Panchkula, March 22
The CBI court today convicted five accused and acquitted five others in the infamous kidney scandal. Two of the five convicts were released after the court learnt that they had already undergone the required quantum of punishment under relevant sections.

The court also ordered the payment of Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to the three kidney victims.

The main accused, Dr Amit Kumar and Dr Upender, were awarded seven-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 60.25 lakh and Rs 60.2 lakh, respectively. Two other convicts, Ghiyassudin and Manoj, were released as they had already undergone imprisonment of nearly five years under the Transplantation of Human Organs (TOHO) Act as they were awarded four-and-a-half-year imprisonment.

The fifth convict, Shahid, who was awarded four-and-a-half-year imprisonment under the TOHO Act, has already undergone imprisonment of one-and-a-half year. "Shahid, Ghiyassudin and Manoj have also been fined Rs 20,000 each," said counsel Manbir Rathi.

While those acquitted were Dr Shahraj, Dr Krishan Kumar Aggarwal, Jeevan, Dr Amit Kumar's brother, and Linda, a nurse. "The accused were acquitted as no circumstantial evidence was found against them," said defence counsel Abhishek Sharma.

The multi-crore Gurgaon kidney scandal came to light in January, 2008, after the police arrested several people for running a kidney transplant racket in the millennium city. The kidneys of most of the victims, hailing primarily from nearby western UP, were transplanted into clients from the USA, the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Greece.

The main accused in the kidney scandal, Amit Kumar, was arrested in Nepal on February 7, 2008.

Gurgaon, March 22
Dronacharya awardee Sunil Dabbas, coach of the country’s women kabaddi team, was rushed to the ICU when she fainted allegedly after local MLA Rao Dharam Pal passed comments on her dress. Dharam Pal had come to Dronacharya College, here, for a prize distribution function.

Dabbas, who is the Head of Department of Physical Education at the college, had gone with some other teachers to receive Dharam Pal. She was dressed in jeans and a full-sleeved shirt. Dharam Pal reportedly told her that her dress was not worthy of a college teacher and against the Indian tradition and that it would have a bad impact on the students.

The comments left Dabbas embarrassed and she started sweating and fainted. She was rushed to the local Sheetla Hospital where she was admitted to the ICU.

College students staged a protest against the development.

Dharam Pal, however, alleged that she had conspired a protest against him.

This infuriated the students and they shouted slogans and Dharam Pal had to reportedly flee the college.

While the students blocked traffic and there was havoc in the college, the Principal refused to say anything, claiming ignorance. “She has gone to hospital, but I can’t say why,” he said.

“My wife has been on the forefront of getting laurels for the country and this is how they repay us. If this is what happens to an international player what can the ordinary girls expect?” said Dabbas’s husband.

Over 50 policemen have been deployed at the hospital.

Dharam Pal said the matter was being blown out of proportion. He said he had told Dabbas, “Beta tune hame bahut proud kiya hai, bus kapade bhi achhe pehna kar. I spoke to her in a fatherly way, but given the groupism in the college, the issue was blown up and a protest staged. She is not in the ICU anymore and has gone home. I have become a victim of the college lecturer's politics,” said Dharam Pal.

Chandigarh, March 22
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the mere registration of an FIR cannot be equated with a finding of guilt for denying appointment to a deserving candidate.

The ruling by Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa came on a petition filed by Pardeep against Haryana and other respondents. He had questioned the state government's action of denying appointment to him as a JBT teacher due to the registration of an FIR.

The petitioner contended that the Haryana Staff Selection Commission issued an advertisement on August 13, 2009, for recruiting 967 JBT teachers. He was not issued an appointment letter even though his name figured in the select/merit list. The petitioner was orally informed that the appointment letter was not issued to him due to the registration of an FIR against him.

Allowing his petition, Justice Dhindsa asserted: "This court is of the considered view that the mere registration of an FIR cannot be made the basis and equated with a finding of guilt recorded by a competent court.

“The respondents are directed to issue an appointment letter to the petitioner in the light of his merit position in the general category within eight weeks. He is also held entitled to all consequential benefits in the nature of seniority, pay fixation with effect from the date a person lower in merit to him had been so appointed as a JBT teacher in the same very process of selection”. 

Karnal, March 22
A hapless victim of child marriage, abandoned by her parents and in-laws, is running from pillar to post for justice. She has nowhere to go as her husband is in jail in a murder case, in-laws are allegedly torturing her and the parents have shut the door on her.

In her complaint to the Karnal superintendent of police, Reetu, daughter of Gurcharan Singh of the local Shiv Colony, has alleged that she was forcibly married by her parents to Amandeep of Bhansa village against her will in June 2012 when she was a minor at that time.

She said after she failed in the Class VIII examination, her parents beat her and compelled her to marry Amandeep. At present, Amandeep is lodged in Karnal jail on charges of murder of a relative over a land dispute and her in-laws are allegedly maltreating her.

“When I narrated my tale of woe to my parents, they beat me up and forced me to go back. Now I am seeking help to get out of the illegal marriage bond,” she said. “After I was thrown out of my parent’s house on March 16, I had to take shelter at the Golden Temple, Amritsar, and spent the night there”, she lamented.

"When my neighbours came to help me, my father got a false case of kidnapping of a minor girl registered against them under Sections 363 and 366A of the IPC,” she alleged.

The girl approached an NGO, the Justice Club of India, for help and was lodged in Nari Nikaten, Karnal. Harish Arya, president of the club, said after the Delhi gang rape case, the police was picking up people without following the preliminary investigations.

He demanded the registration of a case against the girl's parents for pushing the minor daughter to marriage and washing their hands off the responsibility to properly bring her up and educate her.

He said the girl wanted to go back to her parents and continue her studies but was scared that she would again be sent to her in-laws and ill-treated.

Karnal, March 22
Expressing dismay over shrinking time for deliberating upon important issues in the state Assembly and frequent attempts to disrupt the proceedings, Haryana Speaker Kuldeep Sharma today suggested that a mandatory provision for a minimum number of sittings during a calendar year should be made on the pattern of Himachal and Rajasthan to afford more time to the members.

"Necessary amendments should be made in the rules of business to fix the minimum number of days for discussing matters of public interest," he said while talking to The Tribune here.

He said the growing tendency of members to disrupt the House did not augur well for the democracy and efforts should be made to maintain the dignity of the House. "An all-party meeting should be convened to evolve a consensus on this issue and guidelines issued by all parties, urging their members to maintain decorum and discipline in the House," he suggested.

Sharma said that a 'Best Legislator Award' had been instituted to encourage the members to make the best possible contribution in the House and raise issues of common interests and those concerning the welfare of the people. "The award carrying a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh would be given to a legislator every year for outstanding contribution, excellent performance and maintaining discipline and decorum in the House," the Speaker said

About corruption, Sharma said the people should vote for candidates with zero tolerance to corruption and elect better parliamentarians for better governance. 

Rohtak, March 22
The one-and-a-half-month old Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the district police probing the answersheets scam of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) appears to be struggling as the police is yet to nab the kingpin of the racket.

While five persons, including three MDU staffers and two lecturers of affiliated colleges, have been in judicial custody for the past few weeks, it is reported that two main accused are still out of the reach of the police.

The scam was unearthed after the recovery of 2,191 unmarked answersheets lying abandoned on the MDU campus on February 2.

It is claimed that two youths working with a private institution, identified as Ravi Gemini and Vikas, could be the brain of the racket.

District police chief Vivek Sharma, who is on leave at present, had earlier claimed that the SIT probe was on its target and would ensure that the culprits were in net as soon as possible. 

Sirsa, March 22
One person died of electrocution while another allegedly torched himself to death in Sirsa today.

Kala Singh (35), a private electrician, was trying to rectify an electric fault near his house at Rania in Sirsa last night when his hand touched a live wire on the pole. The victim died on the spot. The police sent the body for the post-mortem examination.

In another case, Hassan, a migrated labourer from Bihar, died of burn injuries. The victim had allegedly sustained burn injuries while sitting near fire on March 4.

In yet another incident, a 25-year-old man sustained serious burn injuries, when he allegedly set himself on fire in Sirsa town today. Victim Jagsir Singh was a welding mechanic.

Reports said he came to his house in the morning and allegedly torched himself after pouring some inflammable material on his body. His condition is reported to be serious.

Rewari, March 22
The Dharuhera police has arrested Narender Kumar, a resident of Maheshwari village, who was the main accused in the gang rape of a minor girl (16) of Dharuhera, and who had been on the run for the past few weeks.

He was yesterday produced before a local court which remanded him in a 14-day judicial custody.

A teenager (16) of Garhi village, who too was an accused in the above case, was earlier arrested and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board which let him off (on probation).

The girl, who is studying in Class XI in a senior secondary school here, was allegedly whisked away by the above teenager when she was waiting for a bus for Dharuhera on February 23.

The girl was then taken to Bhiwadi town, near Dharuhera, where Narender joined the teenager.

The girl, who was then administered some sedative, was allegedly gang raped by the duo.

Subsequently on a complaint filed by the victim’s mother, the Dharuhera police had registered a case of abduction, administration of a sedative and gang rape of the girl against the teenager and Narender Kumar.

Sirsa, March 22
Chief Justice AK Sikri of the Punjab and Haryana High Court will lay the foundation stone of the Alternative Disputes Redressal (ADR) centre at Sirsa on March 30.

Justice Augustine George Masih of the Punjab and Haryana High Court said here today that the ADR centres were being set up in every district by the Haryana State Legal Services Authority (HSLSA) to provide quick and free justice to the people.

Subhash Goyal, District and Sessions Judge, Sirsa, said an Alternative Disputes Redressal centre was already operational in an informal manner in the district courts.

He said the decisions of the cases taken in this centre were final and an appeal could not be filed in any other court against these orders. 

Rewari, March 22
As many as 40 computers, an air conditioner, inverter, batteries, books, furniture and other material worth about Rs 20 lakh were gutted in a fire which broke out in a computer training centre at Kosli, 30 km from here, last night.

Fire brigades from Rewari and Jhajjar took several hours to extinguish the fire that had completely reduced the above material to ashes.

According to its proprietor Harkesh,the fire was apparently caused by a short circuit.

Sirsa, March 22
The Sirsa District Bar Association boycotted the two-day visit of Justice Augustine George Masih in protest against the High Court orders directing lawyers to vacate the litigants' hall and some other issues. Later, in its orders dated March 19, 2013, the High Court directed the Sirsa District and Sessions Judge to keep the earlier letter under abeyance till further orders as the matter was under the consideration of the building committee of the High Court. The visit ended today.

"The Bar had resolved to boycott all visiting High Court judges after we received a letter in October, 2012, asking us to remove our furniture and other articles lying in the Litigants' Hall.

The lawyers have no other place to sit as there are merely 60 chambers against the Bar strength of 1300," said Daljit Singh Sra, president of the District Bar Association, Sirsa.

He said the government had provided lawyers additional land for chambers but the building committee of the High Court had not been clearing the file.

However, not all members of the Bar endorse Sra's stand as the Bar's decision to boycott the High Court judge is not only discourteous but also against their own interests.

Justice Masih said there was no real issue as the relations between the Bar and the Bench in the courts had always been cordial here.

He said though the land had already been earmarked for additional chambers, the file pertaining to it had been pending because the Bar Association was yet to submit the site plan and some other information.