Chandigarh, August 28
Lobbying is intensifying for the post of the state Congress president by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's camp and that of the detractors. With over 20 leaders in the race for the post, the party has a tough job at hand.

Sources said while the Hooda camp has zeroed in on Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar as its frontrunner for the post, the dissident camp, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh and union minister Selja, is learnt to have forwarded the latter's name. Selja gave her consent after Birender Singh's Jind rally.

In a state headed by a Jat Chief minister, it is a foregone conclusion that the state unit president will come from the non-Jat community. With the parliamentary and assembly elections due next year, the party is keen on replacing present incumbent Phool Chand Mullana, a Dalit, with another Dalit leader and Selja and Tanwar fit the bill perfectly.

Sources said the dissident camp decided on Selja, considered close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, since she is seen as political heavyweight compared to Tanwar whose unique selling point is that he is a part of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s inner circle and is related to MLA Venod Sharma, Hooda’s man Friday. Congress leaders said there was a strong possibility that the party might keep the organisation separate from the government and decide against the new president contesting the elections.

In that case, too, sources said Selja stood to gain by taking the reins of the party in her hands. She has already made it known to the party top brass that she suspects undercutting which may cost her the seat.It may suit Selja to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha when two seats fall vacant early next year.

Sources said while Tanwar is the foremost choice of the Hooda camp, the names of Speaker Kuldeep Sharma, Rajya Sabha MP Ram Prakash, Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal are also doing the rounds though Hooda was also interested in retaining Mullana.

While Selja is the choice of the dissident camp, sources said the second-rung proposals include the names of Rajya Sabha MP Ishwar Singh, Selja’s close aide and Birender Singh’s confidant Suresh Gupta who unsuccessfully contested the 2000 election from Karnal, among others.

Capt Ajay Yadav, a minister in the Hooda government, could well emerge as the consensus candidate for both camps. He has, by turns, belonged to both camps at different times and could be a part of the party’s strategy to counter rebel MP Rao Inderjit Singh.

Shakeel Ahmed, general secretary in charge of Haryana, said the party was yet to take a call on the three options before it after which candidates in the fray would be considered. “We are consulting party leaders about whether Mullana should be allowed to continue independently till the parliamentary elections or, like in Punjab, three vice-presidents or working presidents, should be appointed to assist him. We are also deliberating whether a new appointment should be made immediately,” Ahmed said.

Karnal, August 28
The sub-inspector in charge of the police post at the trauma centre of the Civil Hospital opened fire at a doctor on duty yesterday.

The SI was angry after the doctor refused to prepare a tutored medico-legal report (MLR) of a relative to book an opposite party under Section 307 of the IPC (attempt to murder).

On hearing the gunshot, panic-stricken doctors, patients and their attendants rushed to the spot.

The medical officer on duty, Dr Nipun Kalra, who had a narrow escape, said, “Kashmira Singh came to me drunk and asked for a fake MLR against a person. When I refused, he fired at me. Fortunately, the bullet missed the target and I was saved,” Dr Kalra said.

“A relative of Kashmira Singh had a fight with somebody and he was forcing me to prepare a fake MLR so that the rival party could be booked for an attempt to murder,” he said.

Eyewitnesses said Kashmira Singh again tried to shoot the doctor but the other policeman accompanying him snatched the revolver from him. He was arrested after 12 hours of the incident from his residence.

DSP (Headquarter) Joginder Rathi said a case had been registered against the accused under Sections 307 and 166 of the IPC and he had been arrested.

The entire incident was captured on the CCTV camera, sources said.

Doctors have raised serious security concerns and held a meeting to discuss the issue. The doctors demanded that the sub-inspector accompanying Kashmira Singh should also be arrested for the dereliction of duty, as he wilfully avoided arresting the accused and allowed him to flee.

The doctors also wanted the police post to be shifted out of hospital complex. 

Gurgaon, August 28
A mahapanchayat was organised at Wazirpur village in the district today to discuss issues related to the murder of a local youth by cattle smugglers and tension prevailing in the area after a part of a religious structure was demolished. The mahapanchayat demanded the martyr’s status for Vikrant Yadav, who was a member of a local group dedicated to prevention of smuggling and slaughter of cattle. He was recently killed while chasing a vehicle of cattle smugglers.

The mahapanchayat also sought a compensation of Rs 1 crore for Vikrant’s family, a government job for one of his family members and renaming of Jamalpur Chowk as Shaheed Vikrant Yadav Chowk. The panchayat members demanded a judicial inquiry into Vikrant’s murder and arrest of his killers within 72 hours, besides withdrawal of cases lodged by the police against the villagers protesting against the murder.

The mahapanchayat, which was attended by sarpanches, panchayat members and other prominent members of surrounding villages, demanded constitution of a special task force to check smuggling of cattle in south Haryana.

The members said the vehicles carrying cattle should be painted in a particular colour for easy identification.

On the religious structure, the mahapanchayat members said the premises were being used by village residents for lodging people during marriage parties and demanded that its status be maintained as such.

The mahapanchayat, presided by Sham Singh Thakran of Jharsa village, observed that certain land sharks had been trying to "usurp village land and disturb the communal harmony" by inciting local residents.

Meanwhile, a flag march was taken out by the police to enforce peace in Gurgaon today.

Jind, August 28
The issue regarding the mysterious death of a Dalit girl remained on the boil on the fourth day here today with the girl's kin and residents of her village continuing the dharna at the local Civil Hospital.

Awaiting the report of the third post-mortem examination conducted at AIIMS, New Delhi, the protesters ruled out cremation of the body till their demands were accepted.

The protest began on Sunday after residents of Baniakhera village clashed with the police and resorted to violence after the victim's body was recovered.

"We are awaiting the report of the postmortem from AIIMS and will be able to comment on the issue after that only,’’ said Dharampal, a member of the committee formed by the protesters to monitor the agitation.

He said as none of them had been satisfied with the post-mortem reports of the local Civil Hospital and the PGIMS, it was decided that the test at AIIMS would be credible as no pressure could be exerted on anyone there.

He said the fight was necessary due to the conditions and circumstances in which the girl was found dead and the police outrightly rejecting the possibility of murder. He said the protest would continue even after the body of the victim was brought back as the authorities concerned had failed to accept their demands.

"A fridge has been arranged to keep the body safe at the Civil Hospital as the protest could prolong," said a protester. He said while the arrangements to take the body to Delhi were made by the local administration, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission of Women had directed the authorities concerned to ensure that the probe was fair and transparent.

"The imposition of Section 144 on Tuesday also failed to dissuade the protesters,’’ said a local resident. He said the matter could have been resolved if the officials concerned had adopted a cooperative attitude as the death of a young girl in such a manner was a sensitive issue.

The protesters' demands include suspension of the DSP who allegedly abused the body, withdrawal of cases registered against protesters and a government job to the next of kin of the deceased. The 20-year-old girl had gone missing on Saturday.

Jhajjar, August 28
In protest against ‘failure’ of the police in tracing a missing woman even after 10 days, the kin of the woman along with a significance number of villagers today blocked the Jhajjar-Rohtak highway at Dighal village for over two hours. The protesters sat in the middle of the road and shouted slogans against the Haryana police.

The protest completely disrupted the traffic, taking a toll on the commuters who had to choose alternate routes to reach their destinations. They agreed on lifting the blockade following assurance by the Jhajjar police chief that he would talk to the Bhiwani police about tracing the woman.

The protesters also threatened the police authorities that they would block the highway again if the woman was not found within 24 hours.

Balwan Singh of Dighal village told mediapersons that he had married off his daughter to Rajender Singh of Bhiwani in 2003. Though she gave birth to two sons, her in-law kept harassing her over dowry, he alleged.

“It was on August 17 that I got information that my daughter had gone missing from her house in Bhiwani. I, along with my kin, immediately went to Bhiwani and lodged a complaint with the police, which has failed to trace her so far,” said Balwan.

Accusing her in-laws of driving her out of the house, the father said he didn’t know whether she was dead or alive. The Bhiwani police was hand in glove with her in-laws, hence it was not making any serious efforts to search for her, he alleged.

“In the given situation, we do not have other option but to stage a dharna on the highway in order to bring the issue to the notice of the higher police authorities,” said Balwan.

Earlier, the protesters gathered at Dighal village and disrupted vehicular traffic on the highway after criticising the Haryana police.

Gurgaon, August 28
Two cousins of a 10-year-old girl have been arrested for raping and killing her.

The police said the youths had committed the crime to take revenge from the victim's father, who had slapped one of them a month ago.

The accused have been identified as Imran (19) and Shanu (20). The police said the girl had been abducted from her house in Fazilpur village a few days ago while she was asleep.

On the complaint of the girl's father, a case of abduction was registered at the Badshahpur police station on August 26. On the next day, the girl's father stated he suspected that his relatives, Imran and Shanu, had kidnapped his daughter.

Following this, the police arrested the duo, who reportedly confessed their crime during the interrogation.

“Shanu, a cousin of the victim, was slapped by her father about a month ago. He wanted to take revenge, for which he sought the help of Imran," the police said.

The duo kidnapped their cousin while she was sleeping with her grandmother on the intervening night of August 25 and 26. They allegedly raped her and strangled her to death on August 26.

The girl's body was recovered from a secluded spot in the village on the basis of information provided by the accused. It was handed over to her parents after a post-mortem examination.

Ambala, August 28
With the arrest of five persons, including three women, the district police claimed to have busted a gang of robbers while they were planning to strike again.

The gang members targeted women after giving them a lift in their vehicle. Acting on a tip-off, the CIA (Rural) conducted a raid at one of the hideouts of the gang in Naraingarh and arrested them.

The police recovered a knife, a sword and some iron rods from them. The gang confessed to have committed six robberies in the district.

Those arrested have been identified as Sindro, Sillo, Charno, Uma and Narender, all of whom are residents of Punjab.

Rajbir Singh Deswal, Commissioner of Police, Ambala-Panchkula, said the gang was active in the district for the past few days and it had mostly targeted old women by giving them a lift in their vehicle, looting their ornaments and cash and then leaving them at secluded places.

Sirsa, August 28
Innocent people are falling victim to the people guarding their villages against the alleged attacks of “kale kachhewale” gangs as the panic of the gangs gripped Sirsa, despite the repeated denial of the police about the presence of any such gangs.

On Monday night, a family travelling in a car, became a victim of villagers on night guard at Kanganpur village, when the car driver took the villagers carrying laathis and other arms for robbers and sped away towards the HUDA Chowk. The villagers took the occupants of the car for members of some gang and chased them.

The family stopped their vehicle near Khairpur police post and called their friends, informing them that they were being chased.

Though the family managed to run to safety, the villagers smashed windowpanes of the car and blocked vehicular traffic on the highway at midnight.

The panic of the gangs seems to have reached such a point that it has become difficult for common people to travel during night.

“I left for Ludhiana with my son in my car at 3.30 am on Sunday. On the way, we were confronted by armed villagers who came on the road, forcing me to slow down my vehicle. It was very frightening and though no one harmed us, I have decided against driving late in the night or too early in the morning,” said a woman teacher of Chaudhary Devi Lal University in Sirsa.

With repeated incidents of thrashing of innocent persons by people guarding their villages against the alleged attacks in various areas of Sirsa in the past some days, Sirsa SSP Saurabh Singh yesterday issued a stern warning that those taking law into their hands would not be spared.

“It has come to our notice that some mischievous and anti-social elements have been trying to disturb peace, taking benefit of the rumours of kale kachhe wale gangs,” said Saurabh Singh.

Rohtak, August 28
The availability and procurement of illegal firearms is fast emerging as a big threat to the law and order situation in the district. It is also becoming a major challenge for the law enforcement agencies. The situation can be substantiated by the fact that there has been a rise of 38 per cent in the recovery of unauthorised weapons in the district this year.

The local police recently arrested a youth, who had six revolvers and 15 live cartridges in his possession. All these weapons were country made and had been smuggled from Uttar Pradesh, claimed a police official.

The accused, identified as Kuldeep, resident of Gwalison village in Jhajjar district, was nabbed by a police team a few days ago.

This is the second major seizure after the arrest of a group of criminals at Lakhanmajra town on June 9. A huge cache of weapons containing 12 pistols and 32 cartridges were recovered from their possession.

The total number of illegal weapons recovered by the police in the district this year is 87. Last year, the total number of confiscated weapons was 63. “The unchecked growth of firearms and illegal weapons has not only fuelled the crime graph in the region, but has also become a direct threat to the life of people,” claims Yoginder Singh Dahiya, a senior lawyer.

He said in view of the spate in incidents of crime, including murders and loot, it could be concluded that the possession of firearm license had caught fancy of a large number of residents.

A senior police official claimed that a drive had been launched to arrest those involved in smuggling of weapons.

Sirsa, August 28
A man pushed his wife and two children into the Rajasthan canal and then jumped into it near Talwara Jheel village in the Ellenabad area of Sirsa last evening. Passersby saved his wife Mamta (35), son Sahil (8) and daughter Sonia (6), but 37-year-old Virender could not be saved.

Eyewitnesses said Virender, who ran a grocery shop on the Talwara road at Ellenabad, came to the canal with his family on his motorcycle.

After taking a stroll on the canal bank with his family for a while, he suddenly pushed his wife and two children into the canal and then jumped into it. A farmer, who was watching Virender doing this, ran towards the canal and raised the alarm. He also threw a rope in the canal to help them. A man passing from the spot heard the farmer’s cry, stopped his car and jumped into the canal.

Gurvinder Singh was able to save Mamta, Sahil and Sonia, but there was no trace of Virender. Mamta told the police that her husband was upset and had told her that they were going to the canal to feed the fish. However, on reaching there, he pushed them into the canal.

Chandigarh, August 28
Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal has congratulated UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for clearance of the National Food Security Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Describing the Bill as the biggest programme, Bhukkal yesterday said it would ensure that rice, wheat and coarse grain was provided to two-thirds of the population of the country at marginal rates. She said the UPA government had fulfilled its promise made to people of the country.

She said earlier too, the UPA government had launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee and Right to Education Act for the welfare of people.

Bhukkal said, “The state government had also started the dal-roti scheme to ensure food items for poor. Under this scheme, 2.5 kg dal per month per family would be given at the rate of Rs 20 per kg to eligible people. The public distribution system needs to be strengthened and made transparent for ensuring success of such programmes.”

She said the state government had initiated a number of steps to ensure safety of women. Apart from starting a police helpline number, women police stations had been set up in the state. She urged people to understand their social responsibilities and cooperate with the police so that such incidents could be curbed.

Tributes being paid to Dev Raj at Rohna village on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Freedom fighter cremated
Our Correspondent

Rewari, August 28
The Kosli police has arrested a man who, along with four or five others, had allegedly looted Rs 2.20 lakh from a property dealer, Kuldeep Yadav, on Monday.

The accused has been identified as Rakesh of Girdharpur village of Jhajjar district.

He was today produced in a local court, which remanded him in judicial custody.

A senior police official said efforts were on to apprehend his remaining accomplices.

Chandigarh, August 28
The state government has directed government and private ITIs to create sufficient IT infrastructure for students.

Sources said the latest government decision had been taken in the wake of the non-availability of sufficient IT infrastructure for providing IT literacy and conducting online test for trainees.The decision is guided by directions of the Director-General of Employment and Training that it was mandatory to establish separate IT labs in all ITIs.

"All government and private ITIs need to set up exclusive computer labs with Internet on every computer with multimedia facility.The computer lab must have a minimum of 10 computers/ workstations and peripherals with Internet facility with a seating capacity of 100 per shift," a government circular said.

Currently, in view of the inadequate IT infrastructure in ITIs, the Department of Electronics and Accreditation of Computer Courses (DOEACC) has been conducting the mandatory IT literacy test for students.

Chandigarh, August 28
Principal Secretary, Public Works (Buildings and Roads), Sanjeev Kaushal yesterday directed PWD officials to complete the repair work on the National Highway-73 from the UP border to Yamunanagar on a war footing.

Kaushal also directed the officer to make concerted efforts for starting the second phase of the repair work on the highway. The construction work of old road from Jagadhri to Chhachhrauli should also be started at the earliest, 
he directed.

He directed them to start the repair work of the road from Khijrabad to Bilaspur and Adi Badri Teerath immediately. He directed them to accelerate the pace of construction of bridge over the Yamuna near Budhia and the bridge over old canal near Radaur and complete these works by March 2014.

He said the estimate for underconstruction Rest House at Chhachhrauli and construction of flood affected roads should be sent to the head office as soon as possible.

He said appropriate steps should be taken for early construction of road from Pabni, Sarava Road, Sadhaura Chowk to Sadhaura Community Centre.