Kadarpur (Gurgaon), February 15
The passing-out parade of the 40th batch of the directly appointed gazetted officers (Assistant Commandants) of the Central Reserve Police Force was held at the CRPF Academy here today.

As many as 78 Assistant Commandants, including women officers Manisha Pathak and Pallavi Sharma, passed out at the ceremony.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police JS Gill administered the oath to the cadets, who became Assistant Commandants in the presence of their family members. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the chief guest. He released the newsletter of the CRPF Academy and honoured outstanding candidates.

He inspected the parade and took the salute at the march-past. Assistant Commandant Amresh Kumar Ghosh was the parade commander while the four troops in the parade were led by Assistant Commandants Alok Ranjan, Saurabh Awasthi, Kapil Beniwal and Vikas Yadav.

In his address to the officers, the Chief Minister said the country had high hopes from them.

Lauding the role of the CRPF in combating terrorism, Naxalite extremism and separatism, he hoped that after having undergone 55 weeks of rigorous training, the new officers were well-prepared to take on the challenge of safeguarding the country’s interests.

Hooda said a 1,000 square yard shooting range was being prepared at the academy, at which some shooting events would be held during the Commonwealth Games.

Referring to the demands raised by CRPF Director-General Vikram Srivastva, he maintained that all needs of the academy would be addressed on a priority basis.

The Sword of Honour and Home Minister’s Cup were awarded to Saurabh Awasthi, while Director’s Baton for Parade Commander was presented to Amresh Ghosh and Best Outdoor Trainee Award went to Kapil Beniwal and Manisha Pathak

The Best Indoor Trainee Award was given to Vinay Verma, Best in Weapon Training Award to Harish Dafauti, Best in Tactics Award to Manish Kumar and Best Shot Award to Kabir Sareen.

The Best in Endurance Award was bagged by Narshi Meena, while Best in Ultra-fit Training Award went to Vikas Yadav, Best in Essay Award to Pallavi Sharma, Best Speaker Award to Nagender Singh and Best in IT Award to Nitin Devidas Bagade.

Sirsa, February 15
Former Haryana Minister during the INLD regime and now Congress MLA from the Nalwa assembly constituency, Sampat Singh today demanded restructuring of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) by removing deadwood and inducting young and energetic persons with a global vision.

Sampat Singh alleged that the commission had been made a dumping site for retired bureaucrats and engineers, who lacked vision.

“Even the Planning Commission has suggested search for the best brains,” claimed the former minister.

Sampat Singh said the commission has been constituted under Section 82 of the Electricity Act, 2003, to determine the tariff for generation, distribution, transmission and wheeling of electricity, wholesale, bulk or retail, to regulate power purchase. “Section 82 of the Electricity Act, 2003, provides that every state shall constitute a regularity commission.

The commission shall consist of not more than three members, including the chairperson. He said commensurate with the fast-changing scenario in power sector, the role of regulators had become of vital importance.

The regulatory commissions was of quasi-judicial nature and the members were supposed to be free of any bias. 

Sirsa, February 15
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal today alleged that the Haryana government has been discriminating against Sirsa, Hisar and Fatehabad districts.

Former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal speaks to mediapersons at Chindar village in Fatehabad on Monday. A Tribune photograph

The former Chief Minister, who was here on a social visit, alleged that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had “relegated” himself to Rohtak’s CM only and all other districts were being neglected. “People of the area have not been getting enough power and irrigation water and even the drinking water has become a scarce commodity in several villages,” he alleged.

Bhajan Lal alleged that the Congress-led government at the Centre had also been working against the interests of the common people. “Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has been serving self-interest to the detriment of the poor and the common people,” he alleged. He claimed that the spurt in prices of the essential commodities was due to the wrong policies of the state government.

The Haryana Janhit Party (BL), he said, would stage demonstrations against the rising prices, law and order situation and lack of power and water on March 5 and added that party workers from across the state led by Kuldeep Bishnoi would gherao the state assembly.

Sirsa, February 15
Actor Sanjay Dutt, on the second day of his two-day tour of the Ellenabad constituency to thank voters for electing Abhey Singh of the INLD, was accorded a rousing welcome at Chautala.

Chautala village is in the Dabwali assembly constituency represented by Abhey Singh’s elder brother Ajay Singh. Sanjay was not scheduled to visit the village.

“He expressed his wish to visit our native village and the programme was planned in a hurry,” said sources.

“I am here to pay homage to the land where the late Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal was born,” the actor said in his address to villagers.

Flanked by the Chautala brothers, he said he was moved by the love and affection showered by local people on him. He was all praise for their hospitality.

He regaled listeners with dialogues from his blockbuster “Lage Raho Munnabhai”.

The audience just could not have enough.

Dutt addressed meetings in over a dozen villagers today.

Karnal, February 15
Former Haryana BSP general secretary Raj Singh Chauhan today opened a front against BSP national general secretary Man Singh Manhera and vowed to continue his struggle for his ouster from politics.

Launching an oust-Manhera campaign from Karna Park here, he lashed out at Manhera for “polluting” politics and declared that “he will not be allowed to hold any public meeting at any village in the state”. Black flags would greet him if he dared to visit any city in the state for political activities, he added.

A large number of BSP workers, who had gathered at the Karna Park, raised anti-Manhera slogans and took out a procession to Community Chowk where an effigy of Manhera was burnt. The workers endorsed the call given by Chauhan and pledged full support to him for his cause.

The workers were furious and accused Manhera of indulging in anti-party activities which led to the humiliating defeat of the party in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state.

Chauhan said due to the autocratic functioning of Manhera, the party workers were feeling isolated and he had taken the lead to reach out to the workers and listen to their grievances for strengthening the party.

Holding Manhera responsible for the break-up of the HJC-BSP alliance and the defeat of Virender Maratha in the Lok Sabha elections, Chauhan said he was hand in glove with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Jind, February 15
The government is coming up with more infrastructure at the village level. To ensure proper implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, a service centre will be set up in every village of the state.

Stating this, a senior functionary of the state government said here today that these centres, to be named as Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras, would work as a focal point for the implementation of the employment scheme as well the projects taken up for the development and uplift of the socio-economic status of the people in rural areas.

The centres will exist both at the village and block levels. The cost of setting up such a centre at the village level will be around Rs 10 lakh while it will be around Rs 25 lakh at the block level.

The centre, which will be built on panchayat land in each village, will have two rooms, besides an open air theatre to house about 50 persons at one time.

While one room will be used as the office of the panchayat, the other will have all important data regarding the village and the development schemes stored in a computer having the Internet facility.

The information kept here will be updated at regular intervals and the centre will be connected with other government offices so that the information collected and stored here is accessible to the authorities at various levels.

The centre at the block level will be bigger and have space for a meeting of about 80 to 100 persons at a time. It will house the office of the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, besides having the records of the villages at the block level and various schemes being carried out or already executed by the department concerned.

The first phase will see the completion of the centres in five villages of each block where officials will maintain the records and files of the ongoing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Besides preparation of job cards, the centres will accept applications and dispose of complaints pertaining to the scheme.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner M Shayin has asked officials to speed up the work on the NREGS and ensure work to all eligible persons in the district. 

Karnal, February 15
Eminent Sanskrit scholars and experts today called upon intellectuals to explore the vast scientific knowledge treasured in Sanskrit to solve the problems encountered by society the world over.

Participating in a one-day seminar on “Sanskrit and science”, organised jointly by the Department of Higher Education and the Haryana Sanskrit Academy at Government PG College here today, speakers quoted extensively from Sanskrit verses to drive home the point that India was highly advanced scientifically and technically thousands of years ago and Sanskrit literature was replete with eternal wisdom that taught us to live in harmony with nature.

Addressing the participants, BK Kuthiala, Vice-Chancellor of Makhan Lal Chaturvedi University, Bhopal, pointed out that the 400-year-old heritage of the West was no match to the 5,000-year-old knowledge of the East, a fact that even Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, acknowledged.

“The vast scientific knowledge in the Sanskrit literature must be harnessed to solve the problems of the present-day society and the need of the hour is that modern scientists and technocrats work in tandem with Sanskrit scholars so that the ancient Indian classics can be redefined to establish their contemporary relevance on scientific parameters,” he added. In his presidential address, Dr CS Varnekar stressed that the very approach of Sanskrit scholars was scientific. They did not make a difference between science and spirituality.

Chandigarh, February 15
The Haryana government has issued guidelines for the execution of development works by the gram panchayats and the engineering wing of the Development and Panchayat Department.

As per the guidelines, panchayats can execute works up to Rs 5 lakh and the grant-in-aid for the original individual work up to this limit shall be credited by the government to the gram fund and it shall be utilised as per the guidelines and instructions issued by the government from time to time, for the purpose of which the amount has been released.

The rough cost estimate of original individual work shall be prepared by the engineering wing.

Works of different nature will not be clubbed in the estimate, except that the pavement of streets will include construction of abutting drains. In case the cost estimate of the work is less than Rs 5 lakh, the Deputy Commissioner shall credit the amount of grant-in-aid in the gram fund of the gram panchayat concerned and the said estimate will also be sent to the gram panchayat concerned. If the estimate is more than Rs 5 lakh, the funds shall be released to the XEN (PR) concerned along with estimates.

Rewari, February 15
Activists of the Haryana Dalit Karamchari Kalyan Association of the Kosli region began an indefinite dharna before the SDM’s office in Kosli today in protest against the alleged apathy of the state government as well as the administration towards provision of requisite facilities to members of the Dalit Samaj in the region.

Krishan Singh, president of the association, led the demonstrators who raised slogans against the government. He deplored that a number of deserving SC families had not yet been issued the BPL cards and many eligible BPL families still stood deprived of the 100-yard residential plots.

The lackadaisical approach of the administration in curbing the “malpractices” of the LPG dealer of Kosli was also causing hardships to consumers.

New Delhi, February 15
A Delhi Court today issued bailable warrant against Haryana MLA Abhey Singh Chautala for failing to appear before it in a disproportionate assets case.

Special CBI Judge PS Teji directed Chautala to appear before the court on February 22. The court took the coercive action against Chautala after CBI prosecutor AK Dutt submitted that summons issued against the leader could not be served despite their efforts.

The court had on February 2 issued summons against Chautala, his brother Ajay Chautala and others, taking cognisance on the charge sheet filed by the CBI in the case.

Meanwhile, Haryana MLA Ajay Chautala and co-accused Chetram, Om Prakash, Abhimanyu Singh, Rajender Kumar and Netram, who appeared before the court, were granted interim bail in the case. The court posted the matter for February 22 for further proceedings.

The CBI had on December 24 filed a charge sheet against the two sons of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in the case.

According to the charge sheet filed against Ajay, the CBI claims he was in possession of assets to the tune of Rs 27.74 crore, 339 per cent more than his income totalling Rs 8.17 crore during the period 1993 to 2006. The second charge sheet was filed against Abhey alleging his assets were 522 per cent more than his income during the period 2000 to 2005.

The agency claimed to have found Rs 119.69 crore worth of assets. The CBI had also named former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala as accused in the FIR but could not file the charge sheet against him in absence of the mandatory sanction. The agency had registered a case in a designated court here in April 2006 and searched 24 premises of the Chautalas in Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal and Chandigarh during which it seized Rs 13 lakh in cash and froze five bank accounts containing Rs 1.34 crore belonging to Chautala and his family members.

The investigating agency's FIR listed moveble and immovable properties belonging to either Chautala or his family members that had been acquired between July 1999 and March 2005.

It alleged Chautala and his family members had plots at prime locations in Gurgaon in Haryana, Karol Bagh in Delhi, Manali in Himachal Pradesh, Nainital in Uttarakhand and Chandigarh, besides a hotel and a restaurant in upmarket Karol Bagh, a shopping mall, six plots of agricultural land, six farmhouses and cash worth Rs 50 crore. — PTI 

Chandigarh, February 15
Haryana’s former Director-General of Police SPS Rathore today offered himself once again for questioning before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Ruchika molestation case.

As Rathore’s anticipatory bail plea in two fresh FIRs registered in the matter came up for hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, his counsel made it clear that the former top cop was willing to be called for joining the probe.

Rathore’s counsel-cum-senior advocate Randeep Singh Rai told Justice Sabina during the hearing that “in case they (the CBI) needs us, they may call us”. Taking note of the assertion, Justice Sabina said she had already said so. Rathore has been granted interim protection against his arrest in the two FIRs by the High Court, and the same now stands extended up to the next date of hearing, April 5.

The fresh cases have been registered on the basis of Ruchika’s brother and father’s complaints.

The contention by Rathore’s counsel is significant as the matter of the former top cop joining the investigation has been a matter of speculation since long.

Time and again unconfirmed and unsubstantiated media reports have surfaced that the CBI team investigating the Ruchika case in Chandigarh had earlier summoned Rathore.

The CBI has already recorded the statements of Ruchika’s brother Ashu, his father Subhash Girhotra, her friend-cum-eyewitness Aradhana and her parents Anand Prakash and Madhu Prakash.

The statement of Veena, allegedly married to Ruchika’s father after her mother’s death, has also been recorded. Anand Prakash and Aradhana have been pursuing the case since 1990.

The courtroom was jam-packed with advocates, the media, and Ruchika’s supporters as the bail petitions came up for hearing this afternoon.

Except for Rathore’s assertion on his willingness to join the probe, the case witnessed little progress. At the very onset, Assistant Solicitor-General-cum-CBI’s standing counsel Anmol Rattan Sidhu told Justice Sabina that he required more time to further investigate the matter.

Accepting the prayer, Justice Sabina adjourned the matter for about one-and-a-half months.

The High Court, during the previous hearing, had observed that counsel for the petitioner should submit that Rathore was ready to join investigations.

The Division Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Jaswant Singh commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment awarded to Nepal citizens Naresh Shah and Inderjit in a minor’s rape and murder case. Also, the Bench directed the convict would remain behind bars for at least 25 years. 

Ambala’s District and Sessions Judge had concluded the trial in 10 months; had convicted and sentenced the two to death penalty under Sections 302 and 376 of the IPC. The two had taken the girl, daughter of acquaintance Ramadev Yadav, to the fields where she was raped and strangulated to death. The two were caught after the girl’s shrieks were heard and blood was found oozing out of her private parts. 

Sirsa, February 15
A minor girl from Dabwali, who was a member of the dance party accompanying an orchestra group to a marriage party in Nuianwali village here, was allegedly kidnapped and raped by seven persons in the fields last night.

The police has booked the youths for abduction, wrongful restraint and rape.

According to a complaint lodged by the victim’s father, his daughter worked with an orchestra party as a dancer.

A youth from Dabwali identified as Jeewan took her along on the pretext of attending a marriage party. However, he along with six other youths took the 17-year-old dancer to Nuianwali village and allegedly raped her.

The police said Subhash, Rajiv and Sandeep from Nuianwali, Seera, Harvinder and Manjeet from Jandwala village and Jeewan from Dabwali have been booked .

No arrest has been made so far. 

Karnal, February 15
Four persons were killed in road accidents in Karnal during the past 24 hours.

A 25-year-old woman, Baloo Devi, wife of Mamu Ram of Nissing, died on the spot when she was hit by a van while crossing the road near Nissing village late last night. One person was killed when the three-wheeler he was riding was hit by a car neat Butana on the GT Road. The deceased has been identified as Jai Krishnan (17), a resident of Kurukshetra. A case has been registered against the driver of the car.

Ishant (28), died on the spot while another person, Jagjit, riding pillion was seriously injured when their motorcycle was hit by a vehicle near Charao Maur here. In another accident, Vijay Pal (40), a resident of Butana, was killed when his motorcycle was hit by a car near Batt village. — TNS

Bhiwani, February 15
Hundreds of candidates, who had applied for the post of primary teacher, have allegedly fallen victim to the apathetic attitude of the postal department and the DSSS Board, Delhi.

In a letter written to the President, Prime Minister, AICC chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Haryana Chief Minister and the Human Rights Commission, candidates - Mohan Lal (Fatehabad), Abid Ali (Palwal), Bhupender Singh (Jind), Mankit Kaur (Jind) and several others - alleged that they along with thousand others had applied for the post of primary teacher being conducted by the DSSS Board, Delhi.

The last date for submitting the application was January 15 and the candidates had sent their applications through speed post eight days before this date. They said their applications reached the board 20 days late. “The board returned our letters mentioning “received late”,” said Narender and Mukesh of Bhiwani. However, the postal authorities said they had sent these applications in due time.

Another candidate Kamal Kumar of Bhiwani said he had talked to the authorities of both the departments but no one was ready to take responsibility for the delay. “We will approach the consumer court, if we did not get justice in this regard,” said Ramphal of Kaithal.