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Fake encounter
case
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RLEK alleges 108 fake encounters in state
Doctors' shortage at health centres hits patient care
Decision to hold Assembly session at Gairsain welcomed
Harish Rawat unveils statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Mussoorie
Ganga Dussehra begins at Shantikunj
Forest fires continue to rage across Uttarakhand
There are several techniques to treat garbage: Environmentalist
DM holds meeting to review panchayat poll preparations
MCA enter semis of cricket
Karmi villagers praised for
braving natural disaster
MPG College students give golden jubilee celebrations a miss
Samiti demands stringent laws for crime against
women
New building for Army Public School, Clement Town
CM not keen on Yamuna water supply project
7 gram pradhans in Munsiyari likely to be elected unopposed
Identification process
AAP demands suspension of PTCUL MD Yadav
6 kg tumour removed from woman’s stomach
Garsain session: Cong pats its own back
ITBP team felicitated for scaling Chaudhara peak in
Panchchuli
Demand for Gairsain as capital
Govt's move to transfer forestland to BSF opposed
Cong accused of poll code violation
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Fake encounter
case
Dehradun, June 6 Finally, after five years of trial, a CBI court on Friday found 17 Uttarakhand policemen guilty of killing MBA student Ranbir Singh in a gunfight on July 3, 2009, after labelling him as a criminal. Ranbir's father had said that his son had gone to Dehradun in search of a job, where he was arrested by the police from Mohini Road on July 3 on the pretext of being involved in some robbery. On the same day, he was gunned down and the incident was camouflaged as an encounter, he added. On July 4, the parents and relatives of Ranbir held held a protest in Dehradun and accused the policemen of killing their innocent son. The police had said at that time that Ranbir and one of his companions attempted to snatch the service pistol of Aaraghar police post in charge GD Bhatt and Ranbir was caught from Mohini Road. Buckling under pressure from various quarters, the government ordered a CB-CID into the incident and a case of murder registered against the accused police officials. Later, the then state government transferred the case to the CBI after political parties expressed their dissatisfaction over the probe being conducted by the CB-CID. A CBI team had also visited the site and recovered more than 10 cartridges from there. They were lying underground. In December 2009, almost five months after the alleged encounter, the CBI chargesheeted 18 police personnel, including seven for murder, in the case. In 2011, the case was transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court on the plea of Ranbir’s father. On June 4, 2012, 11 of the 18 accused Uttarakhand policemen surrendered in a Delhi court. The other accused in the case were already lodged in Tihar Jail.
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RLEK alleges 108 fake encounters in state
Dehradun, June 6 The non-governmental organisation has been seeking strict punishment from day one for
Uttarakhand policemen involved in the fake encounter of Master of Business Administration student Ranbir in Dehradun in 2009. Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra
chairperson Padmashree Avdhash Kaushal said today that it was due to the pressure of the
late Jat leader Mahinder Singh Tikait and his persistent efforts that forced the Nishank government to transfer the Ranbir encounter investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation after initially showing reluctance. Kaushal said it was a matter of concern that senior police officials, who were involved in the infamous encounter, had not been punished. He welcomed the Central Bureau of Investigation court verdict in
the Ranbir encounter case delivered on Friday, which resulted in conviction for 18 police personnel in the case.
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Doctors' shortage at health centres hits patient care
Dehradun, June 6 "For us, the CHC is of no use as there are no doctors to perform operations. We are forced to visit the Doon Hospital or a private clinic for our medical problems," said Ram Rati, a patient who had come to the Doon Hospital for treatment. "The Sahaspur CHC is without the services of a paediatrician, radiologist and orthopaedic surgeon. No operations are being conducted at the CHC over the last few months due to the absence of a surgeon. It becomes difficult for us, as the patients have to be referred to the Doon Hospital, which puts undue pressure on them," said Dr Gurpal Singh, CMO, Dehradun district. That's not all. The Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) at Sahaspur CHC, who is a qualified paediatrician, is sometimes forced to perform the dual role of the CMS and paediatrician. In fact, absence of manpower continues to plague the CHCs located at Doiwala and Chakrata. At the Doiwala CHC, the
operations are not being performed in the absence of surgeons. Further, at the Chakrata CHC, a radiologist, gynaecologist and dentist have been attached from nearby Dehradun or Haridwar, so their visits to the CHC are few and far between. The measures taken by the Department of Health and Family Welfare such as hiring of contractual doctors and running CHCs on public private (PP) mode have not yielded desired results. "Be it the government or contractual doctors, nobody is keen to serve in places that are at some distance from the cities. Offer of higher pay packets have not worked. We have not been able to enforce the transfer policy," said Dr GS Joshi, DG Health. The CHCs at Sahiya and Tyuni, being run on PP mode, too are riddled with the problem of manpower crunch. In that sense, even the PP model has failed to provide a lasting solution to the manpower crunch. |
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Decision to hold Assembly session at Gairsain welcomed
Haridwar, June 6 Central secretary labour cell Uday Ram Semwal of UKD-Pawar faction said this is in sync with the aspirations of the people of Uttarakhand, who agitated for more than three decades to get a separate hill state. Pointing out that this decision had given a positive message to the people, he demanded declaration of Gairsain as permanent capital of Uttarakhand. He said as it'?s majorly a hill state, on the lines of Himachal Pradesh, it should have a hill capital too. Rana Ranbeer Singh, founder of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal ?United, said that on June 9, when the three-day Assembly session will be held at Gairsain, the decision to declare it the full-fledged summer capital of Uttarakhand should be taken. Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali had envisaged Gairsain as the summer capital of India, regarding which he had written to and apprised the then Prime Minister of India Jawahar Lal Nehru in the early 50?s. It has been more than 60 years since India got independent and 14 years since the state of Uttaranchal separate from Uttar Pradesh was carved out. It?'s high time that Gairsain be declared summer capital of hill state as wholesome development of the state can be done only when it has a hill capital, said Rana. Aam Aadmi Party district spokesperson JP Baduni cautioned that just holding a three-day Cabinet session is not enough as the basic problems and issues of hill districts may be overshadowed by the hype surrounding this historic session. Earlier, former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had laid the foundation stone of the Assembly building at Gairsain. After almost two years, not even a single brick had been laid on the 498 acres of land at Bharadisain, with crores earmarked as well as sanctioned for the building and other infrastructural facilities still lying unused.
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Harish Rawat unveils statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Mussoorie
Mussoorie, June 6 Later, Rawat attended the golden jubilee function of the Municipal Post Graduate College on the Municipal Council premises. He said for an institution, completing 50 years, was an important milestone. He said the academic institutions should try to innovate, so that it results in the holistic development of the students. Speaking on the issue of opening management courses in the college, he said the government will support colleges, which intend to start vocational courses in the MPG College. Manmohan Singh Mall, president of the Municipal Council, is also the chairman of the MPG College management committee, discussed about water crisis being faced by the town and demanded solution to the perennial problems being faced by the residents. He also demanded assistance for the town hall and parking projects and widening of the Jharipani-Mussoorie road. Chief Minister Harish Rawat approved the town hall project and directed the officials to construct the town hall in a way that the hill culture was depicted in the architecture of the town hall. He also directed the officials to begin the exercise to create vending zone in the town. Dr Sudhir Gairola, principal of Municipal Post Graduate College, highlighted the history of the college and remembered those people, who contributed in the formation of the college. The Chief Minister also felicitated the old students namely, Manoranjan Tripathi, AB Mathur, Chandralekha Tripathi, Abhishek Gupta, Anuj Tayal, Ganesh Saili, Abha Siali, Jaikishan Shah, Surendar Pundir, Gopal Bhardwaj, Arun Sanon, Rajat Agarwal, Vindo Thapliyal, Dr RH Shukla, Jaiprakash Uttarakhandi, Arvind Gusain, Kuldeep, Rami Devi, Umesh Bharti, Virendar Panwar, Anuj Gupta and several others on
the occasion.
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Ganga Dussehra begins at Shantikunj
Haridwar, June 6 In his address Dev Sanskriti University pro vice-chancellor Dr Pranav Pandya said in Indian culture, cow, holy Ganga, Bhagawad Geeta, Gayatri and Guru hold immense significance. All these have been working for the welfare and upliftment of the humanity and guided human beings on right path. So, we need to pay respect and ensure younger generation is given teachings about their importance, stated Dr Pandya. Demanding a ban on cow slaughtering, Dr Pandya said cow was regarded as holy in Indian culture and even Lord Krishna used to worship cows. The government should take stringent measures to stop cow slaughter. Citing the formation of Gau Sewa Commission by the Uttarakhand government, Pandya said it was a welcome step which needed to be followed by other state governments too. Kamdhenu Gau Sansthan Devalapar representative Sunil Man Singh shed light on the depletion of a number of breeds of cow. He cited health value from the cow milk, dung and even cow urine which Ayurveda had also mentioned. Earlier, a musical skit was depicted by students on cow conservation addressed by Kalicharan Sharma, KKS Tyagi, DP Singh and Shashi Kala Sahu.
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Forest fires continue to rage across Uttarakhand
Dehradun, June 6 Fortunately, due to early and heavy rains in the state last year, forest
fires were to a limited extent, giving a much-needed relief to the state Forest Department. Over 100 such incidents have been reported from various forest divisions of the state since the start of the forest fire season
from February. It will conclude at the start of the rainy season. Forest fires have engulfed a total of 200 hectares so far. These incidents range from minor to medium level. However, no major incident has taken place in the state so far due to rains in February-end and also in months of March and April. With the increase in the temperature in the past few days, the situation could turn from bad to worse in the coming days. The Met Department has predicted further rise in the mercury level. Chief Conservator of Forests KS Samant, who has been looking into forest fire incidents for the past many years, said the department was promptly acting into such incidents. He said forest officials worked round the
clock during the forest fire season. With the entire of month of June still ahead, the forest authorities face a challenging time. The department has also been organising awareness programmes in villages in close proximity to forests to sensitise them towards the importance of forests and their conservation. The department has also set up crew stations in certain parts of
the state. These crew stations are connected to the master control room to ensure
prompt information connectivity and subsequent quick action. Worrisome situation
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There are several techniques to treat garbage: Environmentalist
Mussoorie, June 6 Rishi Agarwal has been raising awareness towards environment for the past fifteen years. Interacting with the students at the school, he said: “I have fond memories of my time at
Wynberg. Before Wynberg, I did pre-primary till class 4 at Hampton Court. I was born in Mussoorie in 1975. He said there were several affordable and innovative techniques available to treat garbage, but they were not being adopted by the civic authorities, who continue to hand out the task of waste management to contractors, who are not doing their job well. He also informed the students that he has been fighting against the nexus between the civic authorities and the corporate houses for the past several years and the students should take a pledge to fight against such
corrupt practices adopted by the tainted politicians and the government officers. He said he contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 from Mumbai North-West, at a time when there was a lot of discontent, after the Mumbai terror attacks on November 26, 2008. He is currently research fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Mumbai, where he is heading the urban studies and sustainability practice. He also inaugurated the fancy fair held at
the school today and shared his experience with the school staff on the
occasion. Rishi Aagrwal has also figured in the television serial ‘Satyamev
Jayatey’, anchored by Aamir Khan, a few months back.
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DM holds meeting to review panchayat poll preparations
Dehradun, June 6 Addressing the gathering, Purshottam said he expected the candidates to follow the model code of conduct implemented in the district. “The candidates contesting the elections will campaign as per the guidelines issued by the Election Commission. Also, it should be ensured that the model code of conduct is not be violated during the campaigning. It is also expected that the candidates will maintain a peaceful atmosphere prior to the elections and will not indulge in any criminal activity,” he added. “The use of polythene related publicity material is banned and in case a candidate is found using the same, strict action will be taken against him. Pasting publicity material on the walls is also prohibited without seeking a prior permission from the building owner. The permission of the Returning Officer is to be taken before placing hoardings in the city or respective poll constituencies. Holding public rallies, march, demonstrations is banned, unless a permission is sought for the same from the concerned officials,” added
Purushotam. Ajay Rautela, Alok Kumar Pandey, Sonika, Manikant Mishra, Mohan Singh Bernia and Girish Chandra Gunwant were present in the meeting.
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MCA enter semis of cricket
Dehradun, June 6 Batting first, IAF team scored 277 runs in 45
overs, with Rajat Paliwal scoring the highest 69 runs on 55 balls. Devender Lochar scored 45 runs and Abhishek Tiwari scored 35 runs. For MCA team, Abdullah Iqbal took the highest five wickets followed by Badre Alam and Sarfaraz Khan with two wickets each. In reply, MCA’s Akhil Herwadkar scored the maximum 85 runs followed by Nikhik Patil (junior) with
70 runs. At the end of 45 overs, the team scored 279 runs at the loss of eight wickets, thus winning the match with two wickets. For
IAF, Abhiskhek Sakuja and Saurabh Kumar took three wickets each. In another quarter final match of the day, UNIDO entered the semifinals by defeating Air India by five wickets. Air India team batted first and raised a score of 275 runs with the help of Pradeep
Malik, who scored 69 runs and RR Parida scored 55 runs. UNIDO completed the target at the loss of five wickets in 38.1
overs. Rohit Sharma scored the highest 82 runs for the team. Kurban Ali and Pawan Negi took two wickets each for Air India team. In the first semi-final match of the tournament, Haryana Police will clash with
ONGC, while MCA Mumbai will face UNIDO, Dehradun, on Saturday.
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Karmi villagers praised for
braving natural disaster
Pithoragarh, June 6 “When we visited the village in 1984 in our first Abhiyan, we found the remains of the landslide that devastated the village a year ago. Today we are happy that the villagers have resisted the disaster and established essential institutions like school, hospital and road to the village despite the government’s apathy,” said Dr Shekhar Pathak, convener of the Abhiyan, at a function held in the village on the occasion of World Environment Day. The Abhiyan members praised the villagers for continuing with their struggle for life and said despite destruction of agricultural land and natural resources, the villagers succeeded in recovering these in the last 30 years. “Even today the government machinery has not succeeded in stopping landslides in the village as the villagers witness debris from newly constructed road flow into their fields during monsoon,” said Dr Pathak. The Abhiyan today entered the Manatoli meadow area of Chamoli district and would remain in Chamoli district up to June 18, and visit several meadows and basins of several rivers which originate from Himalayan glaciers and try to find changes in the villages situated by these basins and changing patterns of glaciers developed in the last 40 years.
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MPG College students give golden jubilee celebrations a miss
Mussoorie, June 6 Many old students attending the function said a very few public representatives from the council spoke about college. The students’ body supported by the ABVP boycotted the function as they demanded that the event should be held on the college campus and not on the Municipal Council premises. They also threatened to protest the visit of the Chief Minister, but retracted later on the advice of senior BJP leaders. Social activist Pradeep Bhandari, who had raised the issue of corruption against the Municipal Council, was also not allowed to enter by the venue where the Chief Minister was addressing the gathering. He also alleged that he was attacked by goons and had snatched the copy of memorandum, which he had to submit to the Chief Minister. The reason: The students’ body supported by the ABVP was demanding that the event should be held on the college campus and not on the Municipal Council premises. |
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Samiti demands stringent laws for crime against
women
Dehradun, June 6 Indu Nauityal, state president of the samiti, said there was spurt in the incidents of crime against women in the country. “Incidents like murders and rapes are increasing day by day and the existing laws are appearing to be helpless. The Badayun incident clearly reflected that country’s existing laws are unable to protect women,” she added. “The statements being made by the leaders are further fuelling the deteriorating situation. The government should provide adequate finances for the successful implementation of the laws related to the protection of women,” said Nauityal. She said chairperson for the Uttarakhand Women Commission should be appointed at the earliest. Fast track courts should be formed for hearing the cases related to rapes and crime against women, she added. Nuresha Ansari, Chanda Mamgain, Shashi Jain, Janki, Mohini, Seema Lingwal and Bharti Berthwal were also present.
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New building for Army Public School, Clement Town
Dehradun, June 6 The new building has been constructed with ‘state of the art’ facilities for education and sports, along with multiple avenues for extra curricular and co-curricular activities. The school has classes from I to XII and is affiliated to the CBSE board, New Delhi. The Army Public School has been a boon for the wards of service personnel and has been Alma Mater to many army officers. Lt Gen Philip Campose, emphasised the importance of education in today’s world and highlighted the important role being played by Army schools and vocational institutions in empowering Army children, especially those of Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) and other ranks. He urged the parents to motivate their wards to serve the nation and society and follow the school’s motto “We Come to Learn and Go to Serve”.
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CM not keen on Yamuna water supply project
Mussoorie, June 6 He said the project for drawing water from Yamuna was too costly and time-consuming. He said the people of the town should think of some alternatives such as conserving water through water harvesting, so that rivers such as Bindal and Rispana were recharged in the process. The CM said the people should consider using alternatives such as solar energy to meet the power shortfall in the state. Speaking on the issue of opening a hotel management institute in Mussoorie Post Graduate College, he said it would be opened in partnership with the college, hotels association and the government soon. He said directions had been given to officials to expedite projects such as housing for low-income group and construction of town hall without any further delay. The CM said instead of relying completely on the government for help, people should think out of
the box and take the lead in developing the tourist town.
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7 gram pradhans in Munsiyari likely to be elected unopposed
Pithoragarh, June 6 “We have celebrated the occasion by distributing sweets among the possible winners. We think this is an ideal situation for the gram sabhas, and augurs well for the Congress in the panchayat elections,” said Harish Dhami, Congress MLA from Dharchula. Dhami has also fielded his wife Deepa Dhami from Madkot seat of the zila panchayat. He wants her to run for the chairmanship of Pithoragarh zila panchayat as the seat is for a general candidate this time. According to political observers, Deepa is likely to have to face BJP district president Kishen Singh Bhandari for the zila panchayat chairmanship. Bhandari is contesting from Bhargaon seat in Didihat block as all
the seats of zila panchayat in his home block Kannalichina are reserved for either of the reserved categories. The seven gram pradhans in Munsiyari block, who were likely to be elected unopposed, are pradhans from Gaila Pattharkot, Rapti, Golma, Pantu Boragaun Tarkhani and Bhainskhal.
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Identification process
Haridwar, June 6 Pratap said the documentation was open for all statehood agitators of 13 districts, who actively participated in the agitation. He said documents, including police report, prison sentence, news cuttings, photographs or government documents that proves one's role during the statehood movement, may be submitted. The documents would be further examined for government identification. JP Pandey, founder of the Uttarakhand Kranti Manch, welcomed the steps initiated by the state government for the statehood agitators. He said hundreds of agitators, who took part in the agitation, were still not included in the official list even after 14 years of formation of
the state. He said it was a welcome step and the delay in the identification process had created unrest among the agitators. “Chief Minister Harish Rawat has been doing commendable work in the state, particularly in the Char Dham pilgrimage route,” he added.
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AAP demands suspension of PTCUL MD Yadav
Dehradun, June 6 Addressing the mediapersons here today, Somesh Budakoti said a memorandum would be submitted to Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Saturday, and would demand Yadav's immediate suspension. He said the state government had sought an explanation in this matter, but decision was still awaited . Party activists have demanded immediate suspension of Yadav. They would submit memorandum to Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and All-India Congress Committee vice-president Rahul Gandhi. An official spokesman of Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited, Madhusudan denied such allegations, and said issue of pension would be discussed among board members soon.
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6 kg tumour removed from woman’s stomach
Dehradun, June 6 “On being suspicious, we performed ultrasound and the report indicated the presence of a cyst in her stomach. She was then referred to Doon Hospital for surgery. Our doctors led by Dr KK Tamta removed a tumour weighing six kg from her stomach,” said Dr RS Aswal, Principal Medical Superintendent, Doon Hospital. Commenting on the nature of the operation, Dr Tamta said the tumour could have posed a risk to the woman, if it would have not operated. “We are happy that we were able to perform
the operation early,” said Dr Tamta.
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Garsain session: Cong pats its own back
Dehradun, June 6 In a statement issued today, Shilpi Arora criticised BJP for politicising the issue. "The issue linked to Gairsain is very sensitive and is directly connected with the people's sentiments. The BJP should not try to play with the people's emotions by criticising the Chief Minister's efforts to hold the Assembly session at Garsain," Arora pointed out. He condemned BJP leaders' statement that unnecessary burden was being put on the state exchequer by conducting an Assembly session at Gairsain. "This is wrong as the entire preparations are being done in a transparent manner," she said. She said speedy development was taking place in far-flung villages in the hills in Uttarakhand.
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ITBP team felicitated for scaling Chaudhara peak in
Panchchuli
Pithoragarh, June 6 Addressing a gathering, Commandant, 14 Battalion (ITBP), Ranvir Singh said climbing the Chaudhara peak was a challenging task as it was covered with glaciers. “The
team also braved snowfall during its final ascend to the peak," said the
Commandant. Assistant Commandant AT Borkar, who was the team leader, said they
also distributed medicines to 212 residents of Ralam village at the base of the peak. “The flag-in ceremony of the team will be held at the IG headquarters in Dehradun soon,” said
the Commandant.
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Ravinder Pal Singh, father of MBA student Ranbir Singh who was killed in a fake encounter in Dehradun in July 2009, hopes that the court will give stringent punishment to the guilty policemen.
Taking to TNS over the phone, Ravinder Pal Singh said they knew that Ranbir could not be brought back to life, but they had been fighting the battle for justice so that the police did not carry out such acts in the future.
Chief Minister Harish Rawat unveiled the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and inaugurated the expansion and beautification project by the Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority
(MDDA) at Library Chowk here today. The Chief Minister is on a tour to Mussoorie. He also unveiled the work of laying underground electricity cable on Mall Road near Garhwal terrace.
The new building of Army Public School, Clement Town, Dehradun, was inaugurated today by Lt Gen Philip
Campose, AVSM, VSM, GoC-in-C Western Command.
Lt Gen RP Sahi, GoC-2 Corps and Major General Manoj Oka, GoC-14 RAPID(S) were also present on the occasion.
Army Public School, Clement Town, Dehradun, came into existence in 1980 and was functioning in an ad-hoc building since then.
Aam Aadmi Party activists has alleged that managing director of Power Transmission Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited
(PTCUL), SS Yadav is causing financial-loss to the state exchequer by taking salary from the department, despite drawing pension from the Haryana Electricity Distribution Corporation (South),
Hissar.
Pithoragarh, June 6
