Jhajjar, November 26
After having received vital information from intelligence agencies that militants can strike in the Indian hinterland in the near future, the Director-General of Police (CID), Haryana, has issued orders to make foolproof security arrangements across the state to prevent any untoward incident.

A letter dated November 22 has been sent to IGPs of all police ranges, Commissioners of the Faridabad and Gurgaon police, Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) of all districts in the state.

“There is an urgent need to review the security arrangements across the state as central intelligence agencies have indicated that there is no let-up in militants’ efforts to strike in the Indian hinterland,” stated the communiqué, adding that another recent input received from reliable channels has also hinted militant plans to carry out terror attacks in the country.

The communiqué also maintained that since the 18th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6 was about to come, solid steps must be taken to strengthen the security arrangements across the state.

In the communiqué, the DGP (CID) has directed the police officers to launch special drives in their respective areas to check hotels, dharamshalas, serais, dhabas and resorts, where anti-social elements may take shelter.

The SPs have been directed to ensure deployment of adequate number of police personnel at public places like busy markets, cinema halls, bus stands, malls, railway stations and important religious places of all communities in their respective areas.

They have been asked to coordinate with sister-intelligence agencies for getting vital inputs in this regard and to identify those persons who are trained in bomb disposal.

Besides, the DGP (CID) has also directed the officials to keep headquarters informed about important developments happening in their areas.

Sirsa, November 26
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is yet to prepare a public document on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the proposed nuclear power plant at Gorakhpur in Fatehabad.

The NPCIL has said this in its reply to an application under the RTI moved by Mona Siwach, a local RTI activist.

Mona, who has a Gorkhpur connection, had asked 15 questions ranging from the safety concerns regarding the plant to the rehabilitation policy of the corporation for displaced farmers and in answer to nine of these questions, the NPCIL said the issue would be included in the EIA/EC (environmental impact assessment/environmental certification) document, which was being prepared.

“The replies given by the NPCIL are evasive and brief, and do not answer the concerns of farmers,” Mona alleged.

Ranjit Raj Kakde, Corporate Communication and Central Public Information Officer of the NPCIL, has given brief replies, ranging from one line to two lines, to all 15 questions asked by Mona.

Mona got identical answers to several questions like the corporation’s plan to meet emergency situations, its social liability, and impact on humans, plants, animals and birds in case of accidents.

Answering a question regarding the disposal of nuclear waste and “heavy water”, the NPCIL said the “emergency preparations will be included in the EIA/EC document, which is being prepared”.

Answering Mona’s concerns about the rehabilitation of the affected farmers, the NPCIL said it would be done as per the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy of the Haryana government.

On the question of providing employment to the youths from Gorakhpur village, the reply asks the questioner to refer to the R&R policy of the government.

Mona Siwach had sought a copy of the agreement between the state government and the NPCIL (or the Central Government) about the proposed plant at Gorakhpur, to which Kakde replied that till date there was no such agreement with the state government.

To another question, the NPCIL said the corporation would supply electricity to villages coming within a radius of 5 km of the plant.

Sirsa, November 26
Complaints about inclusion of ineligible families in the below poverty line (BPL) list and those regarding non-registration of eligible families have been mounting with the authorities throughout the state, particularly in urban areas.

Sirsa is no exception, where 31,773 families of the total 60,000-odd families living in urban areas of the district have got themselves included in the BPL list.

That several entries in the list are fake is evident from the fact that the Food and Supplies Department has not been able to issue ration cards to at least 6,000 of these families in the past 15 months, as these are not traceable, according to Suresh Goyal, Assistant Project Officer in the District Urban Development Authority (DUDA).

The F&S authorities had made 25,702 cards till Tuesday, though the BPL list was prepared on August 31, 2009.

Keeping in view the quantum of objections and claims received by the authorities, a committee headed by Deputy Commissioner CG Rajini Kaanthan has been constituted in the district to redress these grievances.

The committee comprises the SDM, the executive officers of the municipal councils concerned, the District Food and Supplies Officer, the Assistant Project Officer, DUDA, and the Social Welfare Officer.

The committee has been constituted on the orders of the Special Secretary and Project Director, State Urban Development Society, Haryana.

The orders of the Special Secretary state that “the committee shall consider the claims and objections and recommend the names of genuine eligible families for inclusion in the urban BPL list after proper verification. The committee shall also take suo motu action and recommend names of ineligible families for deletion from the BPL list.”

However, the job of the committee is going to be quite tricky with a large number of families vying to get their names included in the list and ruling party politicians flooded with requests for this purpose.

As per the Government of India norms, only 10 per cent of the total urban families are to be placed under the BPL category, based on their monthly income and some other parameters.

The parameter for BPL families is a monthly income of Rs 250 per member of the family. Under these norms, 6,057 families in five municipal towns of Sirsa district have been registered under the BPL category.

Of these 6,057 families, 3,713 families have been registered as poorest of the poor under the Antodaya Ann Yojna and have been given pink cards. However, in the list prepared under the Haryana government’s guidelines of a monthly income of Rs 443.21 per member, the number has reached 31,773 families.

Sirsa, November 26
Haryana Janhit Congress supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi today demanded that the money of Indian politicians deposited in Swiss banks should be brought back to the country to boost its economy.

Bishnoi, who was here to address his party workers to mobilise them for the December 2 rally of the party at Jind, was addressing mediapersons today.

The HJC leader alleged that the UPA government was maintaining a discreet silence on the issue of bringing back Indian money from Swiss banks, because a major part of the Rs 70 lakh crore belonged to politicians from the ruling party.

Bishnoi maintained that when an honest Prime Minister like Manmohan Singh had been observing silence on this issue, it was not difficult to fathom as to under whose pressure he was doing so.

Bishnoi alleged that corruption had touched new heights during the UPA government and expressed surprise that the government was not showing any will to act against the guilty.

Flaying the Manmohan Singh government on the 2-G spectrum scam, the HJC leader demanded that the government should immediately agree to the Opposition demand for a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC).

Bishnoi also criticised the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in Haryana and alleged that the state government was “anti-people”.

He alleged that the Hooda government had been divesting farmers of their fertile and costly agricultural land to benefit builders and corporate houses.

He also accused the government of banning mining on the pretext of court orders to provide huge profits to people close to the government, who, he alleged, were operating from other states.

He claimed that a high-level probe into the ban on mining could expose how common people of the state had been made to pay through the nose to benefit the near and dear ones of the powers that be.

Bishnoi alleged that the INLD had a tacit understanding with the Hooda government for watching the interests of the Chautala family and claimed that the HJC was the only party playing the role of the opposition in Haryana.

He maintained that he had announced the December 2 rally at Jind to expose the wrong deeds of the Hooda government before the masses.

He maintained that the rally would serve as an eye-opener for the state government, which, he alleged, was in deep slumber.

Bishnoi showed a lot of bonhomie for his elder brother, Chander Mohan, when asked whether he was welcome to the HJC.

Earlier, addressing HJC workers, Bishnoi asked his workers to observe a two-minute silence as a tribute to the 26/11 victims. 

Chandigarh, November 26
Ambala Deputy Commissioner is in trouble, apparently. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled the DC made an attempt to “circumvent the judicial process” in a recruitment matter. He has now been asked to file a personal affidavit.

The directions came on a petition by Surinder Kumar Rana of Ambala cantonment. Seeking directions to the State of Haryana and other respondents on quashing Ashwani Kumar’s appointment as small savings publicity officer, the petitioner had accused the DC of misusing his powers in the recruitment process on the recommendations of MLA Vinod Sharma.

Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “As per the petitioner, this appointment was unconstitutional, having been made without any advertisement and was actuated because of extraneous and political consideration. The appointment was also said to be against government instructions, which amounted to misuse of public money as such. The petitioner alleges this to be political corruption”.

“In response to the notice, reply has been filed by the Ambala DC. It is stated the respondent appointed on a contractual basis tendered his resignation on August 8… The petitioner has alleged this is only a farcical exercise as after accepting the resignation from the post on which he was arbitrarily appointed, the respondent has again been adjusted as a catering manager and paid out of the DC Red Cross Fund. “The manner in which in the respondent is being preferred and offered appointments, the allegations made cannot be lightly brushed aside. “He appears to be a favoured person and it can be due to political consideration as well…

“There is no justification for making appointment without advertisement, and when put to challenge the respondent is made to resign to adjust him on some other post. This is just to hoodwink and to mislead the court.

“There is, thus, a clear attempt by the DC to circumvent the judicial process, which cannot be permitted.

“The DC is directed to file a personal affidavit to explain how the appointment was initially made. How and under what circumstances he was asked to resign, which was accepted, and what has prompted him to again appoint him as catering manager. Apparently, it is a case of arbitrary exercise of power and cannot be allowed”. 

Faridabad, November 26
The municipal employees met Police Commissioner PK Aggarwal here today .

They demanded quashing of the FIR against two of their colleagues and registration of a case against a councillor, failing which they threatened to intensify their agitation further.

The employees continued with their dharna and gate meetings at the MCF headquarters for the fifth day to press for acceptance of their demands. They raised slogans against Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Congress MLA from Ballabgarh Sharda Rathore as well as the police.

President of the Engineer Association of the civic body Dharam Singh said the police commissioner had sought time and promised to that justice would be done.

The employees, who have resorted to agitation under the banner of Nagar Palika Karamchaari Sangh, during their meeting with Commissioner of the MCF, Mahtab Singh Sehrawat, yesterday had warned of intensifying their struggle and resorting to direct action if their demands were not met.

Thereafter,Sehrawat spoke to the Police Commissioner. An FIR against two employees of the civic body, including a junior engineer, was registered on a complaint of Kamal Yadav, councillor representing ward No. 35 in the Ballabgarh assembly constituency, a few dayas ago.

The councillor alleged that he was kidnapped and manhandled by the two employees near his house.

The employees, on the other ,hand allege that they were abused and manhandled by the councillor, knpwn for his wrestling prowess, and his henchmen while on an inspection visit in the area to ensure that no illegal construction was taking place.

The agitating employees allege that the councillor is being shielded and encouraged by Sharda Rathore and, hence, the police has been dragging feet on  lodging a complaint against him.

Bhiwani, November 26
Former chairperson of the MC, Sewa Devi Dhillon, today ruled out her involvement in passing the building plans of two multi-storeyed buildings on Hansi Road here. At a meeting today, she said that the case registered in this connection was baseless and false. 

Two of the four plans referred in the case were passed before her tenure. Referring to the record, she said file nos. 309 and 314 of the plans when brought to her table and, were ordered to put at the general meeting.

These were passed at the general body meeting on January 16, 2009. — OC

Sirsa, November 26
Sudesh Kumar (17), a student of computer engineering at Government Polytechnic, Nathusari Chopta, was attacked by six youths with lathis and sharp-edged weapons this afternoon.

The assailants would have eliminated Sudesh had bystanders not come to his rescue.The victim was rushed to the village Primary Health Centre from where he was shifted to the General Hospital in Sirsa.

The victim has sustained injuries on his head.

In another incident, jeweller Gurbachan Singh and his son Kulbir Singh were attacked by car-borne youths when the two were going to their village after closing their shop last night.

The assailant first hit their motorbike from the rear and then attacked them with sticks.The two fell on the road. Taking them to be dead, the assailants fled.

Sanjay, a vegetable market trader, and his kin Jeewan Dass were attacked by assailants in front of a police barricade last night. Both were injured.

In yet another incident, Tej Paul Kaur, a teacher, was hit on the head with an iron rod by unidentified persons when she was going towards a bus stand on a rickshaw.

Meanwhile, the police has arrested four persons for the muder of a Dabwali youth two days back.

The SP identified them as Vinod, Rohit, Parkash and Mukesh, all residents of Dabwali.

Hisar, November 26
Three students of the local Government Polytechnic were killed when the bus in which they were travelling collided with a truck on the Delhi road late last evening.

Two of the students hailed from Satrod village and one belonged to Kharar village. The bus driver reportedly tried to overtake the truck from the wrong side.

As the truck took a turn towards the Mill Gate area, the speeding bus collided with it, seriously injuring Sachin, Ravi and Aashirwad. They were rushed to a hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.

Students blocked the road floowing the accident. Senior officers rushed to the spot and convinced them to lift the blockade.

Students of Guru Jambheshwar University, Government Polytechnic and Government College for Girls situated on the bypass on National Highway No. 10 have to spend on an average two hours a day waiting for buses to take them home.

They complain that while they are able to reach their institutions from their villages in the morning, drivers of long route buses do not halt in the evening to carry them back home.

Many a time, they have to travel on the bus roof or perch themselves precariously on the bus doorsteps. There have been several mishaps on this section of the highway this year or so.

Students said the transport authorities had some months back posted a Haryana Roadways employee to force the drivers to stop the buses for students in the evening. They had also been issued special passes.

But a few weeks ago the employee had been posted elsewhere.

Since then the problem had aggravated.

Sonepat, November 26
At least 20 farm labourers from Bihar were reportedly thrashed and looted by armed gangsters as they were travelling on the Delhi-bound train between Rathdhana and Narela late last night. Some of them were allegedly thrown out of the train when they refused to hand over the cash to the gangsters. The labourers, mostly from district Saharsa in Bihar, were returning home from Punjab after the harvesting season.They boarded the train at Panipat. At 11 pm, the gangsters boarded the train at the Rathdhana railway station and after entering one of the compartments, asked the passengers to hand over cash. They jumped out of the train as it slowed down at an under-pass near the Narela railway station.

At the Narela station, the labourers lodged a complaint with the station master who reportedly informed the GRP at the Sabzi Mandi railway station as well as the GRP at the Sonepat railway station.

The labourers were sent back to Sonepat in another passenger train. The Narela station master cautioned the driver of the Sonepat-bound passenger train to pick up labourers thrown out of the train near milestone Nos 19 and 20. The SHO of the Sonepat GRP station, maintained that the passengers were not thrown out of train, rather they had jumped out fearing for their lives.

Rohtak, November 26
A young couple was allegedly set ablaze by kin of the girl near Nighana village in the district, 20 km from here, last night.

The couple, hailing from Gujrani village in Bhiwani district, has been admitted to the PGIMS Hospital. The boy’s condition is said to be critical.

The girl is reported to have escaped with minor injuries. The police has registered a case against three persons, including two brothers of the girl, in this regard.

It is, however, not sure if it was an attempt to murder. No arrest has been made so far.

Savita, who is married, and Sunil, a plus two student, were reportedly caught together by Savita’s brothers Ballu and Chotala at a brick-kiln near Nighana village. Savita had been missing from home for the past couple of days.

The couple, it is learnt, came to the kiln, where Sunil’s kin are employed, last night.

They were caught by Savita’s brothers in the wee hours today and allegedly set afire. Hearing their screams, the locals rushed to the couple’s help.

They doused the fire and rushed the couple to the PGIMS Hospital.

The SSP, Satish Balan, said the matter was under investigation and it could also be a suicide attempt by the couple. 

Fatehabad, November 26
Some unidentified persons stole equipment and solar plates of a solar energy system from the local Manohar Memorial Postgraduate College recently. The equipment was worth Rs 2 lakh.

The college has a 10-foot-high wall with grills on top. The thieves scaled the wall with the help of a wooden ladder, which they left on the wall.

The police has registered a case and begun investigations into the matter.