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| Friday,
March 16, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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‘Tehelka’
expose rocks House
Issar’s name ‘merely figured’ in talks MDU
students lose faith in Fernandes
Bitta for high-level probe into expose
QUESTION HOUR |
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Bill on
house tax passed
Pension Scheme to be amended Copying
in exams goes unchecked Gurgaon
MC may be upgraded soon Doc, pharmacist
hurt in jail attack Dangi’s
remand extended Ambala Cantonment observes
bandh Women empowerment
fair from today KU doctorate for Joshi 2
arrested for assaulting cop Man
gets 7-year jail term for rape 4
arrested for gambling Hearing aid devices
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‘Tehelka’ expose rocks House Chandigarh, March 15 As soon as question hour was over, Mr Raghbir Singh Kadiyan, who was waving newspapers, demanded the admission of the adjournment motion, notice of which had been given by him and five other members. The Speaker had meanwhile asked Mr Ajay Singh Yadav, Congress deputy leader in the house, to speak on the call-attention motion brought by him on sewage contaminating drinking water. However, Mr Raghbir Singh Kadiyan insisted that a discussion must take place on the website expose and he was soon joined by other Congress members. Mr Bhajan Lal, leader of the Congress, stood up and said that the issue was of a very serious nature since it concerned national security. The Speaker, however, asked Mr Bhajan Lal to sit down as he was not among the signatories to the adjournment notice. The Speaker, Mr Satbir Singh Kadiyan, said the adjournment notice would not be admitted as it was not in order and the matter did not fall within the purview of the state Assembly. Irked by the Speaker’s refusal to admit the notice, the Congress legislators, Mr Raghbir Singh Kadiyan, Mr Jai Parkash Barwal, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Shadilal Batra, Mr Dharam Vir and Mr Narender Singh, trooped down to the well of the House demanding a discussion on the issue. They also demanded the resignation of the state government as it was a member of the National Democratic Alliance. The Congress legislators were challenged by the BJP members who also stood up and engaged the former in noisy exchanges. The two women members of the BJP, Ms Veena Chhibber and Ms Sarita Narayan, as well as the party’s leader, Mr Krishanpal Gujjar, were particularly vociferous in opposing the Congress. Mr Satbir Singh Kadiyan told the Congress legislators that “the issue is not a state subject; it is a Central subject. Tell me, what can we do in this matter”. Mr Om Prakash Chautala also stood up and said that neither the Prime Minister nor the Defence Minister was stated to be involved in the scandal. Only certain officers and office-bearers of political parties were alleged to have taken illegal gratification from decoy arms dealers and the government had already initiated action against the erring officers, Mr Chautala said. However, the Congress MLAs, particularly, Mr Raghbir Singh Kadiyan, insisted on a discussion on the issue. Mr Raghbir Kadiyan also mentioned a report appearing in The Tribune regarding two Haryana cadre officers’ involvement. Meanwhile, Mr Chautala, after some deliberation on the importance “party discipline”, asked Mr Bhajan Lal to ask Mr Kadiyan to go back to his seat. The Speaker also taunted Mr Bhajan Lal, saying, “Bhajan Lalji, you seem to be helpless”. And again, “nobody listens to Mr Bhajan Lal”. As the Speaker refused to budge from his position, the Congress MLAs, with a few of them resorting to slogan shouting, left the House. Later, talking to reporters in the press room, Mr Bhajan Lal, who was accompanied by other Congress MLAs, said that even the Prime Minister had admitted that there was something shady as revealed by the website. He said the Central Government as well as the state government led by the INLD, which was a partner of the NDA, should resign following the tehelka expose. |
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Issar’s name ‘merely figured’ in talks Chandigarh, March 15 Mr Issar’s name merely figures during talks between the portal and two officers, Maj-Gen S. P. Murgai and Mr Narendra Singh, Assistant Financial Adviser in the MoD. Though the portal seems to be asking leading questions from the two officers about Mr Issar, they either remained silent or diverted the discussion. One of the transcripts goes as : tehelka (T): We submitted Ranjit Issar. Murgai (M) : Hmm? T : IAS Ranjit Issar, Joint Secretary, Ordnance, Procurement. M: Now, if you are wanting to meet MGO...” The transcript of shots with Mr Narendra Singh goes as: “T: Sir, that Ranjit Issar in the Ordnance is very crucial factor. N : No, no...see, I am telling you that these people, what you are talking is Bhutani, Bunker or Ranjit Issar or ... I will give you a parallel line the finance division...” In a fax message to The Tribune, Mr Mehta said Maj-Gen (Retd.) Murgai along with another person did come to see him in the last week of December, 2000. Out of courtesy for a former colleague, he offered tea and snacks to them. Mr Mehta said sensing his “sub-warm” mood, Gen Murgai, by way of explaining the other person’s presence, disclosed that the person represented a well-established concern, which, after his retirement, had offered him employment. The General requested Mr Mehta to apprise him briefly of the “rule position” in view of Mr Mehta’s association with the procurement work. Mr Mehta said : “In straight and emphatic terms, I told them that an agent of some foreign company shall not be permitted to deal with the MoD or Service headquarters... In the brief dialogue, what I parted with was an innocuous and well-known rule-position, repeatedly projected over various fora, that only an authorised representative, who is a paid employee of the company and not an agent was permitted to deal with the MoD. Even that I did most reluctantly, to avoid show of disrespect and discourtesy to a retired General of the Indian Army. in the presence of an outsider. “While leaving, they brought out a cover, which, from its size and shape, suggested containing some pen-set or jewellery item and sought to offer the same to me as a humble present from a retired colleague, setting upon a new post-retirement career. I firmly spurned the offer, asserting that it was neither proper nor a done thing on my part to accept a present from them. “After my repeated refusal to accept it, stating that I shall have nothing to do with the same ... Gen Murgai tried to place it at the table and walk out of the drawing room to leave. However, with my firm and insistent requests, I succeeded in persuading him to revoke the offer, whereafter, they went back. My resistance against and disinclination to accept the offered present would be clearly established from my tone and tenor in the dialogue borne on the transcript. “ Regarding the allegation of having accepted Rs 50,000, Mr Mehta said till October, 2000, he was the Director-General of the ESIC and had nothing to do with the working of the MoD. He said in his capacity as Additional Secretary, he had no concern with the functioning of the “O” Wing, dealing with the procurement of the equipment in question. “Therefore, there could, conceivably, have been no question of my entertaining any request from any quarters for inclusion of any aspiring vendor in the trial evaluation or issuing any communication to that effect to ADG (WE)... In any case, issuance or otherwise of any communication, in regard to inclusion of any vendor in the trial-evaluation, would be a matter of fact and record. “ Mr Mehta said the episode “appears to be a grave travesty of facts, maliciously designed to harm my consistent reputation for integrity during a blotless career, spanning over three decades.” |
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MDU students lose
faith in Fernandes Rohtak, March 15 These words were recently uttered by Defence Minister George Fernandes whose ministry and party have been jolted by the Tehelka.com “earthquake”. The occasion was the March 3 convocation of Maharshi Dayanand University where Mr Fernandes delivered the convocation address. Mr Fernandes urged the student community to take an oath “neither to offer nor accept bribe.” However, the “exposure” of the defence Ministry top brass, the BJP Chief and the Samata Party President by Tehelka.com has shocked the student community which had been showering praises on Mr Fernandes for his fight against “dictatorship” during the 1975 Emergency. The revelations by Tehelka.com about corruption in defence deals and the involvement of politicians, bureaucrats and the top brass of the Defence Ministry have come as a shock to many in academic circles. The Vice-Chancellor, Maj-Gen B.S. Suhag (retd) described the incident as “sad”. The university students who were most impressed with Mr Fernandes’ convocation address, reacted strongly. “Mr Fernandes should quit, demanded Kanika Chaudhary, a student. “If he does not resign, the Prime Minister must dismiss him,” said Ashumani, another student. “Mr Fernandes has lost the moral authority to remain in the government,” said Nitin Goyal and Vipin Mittal. Sanjeev Jain demanded the resignation of the Defence Minister. The vice-president of the Bar Association, Mr Umesh Bhardwaj, demanded an inquiry into the corruption charges by Supreme Court judge. He urged Mr Om Prakash Chautala, INLD supremo and Chief Minister of Haryana, to withdraw support to the NDA government. Mr Bhopal Singh, former Principal of Jat High School, described the corruption in defence deals as “unfortunate”. Mr Vinod Jain, president, Traders Association, said: “It appears that the BJP is also following the footsteps of the
Congress.” |
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Bitta for high-level probe into expose Ambala, March 15 Talking to mediapersons here today at the residence of the Front’s state unit president Mr Veeresh Shandilya, Mr M.S. Bitta stated that the inquiry committee should consist of retired judges and others people having an impeccable record, “The inquiry should be time-bound and independent”, he said. Mr Bitta said that it was a cause for concern that while on one hand Army men are becoming martyrs on the border, on the other hand money is changing hands on crucial defence deals. “If such conditions persist, all political parties will face similar problems. Today, in politics there is no discipline, no training, no feeling of nationalism and politics has become self-centered which has become clear from the exposure in defence deals,” he said. He said that the question now is about how political parties get their funds and how those funds are spent. “An eye must be kept on these activities. Tehelka.com had earlier exposed match fixing in cricket. Pakistan is gaining from all such activities,” he said. The AIATF chairman stressed that the inquiries which will take place regarding the defence deals, should not hamper the arms procurement process. “The inquiry must also look into from where tehelka.com got the money to pay the bribe amount,” he said. “In my opinion, the whole issue may be an international conspiracy. Foreign powers are keen to bring instability in the country. People must become aware,” he added. He said the new election rules should be introduced. “The Cabinet has not taken the right decision by turning down the resignation offer of Mr Fernandes,” he said, “The expose on the defence deals shows a downfall in politics,” he added. Mr Bitta said that training camps are needed in politics, “the demand for fresh elections is not correct since it involves an expenditure of crores of rupees,” he said. He stated the Front is going to organise an anti-terrorist day on June 3 where the families of martyrs will be honoured. “A rally will be held at Talkatora Stadium on August 14”, he said. |
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QUESTION HOUR Chandigarh, March 15 In reply to a question by Mr Ramesh Kumar Khatak, Mr Chautala said construction work on the 33 kv substation in Butana village in the Baroda constituency would be started within six to eight months. The work would be completed by the end of March, 2002, he said. Answering a question by Mr Dan Singh, the Chief Minister said there was a proposal to construct a new 33 kv substation at Bawania in Mahendragarh district at an estimated cost of Rs 1 crore. The substation was likely to be completed by September, 2001. However, there was no proposal at present for setting up a 33 kv substation in Mandola village. He added that there was a proposal to construct a 220 kv substation in Mahendragarh at an estimated cost of Rs 11.51 crore. The contract for the construction of the substation on a turnkey basis had been awarded and the work would start soon. The substation was likely to be completed by the end of 2002-03, he said. In reply to a question by Mr Narender Singh, Mr Kartar Singh Bhadana, Cooperation Minister, said Hafed was planning to set up a mustard oil mill at Narnaul. The project should be completed in about 18 months, Mr Bhadana said. The Chief Minister replied in the negative while answering Mr Jai Parkash Barwal’s question on whether there was any proposal under government consideration to construct the Matloda minor. Mr Chautala also refused to admit Mr Ram Kishan Fauji’s charge that there had been an acute shortage of irrigation water in all canals of Bhiwani district for past nine months. He stated that sufficient water was available up to October, 2000, while adding that there was a shortage of water for the past three months. The shortage was due to the dipping water level in the Yamuna and the Bhakra reservoir, he said. Mr Chautala replied in the affirmative in response to Mr Anil Vij’s question on flood control measures in Ambala. He said the scheme was approved at the 32nd meeting of the Haryana State Flood Control Board on February 26, and it was placed in third priority because the drain would pass through vital Army installations in Ambala Cantt. The Army authorities were yet to approve the alignment of the drain, he said. |
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Bill on house tax passed Chandigarh, March 15 Opposing the bill, Mr Bansi Lal, leader of the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) and former Chief Minister, urged the government not to rush the bill through. He said the bill should be referred to a select committee of experts and could be tabled in the next session of the Assembly. Mr Gujjar said the new tax structure would impose a heavy burden on people and suggested that instead of 5 per cent, 1 per cent of the value of the land or the building could be collected as house tax. Mr Karan Singh Dalal, the lone member of the Republican Party of India (RPI), also opposed the bill and said it would increase the burden on ordinary people. Members of the main Opposition party, the Congress, were not present in the House at the time of the presentation of the bill as they had earlier boycotted the proceedings in protest against the Speaker’s refusal to admit an adjournment motion for discussion on the expose by the tehelka website. Reacting to the protest by Mr Bansi Lal and Mr Gujjar, the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, said the members were protesting without going through the whole text of the bill. He requested the Speaker to adjourn the house for an hour so that the members could read the bill . The bill was passed by voice vote soon after the House met after the adjournment motion. The Assembly also passed Punjab Excise (Haryana Amendment) Bill, the Haryana Murrah Buffalo and other Milch Animal Breed (Preservation and Development of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Sector) Bill, 2001, the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2001, the Societies Registration (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2001, and the Haryana Cattle Fairs (Amendment) Bill, 2001. Mr Sampat Singh, Finance Minister, announced that the limit for car and housing loans for the legislators was being increased to Rs 12 lakh from the prevailing Rs 8 lakh. Later the House was adjourned sine die by the Speaker after the passing of the appropriation bill by voice vote. |
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Pension Scheme to be amended Chandigarh, March 15 The employees, who were appointed against aided sanctioned posts of privately managed government-aided educational institutions, had been urging the government for the introduction of a pension scheme for them. At the same time, the government had been sympathetic to their demand and conscious of the fact that there could not be parity between government employees working in education institutions and employees appointed against aided sanctioned posts of the aided institutions in the state. The amendments will be known as Haryana Aided Schools ( Special Pension and Contributory Provident Fund) Rules, 2001 and be effective from May 11, 1998, the date of implementation of the pension scheme. The rules will be applicable to both departments of secondary and primary education. The qualifying service for availing pension will be from the date of contribution towards contributory provident fund (CPF) of the employees. The employer’s share of the CPF will be deposited along with interest earned thereon instead of 12 per cent interest per annum. Also, the employees’ share of the CPF will be maintained by the respective managements of aided schools instead of depositing with the government. The pension will be disbursed through respective management by way of grant-in-aid. The death-cum-retirement gratuity in the case of death will be paid according to the length of service instead of 12 months pay in all cases and would be paid by the respective management, who will 75 per cent of the amount from the department as per the existing policy. The Cabinet also constituted a sub-committee under the chairmanship of the Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, with the Minister of State for Health, Dr M.L. Ranga, and the Minister of State for Education, Mr Bahadur Singh, as its members which would go into the details of modifications required for the pension scheme in the privately managed aided schools in higher education. The Cabinet also approved a proposal of the Revenue Department to transfer 1,178 sq yards near Nilokheri to the Brahmin Sabha, Nilokheri for the construction of Parshuram
Dharamshala. The Cabinet also approved the Haryana Food and Supplies Department ( Legal Metrology Organisation) Sub-Office ( Group C ) Service Rules, 2001, and the annual administrative report of the Irrigation Department for 1996-97. |
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Copying in exams
goes unchecked Fatehbad, March 15 According to reports copying was noticed in most of the rural centres in this district during the first two days of examination. At one of the centres a boy was found writing paper for another boy. In all 15 cases of cheating were detected by the flying squad out of which eight cases were of 10th class while seven other were from class 10+2. The District Education Officer, Mr Shriram Jakhar, when contacted said in all 10 flying squads had been set up by the administration. The Deputy Commissioner, the District Education Officer, the District Primary Education Officer, the three SDMs of the district and the three SDO (Education) of the district have been heading various flying squad. Besides these one flying squad has come from the Education Board. Mr Jakhar said he was satisfied with the conduct of examination till now. |
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Gurgaon MC may be upgraded soon Gurgaon, March 15 According to well-placed sources in the Haryana Government, Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala is in favour of upgrading the local Municipal Council at the earliest. He is, however, not as keen to implement the recommendation of the Department of Local Bodies for upgradation of other Municipal Councils. At present, there is only one corporation at Faridabad in Haryana. The department has recommended the upgradation of the municipalities of Gurgaon, Hisar, Rohtak, Ambala City and Ambala Cantonment (both to be combined for creating one corporation), and Yamunanagar and Jagadhri (to be combined into one Corporation). The reason the state government is giving priority to according the status of Corporation to the local municipality is that financial benefits are expected to accrue from the move soon. The other reason is that the new areas did not have any proper and unified civic administration in comparison to the older parts of Gurgaon. Moreso, with rapid industrialisation and foreign investors showing interest in the area, better civic administration is needed. In the present dispensation, the municipal limits comprise the areas falling in an about 15 Km radius. Almost all sectors of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) are out of bounds of the local body. In case of according of corporation status to the council by expanding the municipal limits, the areas right till the Delhi-Gurgaon border and vast expanse of areas on all sides of the city would come under its jurisdiction. About 39 villages will also be included in the proposed extension of the Municipal limits. A functionary of the municipality said that on account of rapid expansion of Gurgaon, there was a proliferation of encroachments in the villages adjoining the city, especially the HUDA sectors. On the financial front, the revenue of the municipality is expected to increase manifold, especially under the head of house tax. |
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Doc, pharmacist
hurt in jail attack Sonepat, March 15 According to a report, the trouble arose when an undertrial prisoner, Bijender of Sewli village, died on way to the local Civil Hospital for treatment. The undertrial was suffering from TB and his condition became serious on Tuesday night. Thereupon, the co-prisoners raised the alarm. The jail authorities and security guards arrived on the spot and summoned the doctor. The doctor examined the patient and referred him to the Civil Hospital. The injured doctor and the pharmacist were immediately hospitalised and on the report of the jail authorities, the police registered a case against 11 persons allegedly involved in the attack. Seven of the 11 persons are Jasbir, Rajesh, Jai Parkash, Ved Pal, Satinder, Angraz and Joginder. The District Magistrate, Mr Sudhir Rajpal, has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the death of the undertrial. |
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Rohtak, March 15 Mr Dangi, on the expiry of his judicial remand period, was produced in the court of District and Sessions Judge R.S. Madan as the Special Judge Shiva Sharma, in whose court the case against Dangi is being tried, was on leave today. The District and Sessions Judge ordered that the accused Anand Singh Dangi be further remanded in judicial custody and produced again in the special court on the expiry of the judicial remand period on March 23 next. Mr Dangi surrendered in the special court here on December 4 last on the directions of the Supreme Court and has since been in local jail under judicial custody.
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Ambala Cantonment observes
bandh Ambala, March 15 A demonstration was held at Bazaza Bazar chowk in Ambala Sadar where the speakers criticised the Haryana Government for the imposition of taxes which was proving to be a burden on the common man. The bandh call had been given by Sangharsh Vahini and different business and market associations. A member of Sangharsh Vahini said, “The bandh has become a 100 per cent success with all the shops lowering their shutters as a protest. The phenomenal response to the bandh proves that people are unhappy with the new taxation system and they want that the state government must take back these taxes.” The markets were closed in Ambala Sadar and other areas
including Mahesh Nagar. The demonstrators said that a few daily need shops and vegetable vendors had been allowed to open as they did not want to put the people to inconvenience. |
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Women empowerment
fair from today Ambala, March 15 Talking to mediapersons here Ms Lajwanti, said the fair is going to be inaugurated by the Haryana Governor. “The fair to be held at War Heroes Stadium will
provide a platform to showcause the tiny industries being run by women and also the handicrafts,” she said. She said that the main aim of the fair is to empower the women of Haryana. “We are running various programmes for women empowerment through social welfare boards, NGOs and women’s groups,” she said. Ms Lajwanti said that a calendar of women empowerment activities for the year has been prepared. “We are regularly holding women’s awareness camps. We also demand that there should be campaign on war-footing to end female infanticide,” she said. She said that the efforts by them are to make women economically strong. “In case of any need, the women should be in a position to defend for themselves. There is a need to increase the vocational training institutions for women,” she said. Ms Lajwanti said that after her visit to Ambala and Hisar jails, she has suggested to the Centre that women’s organisation should also be involved in investigations concerning women. “We want that besides the routine police investigation, women’s organisation should also be involved so that better investigations can take place,” she emphasised. Among others, Ms Sudha Yadav, Ms Sheela
Byan, Dr Mohini Giri, Ms Padma Seth, Ms Veena Chhibber, Mr Anil Vij, Ms Anita Dhankad are expected to attend the fair. |
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KU doctorate for Joshi Karnal, March 15 According to the university authorities, the convocation is being held after a gap of six years. Dr Joshi will also address the convocation. Babu Parmanand, Governor of Haryana and Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, will also grace the occasion. Authoritative sources said 1,163 candidates would be awarded degrees, including 102 Ph.D degrees. For the first time, the university is bringing out a souvenir exclusively containing excerpts of thesis of Ph D students along with their photographs. |
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2 arrested for assaulting cop Hisar, March 15 According to the police, Mange Ram and Vinod Kumar along with their friend, all residents of nearby villages yesterday, entered the centre where Class X examination was being held and tried to help students in copying. They assaulted a constable, Mr Ravinder Singh, when he tried to stop them. A case has been registered against about 12 persons. In another incident, the district police today arrested two women for demanding dowry. According to the police, Priyanka, daughter of a Haryana Agricultural University employee, Mr
D. P. Kataria, was married to Sandeep Singh, a resident of Rohtak, last year. After the marriage, her in-laws harassed her for not bringing sufficient dowry. They forced her to leave the house. The police has arrested her mother-in-law Savitri and sister-in-law Kamini from Rohtak and Delhi, respectively. Meanwhile, the police has seized a .351-bore pistol from Narender Kumar, a local resident, here yesterday when he was going to Shikarpur village from Mill Gate. |
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Man gets 7-year jail term
for rape Jind, March 15 The judge sentenced Manjit Singh to five years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,500 on him for abducting the girl he also sentenced him to seven year’s imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2500 on him for raping her. Both punishments would run concurrently. According to the prosecution, Manjit Singh abducted the girl from the village on February 5, 1997, and took her to a farm, where he raped her. After about 10 days, the girl was recovered at Patran bus stand in Punjab. A few days later, the police arrested Manjit Singh. The police had registered a case against him under Sections 366 and 376 of the IPC at Garhi police station in Jind district. |
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4 arrested for gambling Sonepat, March 15 The Superintendent of Police, Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat told mediapersons here today that the police has arrested Kailash of the city on the charge of satta gambling under the garb of lottery tickets. The police, he said, recovered Rs 470 and other articles of gambling from him. The culprit was engaged in satta gambling when the police conducted a raid at a gambling den at the Subhash Chowk in the city. |
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Hearing aid devices Chandigarh, March 15 An official spokesman said this decision was taken in view of the increased cost of hearing aids. The amount, which would be less than the actual cost of the hearing aid or the fixed amount of Rs 3,000, would be reimbursed to the beneficiaries. The reimbursement would be made subject to the condition that the hearing aid was prescribed either by the Chief Medical Officer or any other doctor of equal rank. |
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