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| Thursday, March 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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SYL:
Haryana rules out out-of-court pact Steps
to counter power theft MLA
shows shoe to Cong leader Budget
ignores key areas: CPM Farmers
protest hike in power tariff |
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UNIVERSITY NEWS Kurukshetra, March 14 The Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Mr R.S. Chaudhry, said the 23rd convocation of Kurukshetra University would be held on March 18, 2001 in the university auditorium in which the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, would confer degrees to students of Kurukshetra University. 34
schools upgraded in Sirsa dist Seven cops
suspended Congress
MLA’s dismissal sought
NDC study team visits Ambala Surprise
raids to check copying in board exams New dept
sought for ayurveda doctors University
students go on strike Shopkeepers
resent MC action
HCCI meeting Tension
over gurdwara construction Municipal
staff stage dharna Hafed
manager denied bail Liquor
vendor robbed 7-year
jail for rapist 10-year-old
dies in road mishap
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SYL: Haryana rules out
out-of-court pact Chandigarh, March 14 The Finance Minister said Opposition members had asked the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to take advantage of the existence of friendly governments in Punjab and at the Centre for resolving the dispute. He added: “Be it the Punjab unit of the Congress party or the Akalis, they would speak from the perspective of Punjab and oppose any move for the completion of the SYL Canal”. The Finance Minister also pointed out that even when the Congress was the ruling party in Punjab, Haryana and at the centre, the vexed issue could not be sorted out. “Loknayak Devi Lal had appreciated the nature of the problem and decided to take the issue to the Supreme Court in 1979”, the Finance Minister said and added that unfortunately the case was withdrawn in February, 1982, when Mr Bhajan Lal was the Chief Minister. It was again taken to the apex court in 1996. If Mr Bhajan Lal had not withdrawn the case, a solution to the issue could have been found by now, the Finance Minister said. He said the court directive on the issue would be binding on everyone and added that favourable judgement would pave the way for the construction of the vital canal. Mr Sampat Singh admitted that there was a water shortage problem in the southern part of the state, which, he said, was due to the dipping of the Yamuna water level. Haryana was getting only 350 cusecs of water, he said. The level of water in Bhakra had also fallen, the Finance Minister told the House. He, however, added that the state government was committed to supplying water and power to the farmers round the clock so that record agricultural production could be achieved. Defending the hike in the power tariff in the state, the Finance Minister said the tariff was increased by only 11 per cent. “The increase was lower than the hikes effected by the previous regimes”, he said. He said the tariff for tubewells was still one of the lowest in Haryana and it was less than in Congress-ruled Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi and BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. Replying to the attack against the government for introducing new taxes and enhancing the house tax, Mr Sampat Singh said the local bodies were entitled to their own resource mobilisation to make themselves viable. He said collection by local bodies should not be considered as state government tax. The Finance Minister said the proposed deficit in the Budget was Rs 54.93 crore, which was manageable. The deficit would be met by seeking Central assistance. He also justified borrowing by the state government and said that the borrowed funds were being invested for building up infrastructure in the state. The funds were being put to use in sectors such as agriculture, power, irrigation, roads, education, health, social welfare, etc, he said. While referring to queries by Mr Bansi Lal (HVP) and Mr Mange Ram Gupta (Congress), he said that more than 54 per cent Budget allocation had been made for the infrastructural sector. He, however, regretted that none of the members in the opposition had made any worthwhile suggestion for the generation of additional resources. Mr Sampat Singh said in the allocation of Rs 2,530 crore for the Annual Plan in the Budget estimates of the current year, Rs 1,632 crore was earmarked for infrastructure development, but this outlay had to be reduced during the current year mainly because the Rs 429 crore Haryana Upgradation Project was not approved due to World Bank sanctions. He also added that the state was not receiving the second instalment of loans from the World Bank for the restructuring of the power sector as it did not fulfil some of conditions imposed by the bank. He said the state government was examining the matter and added that the INLD government was yet to take any decision regarding the privatisation of vital sectors like power. Contesting the BJP leader, Mr Krishanpal Gujjar’s charges, Mr Sampat Singh said about 15 Union Ministers, including the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, had visited the state on different occasions. They had assured the state government of their support for making Haryana a fast-developing state, he said. Earlier, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress, Mr Chandra Bhatia, BJP, Mr Devraj Diwan, Congress, Mr Balbir Pal Shah, Congress, Lila Krishan, INLD, and others took part in the discussion on the Budget proposals. In a thought-provoking presentation, Mr Hooda reminded the members of the dangers of the WTO regime and asked his fellow legislators to join hands, irrespective of their party affiliation, and put pressure on the Union Government to withdraw from the agreement. Mr Chandra Bhatia, unlike his senior colleague, Mr Gujjar, who embarrassed the INLD yesterday, supported the government through and through in his speech. |
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Steps to counter power theft Faridabad, March 14 While the infrastructural problems, including wornout supply lines or substandard machinery, continue to hog the issue, the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has launched various schemes and measures to check power theft at the consumers’ end. According to Nigam sources, the “line loss” in some parts of Faridabad and Ballabgarh towns could be between 35 to 48 per cent at present. The minimum loss of power on this account at any time is not less than 33 per cent, admit Nigam officials. Hundreds of cases of power theft have been detected in the past few months. To deal with the problem more seriously, the DHBVN authorities have decided to replace all old meters with new electronic ones in several of the colonies which include Dabua Colony, Jawahar Colony, Parvatiya Colony, S.G.M. Nagar, Sainik Colony, NH-I, NH-II of NIT area, Kalyanpuri Nangla Road and Adarsh Colony. While the meters of over 1,000 connections have already been replaced, the target in this regard could be around 5,000, depending upon the availability of new meters. While the Nigam has claimed that the cost of replacement was born by it, several consumers have been asked to purchase new meters from the market. According to the sources, the cost of meters supplied by the Nigam was allegedly charged in the bills later. The Nigam has come out with a voluntitary disclousure scheme (VDS) for consumers for an increase or decrease of load by paying only one-third of the penalty amount. While the last date of the scheme is March 15 at present, it could be extended if found to have a good response, according to the sources. The scheme was launched on March 5. However not enough publicity has been given while the last date has come near. Pamphlets of the VDS were thrown in houses of several residential areas, including some HUDA sectors, in the past two days. The pamphlets have details of the units of power consumed by various electric gadgets, including bulbs, tubes, fans, coolers, ACs, motors, refrigeraters and washing machines. Old Faridabad Sector 18, Chawla Colony, Trikha Colony, Mukesh Colony, Bhikam Colony, Bhoodat Colony, Vishnu Colony of Ballabgarh and several sectors have been identified as the most prone for line loss and theft. It is learnt that the VDS has been quite a success in Hisar, Sirsa, Dabwali, Fatehabad, Tohana, Uklana and Adampur areas where the scheme had been initially launched. Meanwhile, the power supply position in rural areas continues to be pathetic. |
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MLA shows shoe
to Cong leader Chandigarh, March 14 Mr Bhagi Ram, INLD legislator from the Ellenabad (SC) constituency, lost his temper when Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Congress Deputy Leader in the house, made an unkind remark at him about his appearance. Mr Bhagi Ram is known for his boorishness even though it did not prevent him from being elected to the assembly on five occasions. On being provoked by Captain Yadav’s remark, he removed one of the shoes and showed it to the Congress legislator. The incident provoked the Congress legislators as well as Mr Karan Singh Dalal, the lone RPI MLA, to troop down to the well of the house demanding action against the INLD member. The Congress members were sent back to their seats by the CLP leader, Mr Bhajan Lal, after a lot of persuasion. Later, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, the Chief Minister, thanked the Speaker, Mr Satbir Singh Kadiyan, for the “patience” displayed by him in tackling the Opposition members. Mr Chautala also said the house would have forced Captain Yadav to tender an apology had he not suffered from the loss of life of a close relative. |
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Farmers protest hike in
power tariff Fatehabad, March 14 Addressing farmers, Mr Baba Singh president, and Mr Phool Singh, vice-president of the Haryana Kisan Sabha (HKS) said that the farmers should unite to oppose the anti-farmer and anti-worker policies of the central as well as the state government. The kisan leaders alleged that the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, who had garnered public support in the state on the promise of providing power and water to the farmers free of cost, he had totally forgotten his promise now. They said by hiking power and water tariff for farmers, the Chief Minister had unmasked his true anti-farmers face. The Kisan Sabha leaders alleged that various canals in the state were running short of water and crops of the farmers were withering away due to shortage of water. They said there was a large scale resentment among the farmers against the anti-farmer policies of the government. They said it was rather ironical that farmers and workers were organising demonstrations, processions and staging dharnas against the government at different places but the government seemed to be unmoved by people’s woes. They said the government had yet not announced support price for the procurement of wheat which has posed a big question mark on the interests of the farmers. Addressing farmers, Mr Prithvi Singh Gorakhpuria, senior Kisan Sabha leader alleged that the Vajpayee government at the Centre had bowed before the USA and had mortgaged the interests of the farmers in the process. He said the government earlier talked of Swadeshi, has been following the policies of liberalisation, privatisation and universalisation under pressure from the World Trade Organisation. The policies, he alleged had endangered the agriculture and allied industry. He said if the government did not stop the anti-farmer policies forthwith, the unity and integrity of the country will be in peril. Mr Manmohan Singh, president of the
K.S.S. said the “Kanwari Mahapanchayat” and many farmers organisations were coming to Fatehabad on March 15 to express solidarity with the cause of farmers. He appealed to all political parties and people’s organisations to extend support to their cause and announced that the agitation would be intensified and continued till their demands were met. |
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Budget ignores key areas: CPM Rohtak, March 14 Reacting to the budgetary proposals, the party’s state secretary, Mr Inderjit Singh, has expressed disappointment over the total ‘neglect’ of the employment sector and other crucial areas like irrigation, education, health, poverty
elevation and women’s empowerment. Mr Inderjit Singh has said to call the Budget as “tax free” is rediculous as the common man has already been burdened with a heavy dose of taxes by the state and Central governments. Moreover, the Finance Minister has not ruled out the possibility of imposing fresh taxes during the new financial year. There is not a single word about the unemployment situation in the Budget. It further fails to address the needs of the peasantry and agricultural labourers in the wake of liberalisation of the agricultural sector at the alleged behest of the WTO. Even the food-for-work scheme has not been revived to provide relief to the rural poor worst affected by the inflation. The CPM has taken exception to the Budget ignoring the interests of retrenched workers as a result of the closure of small-scale industrial units. The party has also criticised the Budget for not launching a single new scheme for the women whose socio-economic condition was deteriorating fast. The party has appealed to all legislators, political parties, mass organisations and the people to mount pressure on the government for the inclusion of pro-people measures in the Budget. |
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UNIVERSITY
NEWS Kurukshetra, March 14 Mr Chaudhry further said the Governor of Haryana and Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Babu Parmanand and Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, would be present on the occasion. The Vice-Chancellor said the degrees would be awarded only to those candidates who passed their post-graduate examinations during the session 1999-2000. He said in all 1,163 degrees would be distributed, which include 102 to Ph.D students, 58 to M. Phil students, 568 to MA students, 102 to Law students and 333 to M.Sc students. The university has made adequate arrangements for making the convocation a great success. ROHTAK: The annual examinations of undergraduate classes of Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, will commence from April 2 as per the date sheet issued here on Monday. The examinations of B.A/B.Sc (Part-I) will be held from April 2 to May 11 and of B.A/B.Sc (Part II) from April 2 to May 17. The examinations for B.A/B.Sc (Part-III) will be held from April 3 to May 10 and of B.Com (I) from April 11 to May 12. The papers for B.Com (II) will be held from April 2 to May 15 and that of B.Com (III) from April 10 to May 8. |
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34 schools upgraded
in Sirsa
dist Chandigarh, March 14 Mr Ashok Kumar Arora, Transport Minister, answered in the
affirmative in reply to Mr Padam Singh’s question on whether there
was any proposal under consideration for changing the existing policy
regarding privatisation of bus services in the state. The Transport
Minister, however, did not disclose the details of the proposed
policy. Replying to a question by Mr Balbir Singh, Mr M.L. Ranga,
Minister of State for Health, said tuberculosis was still prevalent in
Haryana. The National Tuberculosis Control Programme was being
implemented in the state to fight the threat from the disease, Mr
Ranga said. Answering a question asked jointly by Mr Balwant Singh
Maina and Mr Dan Singh, Mr Ranga said there was no proposal for
opening any new medical college in the state. The Agriculture
Minister, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, replied in the negative to BJP
MLA Krishan Pal Gujjar’s question asking that whether the state
government had implemented the crops insurance policy introduced by
the Central Government. In response to a question by Mr Karan Singh
Dalal, the Chief Minister said Haryana Minerals Limited had
surrendered mining leases of 20 mines on September 24, 2000. He said
the surrendered mines would be leased out to private parties according
to the criteria as laid down in Section 11(3) of the Mines and
Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957, and Rule 10(2) of
Punjab Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1964. The criteria is special
knowledge or experience of mining operations as possessed by the
applicant, secondly, financial resources of the applicant, third, the
nature and quality of the technical staff to be employed, and fourth,
the quantum of investment, Mr Chautala said. |
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Seven cops suspended Panipat, March 14 According to information, the SHO, Model Town, Naresh Ahlawat, Sub Inspector, found Rajbir Singh, havaldar, and Inderjit, constable, sleeping whereas, Jasmer, Tej Singh and Sunil, all constables, were found absent from their duty at Assandh police checkpost. The SHO took away their weapons. Later, two constables, Krishan and Rajender, who were on judicial duty at the court complex were also found sleeping during their duty hours. Mr Ahlawat submitted his report to the Superintendent of Police for necessary action against them. Consequently the SP placed them under suspension for dereliction of their duty. It is mentioned that the SP had ordered for intensive patrolling during night to curb criminal activities in the district. |
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Congress MLA’s
dismissal sought Bhiwani, March 14 He alleged that Mr Dharmvir did not attend the HPCC meeting held here on February 27, despite being a delegate from Bhiwani district. The meeting had decided to organise all rallies under the banner of the state, district or block Congress committees. Mr Agarwal alleged that even though he was a delegate, Mr Dharmvir absented himself, from meeting and programmes organised by the District Congress Committee from 1997 to March, 2000. |
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NDC study team visits Ambala Ambala, March 14 Three foreign officers — Gp Capt AKM Harun Chowdhury of Bangladesh Air Force, Col C.I. Dahal of Tanzanian Air Force and Senior Col Dauvan Minh of Vietnam Army, formed part of the 16 officers study team which was led by a senior IAS officer, Ms Meenakshi Hooja, Joint Secretary and senior directing staff (Civil Services). The NDC team visited, among others, the Gopi Group of Companies in Ambala city and Instruments Design Development and facilities, Centre (IDDC) in Ambala Cantonment. The chairman of the Gopi Group of Companies, Mr Rajinder Nath, said that the visits to different industries formed part of the curriculum of the senior officers who were undergoing training at National Defence College. “The team evinced keen interest in the functioning of our unit, specially on seeing how mixie, which is a common house hold good, is manufactured. We explained to the team about the process in detail. To a query, I told them that I had started this unit with about Rs 10,000 and it has grown over the years,” he said. Mr Rajinder Nath said that a team from the NDC had visited the factory about two years back also. The team members asked general questions on the state of economy and the challenges being faced by us. From there, the team went to Chaman Vatika School, which is the first school to get ISO certification,” he said. He stated that the team members asked him about motivating the employees. “I told them that we extend all possible help to the employees, specially in times of need. We encourage them to think that they are part of the set up,” he added. The General Manager of IDDC, Mr NK Jain, said that the team was briefed about the activities of IDDC in the field of optics electronics manpower development, quality control and quality management services provided to the industry.
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Surprise raids to check copying in board exams Faridabad, March 14 According to information about 10 students were caught copying in the Ist paper of matric examination which was in morning shift. The team visited about 10 examination centres in the district. At least three cases of copying were also registered in plus two examination held in the afternoon shift. A total of 19 centres were checked by this team today. There are 15 other teams comprising the SDMs and education department to check the copying menace. The district authorities have already imposed Section 144 in and around all examination centres of Haryana Education Board. |
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New dept sought for ayurveda doctors Karnal, March 14 A resolution to this effect was passed at a meeting of the association held recently under the presidentship of Dr R.B. Goel. Dr Shashi Bhushan Madan, general secretary of NIMA, told The Tribune yesterday that the association had also demanded the withdrawal of the Punjab Shop and Commercial Establishment Act 1958, which was enforced in Haryana after amendment in 1997. The association further demanded the election to the Board of Ayurvedic and Unani Systems of Medicines (Haryana). The election has been due since 1970 when the board was constituted. NIMA also urged the government to treat integrated medical graduates at par with allopathic graduates in terms of pay scales and services. NIMA also wanted due representation to be given in all committees and sub-committees appointed by the Government of Haryana relating to medical practitioners. |
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University students
go on strike Hisar, March 14 They took out a procession and staged a dharna in front of the administrative block of the university. They also submitted a memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor, Mr R.K.Chauhan. Addressing the students, their leaders alleged that the results of many examinations were declared quite late and they could not sit for various competitive examinations and other courses. The university administration should ensure that the results were declared in time. They demanded that the university should withdraw recent hike in fees. A placement cell should also be established at the earliest. The students also demanded that the authorities should make provisions for supplementary examinations for all courses. This facility is currently available to students of B.Tech. The university should extend Internet facility to all students of the
university. |
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Shopkeepers resent MC action Faridabad, March 14 The agitated shopkeepers and the Haryana Beopar Mandal (district unit) have launched a protest in this regard. In a representation to the SSP, the shopkeepers have alleged that driver of the SHO, City, Ballabgarh had also been involved in taking away articles of various shops forcibly. The incident took place on Monday noon when some employees of the Municipal Corporation, accompanied by some policemen, came in the market and started lifting items and articles kept in and around the shops. While the shopkeepers have claimed that there was no encroachment and the articles taken away were kept inside at that time, the Municipal authorities stated that action had been taken against encroachments in the market. |
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HCCI meeting Ambala, March 14 The members of the Chamber deliberated upon the house tax and demanded that the downward revision of rates of building and tin sheds should take place. They demanded that open land of industry, educational institutions and religious places should be exempted. The depreciation should be 2 per cent per annum subject to a maximum of 90 per cent. Regarding electricity, the members said that minimum consumption charges have been raised to Rs 200 per kilowatt instead of Rs 60 per kilowatt. “HCCI has met Ms Menakshi Anand in this regard and apprised her of the difficulties faced due to the hike. She has referred the matter to the Haryana Regulatory Commission and the Chamber will meet the chairperson of HRC.” It was suggested in the meeting that a relay may be installed in the factories so that authorities may charge the minimum charges in accordance with the relay meter.
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Tension over gurdwara construction Panipat, March 14 According to information, a gurdwara is being constructed by the Sikh community in the Sanjay Gandhi Park. Representatives of the gurdwara management have claimed that the land on which the gurdwara is being constructed belongs to them. One of the former Municipal Councillors Bhushan Manchanda justified the construction of gurdwara on the plea that this land had been donated by Mr Pala Singh in 1988 for installing a tubewell for drinking water supplies to the colony. Otherwise this land was left by Mr Pala Singh for construction of a gurdwara. Mr Manchanda claimed there was nothing wrong in the construction as it was Mr Pala Singh’s sons, Tarlok Singh and Sisa Singh, who were constructing the gurdwara on their own land. Tarlok Singh and Sisa Singh also claimed that the land belonged to them and they had promised to their father that a gurdwara would be constructed on this land. They alleged that earlier the land was illegally encroached by the police as well as municipal council. The police had vacated this land and shifted the police chowki to the Kabri Road some times back. On the other hand, Mr Mohan Batra, who is opposing the gurdwara’s construction, said that the construction work was totally illegal and the land belonged to the municipal council. Many residents, including Partap Khungar and Ashok and Subhash Manchanda, alleged that they had been threatened with dire consequences for opposing the construction of gurdwara. They had reported about this to the police authorities, he added. The opponents had also given a memorandum to the Chief Minister and the Deputy Commissioner for stopping the construction of gurdwara. The Deputy Commissioner reportedly assured them that he would take action after inspecting the site. The residents also threatened to block traffic on the Assandh Road if no action was taken by the authorities soon. |
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Municipal staff stage dharna Fatehabad, March 14 Addressing the agitating employees, Mr Brahm Paul, President of the district unit of the Nagarpalika Sangh said despite its repeated
assurances, the municipal administration had failed to deposit the PF arrears in their accounts. He said the amount had now swollen upto Rs 40 lakh and the administration had now refused to deposit the amount in their accounts. He said the employees had been forced to take the path of agitation to get their legitimate demand fulfilled. Five employees of the municipal committee who sat on dharna yesterday said that the dharna would continue till their demands were met. The employees alleged that though the municipal committee had earned more than Rs 1 crore through auction of commercial plots, it was not depositing the sum of Rs 40 lakh it owed to its employees in their PF accounts. The Municipal Vice-President, Mr Sushil Narang, when contacted, however said the administration had promised to the employees that the PF amount would be deposited through installments of Rs 5 lakh each and the revenue earned through the sale of plots would be used for the development works in the town. |
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Hafed manager denied bail Kaithal, March 14 Cheeka, who was looked under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 420 of the
I.P.C. for his alleged involvement in irregularities committed in purchase of the paddy at Anaz Mandi,
Cheeka, during the last season. Earlier, the official had filed an application for grant of pre-arrest bail in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was reportedly granted interim bail till March 16. However, he was directed to file the bail application before the local Session Court. Meanwhile, Mr Amir Singh
Salihawal, D.S.P. (headquarter), who is presently investigating the case said discrepancies had come to light. |
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Liquor vendor robbed Rohtak, March 14 The liquor, vendor, Prabhu Dayal, said in the FIR that two car borne youths reached the shop at 8 p.m. and snatched the amount. In a similar incident, two unidentified youths looted an amount of Rs 23,500 and other valuables at gun point from two persons at Hisar road here last evening. According to police sources, Mr Dheeraj and Mr Deepak of Hisar were on their way from Delhi to Hisar in their car. Two youths took lift at the Delhi bypass here and snatched the cash, two wrist watches, a gold chain and rings, the police said. |
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7-year jail for rapist Faridabad, March 14 According to details, the 15-year-old girl, and daughter of a resident of Hodal Town was abducted by the accused identified as Beerpal (22) of Tihapati, in December 1997. It is alleged that the accused abducted and took her in a car to Delhi and later to Jaipur. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 4,000 on the culprit. |
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10-year-old dies
in road mishap Kaithal, March 14 According to information, the boy was hit by a car driven by V.
Parbhakar, Manager, State Bank of India, Keorak branch. He was seriously injured and he succumbed to the injuries on his way to hospital. The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 304-A, IPC, against the driver. In another incident, a plus two students appearing in the English paper at the Jat School examination centre here, is said to have fled along with the answer sheet. The centre superintendent, Mr Mahesh Chand, has made a complaint in this regard. |
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