Plea to disqualify
Speaker rejected
SHIMLA, Oct 3 — The petition seeking the disqualification of the Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Thakur Gulab Singh, under the anti-defection law was today dismissed by Mr Mohan Lal who was elected to hear the matter.

Held for raping minor
DHARAMSALA, Oct 3 — The police has arrested a 40-year-old man, Ashok Kumar, for allegedly being involved in the rape of four-year-old girl at Kandrori near Indora.

Una roads in bad shape
UNA, Oct 3 — Week-long continuous rain last month has damaged state highways and link roads in the district.

Government mismanaging finances: Mahajan
DHARAMSALA, Oct 3 — The state Congress president, Mr Sat Mahajan, today accused the state government of total financial mismanagement.

Truck falls into gorge; 1 killed
SUNDERNAGAR, Oct 3 — One person died and two others were seriously injured when a truck fell into a gorge, about 10 km from here at Jarol this morning.

Plea to disqualify Speaker rejected
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 3 — The petition seeking the disqualification of the Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Thakur Gulab Singh, under the anti-defection law was today dismissed by Mr Mohan Lal (BJP) who was elected to hear the matter.

The petition was filed by Congress members, Mr Rangila Ram Rao, Mr Harsh Mahajan, Mr Kashmir Singh and Mrs Viplov Thakur under the anti-defection law.

The secretary of the Vidhan Sabha; Mr Ajay Bhandari, said that the petition was dismissed on technical ground. Mr Mohan Lal, a BJP MLA, was elected by the the assembly to here the petition. The annexures filed with the petition were not signed by the petitioners and verified as per rules.

Mr Gulab Singh, who had won the assembly election on Congress ticket, was elected Speaker on March 31 with the support of the ruling BJP-HVP combine. Congress members had boycotted his election.

The Congress had claimed that Mr Gulab Singh defied the whip by signed the papers for the post of Speaker although it was decided to field Mr Ishwar Dass for the post.

The election of Mr Gulab Singh as Speaker had reduced the strength of the Congress in the House which at that time had a razor thin margin, between the Congress and the BJP-HVC combine.

The only option left with the Congress following dismisal of the appeal is to challenge the decision in the high court.

Held for raping minor
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Oct 3 — The police has arrested a 40-year-old man, Ashok Kumar, for allegedly being involved in the rape of four-year-old girl at Kandrori near Indora.

According to the Superintendent of Police, the daughter of a labourer from Madhya Pradesh, was allegedly raped on September 29.

According to the labourer, Dulari Ram, his daughter was lying unconscious near the railway line.

Mahajan chides Dhumal
From Our Correspondent

NURPUR, Oct 3 — Mr Sat Mahajan, Himachal PCC chief, in a statement here yesterday lashed out at Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, for not releasing salaries to the government employees on the eve of Dasehra. He said the festival had not cheered up the employees who used to get their salaries before the festival during the Congress regime.

He condemned the Dhumal Government for enhancing state tax on petrol. He said the government had shown insensitivity to the hapless rural people living below the poverty line by excluding persons having a fan in his house from benefits under the Integrated Rural Development Programme.

Una roads in bad shape
From Our Correspondent

UNA, Oct 3 — Week-long continuous rain last month has damaged state highways and link roads in the district.

Pits on link roads have deepened and repair work under taken six months back has been washed away.

The Thanakaian Raipur Maidan Bhakhra road in Kuthehar constituency is in a very bad shape. At number of places road has sunk. The condition of Una-Hamirpur state highway is worst. The road has not been repaired for long.

The Chief Minister has recently announced that over 13 crore financed by NABARD would be made available for the district to be spent on the construction of roads. But it seems that funds have not been made available to the district PWD authority.

Mr Kushal Singh Ranni, general secretary of the HVC district unit, has requested the Chief Minister to allot funds for the repair and construction of roads of the district.

Government mismanaging finances: Mahajan
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Oct 3 — The state Congress president, Mr Sat Mahajan, today accused the state government of total financial mismanagement.

Mr Mahajan said that it was for the first time that the employees were not given their salary before Dasehra unlike the practice in the past. "They have been harping about Rs 300 crore received from the Centre, yet employees had to do with a "dull Dasehra", he said.

Meanwhile the employees of the Public Relations Department in Kangra district had not received their salaries. A large number of employees who had come here from Nurpur, Dehra, Palampur, Baijnath and Kangra to get their salaries had to go back empty handed today as the Deputy Director, who has the drawing and disbursing powers was on leave till the fifth of this month.

The Dharamsala H.P. Non-Gazetted Services Federation has expressed resentment over the callousness of the authorities.

Truck falls into gorge; 1 killed
From Our Correspondent

SUNDERNAGAR, Oct 3 — One person died and two others were seriously injured when a truck fell into a gorge, about 10 km from here at Jarol this morning.

According to the police, the truck was going from Kulu to Chandigarh. The accident was reported around 2.30 a.m. Payare Lal resident of Beri, died on spot. The other two truck occupants — Sanjeev and Ravi were admitted to Civil Hospital Sundernagar.

The police has registered a case against the driver of truck who has absconded.