plant was Rs 10 crore and it would be inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda next month.

Giving details of development work initiated in Sirsa district, he said the state government had spent a huge amount of

funds on upgrading the irrigation and power facilities.This was more than the funds spent by previous governments.

The state government had launched a scheme to treat the land of villages near Lohgarh which was affected by waterlogging.

A sum of Rs 4 crore would be spent on this work which would be completed by December 31.

He said the state government had launched many welfare schemes for poor people, farmers and those belonging to the Scheduled Castes which had been widely appreciated all over the country.

He gave an asurance that he would urge the central and state governments to construct a railway overbridge at Dabwali.

Gurgaon, November 20
It seems that getting the CCTV cameras installed in this financial hub of the north India is a tall order even for the local district magistrate (DM).

It has been more than 60 days passed since DM Deepti Umashankar asked the banks to come up with the CCTV cameras; the implementation is a far-fetched fantasy.

Today joint commissioner of police Manjit Singh Ahlawat called a meeting of all bankers and tried to convince them to install CCTV cameras within three days. He added that otherwise they would have to face action.

While referring to the orders passed by the DM, Ahlawat said even after two months of passing these orders, very few banks had adhered to it and majority of the banks had not installed the CCTV cameras and added that when any robbery takes place in a bank the bankers make hue and cry, but now when they were issued direction to install CCTV cameras for their sake they were not cooperating. He warned the bankers that they would have to face the consequences for this laxity on their part. At the same time, Ahlawat gave them three days ultimatum to install these cameras and said after this the police officials of concerned police station would be checking the bank premises.

He advised the bankers to install CCTV cameras at crucial points in the bank as well as in the ATM so that the movement of anti-social elements can be tracked. 

Rewari, November 20
The police has booked a youth, Pradeep Kumar, his father Jagdish Chand, his mother Chander Kanta, his brother Naresh Kumar and two teachers of a local private school on charges of abduction, wrongful confinement, rape, extortion of confessional statement, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

The complainant had alleged that Pradeep Kumar in connivance with his parents and others abducted her, and kept her in wrongful confinement. She further alleged that she was repeatedly raped by Pradeep in August. She also alleged that the accused took her pictures in a compromising position, following which she was forced to give a statement in a local court that she had entered into wedlock with the accused. A senior police official said the matter was being thoroughly investigated.

Sirsa, November 20
The police has arrested a resident of Bhamboor village for allegedly murdering his wife. The accused, Ram Kumar, was today produced in a local court, which sent him in judicial custody for 14 days. Ram Kumar along with his mother and father was named as accused in the murder case of his wife. The three had been absconding, the police said.

According to police sources, the victim, Bala Devi, who was admitted to the local Civil Hospital with over 70 per cent burn injuries on October 11, in her statement had alleged that her husband Ram Kumar, father-in-law Siri Chand and mother-in-law Vidya Devi had been harassing her for dowry.

She had further alleged that the trio had set her afire after pouring kerosene on her.

The police had then registered a case and started investigations. After Bala Devi’s death on November 5, Section 302 of the IPC was incorporated in the FIR. The victim’s husband was arrested yesterday while the other accused were still evading arrests, sources said.

Sonepat, November 20
A young farmer of Pinana village, Manjeet, committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance at his residence here last evening.

His body was today handed over to his family members after a postmortem at the local Civil Hospital.

The deceased’s father, Mahender Singh, said Manjeet took the extreme step after he lost paddy crop spread over four acres. The crop was destroyed by the blast disease. He had invested more than Rs 50,000 in the crop and he suffered a loss of Rs 1.5 lakh. Manjeet was rushed to the local Civil Hospital, where he died.

Another young farmer had committed suicide in Nyat village under Gohana subdivision on October 19 after his paddy crop spread over four acres got damaged.