The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Removal of PGIMS Director flayed
Rohtak, May 18
Criticising the recent removal of Dr S.B. Siwach from the post of Director, PGIMS, the Haryana Vikas Party supremo, Mr Bansi Lal, has alleged that the ‘unwarranted’ step of the government would affect the health services adversely in the state.

POSTINGS/ TRANSFERS
19 officers shifted
Chandigarh, May 18
The Haryana Government today issued the transfer orders of four IAS officers and 15 HCS officers with immediate effect.

Six killed in mishaps
Rohtak, May 18
Six persons, including three school students, were killed in different road accidents in Rohtak and Jhajjar district today. According to information, the driver of a truck lost control of the vehicle which fell on some students returning from the government school at Bahu Akbarpur village. Three students were killed in the mishap, two were injured.

Wife’s murder: remand for doctor
Faridabad, May 18
The court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate here has remanded a doctor, his driver and two minor boys to judicial custody up to June 1, in connection with the murder of the wife of the accused doctor recently.

MC faces financial crunch
Ambala, May 18
The poor financial state of the Municipal Council, Ambala city, became evident at the general meeting today.

Assault on teachers: panchayat fines three
Sonepat, May 18
The case of alleged beating up of teachers and snatching of cash and other goods by three persons at Dodwa village in the district took a new turn yesterday when the panchayat imposed a fine of Rs 1,100 each on the persons involved in the incident.

Six carcasses found at Akodo village
Narnaul, May 18
Six carcasses of cows have been found from a field of a former sarpanch, at Akodo village in Mahendragarh. The police has registered a case on a complaint of Ram Niwas Sharma, of Khudana, under Section 429 of the IPC. According to information received here on Thursday, all the six cows belonged to the residents of Khudana village.

Health workers stage dharna
Fatehabad, May 18
About fifty multi-purpose health workers of the district held demonstration and staged a dharna in front of the Civil Surgeon office here today against the alleged corruption by the Civil Surgeon office in the use of funds received from the Central Government for the Mahila Swasthya Scheme.

Plus two results before June 20
Yamunanagar, May 18
The Plus two results will be declared by the Haryana School Education Board before June 20 to avoid inconvenience to students seeking admission to higher classes. This was stated by Dr M.C. Gambhir, Chairman, Board of School Education, Haryana, at a function organised by Mr Bhupinder Singh Jauhar, Chairman of JAI group at Jai Spring Club here last night.

INA man dead
Bhiwani, May 18
The veteran freedom fighter and Lieutenant in the Azad Hind Fauz of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Ratan Singh, died after a prolonged illness on Wednesday family sources said here. He was 85. He has been cremated with full state honours at his village Alampur.

Norms on state guest revised
Chandigarh, May 18
The Haryana Government has revised the norms to declare a person as the state guest as part of its economy drive.

	Poll verdict alarms BJP chief Our Correspondent Sonepat, May 18 The BJP chief, Mr K. Jana Krishnamurthy, has asked party leaders and organisers not to ignore workers and have a rapport with the masses. The results of the Assembly elections held recently in five states were an eye-opener and the party must learn a lesson from the verdict, he said. Inaugurating the two-day ‘chintan baithak’, organised on the premises of the Surya Foundation at Jhinjhauli village, 25 km from here, on Wednesday he said the policies of the NDA government must be reviewed so that the common man could be benefited. All policies should be aimed at the welfare of the people and should reduce tax burden on them. The BJP president indicated that services of whole-time workers and ex-RSS parcharaks would be utilised to strengthen the base of the party both in the urban and rural areas in each state. Special attention should be given to the lowest levels — the gram panchayats and the new gram centres — to find out how the organisation is functioning there, he added. According to party sources, many of the BJP’s top leaders, including Mr Jana Krishnamurthy and the state’s organising secretaries reviewed the party’s performance in the recent Assembly elections and deliberated upon strategy for the crucial forthcoming Assembly elections in northern states such as UP and Punjab. They also stressed the need to solicit the support of RSS cadres to firm up its prospects in the northern region. Among those who participated in the discussions included Mr Jana Krishnamurthy, former President Kushabhau Thakre, general secretary Narinder Modi and the vice-presidents Pyarelal Khandelwal and Kailashpati Misra and the RSS leader H.V. Seshadari. Party sources revealed that the central leadership will review the Sangh viewpoint and suggestions on these matters at the Mussourie conclave. The office-bearers of the party will also discuss the party’s weak performance in the state elections. The Jhinjhauli meeting assumes significance in the context of the current political situation, prevailing in the country.
	Commuters, beware of nimble fingers Raman Mohan Hisar, May 18 Haryana’s petty thieves have spread their tentacles to other states as far as Gujarat. In fact, they are now active in all major trains emanating from New Delhi. They belong to a criminal tribe -Sansi-whose member with nimble fingers have engaged in theft for generations. They specialise in opening locks of luggage in buses and trains and removing valuables generally jewellery. According to police sources, till recently the Sansis of Haryana were active in Punjab and Rajasthan. They operated in long-route buses. However, they have now shifted their attention to the more lucrative long-distance trains emanating from Delhi. The Sansis are settled in about a dozen villages of Hisar, Jind and Bhiwani districts. These include Sorkhi, Petwad, Gangan Kheri, Bhatol, Sisai, Lohari, Khanda, Rajthal and Ugalan of Hisar, Orangnagar of Bhiwani and Manorampur of Jind district. In the latest instance, nine Sansi youths from Sorkhi village of this district were caught red-handed by the Gujarat police at the Baroda railway station. The group was headed by one Rajesh of this village. The Gujarat Police alerted the local police after identifying the group. Police sources said there had been similar reports from other states too. The SP, Mr Rajpal Singh, says the Sansis have fine-tuned the art of thievery in moving buses and trains. They generally operate in groups of six or more. Only one of them is actually involved in thefts while the others provide cover and logistic support. The group includes an elder tribe member who relies on his experience while choose the target. The younger members then get on their job. He says newly married couples and women travelling alone are their prime targets. They engage their target in small talk to divert attention from the luggage. One of them may even block the target’s view by pretending to read a newspaper. A small towel or other such cloth is thrown over the piece of luggage. Then the nimble fingers get to work. The one actually committing the theft carries an improvised master key made from a motor cycle wheel’s spoke. It does not take them more than a minute to open the lock and remove jewellery and cash. The luggage is locked again and the group alights at the next stop. Mr Dayanand, Inspector, CIA, says very few complaints are lodged in such cases as all victims are not even aware that their valuables have been stolen. The victims generally believe that these have been misplaced. It is rare for Sansis to be caught in the act. The Sansis do not hurt or attack their victims. They steal without any violence. Most Sansis do not generally break into houses for theft. Besides, only male members of the tribe engage in thievery. Enquiries reveal that many of the elder members of the tribe have shifted from villages surrounding Hisar to Majnu Ka Tila and Piragarhi in Delhi where they have built plush houses. Male Sansis are active in trains for three weeks a month. They invariably spend at least one week with their families in villages. Police sources attribute the increasing number of thefts in moving trains emanating from Delhi to members of this tribe hailing from Haryana. The Sansis are reported to have set up bases in rented houses in the four metros and other important towns along the routes of important long-distance trains. A visit to some of their villages near here revealed that though they keep a low profile, their ill-gotten wealth is displayed ostentatiously at the time of marriages. It is not unusual for an established Sansi family to give a kilogram of gold in the form of jewellery as part of dowry. Many of these families have purchased cars in the names of fellow villagers belonging to other, castes. The Sansis however get to use these only for family outings or emergencies. The benami owners drive the vehicles for the rest of the time.
	Pvt traders stay away from wheat Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 18 Features emerging in course of the wheat procurement season in Haryana may be an indication of the shape of things to come. Probably for the first time in the history of procurement in Haryana, purchase by private traders was shown ‘zero’ in the account sheet of the state government’s agency monitoring the operation . Till yesterday, more than 61 lakh tonnes of wheat was purchased by the state government agencies and FCI from 19 districts of Haryana. On the other hand, purchase by private traders in the current season was less than 3,500 tonnes . The percentage of purchase by private traders was shown ‘zero’ in the account sheet drawn up by the computer. In the three districts of Bhiwani, Narnaul and Sirsa, there was no purchase at all by private traders, while in Gurgaon, Hisar, Jind, Karnal, Rohtak, Sonepat and Jhajjar, the purchase by private traders ranged between 14 tonnes to 87 tonnes only. The maximum purchase by private traders in one district — 733 tonnes — was reported from Ambala. In contrast, the private traders purchased more than 1 lakh tonne wheat — equivalent to 3 per cent of the total grain arrival — during the last wheat procurement season. One of the reasons for the diminishing participation by private traders in the purchase of wheat, according to experts here, is its low market price. Also, the traders are apparently not interested in stocking wheat for speculation in view of the WTO regime. The spectre of WTO and the low market prices is believed to have led to the massive procurement by the government agencies in Haryana. While last year, the procurement by the official agencies was close to 42 lakh tonnes, this year it was estimated that the figure would touch 45 lakh tonnes. However, procurement by official agencies has already reached 62 lakh tonnes, and it is expected to reach 65 lakh tonnes before the operation ends. Grain from UP, Rajasthan and Delhi is also coming to Haryana mandis for sale. While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sanctioned Rs 3800 crore worth of CCL to the Haryana Government for the procurement operation, the government had already availed itself Rs 3590 crore out of that amount. The government has sought Rs 600 crore more from the RBI. “Normally, the state government should not have any problem with the loan as the entire money is supposed to be reimbursed by the FCI (Food Corporation of India) as and when the stocks are lifted from the state godowns. However, problem will arise if part of the grain is damaged and refused by the FCI. In 1993 and 1995, the FCI refused to accept grain damaged by flood which led to problems for the state government “, an official here said. As a cloud of uncertainty looms large over the FCI’s participation in procurement operations, the Central Government agency has also virtually stopped lifting grain at the time of procurement. Earlier, the FCI used to dispatch around 2.5 lakh tonnes of wheat during the procurement season. However, even as the season is coming to a close this year, the FCI has so far lifted only 547 tonnes since procurement started in April. The FCI has also purchased 13 per cent of the grain. Its allotted share is 15 per cent. The shortfall was adjusted by taking recourse to excess procurement by state government agencies.
	Agencies refuse to buy wet wheat Our Correspondent Faridabad, May 18 Government agencies like Food and Supply, Food Corporation of India, Hafed, Haryana State Warehouse Corporation, Agro Industries have not been purchasing wheat for the past two days in the district due to arrival of wet wheat in mandis here. The quantity of wheat brought in the mandis of the district has beaten all records. Last year 1,74,462 mt of wheat was purchased out of the total arrival of 1,89,466 mt. This year, the total arrival has touched 5,23,426 mt, but the government agencies are able to purchase only 5,20,892 mt. Wheat is lying in the open due to shortage of storage space. It is soaking due to heavy rains.
	PGIMS understaffed, patients suffer Jatinder Sharma Rohtak, May 18 Patients visiting the Pt. B.D. Sharma, PGIMS the only state-owned Medical College Hospital in Haryana, are facing hardship due to acute shortage of medical staff (Professors and Lecturers). The situation has reached such a pretty pass that the Department of Urology is virtually closed for the past over one year for want of doctors. Many more important departments are functioning with much depleted strength. Nearly 15 posts are vacant in the Anaesthesia Department and 11 in the Department of Medicine out of the sanctioned strength of 21 and 18 posts respectively. All four sanctioned posts in the Casualty Department are vacant whereas the Radiology Department has just two doctors out of six sanctioned posts. Fifty per cent of the sanctioned posts in the Ophthalmology Department are also vacant. Efforts to improve conditions in this premier medical institute of the state seem to have been frustrated ironically by none other than the Haryana government itself. The selection of the Lecturers and Professors made by the High-Powered Selection Committee in the past one year have been cancelled by the government without assigning any reasons. Surprise removal of Dr S.B. Siwach, as Director of the PGIMS last week has aggravated the situation further. His removal is seen by the people as motivated by reasons totally extraneous. Dr Siwach had the distinction of being the first person who graduated from this very college and succeeded in getting appointed its Director two year ago after being duly elected by a committee of experts. His patient sensitive approach did pay dividends in perceptible improvement in respect of overall patient care despite many limitations — financial and administrative. People not only of this region but of entire Haryana and parts of Punjab are totally dependent on the PGIMS and it is their only hope left to them especially in the background of the district and primary health structure virtually reduced to shambles. The PGIMS here has been catering to thousands of those who can least afford to go for private treatment. Unfortunately successive regimes in Haryana have treated this medical centre of prime importance as yet another government department. Thus they have been preferring the appointment of a loyal and pliable person at the helm of the institute. Meanwhile, the government’s unexplainable move to divest Dr Siwach of Directorship has initiated a serious debate once again as to how the universities and professional institutes must be run. The Medical Teachers Association has in a resolution criticised the charge being given to a bureaucrat which never happened in the past. An outstanding professional duly selected by a statutory selection committee of experts is thrown out unceremoniously simply because the rulers’ do not like him. It is really ridiculous that the competence or otherwise of a top physician is judged by a politician or a bureaucrat, says Mr Inderjit Singh, Secretary, CPM, Haryana. Mr Inderjit Singh, said that the act of the government is ill-conceived, reprehensible and motivated. It has sent wrong signals to all sincere and forthright professionals. He wanted the order to the withdrawn forthwith and Dr Siwach reinstated as Director. He hoped good sense will prevail and at-least the PGIMS spared as it concerned the lives of people and only merit and professional competence should prevail above everything else particularly with regard to top posts. The CPM leader in this context also criticised other political leaders who have been behaving the same way when at the helm. He wants that the practice of treating higher institutions according to personal whims must end in the interest of the state. All vacancies must be filled as soon as possible as the existing staff was over-burdened, he said. Some senior doctors here are of the opinion that a Board of Management formed by the Haryana government on November 4, 1997 was a step in the right direction and it could have given relative autonomy necessary for such institutions. But unfortunately, the Board never met after its first meeting. The provisions mooted under the Board of Management did have a positive spirit to decentralise the administrative powers down to the heads of department. It was meant to facilitate a relatively unhindered day-to-day functioning.

Removal of PGIMS Director flayed
Our Correspondent

Rohtak, May 18
Criticising the recent removal of Dr S.B. Siwach from the post of Director, PGIMS, the Haryana Vikas Party supremo, Mr Bansi Lal, has alleged that the ‘unwarranted’ step of the government would affect the health services adversely in the state.

In a statement here yesterday, the former Chief Minister said the step was a blow to the officials who were not prepared to oblige politicians.

Mr Bansi Lal said Dr Siwach had been associated with the institute since he was a student.

He was appointed to the post by the present government on merit basis. The government had removed him without citing any reason, he said.

POSTINGS/ TRANSFERS
19 officers shifted
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 18
The Haryana Government today issued the transfer orders of four IAS officers and 15 HCS officers with immediate effect.

Mr J.P. Kaushik, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Kaithal, goes as ADC and District Transport Officer, Jhajjar, vice Mr T.K. Sharma, who has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner, Rohtak, against a vacant post.

Mr M.P. Bansal, awaiting posting orders, goes as Additional Director, Urban Estates, Panchkula, against a vacant post. Mr Brijendra Singh, SDO (Civil), goes as such to Samalkha.

Mr J.P.S. Dahiya, MD, Cooperative Sugar Mill, Kaithal, has been given additional charge of Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kaithal. Mr Sushil Sarwan, City Magistrate, Gurgaon, becomes SDO (Civil), Narnaul.

Mr Dharamvir Singh, awaiting posting orders, becomes SDO (Civil), Dadri, against a vacant post. Mr B.B. Kaushik, Under Secretary, Cooperation, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Department, has been posted as City Magistrate, Rohtak, against a vacant post. Mr Krishan Kumar Gupta, City Magistrate, Hisar, goes as SDO(C), Saffidon. Mr Pankaj Chaudhary, OSD, Local Government, becomes City Magistrate, Kaithal. Mr Dharamvir Singh Dhankar, Under Secretary, Industrial Training and Vocational Education Department, becomes City Magistrate, Hisar.

Mr Pradeep Kumar, SDO (C), Dabwali, has been posted as Estate Officer, Gurgaon, relieving Mr R.S. Kharb of the said charge. Mr Yashpal, General Manager, Haryana Roadways, Gurgaon, and Mr Dharampal, General Manager, Haryana Roadways, Delhi, will swap places of posting. Mr Deveshwar Dayal, General Manager, Haryana Roadways, Karnal, becomes City Magistrate and Estate Officer, Urban Estate, Sirsa against a vacant post. Mr Vivek Padam Singh, Administrative Officer, Directorate of School Education, becomes SDO (C), Dabwali, against a vacant post. Mr P.D. Varma, DTO, Panipat becomes GM, Haryana Roadways, Karnal, while Mr Vijender Kumar Dahiya, City Magistrate, Ambala, has been posted in place of Mr Varma. Mrs Pritama Chaudhry, EAC (UT), Ambala, has been posted as City Magistrate, Ambala.

	Six killed in mishaps Tribune News Service Rohtak, May 18 Six persons, including three school students, were killed in different road accidents in Rohtak and Jhajjar district today. According to information, the driver of a truck lost control of the vehicle which fell on some students returning from the government school at Bahu Akbarpur village. Three students were killed in the mishap, two were injured. The deceased have been identified as Baljit, Sanjay and Sumit. In a separate incident, a youth was crushed to death by an unidentified vehicle on the Hafed road here. The deceased Narsi of Kulasi village in Jhajjar district was identified by the police with the help of documents recovered from his pocket. The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC in this connection. In another incident, Attar Singh, an ex-service man of Jhamri village in the district was charred to death when the stove he was working on exploded. In yet another incident, Naval Kishore of the neighbouring Koyalpur village was killed on the spot when his scooter rammed in to a tree.
	Wife’s murder: remand for doctor Tribune News Service Faridabad, May 18 The court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate here has remanded a doctor, his driver and two minor boys to judicial custody up to June 1, in connection with the murder of the wife of the accused doctor recently. The suspects — Devi Charan Gupta, a dentist running a clinic in NH-1 locality of the NIT area here, his driver Sanjay Kumar, alias Avadesh, and two schoolboys, Sachin (16) and Vinay alias Nanha (14) — were arrested by the CIA staff of the police yesterday, in connection with murder of Dr Gupta’s wife, Mrs Lakshmi on May 10 in her house. According to the police the victim’s husband had allegedly hired his driver, Sanjay for Rs 1 lakh to kill his wife. The accused have been sent to jail at Rohtak. The two boys who are minor have been sent to a juvenile home in Sonepat. According to the police the plot to eliminate Mrs Lakshmi was hatched allegedly by her husband following a dispute over property. The matter took a serious turn when the victim, who was the owner of the all property, including the house and the clinic, threatened to donate it and denied any share to her husband. According to the ASP, Mr Sanjay Kumar, the driver of the doctor who was picked up by the doctor who was picked up by the police a day after the murder, broke down during the interrogation and admitted his involvement in the incident. He reportedly told the police that he had also hired two schoolboys , Sachin and Vinay for Rs 20,000 each to do the job. The three allegedly tried to strangulate the woman, who was alone at that time with a rope but later slit her throat with a butcher’s knife at about 7.15 p.m. on May 10. The doctor was at his clinic at that time. A case under Section 120-B and 302 of the IPC was registered. The knife used in murder has been recovered.
	MC faces financial crunch Tribune News Service Ambala, May 18 The poor financial state of the Municipal Council, Ambala city, became evident at the general meeting today. The council had received a request on April 24 for depositing audit fees amounting to Rs 8.08 lakh. As the financial condition of the council was poor, a sum of only Rs 10,000 was deposited. On an earlier occasion also the audit fees of Rs 4.6 lakh had to be adjusted by the government. The House stated that the remainder of the audit fees should be adjusted. In the second instance, a letter from the Urban Development Department had sought that a sum of Rs 2.79 lakh should be deposited. Due to poor financial state, the House again expressed its inability to deposit the amount. The council, in yet another instance, stated that its financial health was poor so it would not be able to deposit a sum of Rs 1,96,845. In an attempt to ensure that there is no favouritism in disbursement of a development grant for the 31 wards, all the wards have been granted an amount of Rs 42,000 each for construction of drains and cemented roads.
	Assault on teachers: panchayat fines three Our Correspondent Sonepat, May 18 The case of alleged beating up of teachers and snatching of cash and other goods by three persons at Dodwa village in the district took a new turn yesterday when the panchayat imposed a fine of Rs 1,100 each on the persons involved in the incident. According to a report reaching here, the village sarpanch was also held guilty of ignoring the complaint of the teachers and was asked by the panchayat to do the sanitation work for four days on the premises of the school. The panches also tendered an apology for the incident and formed a 20-member committee comprising former sarpanches and panches to avoid such incidents in future. It is reported that a teacher beat up a class III student of Government Primary School at the village recently. Thereupon, the angry father of the boy along with some other persons reached the school on May 12 and beat up the Headmaster and two other teacher, including a woman teacher. Thereafter, the Headmaster and other members of the staff made a complaint to the Block Education Officer, Gohana, who, in turn, lodged a complaint with the police in this connection. The police, however, declined to take any action against the guilty persons. Thereupon, a deputation of the district unit of the Haryana Adhyapak Sangh called on the SP and demanded stern action against the police officials as well as guilty persons. Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, SP, directed the Station House Officer of the Sadar police station to take action against the persons involved in the incident. The police, however, rounded up four persons in this connection. To avoid police action, the panches held a meeting and asked the guilty persons to return Rs 1,500 to the teachers. They also imposed a fine of Rs 1,100 on each of them.