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| Saturday, May 27, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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13 cops suspended, probe ordered MDU job on basis of fake degree! Mound to be protected site
Dangi’s arrest stayed |
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Haryana may get Rs 58
lakh per annum Order on appointment of patwaris 60 pc desi ghee in Haryana
spurious Nigam recovers power arrears Move to nab proclaimed offenders Camps for rural children in June City goes waterless for eight
hours 10 booked in two shoot-out cases Court
held in jail to settle undertrials’ cases
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13 cops suspended, probe
ordered KAITHAL, May 26 — Thirteen policemen, including a sub inspector, two ASIs and 10 other ranks, were today suspended in connection with yesterday’s incident in which hundreds of policemen marched to the district courts in protest against a court judgement passed by the CJM. In the judgement, six cops, including a DSP and five other policemen, were sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 13,000 each for registering a false case against a court employee nine years ago. The Deputy Commissioner, Dr Mahavir Singh, has ordered an inquiry by ADC Shyamal Mishra in to the whole episode. The high court judge, Mr Justice K.S. Kumaran, was present in the court premises. Realising the gravity of the situation, the IGP CID, Haryana, Mr Resham Singh, the Ambala Divisional Commissioner, Mr Chander Singh, and the IGP range, Mr A.S. Ahlawat, remained in the town to resolve the crisis. Meanwhile, an injured lawyer, Mr Shamsher Singh Kundu, has lodged an FIR against about 100 policemen who were allegedly involved in yesterday’s incident. On the other hand, Constable Om Parkash has lodged a complaint against Mr Kundu and Dharam Veer Bhola, both advocates, and a court employee, Jeet Singh. According to information, more policemen have been deployed in the security of the CJM, in view of the prevailing tense atmosphere. On the other hand, some
advocates have criticised the suspension of the Dalbir
Singh Yadav, SHO, City. |
MDU job on basis of fake
degree! ROHTAK, May 26 — Maharshi Dayanand University has been in the news not only for issuing fake degrees but also for providing employment on the basis of such degrees. The wife of one of its senior faculty members obtained employment in the university school in July, 1984, on the basis of a fake BA degree purportedly issued by Meerut University (now CCS University, Meerut) in 1970. However, on verification of its records, Meerut University informed Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) on December 9, 1999, that the degree held by that woman teacher was fake. Surprisingly, the university took more than three months to take "action" against the erring teacher. Instead of dismissing the employee or filing an FIR against her for cheating the university, the then Vice-Chancellor, Lt Gen (retd) O.P. Kaushik, asked her to resign and himself preferred to lay down the charge on February 26 before taking any action on it. The officiating Vice-Chancellor, Mrs Anita Chaudhary, has accepted the resignation in the first week of March, 2000, thereby ‘rewarding’ her with benefits of the Provident Fund etc. And the degrees she had obtained from the MDU after her joining the job, were quashed only on May 25. The teacher has yesterday been asked by the university to surrender the original detailed marks cards and degrees of M.Ed and LL.B III, IV and V year examinations passed by her. The B.Ed degree issued to her by the MDU in 1990 has also been quashed. In a separate development, the university had on May 11 almost doubled the fee structure from the coming academic session, yet it is unaware about the additional income it will get from the revised fees. University officials are also unable to explain the rationale behind such a steep hike in the fees. The only explanation, which an official of its Finance Department gave in the presence of the university Registrar was that the revised fees were still lower than that being charged by some neighbouring universities, "You allow me ten minutes and I will calculate the additional income. We have not calculated that while enhancing the fees", he told The Tribune. Meanwhile, the
university has set up a committee under the chairmanship
of Prof M.G. Gandhi to assess the workload of various
departments and requirement of teachers as per the new
UGC guidelines. The committee will also examine if any
department could be clubbed with some other department to
minimise its expenses. |
Mound to be protected site KARNAL: The Director-General, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Mrs Komal Anand, has declared a 4500-year-old mound in Karnal district as a protected national site under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. Official sources told Tribune News Service that Mrs Anand visited the site on May 1 after reading about it in The Tribune. She was accompanied by Mr Bisht, Circle Superintendent, Chandigarh, and Mr Doorji. The mound is located in Bhor Shyam village in the district. Earlier, the site was being vandalised by certain contractors in the village. It was Mr Rajesh Purohit, Curator, Shri Krishna Museum, who happened to visit the site and discovered its antiquity. Mr Girish Arora, Chief Executive Officer, Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB), told this reporter that the inspected surface collections which had been taken into possession by the KDB authorities included pottery, bricks, brick alignment of structure and barn (storage container) made of wedge-shaped bricks. All these articles resembled the barn of Hastinapur. It was learnt that the Deputy Commissioner of Karnal had been asked by the Director-General of the ASI to immediately take possession of the site and take steps to stop further destruction there. It was reported that the Deputy Commissioner after receiving the letter from the Director-General had taken adequate steps to preserve the mound. Ultimately, the ASI would take possession of the mound as it had decided to preserve as an ancient archaeological site. It was reported that the ASI would take up further digging operations here to find out the ancientness of the mound. Mr Purohit maintained that originally, the mound was spread over 10 acres but after vandalism, it had been reduced to over 5 acres. Undoubtedly, this site was a painted grey-ware site as revealed by the findings in the form of painted grey-ware sherts (PGW) which was scattered all over the mound. However, the fragments of the perforated jar and the painted red-ware as well as mud-bricks suggested that the antiquity of the mound dated back to the Harappan times. Mr Purohit explained
that usually the Harappan mounds used to be twin in
nature (one spread in the East and the other in the
West). The Eastern part was meant for common habitation
while the Western part was meant for elite habitation. In
Bhor Shyam village, the Eastern mound had already been
destroyed over the years. He maintained that further
excavation of the mound could unravel various facts and
facets of life pertaining to the Harappan and other
periods. |
Dangi’s arrest stayed CHANDIGARH, May 26 — Staying the arrest of Haryana’s former minister Anand Singh Dangi till the next date of hearing in a cheating and forgery case, Mr Justice Amarbir Singh Gill of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked the petitioner not to leave station without the investigating officer’s permission. Taking up the petition, Mr Justice Gill also issued notice to the Haryana Advocate-General. The hearing on the petition was subsequently adjourned to June 2 after the notice was accepted. Dangi was apprehending arrest in a case under Sections 218, 406, 418, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, besides under Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, registered by the State Vigilance Bureau on the basis of a letter written by the Special Secretary to the Government of Haryana’s Rehabilitation Department. According to the prosecution, in 24 cases several hundred acres of land were illegally allotted to persons without verifying the claims as per the instructions of the State of Haryana. Seeking the grant of anticipatory bail, counsel for the petitioner had stated on his behalf that Dangi was being implicated in the case. The FIR was false and motivated, he had added. Giving details, counsel
had stated that the present Chief Minister was "not
merely a political rival, but was deadly inimical towards
him". He had added that the petitioner had filed a
writ petition for follow-up action on the Justice K.N.
Saikia Commission report on the Meham firing "which
had given findings against the police and Mr
Chautala". |
Haryana may get Rs 58 lakh per
annum CHANDIGARH, May 26 — Haryana will benefit to the tune of Rs 58 lakh per annum from an agreement slated to be signed by the Employees State Insurance Corporation for the employees of Delhi and Haryana who live in one state but work in the other. According to an official press note, an estimated 17,913 insured persons belonging to Delhi are given treatment in Haryana, while 7601 insured persons of Haryana are being treated in Delhi. Both categories of people are giving their contributions to the state where they are working but they get medical aid in the state where they live. Since 9592 insured
persons from Haryana are working in Delhi in excess to
the number of people from Delhi working in Haryana, the
agreement on reciprocal basis would earn Haryana Rs 58
lakh per annum as per the difference in the number of
insured persons and ceiling limit of Rs 600 per insured
person per annum. |
Order on appointment of
patwaris CHANDIGARH, May 26 — On a writ petition filed by Mr Jai Bhagwan and others who were selected for the post of Revenue patwaris in Haryana against1055 posts advertised by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission were not being deputed for training to enable them to get appointments, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the state government to give appointment to the petitioners after imparting training when such posts come into existence in any manner in the next three years. Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and Mr Justice J.S. Narang who comprised the Bench observed that though it could not be denied that mere selection did not give right of appointment but in this case the process was being scuttled half way. The state government had taken the plea that due to financial stringency, the posts lying vacant on February 29,2000, had been ordered to be abolished but the petitioners expressed the apprehension that it was just a ruse to nullify their selection so that influential persons in the government could have their own persons selected. The Judge said that they were assuming that the abolition of posts was valid due to financial stringency. But in the peculiar
circumstances of this case, the Bench asked, the
government to give appointment to the petitioners against
posts becoming available in the next three years. |
60 pc desi ghee in Haryana
spurious HISAR, May 26 — That Haryanvis love desi ghee is well known. But what is not known is that much of the desi ghee they consume is in fact pure vanaspati with a dash of desi ghee essence thrown in. The spurious desi ghee market is worth over Rs 200 crore a year, it is learnt. Another recent entrant to the spurious desi ghee market is "imported desi ghee", which is a concoction prepared from vanaspati and a bit of imported butter oil. Trade sources reveal that Haryanvis consume about 3000 tonnes of desi ghee per month which is about half the size of the market for vanaspati and refined cooking oils. At the average rate of Rs 120 a kg, the desi ghee market in the state is worth Rs 432 crore a year. However, the sources say, that about 60 to 70 per cent of the desi ghee sold in Haryana is spurious with the illegal manufacturers and retailers cornering about Rs 200 crore a year. Enquiries reveal that the racket involves manufacturers of little known brands of vanaspati and the desi ghee retailers. As per law, vanaspati manufacturers are supposed to add half a per cent to one per cent of til oil to vanaspati. This is done to distinguish vanaspati from desi ghee in testing laboratories. The addition of til oil to vanaspati produces what is technically called Red BTs which helps it distinguish from desi ghee. Vanaspati manufacturers are by law not allowed to sell vanaspati without Red BT. However, many unscrupulous mills sell vanaspati without adding til oil to their produce to desi ghee dealers who just add four to five drops of desi ghee essence to a tin of vanaspati before packing it in tins bearing labels of well-known brands, which too are freely available. This spurious desi ghee costs the producer between Rs 25 to 30 a kg. It is sold to retailers at Rs 60 to 65 a kg. However, the consumer pays between Rs 120 to Rs 150 a kg, depending on the brand name under which it is sold. Although the price of branded real desi ghee varies from brand to brand, the spurious desi ghee is sold to retailer at a uniform price. Spurious ghee is available in all kinds of packs from one-kg pouches to five-kg jars and 15-kg tins. It is learnt that there are several spurious desi ghee making units in Kaapashera, Seelampura and Badli villages near Delhi. The main markets catered to by these units are Delhi and Haryana. In Delhi, the main market is Khari Baoli. Sources say if the sale of spurious ghee is accounted for, it will be clear that the well-known producers of desi ghee do not produce the quantity which is sold everyday in Haryana and Delhi. The printed tins introduced by certain well-known brands has not discouraged the spurious ghee manufacturers who get duplicate tins printed from container units. The margin being so high, the spurious gheewalas do not mind paying Rs 25 to 30 for printing of tins. The racket has thrown the desi ghee manufacturers already reeling under the impact of sale of imported butter oil, in a tizzy as the retailer makes a hefty profit from sale of spurious desi ghee and hence prefer to sell it. This has also led to closure of several smaller desi ghee units. Haryana is one of the biggest consumers of desi ghee. The average Haryanvi has a strong preference for desi ghee. It is so popular that only one halwai out of every 10 uses vanaspati. The entry of butter oil
in the India market has made the task of spurious
gheewalas easier. They now mix this oil with vanaspati
and certain other imported edible oils which bear a close
resemblance to desi ghee. This is passed off as imported
desi ghee. They use the term imported because under the
law, the seller of imported edible stuff is not held
responsible for its contents. This lacuna in the law is
coming handy for spurious desi ghee manufacturers. |
Nigam recovers power arrears HISAR, May 26 — A spokesman for the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) claimed here yesterday that the campaign launched by the nigam to recover arrears of electricity bills from defaulters had met with success in the Satnali belt of Mahendragarh district. He said consumers of 17 villages of the Satnali belt paid their arrears amounting to Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1 crore had been waived under the surcharge waiving-off scheme. Total revenue collected
from the Mahendragarh division of the nigam, which
includes the Satnali area, came to Rs 2.58 crore by May
24, which is an all-time record. The total revenue
collection during April was Rs 1.12 crore. A large
portion of collection of arrears came from government
departments and private consumers, who have by this month
paid arrears to the tune of about Rs 2 crore. |
Move to nab proclaimed
offenders GURGAON, May 26 - The police of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rewari and Mahendergah districts of Gurgaon Range will make efforts to nab the "Proclaimed Offenders" and the bail jumpers on priority. It is at the behest of the Inspector General of Police, Gurgaon Range, Mr Ranjiv Dalal. The decision and strategy for it was discussed at a joint meeting of district police chiefs of the Range, convened by Mr Ranjiv Dalal, on Thursday. Superintendent of Police, Gurgaon, Shatrujit Kapoor, confirmed the move to The Tribune and said that every effort would be made to arrest proclaimed offenders and the bail jumpers, at the earliest. As part of a strategy against the bail offenders, the police authorities were in favour of categorising them into those whose case related to heinous crime and serious charges, and those who were accused of minor offences. The police will go after the ones in the first category. Inquiries reveal that there are 1,000 bail offenders in both categories in Gurgaon. In Faridabad the number is more. The total of the bail offenders who are at large in Rewari and Mahendergarh would be about 500. There are many bail offenders who are evading arrest for the past many years in large number of cases, for more than a decade. The authorities in this Range, which has witnessed increase in the rate of all sorts of crime in the past five years, have come to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to arrest the bail offenders relating to heinous crimes category as early as possible. The reason being that they are potential law breakens. The police in the Range has also decided to develop and implement the "Personnel Information System", already in vague in other Ranges of the state. This system envisages the district police headquarters concerned having a database on computers on the details of the personnel. Ironically, Mr Ranjiv Dalal is considered to have pioneered the system when he was the DIG, Ambala Range. Now he is the IG of Gurgaon Range, where the system has, so far, not found favour. The police in the Range, by and large, maintained details manually in registers. However, the police in Gurgaon has lately started to adopt the system. In another development,
considered to be the Haryana police’s conscious
efforts to imbue the force with humane approach in
professionalism (this philosophy is being stressed by the
state’s Director General of Police, Mr S.P.S.
Rathore), the Range authorities have decided to send
details of the missing persons and unclaimed dead bodies
to the State Crime Record Bureau on a daily basis. So
far, there had not been a timeframe for sending the
statistics to the State Crime Record Bureau. The practice
had been to send them once fortnightly or on a monthly
basis. The present practice had elements of brutality and
callousness. For example, if a person meets with a fatal
accident, his or her relatives remain clueless as the
police often whistles in the dark in absence of a lead
due to shortage of information. Now, with the help of
computers the district headquarters would be linked with
the State Crime Record Bureau and there would be quick
despatches of the statistics. With this facility, any
district police headquarters can approach the State Crime
Record Bureau to get details or confirm about the
statistics of missing persons or dead bodies for solving
cases. |
Camps for rural children in
June CHANDIGARH, May 26 — The INLD government of Haryana is never short of plans for the rural folks. Its latest plan is to give a crash course in value-based education to village children by organising camps in June. An estimated 4000 rural children from 40 villages in Sirsa, Hisar, Jind and Kaithal are expected to take part in the camps which will be organised by the Haryana Prathmic Shiksha Priyojna Parishad under the DPEP programme. Mr Bahadur Singh, Minister of State for Education, said that any village child found loitering in the streets could be put in those camps and be imparted education including some basic knowledge about health and hygiene. The Education Minister said school children without avenues for spending their holidays in a useful manner, would also be included in the camps. The Education Minister
said that an amount of Rs 15,000 would be spent on each
camp and each child attending the camp would be given
refreshments. Each centre would be run by an educated
woman, one member of the village education centre and an
Anganwadi worker who will be paid Rs 500 per month as
incentive money. |
City goes waterless for eight
hours SONEPAT, May 26 — Sonepat city remained without water for eight hours at a stretch yesterday following low voltage of power at boosting stations in the subji mandi area. Deputy Commissioner, Sudhir Rajpal, on receiving complaints about non-supply of drinking water in the city, directed officials of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and the Public Health Department to take steps to ensure power supply to boosting stations and supply of drinking water to thousands facing water crisis. Residents got normal supply of drinking water around 11.30 a.m. instead of 3 a.m. Enquiries reveal that erratic power supply and low voltage at the Murthal waterworks and the boosting stations have become routine and this has led to disruption in water supply almost every day. Tubewell operators never turn up for duty on time and this was another cause of water crisis. Officials of the Public Health Department never bother about complaints of erratic water supply and forcing residents to hold protest demonstrations in front of the offices of several departments. According to reports, irate residents of Sujan Singh Park and Model Town including women assembled outside the office of the Executive Engineer of the Public Health Department near Gita Bhawan Model Town and shouted slogans against the authorities in protest against drinking water crisis in the area. Authorities assured
residents that steps would be taken to ensure regular
water supply. Residents of Sikka colony threatened to
block traffic if the water and power supply were not
improved immediately. |
10 booked in two shoot-out
cases SIRSA, May 26 — Ten persons were booked by the district police in two shoot-out cases at Santa Wali and Takhat Mal villages in the district. Police sources said today a case was registered against Deedar Singh of Santa Wali village in Rania sub-division of the district and eight others under Sections 307,452,147 and 148, IPC, and the Arms Act. In his complaint, Mahinder Singh has alleged that Deedar Singh and eight others had opened fire on him and his son who was a collegemate of Mahinder Singh’s son. The reason behind the shoot-out incident is reported to be a petty quarrel between Deedar Singh and Mahinder Singh’s son while they were playing. In another incident,
Bhola Singh of Takhat Mal village in Kalanwali
sub-division in the district is reported to have opened
fire on Jagbeer Singh and his servant Tota Singh leaving
them injured. The police has arrested Bhola Singh. |
Court held in jail to settle
undertrials’ cases JIND, May 26 — Dr Neelima Shangla, Chief Judicial Magistrate, held a court in the local district jail yesterday and took up the cases of those undertrials who had been involved in various offences and were keen to confess their guilt. Dr Shangla decided the case of Naresh Kumar, Ashok Kumar and Jasbir, residents of Kharakpunia village in Hisar district, who were facing trial for theft. They are college students. They were sentenced to imprisonment of which they have already spent nearly a month in the jail. In another case, accused Vinod and Pardeep were facing trial for cutting iron rods of windows of the district jail. Their case was heard and they were sentenced to imprisonment for three months which they have already undergone. In another case two firms, Jai Ambay Beej Bhandar, Railway Road, Safidon and Swastik Chemicals and Pesticides, Rohtak, were convicted and fined Rs 2000 each for manufacturing and selling insecticides, under popular brand names. In a case of bank fraud,
Dr Shangla convicted a bank employee Sri Niwas and
sentenced him to two years’ rigorous imprisonment
and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh. According to the
prosecution, the accused Sri Niwas had forged a bank
draft for Rs 2 lakh and fraudulently got the draft
encashed at the Ajmer branch of State Bank of Bikaner and
Jaipur. The amount of the fine was ordered to be given to
the Ajmer branch of the bank. |
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