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| Tuesday, August 29, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Ruchika case: delay
worries witnesses Fresh guidelines on teaching hours BSP workers
stage dharna Dacoity case solved,
three arrested Admission to pre-exam
training centres Anti-encroachment
drive a flop |
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MDU
directs colleges to set up anti-ragging
cells Panel to name VC
of GJU Indo-Fijian society
to be set up Recruitment:
47,853 for physical test Bicycle riding camp
for rural girls held Haryana plan to enter
foodgrain market Dharamshalas to be built
for patients’ attendants Six injured in
2 incidents 10 kg charas
seized
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Ruchika case:
delay worries witnesses CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — The delay by the CBI in filing a charge sheet against Haryana DGP S.P.S. Rathore relating to the alleged molestation of a teenaged girl by him in 1990 is worrying those who had deposed before the CBI in this connection. Sources here said that the CBI officers, who were assigned the job of investigation, initially indicated that they would file the charge sheet at the end of April or in May. The sources said that once the CBI filed the charge sheet, which would be done at the Special Court at Ambala, it could lead to some more persons deposing against the DGP. According to information available here, the CBI sleuths were working on charging Mr Rathore with abetting the girl’s suicide in 1993 and with molestation and eve-teasing. The proposed charge sheet was also vetted by the CBI’s legal wing. However, later some queries were directed by the CBI’s Joint Director regarding the clamping of charges under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) on Mr Rathore. Following the Joint Director’s order, which was issued earlier this month, papers allegedly substantiating the charge against Mr Rathore were promptly handed over to the CBI. It is believed that the Joint Director has asked the investigating team to collect further evidence before charging Mr Rathore under Section 306. This delay, however, is worrying those who had deposed before the CBI in this case. Some of these witnesses had earlier met the CBI Director and sought his intervention for providing security to them. “Whenever we go somewhere, our car is stopped by the police and subjected to thorough checking. We also get threatening phone calls and a number of times pressure has been put on us by influential persons asking us to withdraw from the case”, they claimed. According to sources, the alleged victim’s father, Mr S.C. Girhotra, a retired bank employee, who was finally traced by the CBI and his statement recorded, had spent some time at an aashram in Calcutta. However, his present whereabouts are reportedly known only to the CBI. The CBI team had obtained depositions from a large number of persons in connection with the case, including some of those who played along with the alleged victim at the tennis academy started by Mr Rathore at Panchkula. Ruchika Girhotra, a 14-year-old girl whose mother had died when she was five, was allegedly molested by Mr Rathore, then an IGP, after she became a member of the tennis academy in 1990. Three years later she committed suicide by consuming poison, though no suicide note was found on her. It is alleged that because Ruchika reported the incident to some family friends, Mr Rathore put pressure on the school, where she was studying, to throw her out, harassed her as well as members of her family and made life so miserable for her that she took the extreme step. Official circles, however, claim that the three-year gap between the alleged molestation and Ruchika’s death shows that that something else might have prompted the girl to commit suicide. |
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Fresh guidelines on teaching hours CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — Even as the dust is beginning to settle on 166 transfers of teachers to rural colleges, the Department of Higher Education, Haryana, has issued fresh guidelines on teaching hours and even the distribution of workload besides constituting flying squads for keeping a tab on regularity. In addition, a meeting of the Vice-Chancellors of the three universities in the state will be convened on September 1 to ascertain how best to implement the UGC guidelines in colleges. The Director, Higher Education, Ms Anuradha Gupta, said: “There is excess staff in most urban colleges. While effecting the transfers, our effort was to even out the vacancies and provide faculty in rural colleges which are short of funds and cannot employ retired hands as guest faculty.’’ The department, in written orders circulated among the colleges, has instructed them to ensure a workload of 40 hours a week for every lecturer while specifying the number of students required to begin a course and imposing a complete ban on self-decided holidays by a college. The orders add: “The UGC has prescribed 180 teaching days in a session with at least 30 teaching weeks. Compared to the UGC norms, the number of teaching days observed by colleges in the state is already dismally low.’’ It is learnt that the teaching days have been as few as 90 in most colleges and the situation is more grim in rural colleges. Meanwhile, to curb the usual practice of limiting a class to 40 minutes, the directorate, at a meeting held with the principals of colleges, stated that a period should in no case fall short of a minimum of 45 minutes. The letter states that the time-table should be spread out in a manner that the teachers stay in the college for a minimum of five hours. Also, the principals have been asked to take six classes a week if the relevant subject is available. To ensure compliance and impose checks and counter-checks so that teachers don’t play truant during college hours, two teams have specially been constituted for the purpose. “While one inspection team will conduct checks in colleges in coordination with the staff, another has been deputed to conduct random checks to add an element of surprise,’’ Ms Gupta added. This has enabled the department to get feedback from colleges and an update on the requirements and attend to these on priority. Besides, the directorate has taken care that information of all kinds is available at the head office which includes a detailed time-table along with workload per lecture and information on any faculty member indulging in private tuition. |
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MDU
directs colleges to set up anti-ragging
cells ROHTAK, Aug 28 — The administration of Maharshi Dayanand University has directed all principals and directors of colleges and institutions affiliated to the university to set up anti-ragging cells to check ragging. In notices issued to the affiliated colleges and institutions by the administration today the heads have been asked to adopt precautionary measures to check ragging by assigning duties to the teaching staff. The university administration warned that it would take a serious view of any incident of ragging. Moreover, the students have been cautioned that those found involved in ragging would face strict disciplinary action. The university also asked the affected students, if any, to report such incidents directly to the Vice-Chancellor or the Pro Vice-Chancellor. Meanwhile, the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has acceded to the request of university regarding admissions of Kashmiri migrants to the University Teaching Departments (UTDs) and the affiliated colleges and institutions for the current session. The AICTE has approved an increase of two seats in each branch of engineering, MCA, MBA, architecture and pharmacy courses being run in UTDs as well as in affiliated colleges and institutions. |
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BSP workers
stage dharna FATEHABAD, Aug 28 — The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) today staged a dharna and held demonstration here against what it called “anti-people policies” of the state as well as the Central Government. A large number of BSP workers led by Mr Aman Kumar Nagra, state president, assembled at the local Ambedkar Park today. They sat on dharna which was addressed by Mr Nagra and senior leaders of the district unit. Mr Nagra termed the Haryana government as anti-people and anti-poor. He alleged the government was only working for the benefit of privileged few and the common people were suffering due to the “misdeeds” of the government. He said while the rich and the
influential persons were grabbing the government land with impunity, rehris- walas and slum-dwellers were being uprooted in the name of anti-encroachment drives of the government. He alleged the unemployment had reached at an all-time high and the government had failed to fulfil its promises of providing employment to the unemployed youths. Mr Nagra accused the government of being insensitive to people’s woes. He said that in the name of waiving octroi, the government had imposed a number of new taxes on its residents. The BSP leader also accused the Central Government of being inefficient and anti-people. The party submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner in which the party demanded the dismissal of the state government as it has failed to deliver goods. |
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Dacoity case solved,
three arrested KURUKSHETRA, Aug 28 — Following the arrest of three persons, the police today claimed to have solved a dacoity case, two days after it was committed near Samani village on the GT Road. Those arrested have been identified as Suresh Kumar, Bhupendar Singh and Shripal, all residents of Mandi village in Panipat district. A .315-bore
country-made pistol and a used cartridge have been seized from the possession of Shripal. A stolen Maruti car has also
been recovered from them. Stating this today, the district police chief, Mr Desraj Singh, said Sumer Chand of Jyoti Colony, Panipat, lodged a complaint with the police on August 25 that while he was going to Sangrur in Punjab on August 23, his oil tanker broke down near Samani village. He was sleeping in the driver’s seat, when he was struck in the head and robbed of cash. The police laid nakas near Umri Chowk, 5 km from here, on August 27 and intercepted the suspects who were coming from the Chandigarh side. The fourth suspect Surender is
missing. |
Admission to pre-exam
training centres CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — The Haryana Welfare of Scheduled Castes and backward Classes Department today invited applications from Scheduled Castes boys and girls of Haryana domicile whose own annual income or that of their parents or guardians did not exceed Rs 44,500 for admission to the pre-examination training centres at Ambala, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Rewari. A spokesman for the department said the training at these centres would be held from September 11 to December 8. The candidates would be prepared for the examination to select bank clerks and stenotypists to be conducted by the State Bank of India (Central Group), Lucknow. He added that during the training period every candidate would be given a scholarship of Rs 250 per month in the case of outsiders and Rs 85 per month in the case of local candidates. He said the interested candidates should appear for an interview on September 7 at 9 a.m. at the centre concerned, bringing with them the original or attested copies of all documents, including proof of having applied for the examination. |
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Anti-encroachment
drive a flop SONEPAT, Aug 28 — The anti-encroachment campaign launched by the police and the civic administration in this fast growing industrial city and district headquarters in Haryana has proved a total “failure”. The public as well as municipal and HUDA land which had earlier been vacated, has again been occupied by the same persons. The re-encroachment has again caused traffic hazards. There is hardly any main road in the city where encroachments have not been made. Open drains have made the life of the people miserable and the police and the civic administration have done little to mitigate their problems. In the Model Town, 8-Marla Colony and Ashok Nagar areas and in Sectors 14 and 15, residential colonies of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), the owners of the houses have encroached upon the land in front of their houses by fixing grills and turning them into their private lawns. This has resulted in the narrowing of roads which obstruct free flow of traffic. Even the embankment of the drain no 6 passing through the city has been encroached upon by people who have constructed pucca houses there. Footpaths in the mandi and other areas of the city have been occupied by shopkeepers and the efforts made by the authorities to vacate them have failed because of stiff
resistance by the shopkeepers. |
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Panel to name VC
of GJU CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — The Haryana Government has constituted a three-member search committee to identify a suitable person for appointment as Vice-Chancellor of Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar. The post fell vacant when Dr K.C. Bangar resigned a few weeks ago to become the Chairman of the Haryana Public Service Commission. The search committee includes Dr O.P. Choudhry, a former Vice-Chancellor of Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and Dr S.K. Gupta, Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University. Indications are that the committee is likely to recommend the name of a member of the Scheduled Castes for the post. The Chancellor, Babu Parmanand is believed to told the Chief Minister that a Dalit should head at least one of the universities in the state. |
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Indo-Fijian society
to be set up CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today announced that an Indo-Fijian Friendship Society would be constituted shortly under the patronage of Mr Mahendra Chaudhry, deposed Prime Minister of Fiji, for making efforts to restore democracy in that country. He said all money collected by the elected representatives of panchayats and municipal committees would be deposited in the bank account of the society. He asked all residents of Haryana to donate Re 1 each as a token of respect of the people of the state for Mr
Chaudhry. |
Recruitment:
47,853 for physical test CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — Out
of 91,284 applicants for 2,000 posts of constable in Haryana only
47,853 are left to appear in the physical test. Those appearing in the physical test include 25, 912 general category candidates, 8,737 belonging to the Scheduled Castes, 12,482 to the backward classes and 721 ex-servicemen. The recruitment process had started at all district headquarters and at the headquarters of the Railway Police at Ambala on August 19. An
official spokesman said the recruitment was being done in a
transparent and fair manner. |
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Bicycle riding camp
for rural girls held ROHTAK, Aug 28 — The State Resource Centre and the Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti have devised a noble scheme to help rural girls in becoming self-reliant. A one-week camp was organisedfrom August 19 to 26 at Bhali village to train the rural girls in riding bicycle. About 50 girls who were facing difficulty in going to schools located in remote areas attended the camp. Ms Savita, convener of the programme, said such camps would be held at other villages also with the help of gram panchayats and teachers. |
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Haryana plan to enter
foodgrain market AMBALA Talking to newspersons yesterday, Mr Chautala said Haryana would be entering the market by September 15 to ensure that the interests of the farmers of the state are looked after. “I have already spoken to Mr Shanta Kumar in this regard. The Centre has announced that it would be buying foodgrains from October 1, but foodgrains have already started coming to the mandis, so we are planning to enter the market directly to safeguard the interests of the farmers”. Mr Chautala said that Improvement Trust would be re-established soon. “Encroachments are being removed and land grabbers are going to be evicted. The land will then be utilised for various welfare activities,” he said. The Haryana Chief Minister said there was no souring of relationship between the BJP and the INLD. “We are alliance partners in the NDA. “I am personally in favour of setting up of a corporation for Ambala consisting of Ambala City and Ambala Cantonment. Also corporation can be set up for Yamuna Nagar and Jagadhari,” he said. Regarding Saha Growth Centre, Mr Chautala observed that just by declaring a growth centre, industrial development cannot be ensured. “Under the new industrial policy, there has been a boost to industry. Information Technology sector is being encouraged in the state,” he said. |
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Dharamshalas to be built
for patients’ attendants CHANDIGARH Mr Chautala laid the foundation stone of the first such dharamshala at Apna Hospital in Ambala. This dharamshala would be constructed at a cost of Rs 50 lakh. The government has allotted land free of cost for the construction of this four-storeyed dharamshala. He said the government would allot land for setting up of public welfare project. Ambala would be given a massive facelift. Public utilities would be improved. He urged philanthropists and industrialists of Ambala to make contribution towards the construction of this dharamshala apart from undertaking beautification and sanitation projects. The Chief Minister recalled that when he had launched the “Sarkar Apke Dwar” programme, some Oppositions leaders had expressed their apprehension about the success of this programme. However, a number of development works had already been undertaken to fulfil the aspirations of the people. The remaining works would also be completed before launching the second phase of this programme on October 2, he added. Earlier, he inaugurated an old age home named after Mr Devi Lal and constructed at a cost of Rs 65 lakh in Ambala City. Mr Chautala said Mr Devi Lal had declared to invest the entire amount of his MP Fund to set up old age homes in rural areas so as to facilitate senior citizens. He reminded that it was Mr Devi Lal who had introduced old-age pension scheme and the present government had now doubled its amount to Rs 200 per month. He said all Deputy Commissioners had been directed to remove encroachments on a priority basis. The land thus released in the urban areas would be utilised to undertake beautification projects like parks and fountains. The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of Rs 40 lakh community centre. It would be developed by the Improvement Trust and Vikas Vihar Kalyan Sangh. He announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the community centre. He directed that tubewells be installed at the earliest so as to minimise the problem of drinking water in Baldev Nagar, for which Rs 20 lakh had already been sanctioned. |
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Six injured in
2 incidents FARIDABAD, Aug 28 — At least six persons were injured in two separate incidents, including a road mishap, in the town in the past 24 hours. According to police sources, four persons were injured, two of them seriously, when two dumper trucks collided on the Kheri-Bhupani crossing in the town this morning. It is reported that Prem Chand, Parmod, Prabhu and the driver of one of the trucks were injured when a speeding dumper rammed into another. Meanwhile, two persons got injured when they were allegedly beaten up with crude weapons at Khori and Pali villages, respectively. |
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10 kg charas
seized FARIDABAD, Aug 28 — About 10 kg of charas was seized from a youth by the railway police here. The accused has been arrested and a case under the National Drug Prevention Act has been registered. According to police sources, the railway police officials, while on a routine check up in a train which halted at the railway station, found the contraband drug from the bag of a youth identified as Jodha. He is reported to be a resident of Yamunanagar and had been travelling by the 1057 Down Dadar Express. Meanwhile, the police has arrested two youths in connection with the theft of motor cycles here. They were nabbed near Sarai Khawaja here. |
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