Sirsa, June 11
In a move that will go a long way in checking the misuse of drug formulations, the Centre has suspended the manufacture and sale of dextropropoxyphene, a drug used in Proxyvon, Spasmo Proxyvon and Parvon, which are often misused by addicts.

It was stated in a recent notification of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that the Centre was satisfied that the use of dextropropoxyphene or formulations containing it was likely to involve risk to life and there were safe alternatives.

The notification issued by Arun K Panda, Joint Secretary in the ministry, said the manufacture for sale, sale and distribution of dextropropoxyphene or formulations containing it had been suspended under Section 26-A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Proxyvon and Spasmo Proxyvon manufactured by Wockhardt Limited contain dextropropoxyphene and are mostly used by addicts, particularly youths. Parvon and Parvon Spas manufactured by Haryana-based Jagsonpal Pharmaceuticals Limited are also used by addicts.

These capsules have often been recovered from jail inmates or from their kin trying to pass on the drugs to their relatives in jails.

“I sent copies of the notification to officers in the field today and told them to ensure that the sale of products containing dextropropoxyphene was stopped forthwith,” said GL Singal, Joint Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, who is the State Drug Controller as well.

State Drug Controllers across the country had recently appealed to the Drug Technical Advisory Board, urging it to take action to restrict the manufacture and use of some narcotic and psychotropic drugs.

They had suggested a ban on codeine, dextropropoxyphene and diphenoxylatean which were hardly prescribed by doctors. Drug regulators had sought curbs on the misuse of some psychotropic drugs like nitrazepam, buprenorphine and pentazocine.

Singal said the demand was made in the wake of the widespread use of these drugs. “The situation is alarming as more people, especially the youth, are getting addicted,” he added.

He said the notification would help drug regulators curb the sale of drugs for a kick. He added that the ban on dextropropoxyphene was the first step in this direction and the need to suspend the sale of other drugs misused for addiction was important.

Sources in the pharmaceutical sector said this step would hit some drug companies hard as a major portion of sales had been coming from the manufacture and sale of such formulations.

Chandigarh, June 11
The Haryana Government has cancelled the licence of Chandigarh-based Gee City Builders Private Limited to develop a residential project in Sonepat due to default in payment of external development charges (EDC).

In his order, Anurag Rastogi, Director-General of the Department of Town and Country Planning, cancelled the licence for a residential colony measuring around 10 acres at Reveli village in Sector 17 of Sonepat, for non-payment of EDC, non-submission of demarcation plans and failure to obtain a no-objection certificate from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The builder was granted the licence to develop a colony on June 8, 2007, for two years. The company had applied for the renewal of licence from June 8, 2009, to June 7, 2011, but no application for the succeeding period from June 8, 2011, was submitted.

While the process for the cancellation of the licence was in progress, the builder contended that it had not deposited nearly Rs 16.16 crore as EDC and Rs 60.7 lakh as infrastructure development-cum-service charges as government agencies had failed to develop physical infrastructure around the site.

The Haryana Urban Development Authority had contended that work on an external road between Sectors 17 and 18, which was adjacent to the site, had been allotted and the work on external sewerage was in progress.

On the date of final hearing on April 1, Rajinder Mittal, Managing Director of the company, claimed that the firm wanted to work on the project, but was unable to launch it due to lack of physical infrastructure. He requested Rastogi to allow time to deposit the EDC. The case was adjourned to May 6.

On May 6, company advocate AM Punchhi reiterated past commitments of the company. Seeing the past record of the company in not keeping its commitment to deposit the EDC despite being granted time, Rastogi cancelled the licence of the builder.

Jind, June 11
Cracking the whip to curb the practice of illegally getting below poverty line (BPL) cards, the authorities concerned have cancelled the cards of over 13,000 persons.

They have issued a notice for the recovery of financial losses suffered in the last five years during which these beneficiaries had taken subsidised rations. There are 68,478 BPL card holders in the district.

District Food and Supply Controller Ashok Kumar that said around 13,000 cards had been cancelled and a notice had been issued to 6,710 persons who had availed themselves of benefits since 2008.

He said about Rs 24 crore was proposed to be recovered from the beneficiaries who had caused a loss of between Rs 20,000 and Rs 22,000 per card holder.

He admitted that loopholes in the survey process, criteria evaluation and preparation of cards could be the main reason behind the problem, adding that there could be other factors as well.

Sonepat, June 11
Suspended Chandigarh police constable Basant and his paramour Sarita, who were arrested by the Sonepat police from Delhi in connection with Chandigarh Police Inspector Sucha Singh's murder, will be handed over to the Chandigarh police on June 13 in a court at Chandigarh.

SHO Sultan Singh, Rai police station, said the Chandigarh police had applied for production warrant of the accused in triple murder case. The Sonepat police would take them to Chandigarh and produce them in a court where the Chandigarh police would take them in its custody for investigation.

With the recovery of a self-loading rifle and the car used by Basant in the murder of Sarita’s husband (Sandeep) and his mother (Roshni Devi) in their house at Deepalpur village on April 18, the Sonepat police has almost completed its investigation in the case.

Basant and Sarita were wanted by the Chandigarh police after they escaped from Chandigarh after stabbing Sucha Singh to death and seriously injuring a Home Guard Jawan who was driving the Inspector’s police jeep.

Gurgaon, June 11
The first-ever all-women commando team of the CRPF presented a breathtaking performance featuring various skills on the CRPF Group Centre campus at Kadarpur in Gurgaon today.

The country's first women commando team raised by the CRPF comprises 30 personnel, including two officers. The team has undergone a tough regimen of three-month commando training at the Jodhpur Police Academy in Rajasthan.

They have been trained in various aspects like hostage crisis, rescuing citizens endangered in terrorist attacks, providing proximate security to visiting female dignitaries, counter-terrorist operations, resolving high-risk situations, resolving situations involving vital installations, stabilising situations involving high-risk suicidal attacks, providing additional security at special events and special training etc.

CRPF Director-General Pranay Sahay, who was the chief guest at the event, said the women battalions of the CRPF were the most manifest form of women empowerment. CRPF women were deployed all over the country in operational sites and conflict zones and had also been coordinating religious yatras like the Amarnath Yatra.

The performance by the women commando team was followed by a performance by an all-women pipe band.

Chandigarh, June 11
The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has approved the construction of four 33-KV substations at Guniana, Sonkara, Mirjapur and Sohti at a cost of about Rs 20.62 crore.

Stating this here yesterday, a spokesman said about 40-kilometre-long 33-KV transmission lines would be laid to connect the new substations to feeding substations.

He said each substation would have one 10-MVA transformer to feed consumers and there would be a provision of of one additional transformer at each substation in case of increase in load.

The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam had approved the construction of 33-KV substations at Baroda, Kheri Buliyan Wali, Madina, Nohra and Sanoli Kalan villages.

Bhiwani, June 11
Two young lovers jumped in front of a goods train coming from Rewari here today, resulting in the boy's death and critical injuries to the girl. They were students of class XI at a school at Behl in Bhiwani.

While the boy, who died on the spot, was identified as Sonu of Serla village, the identity of the girl was yet to be established. They jumped in front of the train near Jeetuwala Johar this morning.

The boy was trapped under the train, which dragged him up to the Bhiwani junction. The girl was thrown away by the impact and she was rushed to the PGIMS in Rohtak in a critical condition.

The Government Railway Police informed the boy's family from the mobile phone recovered from his pocket. The police said further details would be known after the family's arrival.

Chandigarh, June 11
The Haryana Government has decided to empanel retired teachers in schools on contract for arrangements during the period teachers are on leave. This decision was taken in a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here yesterday.

The Chief Minister said those teachers who were about to retire should be re-employed so that students might not suffer for want of teachers. He said it should be mentioned in their contract that they would be posted as per requirement. Preference should be given to retired teachers, he added.

It was stated that teaching in schools suffered due to non-availability of teachers on account of reasons like maternity leave, childcare leave, long-term absenteeism and medical leave. It was stated that no additional teacher was posted during such a period and students had to remain without teachers for a long period.

Hisar, June 11
In a broad daylight robbery, seven armed miscreants entered a house situated in posh locality of Model Town at Hansi town in Hisar today and decamped with cash and jewellery.

The police and experts from the Forensic Science Lab were trying to collect evidences from the house targeted by the robbers. The miscreants entered house no. 77 belonging to Naveen Jain near Tosham Octroi Post of Hansi.

The house owner’s daughter, Varnika, who was sitting in the living room thought that some invaders had entered a wrong house erroneously.

The miscreants, however, slapped the girl and took out their pistols. When Vernika’s brother, Tanmay, came to his sister’s rescue, he was also slapped by the robbers. The children’s mother, Vijaya Rani, also came in for a similar treatment at the hands of miscreants, when she intervened.

The outlaws threatened those present in the house that they would shoot everyone, if they tried to raise an alarm. They asked Vijaya Rani about the cupboard where she had kept her ornaments and took out cash and jewellery from there.

They also forced Varnika and her mother to hand over their earrings, bangles and other gold ornaments. Later, the miscreants went upstairs, where they looted ornaments from a tenant Ravinder Behl’s mother.

Behl, a deputy manager in a bank, was on his duty while his wife had gone to her parent’s house. Behl’s father tried to raise an alarm, but he was beaten up.

Two miscreants kept a watch outside the house and they continued asking others to hurry up”. The robbers decamped on foot after the incident. The victims have informed the police that the miscreants were speaking in local dialect and one of them had covered his face under a cloth. 

Gurgaon, June 11
An elderly woman has been gagged and strangled to death allegedly by her maid and her accomplices at her house in Phase II of DLF City here. The accused thrashed and gagged her husband, who was undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

Jasveer Kaur (77) and her husband Manmohan Singh (81) were getting their house painted by labourers engaged through their domestic help's husband. They have two children, living in Argentina. The labourers left around 8:15 pm, but reportedly returned later to rob the couple.

According to the police, they dragged the woman to the bathroom where they gagged her, tied her hands and legs and tied a rope around her neck. Her husband was taken to the bathroom where he was gagged and tied up. Two men then robbed the couple, the police said.

DCP (Crime) Rajesh Duggal said, "Efforts are on to nab the accused. We found that they had rented a house at Nathupur. It seems their prime motive was robbery. They stole mobile phones, jewellery and cash. The woman's post-mortem report confirms that she died of strangulation."

The police said the murder could have been planned and they were investigating if the two domestic helps were

involved. The police questioned the security guard and released sketches of the accused, announcing a reward of Rs 25,000.