Hisar, July 15
Three persons were killed in a shootout between two groups over a land dispute in Barwala town of Hisar today. Angered over the shootout incident, locals blocked the Hisar-Chandigarh NH-52 and pelted stones at the police station. The police opened fire to contain the mob. An SHO and some policemen sustained injuries in the process.

The deceased were identified as Rinku, Vicky and Neeraj. The locals alleged that while Rinku and Vicky died in the shootout, Neeraj was killed in the police firing.

Superintendent of Police (SP) B Satish Balan rushed to the spot. The road blockade was cleared after the SP assured the irate locals of action against the accused.

Balan said: “Neeraj had suffered bullet injury in front of the police station. The police had opened fire to control the mob but it’s unclear whether he had died of police bullet or someone else’s. The post-mortem examination would establish about the exact cause of his death.” He added that an SHO and five to six other policemen, too, had sustained injuries as the irate mob resorted to stone-throwing.

Sources said a group headed by Surender Gill and another Hisar-based group were having a dispute over around 2,600 sq yd land of Wakf board, Madhuban road. Sources said the land was in possession of Gill, but the Hisar-based group had started raising the boundary wall around the land, claiming its ownership.

Gill had reportedly approached the police alleging encroachment on the land a couple of days ago, but the police failed to take cognisance of the complaint. The situation, however, took a serious turn today when people from both sides carrying arms gathered on the land.

Police said Rinku (30) died at around 2 pm in the shootout. Enraged over his death, people blocked the highway and started marching towards the police station. In the melee, another person, Neeraj, too, suffered bullet injuries. He was rushed to the hospital but died during treatment. Later, another youth also succumbed to injuries. The police have started the process to register a case.

Karnal, July 15
Former Congress minister Tajender Pal Mann, who was saddened after his wife Pushpa, along with two other relatives, had gone missing in the devastating floods on June 16 at Kedarnath and are presumed to be dead, died of a heart attack on Sunday late night at his younger son’s residence at Chhatarpur in Delhi. Mann (75) is survived by his sons Bijendra Mann and Ranbir Mann.

His body was brought here this morning. Thousands of people bid adieu to Mann, a former MLA and minister and Kaithal District Congress Committee president.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda who visited his place today described him as an honest leader and social worker. He said Mann’s contribution towards girl education and fighting gender discrimination would always be remembered fondly.

A distraught Mann, who could not come out of trauma of separation from his wife at Kedarnath, was feeling lonely and miserable after frantic searches made by him yielded no results and he returned empty-handed after 10 days. He died 29 days after losing contact with his beloved wife.

After Partition, his family returned to native village at Ghoghripur and he was elected from the Pai Assembly constituency of Kaithal in 1991. He was inducted as industrial training minister in Congress ministry headed by Bhajan Lal. He was elected again from Pai in 2005 but lost the election in 2009.

He was credited with setting up the first women Gurkul at Mormajra in 1973 and remained associated with this institution till his death. His cremation took place at Mormajra Gurkul.

A large number of prominent people, including Haryana Congress President Phul Chand Mullana, MP Navin Jindal and Arvind Sharma, MLA Karnal Sumita Singh, Mayor Renu Bala and senior officers visited Mann’s house and conveyed their condolences to bereaved family members. 

Gurgaon, July 15
Even as Maruti Suzuki's act of sending 200 contractual workers on "forced leave" has fuelled speculations of simmering labour woes at Manesar, district labour authorities claim that everything was well in the Haryana’s biggest Industrial turf. While national labour bodies and political parties have expressed concern over labour and management issues, the Labour Department claimed to have devised a special time and motion analysis, which has reportedly managed to help it in resolving all pending issues in all factories here.

Citing his latest "success" at Clutch Auto, Assistant Labour Commissioner Naresh Narwal said, “The talks of labour trouble in Manesar are nothing but a hype. Yes, things were a little downhill last year and we had issues in almost all factories, but with our intervention and negotiation, we have ensured that unions and managements in all factories are at an amicable pedestal.” The department’s engineering wing has been visiting factories to assess the required working hours and relative wages to ensure that none of parties feel at a loss. “The major issue between all the unions and managements is about apt working hours and relative salaries. We have undertaken extensive research at industries like Napolean, wherein we determine how many workers a company need and for how many hours to complete its production targets. The engineers also minutely assessed the money and facilities to be given to the workers,” added Narwal. Asked about the tension created in the area due to the threats of protest by the sacked Maruti workers, he said, “The issue of the sacked workers should be handled by other agencies of the administration. As far as layoffs are concerned, that was contractual staff, which has been sent on paid leave to cut production. So far, we have not received any complaint from their side.” 

Gurgaon, July 15
The new Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner, Shekhar Vidyarthi, said here today that the district administration had earmarked the open space near the Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29 for organising demonstrations or public meetings by various organisations or group of persons after taking permission from the administration.

Soon after assuming charge, Vidyarthi maintained that the agitating dismissed Maruti workers could also use the above ground for their demonstration on July 18 with permission from the district administration.

“The workers’ request for holding demonstration will be considered if they apply for the same and assure that their demonstration will be peaceful,” the DC asserted.

It may be recalled that a few days ago, former Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena had prohibited holding of demonstrations and processions on and along the NH-8 and in the IMT, Manesar.

Earlier, the sarpanches and panchayat members of Kasan, Dhana, Baas Padamka, Baas Koosla and other villages in the Manesar belt had submitted a memorandum to the then Deputy Commissioner, maintaining that that they would oppose any kind of demonstration by the agitating workers in the IMT, Manesar area.

As per an official statement issued here today, these orders are still in promulgation, but the district administration has given an alternative site near Leisure Valley Park in Gurgaon city to the agitating workers.

Mahabir, a representative of the sacked workers, asserted that they would move the court with a fresh plea to allow them to carry out a peaceful demonstration.

The dismissed workers have alleged that after the violence at the Manesar plant last year, the management had terminated the services of more than 2,000 workers, including 500-odd regular workers, without following the procedure prescribed in the labour laws.

“As many as 147 workers have been languishing in jail for the past about one year and their families are in dire straits…The workers are not been released on bail or parole even to undergo urgent medical treatment or on the death of their close family members,” a workers' leader pointed out.

Meanwhile, Satbir Singh, general secretary of the Haryana chapter of CITU, has lamented that the district administration as well as sarpanches of the Manesar belt were acting at the behest of the state government, adding that banning peaceful protest demonstrations was an encroachment upon the democratic rights of workers.

Chandigarh, July 15
The state government has notified a policy for the grant of licences for group housing colonies in high-density zones. An official spokesman of the Town and Country Planning Department said here today, high-density residential zones had 1,000 persons per hectare (PPH) or more.

He clarified that the policy dated December 19, 2006, related to reservation of 20 per cent of the sector area for a group housing colony in a particular sector, would not be applicable to high-density zones earmarked in the respective development plan as group housing colonies are to be set up in this entire zone.

He said a variation of plus or minus 5 per cent in the prescribed population density shall be considered. For example, in the development plan where population density is 1125 PPH, The minimum and maximum permissible population density shall be 1068 PPH and 1181 PPH.

As much as 20 per cent of the area of the applied land shall be handed over to HUDA by the applicant for providing community facilities and open spaces as earmarked by the department for the composite planning of the area. However, the benefit of 100 per cent FAR of the handed-over area shall be given on the remaining land.

He said the department would fix a cut-off date for submitting applications for licences in the-high density zones of various development plans after which the remaining land shall be acquired by HUDA.

The expenditure on community facilities and open spaces would be borne pro-rata by HUDA and the colonisers, he added.

Hisar, July 15
The district child marriage prohibition officer saved four minor girls from getting married in two villages of the district on Sunday. Officer Babita Chaudhary raided the house of one Ramji Lal in Khara Barwala village of the district on Sunday. Lal was solemnising the marriage of his two minor daughters aged 15 and 16.

In another case, the officer foiled the marriage of a minor daughter of one Vijay Singh at Nangthala village. In Meerpur village, one Sultan Singh was prohibited from going ahead with her minor daughter’s marriage plans.

Chaudhary said she had procured affidavits from the parents of all the four girls that they would not marry them before they attained the marriageable age.

Chandigarh, July 15
One month after the massive flash floods and landslides took a heavy toll on life and property in Uttarakhand, 119 persons from Haryana are feared dead. Though the official death toll has been put at six, 113 persons from Haryana are still missing in the hill state.

"The missing are presumed to be dead as there is remote possibility of their survival though we have sent communications to the Uttarakhand Government to trace the missing persons from the state,” official sources told The Tribune here today.

The sources said there were 2,312 pilgrims and tourists stranded in Uttarakhand and all except for 119 had been rescued from the hill state.

A maximum of 32 persons are missing from Faridabad, followed by Karnal (25), Gurgaon (20), Bhiwani (7), Mahendragarh (6) and Sonepat and Ambala (5 each), Jhajjar and Kurukshetra (3 each), Jind and Palwal (2 each) and Hisar,Panipat and Rohtak (1 each).

New Delhi, July 15
Amid frequent reports of factionalism in the Haryana Congress, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi today held a meeting with state leaders asking them to ensure that the organisation setup was active at all levels.

Rahul took a review whether the mandated monthly meetings were taking place at the block, district and state levels. The presentation on the subject was made by PCC chief Phool Chand Mullana in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is said to have told Rahul Gandhi that the meetings had not taken place in two districts due to technical reasons. The meeting was also attended by AICC general secretary in charge of the state Shakeel Ahmed and Asha Kumari, secretary in charge.

Mullana submitted a detailed report on the functioning of party units in the state.

Congress sources told The Tribune that the meeting did not discuss the pending issue of changing the PCC chief and remained focused on the organisation with Rahul Gandhi keen on energising the ranks ahead of assembly elections due in the state next year.

It is reliably learnt that the party is not in a hurry to effect alterations in the PCC . It has handed over the responsibility of getting “a sense on the subject” from state leaders. Shakeel Ahmad is consequently holding meetings on the top organisational changes with different leaders in the state and would submit a report to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul before any decision is taken. Any changes at the top would happen only after the report is submitted.

The Tribune has also learnt that Ahmed has already met warring factions of state Congress separately. He has held one-on-one meetings with Hooda and his son, Deepender Hooda, senior state leader Choudhary Birender Singh and rebel MP Rao Inderjeet. He has also spoken to Social Justice Minister Kumari Selja.

“It is important for us to take all state leaders on board. Any decision on changes would reflect a consensus,” said a senior party leader here.

On the matter of complaints by some Haryana leaders that the development in the state is heavily skewed in favour of Rohtak, the CM’s constituency, the Congress leadership is treading carefully considering that Rohtak is crucial in the overall scheme of things in Haryana. The region comprises 28 assembly segments of which the Congress currently holds 27.

Kurukshetra, July 15
With the arrest of three more persons, including the main accused, the number of persons arrested in the UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) leak-cum-assault case has gone up to seven.

District police chief Rakesh Kumar Arya said the persons arrested were identified as Roop Kumar of Madina in Rohtak district, who was the main accused, Balraj Singh of Gangoli in Jind district and Rakesh Kumar of Peepla in Jhajjar district. They were produced in court, which remanded them to judicial custody.

He said those arrested earlier were Dharambir of Sheria in Jhajjar district, Satbir Sharma of Eegra in Jind district, a lecturer, Kulbir of Urban Estate in Jind, a lecturer, and Devi Chand of Kalyan Nagar in Kurukshetra, a clerk.

Arya said Roop Kumar told the police that he had appeared in NET and his centre of examination was accommodated at the law department of Kurukshetra University.

Arya said Roop Kumar gave a contract for Rs 3 lakh to Kulbir and others for leaking the paper while Dharamender, alias Dharambir, was paid Rs 10,000 for getting photocopies of the question paper.

Examination centre superintendent Anand Kumar lodged a complaint on June 30 that Dharambir, Satbir, Kulbir and Devi Chand had jointly leaked the NET question paper and assaulted a public servant to deter him from discharging his duty.

Anand had caught hold of Dharambir at the examination centre when he was trying to click photographs of the question booklet. The latter assaulted the former with a sharp-edged weapon and Anand was taken to the LNJP Hospital for treatment.

Kaithal, July 15
Brij Bhushan (74), a social worker who passed away here recently, had donated his eyes. His eye donation helped two blind persons see the world. The deceased, who had been ailing from some time, expressed his desire to his family that his eyes should be donated to needy persons.

In deference to his wish, his family informed the Dr Rajiv Sood of Sood Eye Hospital here, who sent a team to preserve the eyes and send those to an eye hospital in Chandigarh. The deceased’s family today said the parts had been implanted in the eyes of two persons and they would be able to have vision. — OC

Hisar, July 15
A 19-year-old rape victim revealed in court that she was sexually assaulted by her lawyer in his chamber in Hisar during the course of trial recently. The revelation came during examination of the victim by the defence lawyer during the hearing in the court of additional sessions judge Ritu Tagore on Friday.

The victim, a resident of Bugana village of the district and belonging to a backward class community, in her statement to the court (a copy is with The Tribune) said the advocate was an acquaintance and had met him before filing the complaint of rape against the six youths of her village. She further stated: “The advocate raped me in his chamber thrice. I don’t know if he had enmity with Mange Ram, Kuldeep and Rohtas - three of the six rape accused”. She, however, maintained, “It is incorrect to suggest that the advocate committed rape upon me to create false evidence against the accused. He committed rape with me in his chamber after the registration of a case”.

The victim, however, remained firm on the charges of rape against the accused in the court.

Ajay Chaudhary, the defence lawyer for three of the six accused, demanded registration of a case against the advocate whose name had figured in the victim’s statement and also called for a CBI probe into the case.

The district attorney Dalip Singh, however, refused to comment on the case. The next hearing is scheduled for September 6 in the case.

The police had registered a case of gangrape under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act against six youths, including a minor, of Bugana village on January 19. Five of the accused, identified as Sombir, Rohtas, Mange Ram, Ashok Kumar and Kuldeep, are in judicial custody, while the sixth one, a minor, has been out on bail.

The victim had alleged that she was gangraped by the three accused in the field. The accused filmed the act on a mobile phone. She was again raped by two youths threatening to malign her image by circulating the mobile clip in the village and the sixth youth made a rape bid by issuing similar threat in January.

Man held for raping niece

Sonepat: A man was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and raping his minor niece in the fields of Murthal village on Friday night. The accused, Dharmendra, was sent in judicial custody by the local court today.

The rape victim, in her complaint, said she was offered a drink laced with sedative by Rohit, a cousin of Dharmendra, while she was standing outside his house in the village on Friday evening.

After taking the drink, she felt giddy went to her uncle’s house to sleep. However, she was allegedly kidnapped by Dharmendra, who took her to a field and raped her. Later, he dropped the girl near her house. After reaching home, she narrated the incident to her family.

Acting on the complaint, police arrested Dharmendra and registered a case against him and Rohit under different sections of the Indian Penal Code. Rohit would also be arrested soon, the police said.

In another case, one Gulshan of Barhi village in Gannaur has been booked for allegedly eloping with a minor girl of the village.

Woman raped in Gurgaon

Gurgaon: Police today booked a 30-year-old widower and father of two children for allegedly raping his 50-year-old mother.

According to the complaint filed by the victim, her son Gopi, a resident of Siwari village near Farukh Nagar, took her out of the house on the pretext of discussing some important issue with her on Saturday night and raped her.

The victim had been living with him and his two minor daughters. Her daughter-in-law had died five years ago.

“I was shocked and ashamed so couldn’t take any action then. I moved to village sarpanch Chander who took me to police. My son brought me out of home and then outraged my modesty. He then fled from there,” alleged the victim. A case was registered at the Farukh Nagar police station against the accused, who is at large.

Rewari man rapes Dalit woman

Rewari: The police has arrested one Dinesh Kumar, 25, who allegedly raped a Dalit woman (30) in Uttam Nagar Colony here on Sunday night. When the woman, who was sleeping alone on the roof of her house, raised the alarm, Kumar threw her from the roof and fled the spot. On the statement of the victim, who has been hospitalsed here, the police registered a case of rape, attempt to murder against the accused and arrested soon afterwards.

Rewari, July 15
The Kosli police has arrested Satish Kumar of Lilodh village, about 42 km from Rewari, for abetment to suicide of his wife, Poonam Devi (28) who died of severe burns at the PGIMS, Rohtak, late on Saturday night.

He was today produced in a court at Kosli, which remanded him in 14-day judicial custody.