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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Monday, May 10, 1999 |
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Jindal: Hisar seat or
nothing |
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Brick
kiln workers seek uniform rate Teachers worried at 'VC's threat' Panchayats still hand out death
sentence
Road named after Maj Chaudhary Bhajan, Chautala 'frustrated lot' Apni mandis fail to click Hooda dares Chautala Bid to encroach on govt land Dispute over water collection, 1
killed INLD nominees for LS poll
HVP’s statewide campaign from
May 15 Missing boy recovered |
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Jindal: Hisar seat or nothing HISAR, May 9 — Former MP O.P. Jindal who recently joined Congress said today that he would contest the Lok Sabha elections from Hisar and not from any other constituency. Talking to reporters here, Mr Jindal said, if the high command wanted him to contest, he would like to contest from "Hisar only" otherwise "I will sit at home." Explaining the reason for his insistence on Hisar, the industrialist-turned-politician said, he had lost the previous election from Hisar and now he wanted to make up for that loss. He expressed his gratitude to the people of Kurukshetra, for having elected him to the Parliament in 1996. Clarifying his position about his meeting with the Indian National Lok Dal leader, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Mr Jindal said, "he happened to pass by and he dropped in without any previous appointment". He stressed, nothing should be inferred from the meeting, which was "just coincidental." Mr Jindal, while explaining his reasons for joining the Congress and merger of his Sarvjati Morcha with it, said, "I believe Congress has same policy and programmes that I wanted to pursue through the morcha. Hence I decided that it will be better, if I join Congress." The former MP claimed, the Congress was set to win "at least 300 seats in the forthcoming elections under the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi". Criticising those, who opposed Mrs Gandhi's foreign origin, Mr Jindal said "I betrays a mean mentality." He was of the opinion that the Congress would sweep the 10 seats in Haryana. Launching a scathing attack on the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, he claimed, the HVP-BJP would be wiped out during this election. Mr Jindal said Mr
Vajpayee was the best person and Prime Minister. But
unfortunately he was in a bad party surrounded by bad
people. |
Cong may tie-up with BSP in
Haryana YAMUNANAGAR, May 9 — The Haryana Congress has indicated that the party would go in for an electoral alliance with the BSP in the state. Mr Birender Singh, a former Haryana Pradesh Congress President and a lone member from Haryana for the Congress poll strategy committee, while talking to newsmen here yesterday said the BSP had a hold in four states — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. He said on May 10, a state-level meeting of the Congress would be held at Faridabad. The meeting would be convened by Mr Pranab Mukherjee, General Secretary of All-India Congress(I) and in charge of Haryana. He said that preliminary discussion about the alliance would be the main agenda of the meeting. Mr Birender Singh overruled any possibility of Mr Bansi Lal, Chief Minister, Haryana joining the Congress, when asked about the rumour that Mr Bansi Lal's son and daughter- in-law were campaigning in Delhi for his induction in the Congress. He refused to comment but added that Congress would not commit a mistake. He further added that BJP-HVP alliance in Haryana was non-functional and it had lost the mandate of the people to govern over the state. He said that if election to the Haryana Assembly were held simultaneously it would be in the interest of state because law and order situation had deteriorated in the state. When questioned about the BJP-INLD's possible alliance in Haryana he said that at present BJP had not bid farewell to the Bansi Lal government but predicted the fall of the government any moment. Mr Birender Singh said that the Congress's main plank in the coming election would be stability which could be brought only by one party. He said that the
Congress had already started membership drive which would
end on May 31. |
Stolen vehicles: aid of
Interpol sought FATEHABAD, May 9 — The district police has sought the assistance of Interpol in connection with the recovery of stolen vehicles reported to have been sold in Nepal. Assistance of Interpol has also been sought to apprehend the guilty, who according to information available with the police, are hiding in Nepal. It may be recalled that three jeeps and a car were stolen here last month. One jeep belonged to the Tehsildar and another to an Xen of the Irrigation Department. Success came the police way when it recovered the jeep belonging to the Irrigation Department and arrested Rajesh and Vinod, both residents of Bighar in this district. On interrogation of the accused, it was revealed that the theft was the handiwork of a gang. All members belonged to one family which had migrated to Bighar from Uttar Pradesh a few years ago. Cases under different sections of the IPC were registered against the accused at Alwar, Muradabad and New Delhi. Police parties were sent to these places. It was found that two stolen jeeps had been sold to Maskoor, a resident of Muradabad, who in turn had sold the vehicles to a mechanic, Jamed alias Kancha Musalman, in Nepal. When contacted, the
district police chief, Mr Rajbir Deswal, confirmed that
the police had approached Interpol and sought it's
assistance for apprehending the culprits and recovery of
the vehicles. |
Moulding of bricks YAMUNANAGAR, May 9 — Brick kiln workers demanded uniform rates in the state. Mr Ramesh Malhotra President All-India Brick Kiln Workers Union said here today that uniform rate for brick kiln workers would stop exploitation of brick kiln workers. Mr Malhotra added that in Haryana there were 1100 brick kilns where more than two lakh workers were involved out of which 50000 were women and 10,000 children. He said that last year rate for moulding bricks was Rs 116 per 1000 but it varied in the state. He demanded the rate of 150 per 1000 in the state failing which the workers would be forced to stop work. Mr Malhotra wondered that the rates of moulding had been announced in the entire state except in Yamunanagar district because the brick kiln owners here had not taken any initiative. Mr Malhotra also demanded that the price of bricks should be Rs 1200 per 1000 and not the current price of Rs 1500 to Rs 1600. Mr Malhotra alleged that the workers were also deprived of actual wages. He said that they had been living below the poverty line in brick kiln premises where basic amenities were not provided. He demanded educational allowance, provident fund, pension and other facilities for brick kiln workers. Mr Malhotra felt concerned that in the scorching heat when the temperature was not less than 45 degree the brick kiln workers had to work. Mr Malhotra also
addressed brick kiln workers here today. He assured them
that they would not be deprived of their right even if
they were to launch an agitation. He threatened that the
brick kiln owners should come to the negotiating table to
avoid confrontation. In Yamunanagar district there are 92
brick kilns. He disclosed that the union had also taken
up the issue with the Deputy Commissioner Yamunanagar who
had assured them that the rate for the moulding of the
bricks in the Yamunanagar district would not be less than
that in other districts. |
Teachers worried at 'VC's threat' ROHTAK, May 9 — The Ambedkar Teachers Front and the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Backward Class (BC) Employees Welfare Association of the Maharshi Dayanand University have expressed serious concern over the alleged threat of "termination of service given to a superintendent of establishment wing of varsity by the Vice-Chancellor Lt. Gen (retd) O.P. Kaushik, recently. In separate statements issued here, Dr Deshraj Sabherwal, president, Ambedkar Teachers Front and Mr Naresh Kumar, general secretary of the SC and BC employees Welfare Association said that Mr Bhaleram Verma a superintendent on the establishment wing of university had informed them that the VC had threatened him with termination of service in connection with a case of filling the post of data entry operator in Computer Department. It is reported that Mr Verma (superintendent), had opposed the move to appoint one Sunder Singh a candidate belonging to general category to this post, by saying that the candidate was not entitled for the grant of extension on the same post as the fifth post, against which Sunder Singh was appointed had been meant for SC candidate, according to roster (reservation norms). These associations have alleged that despite protest and opposition by the Registrar Mr Ashok Khemka, I.A.S., the VC had been adamant on giving extension to the particular candidate and when the superintendent Mr Verma expressed his helplessness to be a part of the decision", he was summoned in VC's office and threatened with termination of service. These associations have
decided to take up the issue with the President, Prime
Minister and the Central Commission for SC and BC. The VC
Mr Kaushik on other hand has denied the charges and has
said that he had not violated any norms in matter of
appointments. |
Panchayats still hand out death
sentence ROHTAK: The growing impact of Western culture on traditional values and social morals in semi-urban and rural Haryana has led to serious repercussions. While incidents of love affairs and illicit relations have been rising, the village panchayats and human rights activists have clashed on the propriety of such cases and the way they should dealt with. In Haryana, where social traditions are rather strict and conservative in nature, incidents of love and romance, especially in one community or in same village, are viewed as social stigma and such actions may invite the harshest decisions from panchayats. It is fact that only few such cases have come to lights a majority of them go "unreported" owing to the fear of getting a bad name. But what may be horrifying for several people is that several of the accused are put to death in a secret manner and with the mutual consent of the families or the panchayat. The latest incident in a string of such cases took place in Simla village of Kaithal district recently, where a Dalit boy and girl were allegedly beaten to death after they had eloped and had been caught by their family members. The boy, who was awarded the sentence of "desh nikala" (ban on entry into the village), had come back and had demanded that the girl be handed over to him. The girl and boy were reportedly cousins. It is reported that the panchayat sentenced them to death after consent from families of both sides. It is learnt that such cases (in which such punishment is given) are not new as many of them go unreported. According to information about two dozen of cases of eloping are reported to various panchayats every year. The famous Chaubisi panchayat at Meham, near here, deals with a large number of social cases including such incidents, claims the Chaubisi Sarvakhap Panchayat chief Mr Surat Singh. It is learnt that in a similar case, a Dalit boy and a girl of the upper caste had eloped about four years ago in Samain village. But they also received similar punishment by their family members after they were traced out. Similar treatment was given to a boy and girl who were cousins in a nearby village about two years ago after they had fled away from their houses to an unknown place but were traced out in just a month. In still another case, a boy belonging to nearby Kharkara village was given "desh nikala" for about 10 years by the panchayat, after he had developed an affair with a girl of the same village about one and half years ago. He was also paraded on a donkey with his face blackened before his "ouster' from the village. This list could be unending, the problem is how such incidents should be tackled. The village elders, while admitting that cases of "illicit relations" had been on the rise, ask if there is any effective law that could desist youngsters from doing what had been socially and morally a crime? They fear that, it such things were taken lightly as some of the human right activists were crying for, then social chaos was likely to prevail. Mr Surat Singh, who has presided over hundreds of panchayat meetings to discuss social and family problems, opines that the panchayat conventions were like the British Constitution, which was unwritten but has to be followed, if the social structure and its cohesiveness is to be maintained. While he opposed capital punishment in such cases there is need for some rules and regulations and proper coordination has to be done between the panchayats and the law and order machinery so that immoral and anti-social tendencies and violations can be effectively checked. On the other hand, people believing in the concept of human rights condemn the incidents in which the panchayats or the family members had given such punishment to boys and girls. They alleged that is a gross violation of the law of the land as they have no right to kill anybody. On the other hand, the
panchayats still continue to decide several of the cases
at the village level itself. The Chaubisi panchayat takes
up about 150 to 200 cases every year and several of them
are settled permanently. When a village panchayat is
unable to solve the case or if it is concerned with other
village than a "mahapanchayat" or Sarvakhap
panchayat may decide it. There are about 165 khap
panchayats in Haryana and the Gathwala khap (Malik) is
stated to be the largest of them. At such occasions, the
ministers, VIPs and the district administration has to
accept the panchayat decision. |
Cop booked for bribery,
cheating ROHTAK, May 9 — The police has registered a case against a head constable posted at Bahadurgarh in connection with alleged extortion, bribery and cheating. The accused also reportedly misled the court about the case in which he was involved. According to police sources the accused identified Ramesh Kumar, a head constable allegedly took Rs 50000 and prepared some documents with the view to acquiring the property of a person from whom he took the bribe. The victim in this case identified as Mahavir reported the matter to the district police chief, who in turn, ordered an inquiry into it. It is learnt that after the probe it was found that the head constable not only took money from the victim but also got his signature on a blank paper in order to acquire the property of the complainant. The victim Mahavir reportedly had been sentenced to imprisonment for 20 years for the murder of his wife sometime back but had been on parole. A few years ago he came into contact with the accused, who allegedly tried to get undue benefit from the victim. The police has registered a case under Sections 217, 218, 193, 420, 467, 468, 471, 511 of the IPC and 7/13 of the Cr PC. The cop belongs to Khowra village in Sonepat district. In another incident the
police has booked two persons of Farmana village in the
district on charges of attempt to murder another resident
of the village. It is learnt that the accused identified
as Rajkumar and Dharmender, both brothers allegedly
attacked the complainant Jora Singh by opening fire from
a revolver yesterday. The victim, however, escaped with
some injuries. It is reported that a dispute regarding
payment of rent of vehicle had been the reason behind the
attack. No arrest has been reported so far in this
regard. |
Road named after Maj
Chaudhary JIND, May 9 — Tributes were paid to Major Vinay Chaudhary at a condolence meeting held here on Sunday. Major Chaudhary had laid down his life while fighting the dreaded Iqbal Gujjar gang on April 27. Mr Brij Mohan Singla, Health Minister, Haryana paid tributes to the martyred hero. He said Major Chaudhary had set up an example of patriotism and bravery which should encourage our generation. The minister announced that the road along the local Rani Talab would be named Major Vinay Chaudhary Road. Paying tributes at the condolence meeting, Col. A.K. Gupta, Commanding Officer, 13 Punjab Unit, to which Major Chaudhary belonged, narrated his heroic deeds and said the whole country is proud of him. Col. Gupta said Major Chaudhary was a dedicated officer and his name had created a terror in the hearts of militants in the valley. Major Ganeral (retd) A.C. Mangla, while paying tributes to Major Chaudhary, said he had become immortal by sacrificing his life for the country. Mr Tarun Bajaj, Deputy Commissioner, assured all help from the administration to raise a memorial to the brave soldier. Several speakers at the meeting demanded that the local Government College should be renamed after Major Chaudhary. It may be recalled that Major Chaudhary had been a student of this college and his father Mr Zile Singh is a lecturer in the same college. Others who paid tributes
included HPCC (I) president Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former
Union Deputy Minister Jai Parkash, former HPCC (I) chief
Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala and the principals and
lecturers of the local colleges. |
Bhajan, Chautala 'frustrated
lot' KURUKSHETRA, May 9 — Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Om Parkash Chautala both former Haryana Chief Ministers have been trying to destabilise the Bansi Lal government but so far, not successful. Alleging this at a press conference here today, the Haryana Vikas Party General Secretary, Kaka Jatinder Singh Khurdban said that both former Haryana Chief Ministers were fully aware of the fact that they could not rule without the support of people and frustrated over not in getting people's support, they had been trying to bring about instability of the type they had brought at the Centre by forcing a mid-term poll. Expressing doubts over the success of both these leaders, Kaka Jatinder Singh Khurdban said that both Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Om Parkash Chautala fear that after the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, provided 24-hour power supply by June 30 next both of them would not have any issue to go to the people for seeking votes. He said that Mr Chautala knows very well the state of mind of his MPs. Kaka Jatinder Singh Khurdban said that he was sure that with a little encouragement from Mr Bansi Lal, Mr Chautala would be left with only a few MLAs but it was only Mr Bansi Lal who did not encourage such type of unprincipled politics. Mr Khurdban added that
both Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Chautala should go to the
people and get their support instead of wasting their
time on trying to bring down the HVP-BJP government which
was stable under the leadership of Mr Bansi Lal. |
Apni mandis fail to click YAMUNANAGAR: The concept of "apni mandi" started by Mr Bhajan Lal, former Chief Minister, has flopped. In 1994 the Haryana Agriculture Marketing Board decided to start "apni mandis" in towns like Yamunanagar-Jagadhri, Kurukshetra and Karnal, but these soon turned into "rehri" markets. At Yamunanagar's Dasehra Ground, the mandi is held twice a week ( Thursday and Sunday). consumers are satisfied as they get fresh vegetables and fruits, but the market committee has stopped taking interest resulting in them paying higher prices for farm produce. Mr N K Bedi, a professor at Mukand Lal National College, who lives at Dasehra Ground, stated that he was facing serious problems ever since the Subzi Mandi was shifted to this place. The idea behind "apni mandis" was laudable — to make it possible for small farmers to sell their produce to consumers directly, eliminating middlemen — but in actual practice hardly did any small farmer turn up to sell his produce. He pointed out that the mandi was, by and large, in the hands of vendors and hawkers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who had mastered the art of fleecing consumers. The rates of vegetables were never fixed. He alleged that the mandi had become a serious health hazard for residents. Heaps of rubbish, wastepaper and polythene bags could be seen here and there and safai karamcharis did not clean up the place promptly. Drains remain unattended for weeks together and wastepaper, both inside and outside houses, had made this place a virtual hell. When this newsman contacted market committee officials they revealed that "apni mandis" were not successful because the main purpose behind such these was to avoid middlemen but producers were not ready for this. They pointed out that there was a provision in the budget to provide weighing scales to hawkers, but these were never provided. He revealed that the
market committee had decided to build four main roads
which would cost Rs 36 lakh, besides Rs 30 lakh had
already been spent on sheds and platforms at Gur Mandi by
the market committee. |
Hooda dares Chautala CHANDIGARH, May 9 — Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda,President, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, has challenged the Haryana Lok Dal (R) chief, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to contest the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat next time against him to know about his popularity. Talking to newsmen here yesterday, Mr Hooda said he was referring to Mr Chautala’s statement that he would not allow Mr Hooda to enter the Lok Sabha in the next elections. Accepting his challenge, Mr Hooda said Mr Devi Lal was too old to contest. Mr Chautala should himself come forward against him. Mr Hooda said in the next Lok Sabha elections the Congress was strong enough to contest alone without any alliance. The Congress, he said, believed in forming a stable government on its own strength and felt that the system of alliances had failed. However, it could accept support from others from outside. Mr Hooda blamed the BJP
for forcing mid-term elections on the people. He also
blamed Mr Chautala for engineering the fall of the BJP
Government when he first withdrew the support from the
Vajpayee Government. His action, Mr Hooda said, was
followed by the AIADMK in withdrawing support. He also
blamed the BJP for practising double standards which made
this party lose its credibility among people. |
Bid to encroach on govt land KAITHAL, May 9 — The district administration foiled an attempt at encroaching on a valuable piece of government land by certain persons near the Pehowa Chowk here last night. According to sources, this piece of land was recently vacated by the PWD (B&R) by dismantling godowns following a Sessions, Court ruling subsequently upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Some persons started unloading building material from trucks on this land last night, presumably to start construction. But a deputation of citizens led by Dr Ashok Garg, a senior office-bearer of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, apprised the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Jaiwanti Sheokand, and the S.P., Mr Khushi Ram, about the attempt. On the directions of the district administration, the Executive Engineer (B&R), Mr A.C. Gupta, and SHO (City) Dalbir Singh Yadav, assisted by a large police force, reached the site to check the illegal activity. Later, the PWD
authorities removed the building material from the site.
It may be recalled that earlier several social
organisations had expressed the fear that the land may be
encroached upon by "vested interests" due to
its high market price running into crores. |
Dispute over water collection, 1
killed FATEHABAD, May 9 — A minor scuffle over the turn of fetching water from the village water tap led to the murder of a person in Kumharia village in the district. The police has arrested five persons in this connection. According to reports, Satbir, a son of the deceased Lal Chand, had a verbal duel with a village woman over the turn to collect water from the water tap. Mai Ram, the father-in-law of the woman, called Lal Chand and his two brothers to his residence for a compromise. While they were going to his house they were attacked by five persons — Bhal Singh, Thakur Singh, Moti Ram, Pappu and Bhallu — with lathis, gandasas and jailis. Lal Chand was shifted to Medical College Rohtak in a critical condition where he died later. According to the SP, Mr
Rajbir Deswal, the police had initially registered a case
under Sections 323, 148 and 149 of the IPC but when the
DSP, Mr Charan Jeet Singh, deputed for verification of
the allegations, found that the three brothers had been
invited with an intention to kill them, a case under
Section 302 of the IPC was registered and all five
accused were arrested. |
INLD nominees for LS poll KARNAL, May 9 (PTI) — The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) today said all its sitting MPs would contest the coming Lok Sabha elections. The INLD chief, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, told a party rally at Gharaunda, 18 km from here, that his party's four sitting MPs in the dissolved Lok Sabha would contest from their respective constituencies. Ms Kailasho Devi from Kurukshetra, Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan from Rohtak, Mr Sushil Indora from Sirsa and Mr Surinder Singh Barwala from Hisar Parliamentary constituencies will be contesting the 13th Lok Sabha elections, he said. While Mr Ajay Singh
Chautala would contest from Bhiwani, Mr Devi Lal was yet
to decide on Rohtak seat, he added. |
Woman raped FARIDABAD, May 9 — A village woman was raped in a broad-day light in a running jeep in the presence of her husband by two persons near Baghola village, 29 km from here today, the rapists were jeep owners. According to information, a young woman and her husband standing the road-side demanded lift from two jeep-borne persons. The jeep owners gave them lift and asked them to sit in the jeep and they will drop them near their destination. On the way, the jeep owners started molesting the woman. When her husband protested, he was beaten up and the woman was raped. The matter was reported
to the police. The police is investigating the matter. |
HVP’s statewide campaign from
May 15 CHANDIGARH, May 9 — The Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) will launch a fortnight-long statewide "Jan jagaran" campaign from May 15 to make the people aware of the achievements of the present government since its formation on May 11, 1996. The general secretary of the HVP, Mr Rajeev Jain said all ministers, legislators and office-bearers of the party would actively take part in this campaign. He added that the meetings of the District Executive Committees of the HVP would be held at all the district headquarters on May 14. Mr Jain said meetings of
party workers would also be held in assembly
constituencies from June 7 to 30. |
Missing boy recovered SONEPAT, May 9 — The city police today claimed to have recovered Shivam (5), son of Mr Sunil Goel, a trader of Sonepat Anaj Mandi from Kota (Rajasthan), and handed him over to his parents. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr K. Selvraj, told mediapersons here today that the boy was allegedly kidnapped from his school, Hindu Vidyapeeth, here on May 5 by a former domestic servant Rajesh, son of Dayanand of Jiwan Nagar of this city, and taken to Kota (Rajasthan) in a bid to get Rs 10 lakh as extortion money from his parents. He said that the parents of the boy received a telephonic call on May 6 asking them to send Rs 10 lakh as extortion money through another domestic servant Anil at Kota railway station by May 7 if they wanted to get the boy back safe and sound. On receiving a telephonic call, a police party, headed by Mr Hardeep Singh Doon, DSP (Headquarters), in plain clothes was sent to Kota. The police party, he said, was also accompanied by Mr Mahavir, an uncle of the boy and domestic servant Anil with extortion money. The police party reached the railway station before time waited for the boy and his kidnapper for an hour or so. In the meantime, a rickshaw puller appeared on the site with the school bag of Shivam. On seeing the school bag, the parents of the boy were satisfied that Shivam was safe and sound. The SSP also said that
the alleged kidnapper had sent the rickshaw puller for
receiving the money from Anil. The kidnapper, he said,
sat outside a girls' school near the Kota railway station
and the staff on this school became suspicious. But when
they tried to apprehend him, he fled leaving the boy
there. |
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