CM: act tough with anti-social elements
GURGAON, Nov 8 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala has directed the district administrations and the police to improve the law and order situation by dealing firmly with the anti-social elements, who have bases in the bordering states.

Ten civic body members resign
SONEPAT, Nov 8 — Ten out of the 15 members of the municipal committee at Ganaur, a subdivisional town in the district, have reportedly resigned from their membership. They have sent their resignation letters to the Deputy Commissioner for approval.

Couple attacked, robbed
KAITHAL, Nov 8 — Dr. B.S. Sidhu, President of the Haryana Sampadak Sangh (Small and medium newspapers), and his wife were seriously injured when they were attacked by three miscreants at their residence in Guru Teg Bahadur Colony on Saturday night.

Work on hospital from Nov 11
SHAHABAD, Nov 8 — The much awaited construction work of Miri Piri Medical Hospital and Research Institute, to be set up by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee would start here on November 11. A 300 bed hospital and a dental college will be built in the first phase of the project.

CM: act tough with anti-social elements
From Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service

GURGAON, Nov 8 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala has directed the district administrations and the police to improve the law and order situation by dealing firmly with the anti-social elements, who have bases in the bordering states.

The Chief Minister had issued the directive to the district administration, a few days ago, after reviewing the law and order situation. This was followed up at his joint meeting with the Deputy Commissioners and the police chiefs on November 3. In his directive to the district authorities,the Chief Minister is understood to have made it known that in pursuing criminal cases they should ignore even his Indian National Lok Dal leaders who possibly tried to intervene.

The government feedback is that several gangs from UP, Rajasthan and Delhi were operating in different parts of Haryana, either independently or in collusion with the locals. At least two dozen gangs from Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Meerut, Aligarh and Saharanpur districts in UP, and places like Alwar in Rajasthan and from Delhi are said to have become active in the state, especially in Faridabad and Gurgaon, districts in the past two years.

Apart from gangsters from other states,the government is said to have feedback on the local gangs. The description of this category of criminals pertain to those who were involved in bootlegging during the prohibition enforced during the Bansi Lal regime.The bootleggers and liquor mafias were earning between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7 crore from each district during prohibition.

With the scrapping of prohibition these anti-social elements have been left high and dry.With the already acquired logistics they have started indulging in various crimes to keep up their income.What is said to be causing sleepless nights in the government circles is the large number of youths in their teens and in early twenties, who were active in the illegal trafficking, are now neck deep in crime. Many of them belong to good and law-abiding families from the rural belts of the state.

According to one conservative estimate,there are presently about 800 such gangsters.

What has set the alarm bell ringing in the government circles is reports of some of the locals acting hand in glove with inter-state criminals who are now operating in Haryana.

The assessment in the government quarters is that gangsters from outside feel that they can find soft targets in Haryana.

Ten civic body members resign
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Nov 8 — Ten out of the 15 members of the municipal committee at Ganaur, a subdivisional town in the district, have reportedly resigned from their membership. They have sent their resignation letters to the Deputy Commissioner for approval.

According to informed sources, these members have resigned to register their protest against the anti-member attitude of the President of the municipal committee. The members are: Mr Kamlesh Sangwan (Ward 1), Mr Satish Jain (Ward 2), Ms Ram Rati Devi (Ward 3), Mr Ashok Chaudhary (Ward 5), Mr Satbir Sharma (Ward 8), Mr Suman Sahaye (Ward 11), Mr Suresh Kumar Jain (Ward 12), Mr Shiv Kumar Gupta (Ward 13), Mr Suresh Chand (Ward 14) and Mr Kedar Singh (Ward 15).

Mr Suresh Chand is Vice-President of the civic body and President of the Ganaur unit of the BJP

In a joint press statement issued after their resignations, they blamed the Chairperson of the civic body for ignoring their wards' development. They also alleged that the government had not taken any action on their repeated complaints.

They alleged that sanitary conditions in the town had deteriorated and the drinking water supply was far from satisfactory. Streetlighting arrangements were poor and the committee had failed to provide basic amenities to the residents.

1 cr for Aggarsen institute
From Our Correspondent

FATEHABAD, Nov 8 — The Haryana Government has released the first instalment of Rs 1 crore out of a grant of Rs 7 crore allocated to the Maharaja Aggarsen Institute of Medical Sciences, Agroha. Stating this here yesterday, the state Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, said the government had assured the Aggarwal community that the shortage of funds would not be allowed to come in the way of the functioning of the medical institute.

Talking to reporters at the PWD Rest House, Mr Sampat Singh said the government had asked the management of the institute to go ahead with the construction work of the institute building so that the permission of the Medical Council of India (MCI) could be obtained in time and classes started in the coming session. He added that the government would go on providing the money needed for the institute as and when required.

The Finance Minister also said that Rs 25 lakh had been released for constructing a mini secretariat and residences of senior district officers. The project is under way already. Work on it had to be stopped due to paucity of funds last month. The Executive Engineer assured the Minister that construction of the mini secretariat would be completed by August, 2000, while residences of senior district officers would be completed by April, 2000.

Ambika cancels Sonepat visit
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — In view of the fire tragedy that claimed 45 lives on the eve of Divali, the Haryana unit of the Congress has cancelled the proposed visit of the party General Secretary, Ms Ambika Soni, and the former Union Minister, Mr P.V. Shiv Shankar, to Sonepat on November 9.

The Pradesh Congress Committee President, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in a press release today said, the two leaders would visit Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala, on November 9.

Mr Hooda, who earlier paid a visit to the victims, has expressed shock over the tragedy.

AMBALA: Three children in the city and the cantonment area sustained serious burn injuries while lighting crackers during Divali, yesterday.

According to reports Anita (7), of cantonment had been admitted to the PGI, Chandigarh, as she sustained serious burn injuries. Another boy (10) of Ambala City sustained burn injuries on his face. One more case had also been reported from the Baldev Nagar area in the city.

Meanwhile the administration challaned some shopkeepers for selling the fireworks without proper licence and permission.

Couple attacked, robbed
From Our Correspondent

KAITHAL, Nov 8 — Dr. B.S. Sidhu, President of the Haryana Sampadak Sangh (Small and medium newspapers), and his wife were seriously injured when they were attacked by three miscreants at their residence in Guru Teg Bahadur Colony on Saturday night.

According to reports three persons, two of them armed with pistols and knives, entered the house of Dr Sidhu after scaling a wall. Dr Sidhu and his wife were sleeping at the time. They woke up on hearing some noise and were attacked with a knife by one of the assailants, who asked them to hand over the cash lying in the house. On offering resistance, Dr Sidhu was stabbed on different parts of his body. Ms Sidhu raised an alarm, but she was overpowered and deprived of her gold ornaments. Dr Sidhu was also deprived of a golden chain and ring. Before the miscreants fled from the scene, they threw some acid on the faces of the couple.

The couple, accompanied by some neighbours, went to lodge a complaint at the Civil Lines police post on way to a hospital, but found the doors of the post bolted from inside. They then went to the residence of the SP, Mr K.K. Sharma, who deputed his staff to take them to the Civil Hospital.

The local media persons, in an emergency meeting, condemned the attack on the couple.

The police has registered a case.

In another incident, the Pundri police has arrested a member of an inter-state gang of robbers and seized country-made pistols and an air gun from him, according to police sources.

The accused Vinod Kumar of Malikpur village in Bhiwani district is alleged to be involved in snatching a Maruti Zen from Surinder Kumar at Khanouda village.

Work on hospital from Nov 11
From Our Correspondent

SHAHABAD, Nov 8 — The much awaited construction work of Miri Piri Medical Hospital and Research Institute, to be set up by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPG), would start here on November 11. A 300 bed hospital and a dental college will be built in the first phase of the project.

The State President of the Shiromani Istri Akali Dal (B), Haryana, and member of the SGPC, Bibi Kartar Kaur Gill said here today that the construction work would be inaugurated by the SGPC chief, Bibi Jagir Kaur. The Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, the President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (B) and Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and the Union Minister for Home, I.D. Swami, would also attend the ceremony. She added: MPs, Ministers, and MLAs, of Punjab and Haryana and members of the SGPC from Haryana, would participate in the function, she said.

Twentyone acres of land on the G.T. Road, belonging to the Gurdwara Mastgarh Sahib, Shahabad, has been donated to the SGPC for the project.