Two jail warders booked on court's direction
NAHAN, Sept 21 — The police has registered a case under Sections 504/506 of the Indian Penal Code against two warders of Model Central Jail Nahan for assaulting, abusing and threatening a life convict.

SPOs deployed in HP border areas
CHAMBA, Sept 21 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has deployed militia like Special Police Officers (SPOs) in the sensitive belts of this district which are adjoining Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir to combat militancy.

Violation of forest Act resented
KOTKHAI, Sept 21 — No action has been taken by the forest authorities against some truck operators who have constructed a three-storeyed building in a demarcated protected forest here, Mr Sanjay Chauhan, general secretary of the HP Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, has said.

Students misled, say parents
SHIMLA, Sept 21 — The Parents Association of the DAV School at Lakkar Bazar here has alleged that the management of the school had misled students by admitting them to plus 2 class (science group) on a claim that the school was affiliated to the CBSE.

1 killed as van falls into river
MANDI, Sept 21 — One person was killed and another seriously injured when a Maruti van (HP-34-678) fell into the Beas near Hanogi temple, 33 km from here, on the Mandi-Kulu national highway at midnight yesterday.

IB officials review Dalai Lama's security
From S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 21 — Top intelligence officials have reviewed the security cover of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetans, following the arrest of two highly trained Chinese spies at McLeodganj.

Sources said senior officers of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the state security set-up have beefed up security at Mcleodganj near Dharamsala, which is the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.

It is learnt that one of the missions assigned to these suspected spies was to assess the manpower in the military deployment around McLeodganj.

Intelligence agencies do not rule out involvement of the Shugden cult followers, who are opposed to the Dalai Lama, in providing shelter to these spies. They also suspect that more trained Chinese spies might be taking shelter in and around Mcleodganj.

The sources said one of the suspects, Sonum Choetse, was highly trained in handling chemical weapons and also in para-jumping. He was in the Chinese army before being shifted to the military intelligence for infiltrating into the headquarters of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.

During interrogation he is learnt to have said that he had also been asked to equip the Chinese authorities with information about the Indian army camps around McLeodganj and relations between the Hindus and Tibetans.

Highly sensitive material, including sketches of the military detachments and the palace of the Dalai Lama, were recovered from the possession of the spies. Army personnel were expected to join in the interrogation of these spies.

Intelligence agencies were trying to identify the Shugden cult followers in McLeodganj so that an eye could be kept on their activities.

This is not for the first time that Chinese spies have been arrested by the Kangra police. Two Chinese were arrested sometime ago when they secured a job in the library of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.

The headquarters of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile is becoming vulnerable with the increasing infiltration of suspected Chinese spies and Shugden supporters.

A senior Tibetan teacher, Lobsang Gyaltso, who was also a close friend of the Dalai Lama, was brutally murdered along with his two pupils at McLeodganj last year by suspected Shugden cult followers. Gyaltso was heading the Buddhist Dialectics Institute.

The Shugden Dorje cult followers were recently not allowed to come to McLeodganj to participate in a seminar of the Tibetan Youth Congress. Many of the cult activists were detained by the police near Kangra while they were proceeding towards McLeodganj.

Two jail warders booked on court's direction
From Our Correspondent

NAHAN, Sept 21 — On a direction by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nahan, Mr M. K. Bansal, the police has registered a case under Sections 504/506 of the Indian Penal Code against two warders of Model Central Jail Nahan, Rajivari and Mohar Singh for assaulting, abusing and threatening a life convict Ramesh Kumar. The matter relates to a case of alleged assault on central jail staff by six life convicts including Ramesh Kumar on January 2. Ramesh Kumar later was shifted to sub-jail Dharamsala. He was brought to Nahan on August 10 by two constables of Dharamsala police to appear in court in connection with the aforesaid case. But warders of local central jail staff refused to lodge him as according to the jail manual main gate could not be opened after 6 p.m.

However, Ramesh Kumar made a written complaint in court that two jail warders manhandled and abused him and Dharamsala police constables. Warders also threatened them with their lives.

Allegations were corroborated by the cops in their statements. In his original order the judge Mr M.K. Bansal acquitted all six convicts in the said case of assault and attempted jail break. He also made serious remarks about arrogant and arbitrary conduct of jail officials which led to tension between prisoners and jail staff. He directed the SHO, Nahan, to inquire into the allegation of Ramesh Kumar and Dharamsala cops. On the receipt of the inquiry report the judge ordered the registration of case against two warders of the central jail.

Students cry for better bus services
From Kanwar Yogendra

KHAGNA (Chopal): Overcrowding is one of the main reasons for bus accidents in the hilly terrain of Upper Shimla. But unfortunately, no one appears to be concerned about this problem. Two accidents occurred in the region recently. Twelve persons died and 38 others were injured at Galu, near Theog, on September 6 and five persons and 14 others were injured on September 9 at Oddi near Kumarsain. Bad roads, misty weather conditions and poor maintenance of buses are also some of the other reasons for the mishaps.

With the opening of routes to private operators, there was hope for better bus services in the area. But no transporter is ready to run a bus on non-profitable roads like the ones in Chopal. People of the area have to rely totally on government-owned HRTC buses. The biggest sufferers are students who have to commute daily from different villages of the tehsil.

Students of Senior Secondary School, Chopal, come there from villages like Khagna, Tikkari, Kushal and Premnagar. There is just one local bus service for them. But it is always so crowded that students have to sit on the roof top. There are mostly 100 to 120 passengers travelling at a time by the bus. Girl students are the real sufferers.

The bus which goes to Kupvi at 9.30 a.m., makes a hurried local round up to the Dhabas bus stop. But there are no students from Dhabas. Most of the students board the bus from Khagna, says a school teacher. The bus should go up to Khagna only and should be strictly for school students, he adds.

"The bus comes packed from Dhabas and we don't get place even to stand", complain a number of students from Khagna. "The bus remains off the road at least twice a week and then we have to go back home as there is no other alternative to reach the school", they add.

The bus, which is always packed to capacity, does not even stop at some stations on the way. "It has happened many times that our students could not reach in time for examination," informs Mr Ravi Kapoor, a local lecturer. Two girls got compartment in last year's matric examination because they had to walk all the way to reach the examination centre as the bus had not stopped at their village that day.

The Principal of the Chopal school has even submitted the names of students with regular passes to the SDM and transport authorities. There are more than 70 students with permanent passes.

The students have also blocked the traffic many times at Chopal for starting an exclusive school bus, but to no avail. There is also a strong resentment against the political leadership amongst residents and parents of students on the issue.

"We are just 100 km from the state capital, but the transport facilities at Chopal are worse then any tribal area", says Nikka Ram Dhareula, a Khagna local. "Do our children deserve gunny-sacks-on-roof-tops treatment ?" he asks.

The students keep waiting at the stinking and dung-littered bus stand for a long time in the evening to go back. When the Shimla-Gumma bus arrives, the struggle to get on to the roof-top starts again.

Last year nine students of Nerwa College at Chopal died at Pashar on the Nerwa-Bhabar road. Only then a college bus was started, says Mr Dhareula who is struggling hard to start a school bus. "We have warned the authorities many times regarding such mishaps in over-crowded buses, but our repeated requests and warnings have always fallen on deaf ears," he says dejectedly.

Hamirpur to have fruit research centre
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Sept 21 — A research centre for the promotion of fruit crops will be set up near Bhota in the district.

This was announced by the Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, while addressing a massive rural gathering at Bassi village about 22 km from here, this afternoon. The centre would be set up by Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture, Solan.

The Chief Minister inaugurated a PWD rest house constructed at a cost of Rs 25 lakh and school rooms costing Rs 1.50 lakh constructed under the jan sahyog programme of the government.

He gave a call to the people to donate liberally for development works for which the state government would provide them matching grants.

The Chief Minister criticised the previous Congress government for discriminating against certain areas in the allocation of funds. He said aid of Rs 112.81 crore given by Nabarad to the state, only a sum of Rs 89 lakh were given to Hamirpur and 70 lakh rupees to Chamba district and a sum of rupees 42.81 crores was allotted Shimla district alone. He said that most of amount given to Shimla was spent only in Rohroo and Rampur areas from where Mr Virbhadra Singh hailed

The Chief Minister announced that the Central Government had agreed to declare Jalandhar-Mandi, Swarghat-Pinjore and Ambala-Nahan and Nahan-Kumarhatti roads as national highways. Presently, the state has only two national highways.

Prof Dhumal claimed that the people of the state were happy with the present government as it believed in taking actions rather than raising false slogans. He said that the state government had so for provided 1.45 crores of apple boxes to the farmers and purchased 35,000 metric tonnes of apples from farmers for its juice factories.

Referring to the demand of the local people for a revenue sub division at Bhoranj, the Chief Minister assured them that whenever new demarcation would take place, the claim of the Bhoranj would be on priority.

Mrs Urmila Thakur, parliamentary Secretary demanded that Hamirpur should be linked through railway with Amb in Una district.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of a serai complex at Baroha village in memory of those who died in a truck accident two years ago. He said all funds for the serai would be provided by the state government.

SPOs deployed in HP border areas
From Our Correspondent

CHAMBA, Sept 21 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has deployed militia like Special Police Officers (SPOs) in the sensitive belts of this district which are adjoining Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir to combat militancy.

Giving this information here today, the District Magistrate, Mr Tarun Kapoor, said a militia of 70 SPOs had been trained as soldiers to reinforce the security forces in border regions of Himachal Pradesh.

The District Magistrate stated that these SPOs were selected from the identified sensitive border villages. This move had resulted in boosting the morale of the local people to fight against terrorism.

He said in the first round, more than 140 Village Defence Committees (VDCs) had been set up on the state border adjoining Jammu and Kashmir. More VDCs would be formed in the second round, he added.

He said the district administration had so far received about 4,000 applications of border residents for gun licences and added that the process of issuing licences had commenced.

Violation of forest Act resented
From a Reporter

KOTKHAI, Sept 21 — No action has been taken by the forest authorities against some truck operators who have constructed a three-storeyed building in a DPF (demarcated protected forest) here, Mr Sanjay Chauhan, general secretary of the HP Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, in a press statement has said. He said it was clear violation of the forest Act, according to which the use of the DPF was prohibited and restricted.

Reportedly Mr Chauhan brought the encroachment in Rantu forest in Kotkhai range, to the notice of the Revenue Department in 1994. But it expressed inability to inquire about the encroachments as the land was under the Forest Department. They wrote down to forest authorities twice vide letter numbers 1656 and 1745 in August '94 and vide letter No 241 in February '96, but no action had been taken by the Forest Department so far, says Mr Chauhan.

He has demanded an action against encroachers.

Students misled, say parents
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 21 — The Parents Association of the DAV School at Lakkar Bazar here has alleged that the management of the school had misled students by admitting them to plus 2 class (science group) on a claim that the school was affiliated to the CBSE.

A spokesperson of the association said here yesterday that the fact that the CBSE had not granted affiliation to the school came to light only when the former refused to accept the forms for the annual plus 2 examination scheduled to be held in March, 1999. The students were admitted in 1997 and the management made an arrangement to enable them to appear in the plus 1 examination as private candidates through DAV School, Solan.

The students were not informed that the school had not been granted affiliation by the Board, the spokesperson said.

The last date for the submission of forms was September 21 and the students face an uncertain future. He said the management had committed an offence which was punishable under various sections of the IPC. The association will register an FIR and also move court to get justice, he added.

1 killed as van falls into river
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, Sept 21 — One person was killed and another seriously injured when a Maruti van (HP-34-678) fell into the Beas near Hanogi temple, 33 km from here, on the Mandi-Kulu national highway at midnight yesterday.

The driver of the van, Romesh Kumar Bhatia, died on the spot while the owner, Kamal Kapoor of Akhara Bazar, Kulu, was seriously injured.

The van reportedly went off the road as the driver fell asleep.

In another incident, Sewak Ram of Badhu village was washed away in the swollen Jayuni Khud, 2 km from Gohar, where he had gone for fishing. His body has not been traced.

The body of Lambu Lama, a Tibetan woman, was recovered from Rewalsar Lake today. She was missing for the past two days.

The police said she had gone to worship in the lake, where she drowned in the marsh.