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| Thursday, November 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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ABVP men ‘confine’ 2 varsity
officials Election to six
panchayats put off
IAS officer refutes charges Warm sendoff to HP
varsity Chancellor
Govt move on OBC quota flayed |
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HP Pollution Board directed to pay dues Scribe demands
CBI probe
Muslim function planned to counter allegations
Raid on chemist shop, drugs seized
Teachers observe protest day
Death of employees accidental: HPSEB IT Dept honours
taxpayers
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ABVP men ‘confine’ 2 varsity
officials SOLAN, Nov 22 — About 40 ABVP activists lead by their state unit general secretary, Mr Kamal Nain, kept the Dean, College of Forestry, Dr L.G, Shrivastava and the Student Welfare Officer (SWO), Mr A.S. Chandel of Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry at Nauni near here, under illegal confinement for nearly 10 hours by locking them up in the latter’s office yesterday. The illegal confinement started at noon and ended after 10 p.m. last night. The ABVP activists were protesting against the expulsion of three ABVP men from hostels and their suspension from classes. Three ABVP members were Mr Pradeep Kumar, Mr Vivek Sharma and Mr Rajesh Sharma, all Ph.D. students. These three were charged with attacking and beating up a fellow Ph.D. student on the night of November 19 in a college hostel. The S.W.O., who visited the hostel soon after receiving a report about the beating up of a student, found the three students in a drunken state. Later, he and the two college deans collectively ordered the three students’ expulsion from hostels and suspension from classes. The police, with whom the victim had registered an FIR, arrested the three accused after registering a case against them. All three were, however, released on bail subsequently. Following an SOS from the campus unit of the ABVP, Mr Kamal Nain, reached the campus yesterday. He, along with other ABVP leaders from the campus met the S.W.O. in his office around 11.30 a.m. He reportedly tried to pressurise Mr Chandel to rescind his order or take similar action against the victim also, who was being described as a NSUI activist who was active in the recent elections to the Central Students Association. The ABVP lost the elections. As the alleged pressurising of Mr Chandel continued, a group of about 40 ABVP activists gathered outside the SWO’s office. Soon the Dean, College of forestry, who was also a party to the students’ expulsion came to the SWO’s office. Both were locked in after the latter also refused to review the order. The two officials were let off at the intervention of their other senior colleagues after they had promised to call a meeting of the senior statutory officers for reconsidering the expulsion order. The Vice-Chancellor was away on a tour. A meeting of senior statutory officers and the district administration represented by the SDM, Mr Rakesh Dhiman, took place at the campus today, it decided to suspend the order of the expulsion from hostels and suspension from classes order till further orders “in order to ensure a free and fair inquiry” which had been ordered. Meanwhile, a spokesman of the ABVP had denied that the three accused students were drunk at the time of quarrel. He alleged that the ABVP activists were presently facing threats from a rival student body which had created an atmosphere of tension on the campus. On the other hand, NSUI leaders said they did not intend to take law in their hands. They were critical of the administration “who appeared to be condoning the high-handed and utterly illegal action of Mr Kamal Nain and the party” solely on political considerations. |
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Election to six
panchayats put off DHARAMSALA, Nov 22 — Elections to six panchayats in Kangra district have been deferred, as the electoral rolls have not been revised after delimitation of these panchayats. According to officials, these panchayats are Sari, Kunanag, and Matial in the Lambagaon block, Chek and Bhirdi in Panchrukhi block and Majhoti in the Baijnath block. However, elections to the panchayat samiti wards and the zila parishad will be held as per the election scheduled announced earlier. Nominations for the 731 panchayats in Kangra district will be filed on November 27 and the polling will be held on December 13, 15 and 17. Out of the 56 zila parishad seats in the district eight wards have been reserved for the scheduled castes, four for SC women, belonging to the SC, five for OBCs, three for women belonging to the OBCs and 12 for women of general category and 24 wards have been left unreserved. In the panchayat samitis, Nagrota Bagvan has been reserved for women belonging to the OBCs, Kangra, Sulah and Fatehpur for women of general category, Indora for women belonging to the SCs, Rait and Pragpur for the scheduled castes, Bhawarna for the OBCs. The other panchayat samitis left unreserved are Baijnath, Dehra, Nagrota, Suriyan, Nurpur, Lambagaon and Panchrukhi. The Kangra district administration has completed the task of dereserving the panchayats earlier falling in the category reserved for the
OBCs. |
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IAS officer refutes charges SHIMLA, Nov 22 — Mr Rajmani Tripathi, a senior IAS officer, against whom a vigilance inquiry has been instituted, has denied the charges against him and alleged that he and his family members are being singled out for unfair treatment because he is a non-Himachali. He said a fresh inquiry had again been instituted on the basis of a complaint lodged by a retired officer of the Prosecution Department who was a neighbour of his brother at Una and was having a feud with him. That retired officer had filed numerous complaints against his brother which had been inquired and reinquired into many times and filed as unfounded. As such the latest complaint against him did not merit any credence. Besides, being baseless, the complaint had been lodged with a view to debarring him from getting post-retirement dues. Giving details of his assets he said he purchased a 10 biswa plot at Malyana for Rs 7500 in1976. Since he had the capacity to construct only one house, he had gifted the plot to his younger brother who built a house on it some 20 years ago out of his agricultural income. The house at his native place Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh has constructed by him by availing a government loan of Rs 1,36,250 in 1986. The three-room house was purchased by his wife from the state housing board by taking a loan from LIC Housing Finance Ltd. He said his brother owned land in the state even before the implementation of the State Land Tenancy Act which debarred non-Himachalis from purchasing agricultural land in the state. He was very much an agriculturist and had legitimate farm income. Mr Tripathi further said that he did not even own a vehicle till date whereas class III and class IV officials had both cars and houses. Obviously, he was being targeted for being an outsider. |
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Warm sendoff to HP
varsity Chancellor SHIMLA, Nov 22 — The teachers, students, officers and employees of Himachal Pradesh University today gave a warm sendoff to Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, the outgoing Governor and Chancellor of the university, here today. Speaking on the occasion he said there was a lot of academic activity in the campus and he had enjoyed participating in them more as a teacher than as the Governor. He stated that the university was moving in right direction and making significant contributions in different fields. He said teachers should have high morals and observe strict discipline in their work and ethics. He was critical of the intelligentsia who shied away from duties. Prof S.K. Gupta, the Vice-Chancellor, said Mr Shastri was held in high esteem because of his unique personality and sharp intellect. He took keen interest in the university and helped in giving a new dimension and orientation to academic activities on the campus. He left his imprint on the university during his short tenure as Chancellor. Some selected verses from Prof Shastri’s literary works and anthology of poems were recited by Mr Kamer Singh on the occasion. |
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Govt move on OBC quota flayed SHIMLA, Nov 22 — The decision of the BJP government to slash the upper limit of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to 15 per cent in the panchayats after having first made the reservation in proportion to their population seems to have backfired. Leaders belonging to the Other Backward Classes are critical of the government move. Initially, the government had ordered reservation for the Backward Classes for the coming panchayat elections in proportion to their population. The decision was taken at a recent meeting of the state Cabinet but the government reversed the decision last week. A Congress MLA, Mr G.S. Bali, who represents the Nagrota Bhagvan Assembly constituency of Kangra which is dominated by persons belonging to the Backward Classes, is upset over the decision and has accused the BJP government of having acted in an immature manner in this matter. He said that both the reservation and reversion of the decision had been done hurriedly without taking into confidence the representatives of people. This sensitive issue should have been discussed with the people. Mr Bali claimed the Backward Classes were feeling cheated by the BJP government, which even during the regime of Mr Shanta Kumar had gone to the Supreme Court against reservation for the other Backward Classes in jobs. He said that the matter would become an election issue in the coming panchayat polls in Kangra where 14 of the 16 blocks were dominated by the
OBCs. |
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HP Pollution Board directed to pay dues SHIMLA, Nov 22 — A division bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court consisting of Chief Justice C.K. Thakkar and Mr Justice K.C. Sood, today issued notices to the state Pollution Control Board on a petition filed by the former MLA and ex-chairman of Pollution Control Board of Nahan, Mr Ajay Bahadur Singh, for the payment of his salary and dues for the period for which he worked in the post of chairman from 1996 to 1998. Mr Ashwani Kumar Gupta, counsel for the petitioner, submitted to the court that it was the fundamental right of the petitioner to get the payment. He argued that the petitioner had made the request for payment to the concerned authorities many times but they did not respond. Mr Rajender Dogra, counsel for the board argued that the matter was under consideration by the board and would be finalised shortly. |
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Scribe demands
CBI probe DHARAMSALA, Nov 22 — Amar Ujala scribe Ajay Sehgal, suspected to be behind the disappearance of a Kangra newspaper hawker, today demanded a CBI inquiry into the entire incident as he had no faith in the state police. Talking to newspersons, he said he was being made the victim of a deep-rooted conspiracy as he was in no way involved with the entire drama involving the disappearance of the newspaper hawker, Jetender, alias Raju. He said surprisingly the police was ready to believe every word uttered by Raju, who, according to them, had a dubious character, while they did not believe what he said. “Let the police reveal the names of the four other persons he claimed took him from Draman in a blue vehicle”, demanded Ajay Sehgal. The scribe also alleged that during interrogation pressure was mounted on him to name any other person after which he would be allowed to go. He added that his conscience did not allow him to name any innocent person as had been done by Raju. Mr Sehgal said if the state government did not entrust the case to the CBI he would approach the high court to hand over the case to the CBI as he had no faith in the state police. |
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Muslim function planned to counter allegations SHIMLA, Nov 22 — With the Jamiyat Ulema charging the BJP government with victimising Muslims in Himachal Pradesh, the minority cell of the BJP today hurriedly fixed a function at the Jama Masjid for November 24. The Chief Minister, Prof P.K. Dhumal, will be the chief guest at the show. The Muslim Welfare Committee has been associated with the function. The Jamiyat Ulema, which is considered close to the Congress, had in its Himachal Muslim conference here yesterday levelled allegations of victimisation of Muslims by the BJP government. It alleged that the government had failed to take action on the memorandum which was presented to the Chief Minister twice. A former Chief Minister and leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Mr Virbhadra Singh, was the chief guest at the Jamiyat show in which he claimed that only the Congress was a well-wisher of the Muslims. With the criticism from Muslim speakers, the BJP has organised the function on a day when most of the Muslims will be present at the Jama Masjid to offer Friday prayers. Meanwhile, Mr Syed Nasir Ahmed Gilani, Vice-President of the BJP minority cell, has criticised those who levelled allegations against the BJP and claimed that there was no victimisation of Muslims under the BJP regime. In a statement, Mr Gilani claimed that the Muslim community had never been harassed during the present regime. |
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Raid on chemist shop, drugs seized MANDI, Nov 22 — The Health Department Drugs Inspector, Mr Kapil Diwan, swung into action this evening and conducted a raid on the premises of a chemist shop on the Jail road. Large number of medicines, allegedly being sold to the juvenile drug addicts without any prescription, were seized in the raid. The raid which continued for five hours was conducted with the help of the police. It revealed that the drug mafia had invaded the town endangering the lives of school and college going youths. The raid has also brought to light the unauthorised and illegal purchase of drugs and the matter is also being examined by the Sales Tax and Income tax Department. The Drugs Inspector, claimed that he had taken into possession the proof of the fact that the drugs were being sold for misuse. He said action would be initiated under the Drugs and Chemist Act, 1940. A few days ago, a 20-year old youth, Jagmohan, had died in this town due to consumption of such drugs. The police had recovered drugs of the same batch number from the pocket of the deceased. The drug mafia has been active in this town for more than 12 years but no action has been taken by the authorities. |
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Teachers observe protest day MANDI, Nov 22 — Mr Dharam Pal Saroj, Chairman, State Action Committee of Himachal Pradesh School Lecturers Association, today called upon the government to concede their pending demands without further delay. Talking to mediapersons here this evening Mr Saroj said over 7,000 school lecturers in the state today observed a “protest day and wore black badges to demonstrate their resentment against the “evasive attitude” of the Education Minister towards their genuine demands. He alleged the recruitment and promotion rules framed by the government were irrational and their association’s demand for amendment had fell on deaf ears. Similarly, he said, the seniority being given to the ex-servicemen was totally unjustified and this sort of seniority without corresponding qualification was being given nowhere in the country, he said. He lamented that injustice was being done to the school lecturers in the matter of promotion to the post of Principal. He alleged that the Education Minister, who himself had been a headmaster earlier, was meting out a stepmotherly treatment to lecturers and favouring headmasters for promotion to the post of Principal. Mr Saroj further regretted that science lecturers were being deprived of ‘practical allowance’ while the science teachers were getting it. |
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Death of employees accidental: HPSEB SHIMLA, Nov 22 — The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) has claimed that recent death of two of its employees due to burning of some equipment in Snowdon Hospital here was accidental and no one could be blamed for the mishap. A spokesman of the HPSEB said here today that the circuit breaker in the sub-station of the hospital caused a flash injuring the employees working around the L.T. panel. Two employees subsequently succumbed to injuries. The HPSEB accused the medical officer of having exceeded his jurisdiction in the post-mortem report by commenting upon the causes of the mishap. The Chief Electrical Inspector was the designated authority to look into the causes of such accidents and he was already conducting the inquiry, the board added. |
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IT Dept honours
taxpayers DALHOUSIE, Nov 22 — The Income Tax Department, Shimla range, aims to enrol 1.60 lakh taxpayers in Himachal Pradesh by the end of the current financial year. This was stated by Mr Buta Singh, Additional Commissioner of the department, while presiding over a function organised by the department here yesterday to honour highest taxpayers. On the occasion, Mr Buta Singh honoured the late Raman Arora, whose samman patra was presented to his wife Sangeeta Arora. He also awarded samman patras to Dr A.R. Dutta of Nurpur and Dr K.K. Mittal, Chief Medical Officer of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation. Mr Buta Singh said in the Shimla range, a revenue of Rs 139 crore had been generated last year as against Rs 18 crore during 1992. He said the number of tax payers in the state had increased from 21,000 in 1992 to 1.28 lakh by the end of 1999. Mr Y.P. Behl, Income Tax Officer, Dalhousie, was the chief guest. |
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