Fatehabad, February 20
A married woman reportedly jumped into a canal along with her three minor daughters in Chaplamori village here today.

According to the victim’s son, the woman identified as Kitabo (42), whose family works as a farm labourer with a landholder of the village, had a tiff with her husband Mohinder, following which she jumped into the river with her daughters Santosh (8), Som Murti (6) and Jyoti (5) at about noon today.

Mohinder, however, has informed the police that their master had been keeping an evil eye on his wife and had even attempted to rape her once.

He claimed that he had given an application regarding this to the Deputy Commissioner in this regard some time ago. The couple had seven sons and daughters and the surviving four siblings of the drowned girls informed the police that their father was badly beaten up by his master on February 17, after he complained to the DC regarding his conduct.

SP Jagwant Singh Lamba said over 60 jawans of the police had been searching for the victims in the canal since afternoon and the water supply to the canal had been stopped from behind.

A villager saw the woman jumping into the canal with her three daughters and raised the alarm.

The villagers first tried to save the victims on their own and when they failed in their attempts, they informed the police.

The divers have been looking for the missing woman and her daughters since afternoon and nets have been placed at a distance to fish out the bodies.

Chandigarh, February 20
Announcing, withdrawing and, finally, examining - that’s the path the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has chosen to examine the fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the power utilities and on their two Managing Directors at a public hearing held on February 18.

Speaking to The Tribune, the Chairman of HERC, Bhaskar Chatterjee, admitted that a statement for imposing a fine under Sections 142 and 146 of the Electricity Act-2003 had been made at the public hearing. However, the issue of “misleading” the commission and the delay in implementation of orders was now being looked into.

“We are examining if the case in question is fit for slapping the two sections against the power utilities and the MDs or not. The procedure is to first serve a notice and wait for a reply before holding them guilty. We are looking into this. No member has any right to go right ahead and impose the fine and that, too, at a public hearing. We get lots of representations and there may be deficiency of service on the part of the distribution companies but we have to follow the rules,” Chatterjee said.

He maintained that HERC, in the past, had invoked Section 142 of the Electricity Act-2003 and used it as a weapon to ensure that the power utilities fell in line. “This is neither the first time nor the last time that we have threatened to invoke the sections available under the Act. Usually, a mere threat is enough to ensure that the distribution companies comply with our orders,” he claimed.

However, HERC member Tej Singh Tewatia, who “announced” the fine and claims to have had the support of another member, rubbishes such reasoning and says, “They are only misleading the consumers and trying to buy time. What can I say if one member chooses to backtrack from his statement. I am shocked that a clerk in HERC clarified the imposition of fine and the procedure. I have been a member since February 2005. Don’t I know the rule book? Let them come out in the open and discuss the issue threadbare and I will show them I am right,” he claimed.

Slated to retire on February 24, Tewatia says, “I know they are waiting for me to retire and replace by a Congress appointee. However, I, too, have drafted my order on the issue so that the ‘guilty’ do not get away with impunity.”

Another member, Rohtash Dahiya, refused to comment. Chatterjee and Dahiya were appointed by the Congress government after it came to power while Tewatia was appointed a member of the commission by the Indian National Lok Dal government in 2005.

Hisar, February 20
Haryana took another stride towards self-sufficiency in power generation when the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) yesterday commissioned the state’s first 315 MVA power transformer at 400 kV grid substation under construction in Kirori village near here. A 100 MVA transformer has also been energised.

VB Chaudhary, Director (Projects), HVPN, said here today that the substation, spread over 60 acres, would evacuate power generated at the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant (RGTPP) at Khedar near here. The thermal’s grid yard had already been connected to Power Grid Corporation of India’s 400 kV substation at Mathana in Fatehabad district through a 40-km-long 400 kV double circuit transmission line from where power would be injected in the state’s grid.

He said the 400 kV substation at Kirori would have a total transformation capacity of 1161 MVA. The second and third transformers of 315 MVA capacity each were likely to be commissioned within 10 days.

He said the 220 kV substations at Bhuna, Jind, Hisar, Masudpur and Kaliraman and the 132 kV substation at Adampur were being connected to the new 400 kV substation for further transmission of power generated at the RGTPP.

Chaudhary said the Mathana 400 kV transmission line would be extended to a 400 kV substation at a cost of Rs 125 crore at Nuhianwali in Sirsa district. Thus, the Nuhianwali substation would get power from the RGTPP as well as from the Mathana substation.

He said construction work on a 400 kV substation at Daultabad to evacuate power to be generated at the 1,500 MW Indira Gandhi Thermal Power Project at Jhajjar (under construction) was likely to be completed shortly.

Jind, February 20
An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Haryana police was found murdered here today.

The victim identified as Krishan (56) was posted at the Nagura police post and had reportedly come to the city last night. His body was recovered from an isolated spot near Bir Bara Ban on the Hansi road, a few kilometres from here. There were injury marks on the body.

He is suspected to have been murdered by unknown persons as a bloodstained brick was found at the spot and the purse and valuables, including his mobile phone and ring, were missing.

The victim had come back last evening from Chandigarh after attending an official duty in connection with a case in the High Court. This could have been a factor that led to the attack on him by some persons who could be associated with the case, claim sources, though the police has launched an investigation into the matter. A case of murder has been registered in this regard, but no arrest has been made so far.

Meanwhile, two persons died in the past 24 hours. While Parveen, a youth hailing from Badhana village, died after inhaling the pesticide he was spraying in his fields today, an electrician died of burns after his shop caught fire while he was asleep inside it last night.

Karnal, February 20
In a crackdown on those creating nuisance by drinking in public places and inside motor vehicles parked on roadsides, the Karnal police has arrested around 50 persons.

The police registered at least 24 cases in the past 48 hours. A majority those arrested belong to well- educated and well-off families.

Most of the arrests were made from places in the vicinity of the bus stand, the Civil Hospital, parks and link roads.

The increasing tendency among the youth to indulge in drinking at public places, leading to brawls and ugly scenes, has become a big problem for local people. Besides road accidents due to drunk driving are on the rise. Moreover, drinking in cars, especially outside eating joints, has become a fashion with rich people caring little for the law and indulging in rowdy behaviour.

The initiative, taken by Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kumar Arya, has come as a big relief for the people who are happy that for the first time affluent section of society and not the poor has been targeted.

Arya said the drive would continue and no person indulging in such unlawful activities would be spared.

Kaithal, February 20
Acting on an anonymous complaint, the government officials managed to stop a child marriage in Ferozepur village in Siwan block here yesterday.

The marriage was stopped at the intervention of the official in charge of the cell against domestic violence, Sunita, just five hours before the arrival of the marriage party.

The parents of an 11-year-old girl had made complete arrangements to marry off their daughter Monika with Amit of Kar Sindhu village in Jind district.

The barat was to arrive in the evening. The official on getting information acted swiftly and after taking into confidence the senior officials reportedly filed a case in a local court to seek injunction against the illegal marriage.

The official accompanied by the women police staff contacted the parents of the girl and asked them not to marry their girl and reportedly court summons were served on the girl’s father.

However, the girl’s father, Satbir, and other villagers reportedly tried to misguide the team and produced a major girl to hoodwink them. However, the team managed to get the birth certificate of the would-be-bride from the village school that showed her year of birth as 1999.

Sirsa, February 20
Eight nominations were received for the elections to the executive council (EC) of Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, on the day fixed for filing of nominations today.

The returning officer for the election, SK Gahlawat, said the nominations papers of JS Jakhar, a Reader in the Law Department, Dilbagh Singh, a Reader in the Computer Science and Engineering Department, RP Ahlawat, a Reader in Physical Education, RS Dalal, a Reader in Public Administration, Satyawan Dalal, a lecturer in Public Administration, Rani Devi, a lecturer in Energy and Environment Sciences, Shalender Hooda, a lecturer in Commerce, and Sandeep Kumar, a lecturer in Mathematics, had been received today.

The withdrawal of nomination papers is permitted till Monday and voting, if necessary, will be held on February 26.

Two members to the EC are inducted from the teaching community through elections.

All readers and lecturers are entitled to contest these two posts, at least one of which is to be filled by a Reader.