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| Monday, December 11, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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CM: Haryana not to give up claim on UT Haryana to have RAF: DGP Power position in Haryana ‘worsens’ ‘Punish sellers of bad seeds, fertilisers’ Gram Vikas Samiti work on despite hurdles Skating carnival
a big draw |
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Teachers from 163 colleges
to join protest march Students seek action
against ‘guru’ for sodomy New building for
education board 1 killed as truck hits scooter Man dies after taking
illicit liquor Don’t apply double standards, Pak told Train carrying 650 cows intercepted
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Ashu was
framed on “orders from above” CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 — At last Mr Subhash Chander Girotra has come out of hiding. He is the father of Miss Ruchika, who was allegedly molested by the former Director-General of Haryana Police, Mr S.P.S. Rathore, who has been chargesheeted by the CBI under Section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of the IPC in the court of Mr Arun Kumar Tyagi, Special Magistrate for CBI cases in Haryana. Mr Girotra was at the Panchkula residence of the complainant against Mr Rathore, Mrs Madhu Prakash, this afternoon. He was accompanied by Mr Anand Prakash, husband of Mrs Madhu, and Dr Naresh Mittal, who had also fought for the cause of Miss Ruchika along with the Prakashs. Mr Subhash himself drove down in his Maruti from “somewhere in Himachal Pradesh” to Panchkula. Mr Subhash said he feels emboldened to come out of the hiding by the decision of Mr Justice Mehtab Singh Gill of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to take suo motu notice of the news reports that Ashu, brother of Ruchika, was falsely implicated in six auto-theft cases by the Haryana Police allegedly at the behest of Mr Rathore. He told The Tribune that Ashu, who was one year elder to Rubby (pet name of Ruchika) was lifted by the CIA staff of Ambala district (of which Panchkula was a part then) from the market of Sector 6, Panchkula, late in the evening in 1992. He does not remember the exact date but says that on those days Ram Lila was on. He says the police put pressure on him to withdraw the complaint against Mr Rathore but he declined to oblige. Mr Girotra claims that even the government advocate, Mr Jaswant Singh, told the court that the cases against Ashu were a frame-up. Even the investigating officer told the court in private that Ashu was framed on the “orders from above”. He says the then Chief Judicial Magistrate, Panchkula, Mr R.K. Kashyap, mentioned in the orders acquitting Ashu that the government advocate had agreed with his findings. Ashu was acquitted in 1997. Asserting that Ruchika was depressed after the alleged molestation case and the implication of Ashu in false cases, Mr Girotra claimed that he had sufficient evidence to link Mr Rathore with the alleged suicide of Ruchika. But he refused to elaborate the evidence. Why he and his second wife, Veena, had stated before the police after the death of Ruchika that she had taken overdose of weight reducing pills? Mr Girotra said those statements were prepared by Mr Balwant Rai, in charge of Sector 6 police post, and their signatures were obtained by him. The Chemical Analyst, Dr Upinder Singh, reported in the viscera report of Ruchika that some chrome compound of an insecticide was found in the sample received by the laboratory. He said when he went to Ruchika’s room in the morning of December 28, 1993, to wake her up, she was unconscious and froth was coming out of her mouth. She was immediately rushed to the PGI where she died next night. He ruled out the possibility of anyone else poisoning Ruchika. He also denied that he had remarried and Veena was the step-mother of Ruchika. The lady, he said, was there to look after the children since his wife had died. Ruchika had very good relations with Veena, he added. Girotra said he had to sell his Sector 6 house at half the market price. He said he had entered into an agreement to purchase a plot in Sector 11 for Rs 6 lakh for which Rs 80,000 were paid as earnest money. But the deal fell and when he approached the police for the return the earnest money, the property dealer through whom the deal was struck came to the police station along with Mr Rathore. He was paid only Rs 60,000, out of which Rs 20,000 was kept by the SHO. He said he remained in Panchkula up to 1997. He left the town only after a theft was committed in his Sector 15 house and the police did nothing to catch the thieves. Referring to the propaganda by certain persons friendly to Mr Rathore that he was convicted by the Patiala CBI court for one year, Mr Girotra said the sentence was set aside on appeal. In any case, he said, even his conviction did not give anyone a right to molest his daughter. |
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CM: Haryana not to give up claim on UT JIND, Dec 10 — Haryana would never give up its claim on Chandigarh till 107 Hindi-speaking villages of Abohar-Fazilka were transferred to the state and sufficient funds given by the Centre for a new capital. This was stated by the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, while talking to mediapersons here today. Mr Chautala said the issues of transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, the transfer of Hindi-speaking areas to Haryana and the construction of SYL were interlinked. “There is no question of abandoning our claim on Chandigarh till all these issues are settled simultaneously.” The demand for a separate High Court raised by advocates would only weaken the state’s claim on Chandigarh, he argued. The Chief Minister said Ram Temple was not on the agenda of the INLD as his party was a secular one. Mr Chautala said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was the undisputed leader of the National Democratic Alliance and the country was safe under his sagacious leadership. He said his party would continue to support the government headed by Mr Vajpayee. To the charge of political vendetta by Congress leaders, the Chief Minister said no false case had been registered against any leader. He said he had only fulfilled his commitment made on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha on the demand of Congress leaders that action would be taken against those who had grabbed public property. He said it was surprising that the Congress was trying to shield Mr Anand Singh Dangi whose bail applications had been rejected by various courts, including the Supreme Court. On the Opposition criticism regarding formation of Gram Vikas Samitis, he said with the formation of these samitis the rights of panchayats would not be infringed upon as the main aim of these samitis was to streamline and
accelerate the pace of development in villages, besides involving people in developmental works. He said the motive behind these samitis was not to gain political mileage but to strengthen Panchayati Raj institutions. The Chief Minister clarified that the aim of his government was not to curtail the power of panchayats. He said he had directed the Deputy Commissioners to make efforts to constitute samitis based on consensus. Mr Chautala directed officers of the Cooperative Department to register cases against persons who had withdrawn money on somebody else’s name as much problem was being faced at the time of recovery of cooperative loans. He said his government would oppose all policies of the Central Government which went against the interests of the farming community. Earlier, the Chief Minister administered pulse polio drops at the local PWD Rest House to five children and inaugurated the second phase of the Intensive Polio Eradication Campaign. He laid the foundation stone of the Kalawati minor to be constructed at a cost of Rs 21 lakh and the Gangoli sub-minor to be constructed at a cost of Rs 22.74 lakh to increase irrigation facilities in the area. He directed the Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation Department, to increase the capacity of the Kalawati minor. The Chief Minister also laid the foundation of waterworks at Kharak Gagar to be constructed at a cost of Rs 40 lakh for providing adequate potable water to the people of the village. He said Haryana was committed to providing 70 litre per capita per day potable water to the people in the state. Mr Chautala presided over the second phase of “sarkar aapke dwar” programme in the Jind constituency and announced crores of rupees for executing various developmental works, including construction of additional rooms in schools, construction of chaupals for people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes and construction of boundary walls of schools and a senior citizen’s home. Mr Surender Singh Barwala, MP, Mr Suraj Bhaj Kajal, Chairman, Finance Commission, Mr Ram Phal Kundu, Chairman, HARCO Bank, and the MLA Safidon, were also present. |
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Haryana to have RAF: DGP GURGAON, Dec 10 — The Haryana police has decided to set up “Rapid Action Force”(RAF) at the range headquarters in the state.This was disclosed to mediapersons here today by Mr Mohinder Singh Malik,who took over as the Director General of Police of the state,a few days ago. Mr Malik, who was here this afternoon to address a workshop of “investigating officers” of Gurgaon Range comprising Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rewari and Mahendergarh districts, told mediapersons that the proposed RAF at each range headquarters would consist of about 150 personnel, equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and equipment. The workshop was held with a view to improve the quality of investigation so as to enhance the case of the prosecution. This exercise will be replicated at all range headquarters. Incidentally,this was the first field visit of Mr Malik after taking over as Haryana DGP. Mr Malik further said the state police had prepared a five-year action plan,starting from 2001. The plan would lay emphasis on modernising the force by updating and expanding the logistics and on laying of infrastructure. This would include an expenditure of Rs 66 crore for the purchase of vehicles, setting up of non-residential buildings at the cost of more than Rs 95 crore, purchase of modern weapons at the cost of Rs 32 crore, updating the state’s Forensic Science Laboratory and on training and equipment with regard to training of CID. The proposed new infrastructure include setting up of a Traffic Training Centre at Madhuvan at the cost of Rs 27 crore and a modern Training Centre at Bhondsi village in the district for the new recruits of the state. As many as 270 women constables will be recruited soon, he said. Mr Malik said he would give priority to improving the image of the force. To this effect the force will make conscious efforts to win the admiration of the people by being responsive to the problems of the masses. “Each individual in the state enjoys a sound sleep, this will be the single minded goal of the force”,he said. The police chief, however, said he would lay emphasis on minimising the problems faced by police personnel in the state. In response to a question, he said in view of the mushrooming of inter state gangs, there was an urgent need for coordination between the police of the states falling in the National Capital Region. Significantly, he prefaced his press conference clarifying reports appearing in a section of the Press hinting that he was made the DGP by superceding his seniors. He said his taking over the charge as the police chief of the state was not a promotion. He specified that there were precedents in the state when officers were made the chief of the police even though they were not the senior most. Later, addressing officers at the workshop, he asked them to further increase their efficiency. He also laid stress on discipline in the force. He urged upon the IGs in the ranges to organise workshops at regular intervals. |
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Power position in Haryana ‘worsens’ FARIDABAD, Dec 10 — The power position in Haryana has gone from bad to worse after the launch of the move for the privatisation of the power board in the recent years. “While the ‘line losses’ had increased by about 15 per cent, the power tariff had been hiked almost by 200 per cent in this period.” This was stated by Mr Yadram and Mr Subhash Lamba. The vice-president and spokesman,
respectively, of the All-Haryana Power Corporation Employees Union here today. The union has also decided to join in the all-India power strike on December 12. They claimed that the “privatisation” and “corporatisation” of state electricity board had not improved the overall functioning or the generation of power in the state. They said the availability of power in the state had not increased even by a single megawatt, although the state government had pumped hundreds of crores of rupees in the name of “restructuring” the power board. They also alleged that the money, received in the name of World Bank loan had actually gone to certain “influential”
persons and “misuse” of funds had been reported. The common man, however, had been burdened with increased power tariff and various other charges. The single and three-phase meters which were available at a rate of Rs 350 and 1,250, respectively, earlier were now priced at Rs 1,500 and 4,500, respectively. Moreover, the consumers now had to pay various charges at the time of getting a new connection or renewal. The union leaders alleged that some officals of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) had innovated new ways of harassing the consumers. While they had “failed” to realise pending bills worth crores of rupees from industrialists and “influential” persons, urban consumers had been asked to pay for ‘slow running’ of meters which were replaced several years ago. The all-Haryana Power Corporation Employees Union has also decided to support All-India power strike on December 12, called by National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers. |
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‘Punish sellers of bad seeds, fertilisers’ HISAR, Dec 10 — Mr B.C. Khatua, Textile Commissioner, has asked the Haryana and Punjab Governments to take strict action against those selling sub-standard seeds and adulterated fertilisers and pesticides. He was addressing an awareness meeting for farmers of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan under the Technology Mission on Cotton at Haryana Agricultural University here yesterday. He said though the states were big producers of cotton, the quality of cotton grown here was very poor. The farmers were forced to purchase seeds and fertilisers of very low quality and it was up to the state governments to take an initiative in this regard at the earliest. He also demanded that seeds, pesticides and fertilisers be brought under the Essential Commodities Act. Mr Khatua said in the near future, the country would have no option but to compete in the open international market where only the best quality produce would sell. He said though cotton accounted for a major chunk of Indian exports, the return per unit was very low due to poor quality of seed and other inputs. Mr M.B. Lal, adviser of the Mission, said that the state governments should provide timely guidance to cotton growers about land and climate conditions. He said that Krishi Gian Kendras of Haryana Agricultural University could play an important role in this regard. He also called upon the farmers and ginning mill owners to adopt modern technology. The Haryana Agriculture Minister, Sardar Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, who was the chief guest, assured the farmers that the state government would try its best to provide seeds and fertilisers of the best quality. Mr Sandhu said the government would ensure speedy trial in adulteration cases to curb adulteration of agricultural inputs. Mr Vinay Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of the HAU, said that it was unfortunate for the country that despite being a big producer of cotton, the mill owners were importing cotton. He said it was a great injustice to the farmers of the country and the government was responsible for it. Mr Kumar said it was the duty of the government and the scientists to provide technical help to the growers. Mr Naseem Ahmad, Secretary in the Agriculture Department, and many ginning and cotton mill owners from the northern region were also present on the occasion. |
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Gram Vikas Samiti work on despite hurdles FARIDABAD, Dec 10 — Despite various hurdles and controversies, the work of the constitution of gram vikas samitis (village development councils) in the district is in full swing. As many as 266 gram vikas samitis (GVSs) have already been formed, while the total number of villages to be covered is 336. Some incidents of violence and quarrels among villagers over the inclusion or exclusion of names in these samitis have been reported. While some persons are reported to be injured in these incidents, the work of the constitution of GVSs has also been hampered at some villages. According to official sources, the GVS work has been hampered or stalled at some villages, including Satoi, Shahjahanpur, Nangla Jat, Jalola, Bagola, Dudhola, Rajjpura and Gahla, in the district. The district administration has fixed new dates for holding meetings of the gram sabhas or village panchayats for the formal constitution of these samitis. Some persons, including women, have been reported to be injured in ‘violent’ incidents that took place at Satoi and some other villages recently. But the district administration describes such incidents as normal cases of ‘confrontation’ among village residents due to groupism or political affiliation. It claims that certain ‘anti-social type of elements’ who were politically opposed had been making such attempts, to create controversy. According to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anand Mohan Sharan, the work of forming the GVSs had been going on smoothly, despite the fact that there had been ‘controversies’ at some places. He claims that the work was likely to be over by December 15 and the district administration had been trying to ensure that all the ‘misconceptions’ and issues of quarrel were solved amicably. He said the constitution of GVSs was a positive step towards strengthening the concept of the Panchayati Raj system. He claimed that GVSs would not supersede or hamper the work of gram panchayats in any manner. The majority of members of the GVSs were from village panchayats and the Sarpanch was the head of both the respective Gram Sabha and Gram Vikas Samiti. He said GVSs would rather help the panchayats in their routine work besides keeping a check on the implementation of various schemes. The GVSs would have separate bank accounts and their members would have the authority to use the development funds according to their wish. The funds could also be operated by the sarpanch and one of the panches appointed in the samiti The district administration has appointed 55 officers to help in the constitution of these samitis. A unique feature that has been noticed in this process is the presentation of village panchayat accounts by the gram sachivs. The total income, expenditure and overall financial position is put before the gram sabha and anyone could examine or check the use of the funds. It is reported that an amount of up to Rs 50 lakh could be given to a GVS for to its own account known as the Gram Vikas Nidhi. At a meeting constituted recently at the nearby Seekri village, it was found that the village panchayat had a fixed deposit of about Rs 1.75 crore and the interest got from it was enough to carry on the cleanliness drive in the village. The city Magistrate, Mr S.S. Dalal, presided over the meeting which was attended by several district officials, including the District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO), Mr D.S. Surjewala. According to DDPO, work of the constitution of GVSs in Faridabad block had been completed. He claimed that the overall response to the move had been good. |
Skating carnival
a big draw AMBALA More than 150 young skating enthusiasts from various schools of Ambala cantonment and Ambala city participated in different age groups. Sub Area Commander and president Cantonment Board, Brig N.D. Prasad, was the chief guest on the occasion. Among others, Cantonment Executive Officer, Mr S.S. Chahal and Cantonment Board members, Mrs Shabnam Nath, Mr Mukesh Gupta, Mr Vishal Chona and Mr Sanjay Sharma had helped in organising the carnival. CEO, Mr S.S. Chahal said in the age group of under six years, (boys), Aman Sharma was first, Akash second and Sharan third. In the age group of 6 to 8 years, (boys), Hritvik Saxena was first, Yajur Dhamija was second and Pulkit was third. In the age group 8 to 10 years, (boys), Mohit Gupta was first, Uday Vohra was second and Akhil was third. In the age group of 6 to 8 years, (girls), Pavani Nath was first, Harneet Kaur was second and Kritika Das was third. In the age group of 8 to 10 girls, Devangana was first, Harshleen second and Palak third. Mr Chahal said the other events scheduled for December and January include open painting competition and an environment week which will includes essay writing competition.
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Teachers from 163 colleges
to join protest march KALKA This was disclosed here today by Ram Singh president of Haryana Government College Teachers’ Association, who is lecturer in Government College Kalka. The march will begin from the
UGC office in Delhi. The march is being organised in protest against the non-implementation of agreement reached between HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and leaders of AIFUCTO on Sept 5&6, 1998. In the agreement it was agreed that career advancement scheme would be effective from January 1, 1998, the date of implementation of revised pay scale, whereas the HRD Ministry and the UGC has issued orders for the implementation of the said scheme from July 27, 1998, resulting in resentment among the teaching community of the colleges all over the country. |
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Students seek action against ‘guru’ for sodomy ROHTAK, Dec 10 (UNI) — Enraged over the sexual abuse of four of their mates by their teacher, students of the Singhpura village gurukul, near here, held a demonstration yesterday demanding police action against the “guru” (teacher) for the act. The agitating students alleged that an English language teacher, who was also the in charge of the gurukul’s sadhu ashram, used to call the students to his room and resorted to sodomy. At least four students of class ninth were sodomised by the teacher about two months ago. While two of the victims left the gurukul forever, the two others brought the matter to the notice of their parents who then complained to the gurukul management which sacked the teacher about a month ago. However, the complaint was not lodged with the police in order to keep the matter under the carpet for the sake of the gurukul’s prestige. It was the emergence of the teacher on the gurukul premises yesterday, that the students came out on streets to demand the registration of a case of sexual abuse against the sacked teacher. |
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New building for
education board BHIWANI, Dec 10 — Mr Ajay Chautala, MP,
inaugurated a new building at the Board of School Education Haryana
campus here yesterday. The new building is an extension of the main
administrative building, Dr Radhakrishnan Bhavan. The building, named Devi Lal Bhavan, has been built at a cost of Rs 94 lakh by engineers of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. Its construction was started on February 16, 1999. On the occasion of inaugural ceremony, education board Chairman Sher Singh Rori, Vice-Chairman Dilbag Singh and Secretary R.P. Gupta were present. There
are 46 rooms in this block and middle, matric and senior secondary
branches of the board will be shifted in it. |
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1 killed as truck hits scooter JHAJJAR, Dec 10 — One person was killed and another sustained serious injuries when a truck hit their scooter near Asaudha on the Delhi-Hisar road last evening. The deceased has been identified as Rajiv of Bhiwani district while pillion-rider Subhas of Karnal district was injured. The police has registered a case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC against the truck driver who fled from the spot. In a separate incident, Bijendra Singh, an Army man belonging to Ladrawan village, succumbed to his injuries at the PGI, Rohtak, yesterday. He had been beaten up by some miscreants on November 29. A case has been registered against those suspected to be involved in the crime including his brother, who is a security guard of Union Minister Maneka Gandhi. In another case, a labourer sustained a serious head injury when some youths attacked him with an axe in Parnala village near Bahadurgarh. He was admitted to the local Community Health Centre. The police has arrested two youths in this connection. In yet another case, the mutilated body of a 40-year-old woman was recovered by the police from the Asaudha minor canal. After a post-mortem examination, the body was sent to Rohtak for cremation. |
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Man dies
after taking
illicit liquor FARIDABAD, Dec 10 — One person died allegedly after consuming illicit liquor at Ballabgarh town in the district on Saturday. According to information Mukesh of Bheekam colony was found dead in sleep at his house yesterday. He had reportedly consumed spurious liquor the previous night. He was taken to hospital where it was found that he died after consuming some poisonous substance. His medical report has been referred to the PGIMS Hospital for a detailed examination. Meanwhile the police has arrested two women allegedly involved in smuggling liquor in the NIT area. Prema and Indravati were found to be in possession of 171 pouches of illicit liqour. |
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Don’t apply double standards, Pak told AMBALA, Dec 10 (UNI) — Union Minister of State for Home Affair I.D. Swami today warned Pakistan not to have double standards and stop sending mercenaries and subversives into India. Talking to reporters here, Mr Swami said on one hand Pakistan’s Chief Administrator General Musharraf was talking of holding a dialogue and on the other hand was sending militants to create disturbance in India. He said General Musharraf should first create conditions for the
dialogue and only then it would be possible to think over the matter. The minister was talking to media persons after attending Vishwa Kalan Yajna organised by the Ambala District Brahmin Sabha Model Town here. He criticised the negative role of the Opposition which did not allow Parliament to function during the past five days. He said a coordination committee of the BJP and the INLD would be formed to have a close rapport between the two parties in Haryana. |
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Train carrying 650 cows intercepted FARIDABAD, Dec 10 — A team of Faridabad police, railway authorities, and the SDM intercepted a goods train at Faridabad railway station today and seized over 650 heads of cattle. The cows had been booked from Raipur (Punjab) and were being sent to Calcutta by an alleged cow-seller Sat Paul. The cows were allegedly being sent to Calcutta for slaughter. |
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