Yamunanagar, June 16
After hearing arguments for about an hour, the anticipatory bail application of former IG MS Ahlawat, booked in a molestation case, was dismissed by District and Sessions Judge RC Godara here today. Ahlawat’s bail was strongly opposed by public prosecutors and the complainant’s counsel. They said, custody of Ahlawat was required to take samples of his voice and handwriting.

Arguments began at 10 am and continued till 11 am The order was pronounced by Sessions Judge at 2 pm SIT chief Krishan Hooda was present in the court Police personnel deployed inside & outside the court Ahlawat will now move the HC. The HC is on vacation; his plea can be entertained by vacation Bench

The voice sample was necessary to verify a recording of a conversation between Ahlawat and complainant Arvinder Kaur collected as evidence by the special investigation team (SIT). Highlighting the need for Ahlawat’s police interrogation, public prosecutors BD Soni and Parvez Khokhar said the accused was an influential person and if released on bail could pose a threat to the complainant and witnesses and could destroy evidence. Also, he may flee the country. So the custodial interrogation of Ahlawat was a must.

Complainant’s counsel VK Rajoria argued that Ahlawat was booked under Section 506 of the IPC, which was a non-bailable offence.

Ahlawat counsel IK Diwana and Umrish Gandhi argued that there were no substantial evidence against their client and the case was registered against him after eight years of the incident. They pointed out that no inquiry conducted so far pertaining to the complainant’s allegation had found anything against Ahlawat.

The complainant in her three complainants sent to the IG of Ambala had not mentioned him by name. Thereafter, in other inquiries too, no criminal case was made out against Ahlawat. The case was registered against him acting on the complaint of Arvinder Kaur sent to the DGP in 2008. Ahlawat had not been called to join any inquiry. Ahlawat was ready to join investigation and, hence, must be given bail, they pleaded. Ahlawat’s counsel argued the police could take a sample of his handwriting from police department files.

The police has constituted five teams to arrest Ahlawat. The teams have been sent to different places to arrest him, said SP Sibash Kabiraj.After the court decision, complainant Arvinder Kaur said: “It’s a relief. Now the SIT should arrest Ahlawat. This is a new beginning for me after eight years of harassment.”

Action should also be taken against all other persons who protected Ahlawat in the case, she added. Ahlawat’s counsel IK Diwana said they would file an anticipatory bail in the High Court.

Chandigarh, June 16
The Haryana Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here today, decided to appoint noted hockey player Surinder Kaur and mountaineer Mamta Sodha as DSP in the Haryana police under the sports quota.

Surinder Kaur, who hails from Shahabad in Kurukshetra district, has been appointed as DSP in recognition of her achievements at national and international levels and for being a source of motivation for young sportspersons.

When the agenda for her appointment was taken up, Hooda suddenly told Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati to immediately put a similar proposal for Mamta Sodha, who recently scaled the Mount Everest.

Officers informed the Chief Minister that since mountaineering was not considered a sport, Sodha could not be appointed under the sports quota.

The Cabinet immediately decided to relax the rules to appoint Sodha as DSP. She hails from Kaithal district and belongs to the Balmiki community. Hooda said by scaling the highest mountain in the world, Sodha had brought laurels to the state and her achievement must be recognised.

Earlier, on her return to Delhi, the state government had announced a reward of Rs 21 lakh for her.

The Cabinet decided to appoint Constable Geeta as a Sub-Inspector under the sports quota for winning a number of medals in various international, national and state-level championships in yoga.

A proposal of the Excise and Taxation Department for maintaining VAT on liquor at 4 per cent was also approved. Recently, the government had increased the minimum VAT on all taxable commodities to 5 per cent. The decision has been taken because the excise policy had stipulated 4 per cent VAT on liquor.

An ordinance to extend the period for holding the first election to the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation by another six months was approved by the Cabinet.

It also decided to provide 5.52 acres free of cost to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), Andhra Pradesh, for construction of Lord Venkateshwara (Balaji) temple at Kurukshetra.

The land will be given on a 99-year lease and the project will be completed in three years.

The Cabinet decided that two nominees of the state government would be included in the managing committee of the temple.

Chandigarh, June 16
“Unserved” areas should be a priority and focus should essentially be on creation of new infrastructure, that’s the gist of recommendations for the implementation of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in school education in Haryana.

These recommendations have been made by a committee headed by Principal Secretary (School Education) Surina Rajan which looked into various aspects of adopting the PPP model in school education and prepare a blueprint. With the objective to strengthen the school education system and fill identified gap areas, the committee has suggested that emphasis should be on creating additional world-class facilities.

Partnership with focus on improving infrastructure, management practices and operational resource support for existing institutions could be worked upon subsequently. The committee has suggested that school mapping be carried out and “unserved” areas demarcated to help the government develop centres of excellence every 20 km or so.

While the government can fall back upon the KVS and CBSE norms for physical infrastructure, the output parameters would need to be more precise to take these beyond academics and include development of leadership qualities, communication skills, project-based learning etc. The others recommendations are tax benefits, annuity, cross-subsidisation works, penalty clauses, school performance parameters, outsourcing aspects as also a look at involving institutions like Quality Council of India. The number of students at the primary level has witnessed a phenomenal increase over the past few years and their transition to the elementary and secondary and senior secondary level will require more schools in the times to come. The government is hoping to meet this requirement through the PPP model. The CM will chair a meeting to finalise the modalities for adopting the PPP model tomorrow, say sources.

Sirsa, June 16
Tension prevails in Ding Mandi in this district after a young man was lynched to death last night. The incident is alleged to be one of honour killing though family members of the victim cite business rivalry as the motive behind the crime. The police has registered a case against 18 identified and five unidentified persons on the statement of the victim’s family members. But police sources said it would be investigated if it was a case of honour killing.

“A case under Sections 148, 149, 342, 302 and 506 of the IPC has been registered against Subhash, Om Parkash, Rohtash, Dharam Pal, Rajinder, Ram Kumar, Mohinder, Sunil, Naresh, Dalbir, Bhagirath, Ram Singh, Gharse, Rajesh, Kalu, Pawan, Sushil, Kishan, Ramesh, Ajaib Singh and five unidentified persons on the complaint of Devi Lal, uncle of the victim,” said a police spokesperson.

Devi Lal has alleged that Ashok Kumar ran a pesticides shop. The accused felt that the victim sold his products at cheaper rates and, hence, nursed a grouse against him.

However, the residents have a different story to tell. “Ashok Kumar (28), a pesticide-seller in Ding Mandi, was found with a married woman on the night of June 13 by the woman’s kin. They forced the woman to call him up for a rendezvous,” said a neighbour, pleading anonymity.

“The woman’s kin and their friends then attacked Ashok with lathis and other weapons. They beat him till he became unconscious and left him to die,” he added.

The police has handed over the body to the family after a postmortem examination. Police presence in the village has been increased.

Gurgaon, June 16
Haryana INLD president Ashok Arora has stated that the results of the recent local civic bodies elections have shown the state Congress regime its place.

Addressing party workers during a protest demonstration against the imposition of house tax here today, Arora maintained that the bureaucrats were ruling the roost in Haryana while the state Cabinet was busy in “property dealing”.

Arora pointed out that Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who had proudly announced the abolition of house tax in the state, was now silent on the issue.

INLD national vice-president Anantram Tanwar said the party would leave no stone unturned in getting the “unjust” decision of the local Municipal Corporation to impose exorbitant house tax on Gurgaon residents scrapped.

Earlier, a large number of INLD workers assembled at the local gaushala ground, from where they marched in protest against the imposition of house tax and lack of uniform development. They submitted a memorandum to local SDM Satyender Duhan in support of their demands.

Bhiwani, June 16
State president of the Akhil Bharatiya Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti Hawa Singh Sangwan said the Jats would uproot vegetables being planted for the Commonwealth Games and disrupt power and rail movement to Delhi if denied OBC status for reservation.

Talking to mediapersons here after returning from Uttar Pradesh, he said: “Our demand for reservation is a constitutional one and the community should be given reservation.”

Meanwhile, a PTI report from Muzaffarnagar said the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president, Mahendra Singh Tikait, today said that reservation was necessary for the upliftment of the community.

Jind: Two elected sarpanches are among the 275-odd persons booked by the police in connection with creating a blockade on the National Highway 71 connecting Jind with Rohtak yesterday. The accused hailing from Gatauli village had come out on the National Highway to protest against the alleged irregularities in the counting of votes for a ward of the zila parishad. The protest led to a lot of inconvenience to hundreds of vehicles and commuters. The accused had also misbehaved with the officials who had gone to get the blockade lifted. A case of blocking the national highway and creating problem in the discharge of duty of the officials has been registered against the accused. The accused include Jaihind Singh and Surjit Singh, sarpanches of Gatauli and Shamlo Kalan village. — TNS