The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Protest after undertrials beat up man, family
Yamunanagar, July 12
An irate mob blocked the Yamunanagar-Jagadhri road in front of Rampura police chowki today morning. According to the complainant, Bharat Bhushan, resident of Rampura Colony, here was going on his motor cycle in the morning to his lawyer when he was overpowered by miscreants at HUDA Colony. He was beaten up, but he managed to reach the Civil Hospital, here, around 7 a.m.

Govt to get tough with miners
Gurgaon, July 12
The Haryana Government will further tighten the noose around the tax evading miners in Gurgaon. The fly-by-night operators have been effecting loss to the state to the tune of several crores.

Mayor voted out of office
Faridabad, July12
The Mayor of Faridabad, Mr Devender Bhadana, was voted out of office today. He lost overwhelmingly in the no-confidence motion brought by several municipal corporators for which voting was held this morning. Mr Bhadana got the support of only four (including himself) corporators while 19 of the 23-member House voted in favour of the no-trust motion.

HIGH COURT
Judgment reserved in MLA’s case
Chandigarh, July 12
A Division Bench of the High Court reserved judgment on appeals filed by Haryana MLA Nafe Singh and others against the orders of Jhajjar’s Additional District and Sessions Judge convicting and sentencing them to life imprisonment in a murder case.

Life sentence for killing wife
Panipat, July 12
The husband, the mother-in-law and the sister-in-law of Indrawati have been sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 each by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Raj Rahul Garg.

Steps to curb female foeticide
Panipat, July 12
A 10-member action committee has been formed under the presidentship of the deputy commissioner yesterday to strictly implement the Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act, 1994.

INLD to observe ‘pragati divas’
Bhiwani, July 12
The INLD has decided to commemorate its second anniversary in Bhiwani as “pragati divas”. The celebrations will deliver a message among the people of Haryana that Mr Chautala still has a grip on the state affairs along with the southern districts.

Reduced house tax bills likely
Chandigarh, July 12
The house tax survey conducted in Haryana reveals that at least 60 per cent of the property owners in the state will either get exempted from the payment of the tax itself or will get reduced tax bills in future.

Three killed in mishaps
Jind, July 12
Three persons reportedly died in different parts of the district in three incidents yesterday. According to reports received here today, a labourer was buried alive at the local Gohana road market when the floor of a basement which he was digging, caved in. The deceased had been identified as Ajmer of Radhana village.

Two labourers electrocuted
Bhiwani, July 12
Two labourers were electrocuted in Dadum village when they were loading gravel through an electric loader on Wednesday. The deceased have been identified as Kuleshwar (24) and Kameshwar (22) who were working at a crusher unit.

Land occupied by minister’s kin got vacated
Panipat, July 12
About three-and-a-half acre of agricultural land of the Hathwala panchayat, which was illegally occupied by family members of a former minister, has been vacated by the district administration. The land had been in illegal occupation for the past many decades.

Three held for murder of 2 youths
Sonepat, July 12
With the arrest of three youths, the Murthal police has solved the alleged kidnapping and murder of two teenaged boys of Murthal village whose bodies were found from different places of Oumashpura village on July 3 and 4 last.

Mahant who provides water
Rewari
By regularly providing drinking water free of cost to thousands of persons, including bus passengers, Swami Prem Das, Mahant of Baba Ram Swarup’s Dadu Dwara (Dadu temple) in Siha village, 20 km from here, has earned the sobriquet of “water providing Mahant” among villagers.

Governor unveils martyr’s statue
Rewari, July 12
The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Mr Suraj Bhan, unveiled the statue of Naib Subedar Hanuman Singh, a post-Kargil war martyr, at Gothra Tappa Dahina village, 30 km from here, yesterday. He also inaugurated two roads named after Hanuman Singh and havildar Vijay Singh, both post-Kargil war martyrs.

Swami alleges police harassment
Ambala, July 12
Swami Satya Atmanand, the chief of Param Satya Dham, Ambala City, has alleged that the police has registered a false case against him and a few of his disciples to harass them. He said the police had also forced them to stop the kirtan in the ashram. He added that to protest against the action of the police, he had decided to stop the aarti of the idols in the ashram.

Five granted bail in wheat scam case
Ambala, July 12
The Special Judge for CBI cases, Mr B.B. Prsoon, granted bail to five of the accused in the wheat scam case here today. Those who have been granted bail include Om Narian, Dalbir Chawla, Rishi Raj, Rajesh Kumar and Dayanand. Earlier the court had put a stay on their arrest.

2 roadways employees hurt in clash
Yamunanagar, July 12
Two Haryana Roadways employees were injured today by maxicab drivers when the latter were stopped for carrying illegal passengers on the luggage carrier.

Gramin Mahila Sangh executive
Chandigarh, July 12
Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand, who also is the ex-officio president of the Bharatiya Gramin Mahila Sangh (BGMS), Haryana branch, today nominated certain women from the rural areas members of the newly constituted Haryana State Rural Women Executive Committee of the BGMS branch for three years to accelerate development and decide the programmes of the voluntary organisation.

Refinery celebrates anniversary
Panipat, July 12
The second anniversary of Panipat Refinery was celebrated on its premises here today. Blood donation camps were also organised in association with the Red Cross Society in which 70 persons donated blood.

Dhaba owner stabbed
Jhajjar, July 12
A dhaba owner was stabbed with a broken bottle at a nearby Dadanpur village here today. The accused, Anil Kumar, brother of the deceased’s partner, Sandeep, has been absconding.

	Ultrasound clinics operate with impunity Rakesh Bhardwaj Panipat, July 12 In Census 2001 ratio of females against 1000 men in Panipat district is a mere 830 and of baby girls in the age group of 0-6 years is 807:1000 only. Doctors at ultrasound clinics in the town who play a role in detecting the sex of the foetus and resort to female foeticide are responsible for such a drastic situation. If the present trend continues and experts of ultrasound clinics remain focused on their lust for money the day will not be far off when the ratio will further dwindle, leading to escalation in crime against women. A majority of them here are busy with this nefarious activity in an unauthorised manner. Many private nursing homes are busy minting money by doing illegal sex detection tests and medical termination of pregnancy (MTP). Sources in the Health Department confirmed that hardly any private hospital or nursing home is authorised to do MTP but this practice continues. The Civil Hospital here is not in a position to cater to the need of around six lakh population of the town. Hence, more than 80 per cent of the population of the town has to depend on these private nursing homes which have mushroomed in posh colonies. They are providing services to the common man irrespective of the fact of their being unauthorised and without having any requisite specialisation. Taking advantage of the government’s inaction, registered practitioners as well as those not registered are fleecing illiterate labour by performing sex determination tests and illegal termination of pregnancy. Certain unregistered nursing homes are reported to be owned by kin of the Health Department doctors practising in government hospitals, dispensaries and other medical centres. Most of them are allegedly involved in sex detection. This correspondent contacted some doctors of hospitals reported to be indulging in this activity. A leading private hospital situated in Sukhdev Nagar here is reported to be the leader in sex determination and illegal termination of pregnancy of female foetuses. The hospital is being run by a doctor and his wife, who claims to be a gynaecologist even though she is reported to be BAMS. The doctor when approached said he and his wife do MTP only. An inquiry from this correspondent from the ‘gynaecologist’ that when she was only BAMS how did she handle deliveries and abortions elicited the response that she was providing all facilities to the patients herself for the past 17 years. When further asked if she did seven abortion cases on Sunday and three on Monday, she reluctantly replied they were all MTP cases and not sex determined termination of pregnancy. The BAMS doctor confirmed she had a business relationship with another private nursing home on the Devi Mandir road and other areas of the town for abortion cases as she was known to be a specialist. It is alleged that the ‘doctor’ operating from the Devi Mandir road nursing home is reported to be a quack and did not hold any medical degree. Another prominent ultrasound centre on the GT Road near a car showroom is stated to have a nexus with another leading private hospital on the Gohana road. It is alleged the ultrasound centre after getting the fees for sex determination test refers the patient to the Gohana road private nursing home and illegal termination of pregnancy is being done. An ultrasound centre behind the Civil Hospital is another one which is indulging in this unauthorised activity. There is another ultrasound clinic in the HUDA Colony where the doctor is actively involved in all these tests. She is reportedly topping the list of ultrasound specialists conducting the tests. Recently, she was gheraoed by the people in Samalkha for carrying out this unauthorised test. Moreover, she is alleged to be luring the innocent persons to have a male child by taking her specialised pill with 100 per cent results. Yet another doctor in the local Model Town when asked on phone to comment on the illegal sex determination tests said he was not doing this test in his nursing home. When asked about the excessive fees charged, he said a doctor can charge an amount of his choice as a huge amount is invested in constructing clinics and nursing homes and 24 hours’ attendance to patients is made available. The interesting feature of the story is that despite the Chief Medical Officer’s instructions and solemn oaths taken by Indian Medical Association (IMA) members a month ago where it was pledged that for the sake of humanity they would not do illegal abortions of sex determined cases, particularly female foeticides, abortions go on unabated. It is also learnt that a week or 10 days after the pledge this group has again started their regular activity. Even ultrasound fees of sex detection tests have been raised from Rs 800 to Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 and even to Rs 2,000. When the CMO, Panipat, was asked to comment on this issue, he condemned the activity and said it was a crime. He further said at the meeting held last month the doctors had taken the oath they would not do this in future. The CMO said that to root out this civil responsible members of society like advocates, social workers and mediapersons should come forward to make the masses aware about this criminal activity. He further said the department had invited applications from various diagnostic centres and clinics for registration. He also said doctors resorting to detecting the sex of the unborn child can be put to trial under the Regulation and Prevention of Misuse (Pre Natal Diagnostics Techniques) Act, 1994. The CMO also said the law says that within 10 weeks of pregnancy an abortion can be done in a recognised hospital by a recognised gynaecologist and up to 16 weeks at least two doctors are required for consultation. The Medical Superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Dr M.S. Randhawa, categorically confirmed that sex determination and female foeticide should not be allowed to go unnoticed at any cost as the crime against women will drastically increase if this system persists any more. The president of the Indian Medical Association, Dr Pritam Arora, when approached told this correspondent that nobody should agree to the request of the public at large for illegal abortion or female foeticide. In addition, the president further said banners and posters should be displayed at all nursing homes so that this evil could be rooted out. The public at large should be made aware of the fact that this was a crime against humanity in general and womenfolk in particular. Even at a national convention held last month in Delhi women organisations as well as religious leaders and Swamis condemned foeticide as shameful and inhuman. In this convention, Swami Agnivesh stressed on the need for reforms in several social customs. “Until we tackle such issues at the socio-economic level, we should not expect female foeticide to come to a halt,” he added. As a result of inaction by the government and alleged corruption in the Health Department, the ultrasound clinics are minting money at the cost of the public and not even a single ultrasound clinic or private nursing home providing these facilities has been penalised during the current year.
	Chautala’s lip service to population control Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 12 Even though the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, issued a press statement on Tuesday, on the eve of World Population Day, on “the alarming growth rate” of population in Haryana, population control does not seem to be an area considered really important by the state government. This is evident from the fact that despite one year having passed since the formation of the State Commission on Population (SCP) , not a single meeting of the body has been held so far. Since February this year, the meeting of the SCP had to be cancelled on three occasions. The reasons for the cancellation ranged from administrative reshuffle, unavailability of a key officer and preoccupation of the Chief Minister with matters more important than population control. The SCP was notified on July 14, 2000. Formed on the pattern of the National Commission on population, the objective of the SCP is to achieve a birth rate of 21 per 1000, a death rate of nine per 1,000, a natural population growth rate of 1.2 per cent and a total fertility rate of 2.1 in order to stabilise the population. These objectives are sought to be achieved by involving grassroots level workers, private medical practitioners, ex-servicemen, school teachers, gram panchyats, etc, in the planning process. While the Chief Minister is the chairman, the Health Minister is the vice-chairman and the Financial Commissioner, Health Department, the member-secretary of the commission. Its members include virtually the entire Haryana Cabinet, the Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, veteran doctors, etc. The Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and eight other secretaries have been made permanent invitees to the commission. The state government’s inability to organise any meeting of the SCP is also a violation of the guidelines of the commission mentioned in the notification issued in this connection. It stated that the “commission shall normally meet twice every year or as often as may be considered necessary”. It is learnt that at first it was decided to hold the first meeting of the SCP in February. However, it could not be held and subsequently another date was fixed in April. However, the April, meeting, too, was cancelled and it was decided that the first meeting of the commission would take place on July 17. However, the July 17 meeting was also cancelled due to the Chief Minister’s preoccupation with something else, and now the meeting may take place in September. According to the provisional. Census report of 2001, the growth rate of population in Haryana was found to have exceeded that of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and even UP. Moreover, while at the national level, the population growth rate has declined, the growth rate of population in Haryana increased from 27.41 per 1,000 in 1981-91 to 28.06 in 1991-2001. The latter phenomenon is “a matter of concern”, the Census report said. The state government at present has the following incentive and disincentive schemes for implementing the small-family norm. A sum of Rs 300 is being spent on each acceptor of sterilisation which includes cash compensation (Rs 150 for women and Rs 120 for men), cost of medicines and the transport cost. The incentive schemes include maternity leave benefit to women government employees for six months, special leave to acceptors of sterilisation or their spouses for six days and 42 days’ abortion leave benefit for women employees. Under the disincentive schemes, maternity leave is not given to women employees after two children. Further, women employees are also not given abortion leave after two living children. Also, persons having more than two living children are debarred from contesting panchayat elections. State government officials have formulated some new incentive and disincentive schemes for stabilising the population. Under the incentive schemes, the mothers of children born at medical institutions are proposed to be given a cash incentive of Rs 300. It has also been proposed to double the amount of cash compensation for male and female acceptors of sterilisation through a matching grant from the state government. As a disincentive, officials have suggested that persons having more than three children should not be considered for government jobs. These proposals will be put before the Chief Minister for approval at the SCP meeting, that is if it takes place.
	CPM memo to DGP on crime Our Correspondent Rohtak, July 12 The CPM has in a memorandum to the DGP, Mr M.S. Malik, alleged that the overall law and order situation in Haryana was turning worse and people were feeling insecure. The party said murders, kidnappings, rapes, thefts, exortions and other crimes had acquired alarming proportions. It was true that various social and economic factors contributed to crime, yet law enforcing agencies had to provide security to citizens, the memorandum said. The state CPM secretary, Mr Inderjit Singh, said the weaker sections, including women and Dalits, were becoming frequent targets of criminal assault. The police also had an important role to play. Unfortunately, the police had not been trained to be sensitive towards socially-vulnerable sections, he said. Meanwhile, Mr Malik today visited Rohtak to launch a special campaign against criminals and inter-state gangs. He also held a meeting of district police chiefs to review the law and order situation. He also inspected and inaugurated the first contingent of the Rapid Action Force which comprised 250 personnel of different ranks. This force would act as a crack unit for controlling organised crime. Mr Inderjit Singh said the police continued to be guided by outdated feudal value system. Expressing concern over the existence of a parallel “judicial mechanism” in the name of tradition by certain so-called panchayats, the CPM said it was not uncommon for them to impose barbaric punishment on people, including young women and men who were sometimes murdered for having an affair or getting married by ignoring traditions. Some families had been ostracised and forced to leave their village. This malaise required to be dealt with at various levels, the memorandum said. Another area requiring priority attention was family violence against women and the girl child. Violence generally went unreported due to fear of husbands, fathers, brothers and other male members. The cases brought before the police were often treated with indifference or casually as a family matter, it said.
	Dalit leader moves NHRC Our Correspondent Rohtak, July 12 Raising strong objection to the unlawful public humiliation of a murder suspect by the police on July 9 the Haryana Guru Ravidas Samaj Mahasabha has complained to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and demanded strict action against the erring police staff. Jeet Ram Balmiki, allegedly murdered his wife, a son, a daughter and father-in-law at Para Mohalla here on July 6. He was arrested on July 8 and was produced in court the next day. The suspect was taken to court in a procession and was thrashed with slippers by the police at different chowks. Condemning the ulawful act Mr Ram Mehar, president of the Mahasabha, alleged that it was a clear act of violation of human rights. In a letter written to the chairman of the NHRC, he said such atrocities by the police reminded the people of the days of Emergency. He claimed that no law on the land permitted the police to beat and humiliate a suspect in public. He said Jeet Ram had been humiliated for he was a Dalit. Meanwhile, the Director-General of Police, Mr Mahendra Singh Malik has defended the police action. Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Malik expressed displeasure at the reports published in a section of press in this regard. He said certain newspapers unnecessarily highlighted the incident when the police dealt strictly with an accused of four murders. He evaded the question whether the police action was justified or not and said it was intended to teach a lesson to the other criminal-minded people. However, he admitted later that it was illegal.

	Ex-Dy Speaker’s kin get pre-arrest bail Yoginder Gupta Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 12 The Haryana State Vigilance Bureau’s drive of criminal proceedings against certain public men falling in the category of “public servants”, received setback when a Karnal court has granted anticipatory bail to eight close relatives of the former Deputy Speaker of the Haryana Assembly, Mr Ved Pal, who also was the Chairman of the State Agriculture Marketing Board under the HVP-BJP Government headed by Mr Bansi Lal. The bureau had registered a criminal case under Sections 420(Cheating) and 120-B(Conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and under Sections 13(1)(E) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act in January last against Mr Ved Pal and eight of his relatives, including his two sons, Mr Vijay Pal and Mr Dharamvir, for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. The case was registered at the instance of Inspector Devinder Singh of the bureau following an inquiry conducted by another Inspector, Balram. The inquiry report alleged that Mr Ved Pal had purchased immovable and movable properties in the names of his eight relatives, his brother, or nephews or sons. The relatives were made party in the case by virtue of their being alleged beneficiaries of the so-called ill-gotten gains made by Mr Ved Pal, who being a former Deputy Speaker fell in the category of “public servants”. Mr R.M. Sharma, counsel for the petitioners, contended before the Additional Sessions Judge, Karnal, Mr R.S. Baswana, that his clients had nothing to do with the alleged crime. He also alleged that the case was the result of political rivalry between Mr Ved Pal and Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, as they belonged to rival political parties. The counsel told the court that his clients already had explained the sources of their properties. Moreover, since his clients were not covered by the definition of a public servant, the provisions of Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act were not applicable to them. He also pointed out that even after the registration of the case the police had not found any incriminating evidence against any of the petitioners, a fact stated by the prosecution before the court when his clients had earlier filed an application for anticipatory bail. It is interesting, while accepting the plea of the petitioners for anticipatory bail, Additional Sessions Judge Baswana relied upon a judgement by Mr Justice R.L. Anand of the Punjab and Haryana High Court vide which anticipatory bail was granted to the present Chief Minister, Mr Chautala, in a similar case registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The judgement was delivered on July 30, 1997. The Judge observed that in the case, “Om Prakash Chautala versus of State of Haryana”, the main accused was granted anticipatory bail after considering the fact that the case depended upon documentary evidence which was public record and in possession of the State. It was further held that this type of evidence could not be snatched or tampered with or destroyed by the accused. In the end it was held that there was no tangible evidence available to establish that the accused had amassed wealth disproportionate to his means nor there was any likelihood that he could flee from justice. Observing that the above authority was squarely applicable to the facts of the present case, Mr Baswana said: “Besides all that the fact cannot be lost sight of that it is the duty of the court to uphold dignity of every man and vigilantly guard his right to liberty without jeopardising the State object of law and order. The benefit of anticipatory bail cannot be refused merely because the prosecution claims that the accused is wanted in police custody for the purpose of investigation. The genuineness of the alleged need in police custody has to be examined by the court irrespective of the fact that the concession of anticipatory bail is to be granted only in exceptional cases of undue hardship. “It is also worthwhile to mention here that a person cannot be stamped as an accused merely because a complaint has been filed against him. The genuineness of the allegations contained in the complaint has to be seen. This case has been under investigation since early 2000. During this long period of more than 15 months, the petitioners are not shown to have fled from the place of their abode or attempted to tamper with the evidence. It is also not the case of the prosecution that any of the petitioners had ever dissuaded any prosecution witness from deposing the truth before the investigating officer... The petitioners shall certainly be subjected to great hardship in case they are allowed to be harassed by the police, particularly when admittedly the main accused, Ved Pal, of whom the petitioners are real brother, nephews and sons, belongs to a political party which is rival to the ruling party.” Holding that it was a fit case where the petitioners deserved the concession of anticipatory bail, the Judge directed that the petitioners in the event of their arrest be released on bail on furnishing their bail bonds of Rs 10,000 with one surety of the like amount each. However, the petitioners were directed to join investigation as and when called by the investigating officer to do so. They were also told not to leave the territory of India without the prior permission of the court.
	Protest after undertrials beat up man, family Our Correspondent Yamunanagar, July 12 An irate mob blocked the Yamunanagar-Jagadhri road in front of Rampura police chowki today morning. According to the complainant, Bharat Bhushan, resident of Rampura Colony, here was going on his motor cycle in the morning to his lawyer when he was overpowered by miscreants at HUDA Colony. He was beaten up, but he managed to reach the Civil Hospital, here, around 7 a.m. On hearing the news his family members reached the hospital. Meanwhile, the miscreants rushed to the hospital in jeep and attacked Bharat Bhushan and his family members. Dr Meenu Kalara, was on duty in the casualty ward. They also damaged the property of the Civil Hospital. By the time police reached the hospital, the miscreants had fled away. The five persons who were beaten up have been admitted in the hospital. They are Trilok, Pawan Kumar, Dheeraj, Rahul and Bharat Bhushan. A few months back there was a clash between the same group in which a case under Section 307 of the IPC have been registered against Bharat Bhushan, Pawan Kumar and Trilok who were injured today. These persons were on bail and they were to go to court today in the same connection. The irate mob, including a large number of women, gathered in front of the police chowki and squatted on the road. They demanded arrest of the miscreants. The police officers assured them that the accused would be arrested shortly. On the assurance the mob lifted the jam. The Yamunanagar police has registered a case.
	Govt to get tough with miners Ravi S. Singh Tribune News Service Gurgaon, July 12 The Haryana Government will further tighten the noose around the tax evading miners in Gurgaon. The fly-by-night operators have been effecting loss to the state to the tune of several crores. A section of the miners has been indulging in gross irregularities, including evasion of royalty and sales tax. Also, there are reports of certain influential persons quarrying without the requisite lease. The administration has already constituted a special task force (STF) to deal with all kinds of incongruities in mining and quarrying business. The Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon, Mr Apoorva Kumar Singh confirmed the development to TNS. Incidentally, the district administration has already conducted a probe. Following a green signal from Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, six more inspectors from the Industries Department have been deputed to the Mining Department to back up the vigil against the alleged irregularities. Recently the administration intervened for the cancellation of lease of six persons (one in Sohan and five in Taoru blocks of this district) as the holders were allegedly indulging in corrupt practices. Mr Apoorva Kumar Singh said that due to the drive the revenue from the trade had shot up by about 40 per cent. Although the size of mining business in Gurgaon was much less than that in Faridabad district, but its 15 mining zones were scattered in the district. The miners do not register all the trucks, or the exact number of times they take out materials from the mines or the quarrying zones. As per the rule, royalty has to be paid to the government after each exit of the truck. Hundreds of cases, each day, are not registered with the authorities. It is obvious that sales tax is also gobbled up in the process. However, there are many who also feel that such irregularities could not have been carried out without the collusion of some officials.
	Mayor voted out of office Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service Faridabad, July12 The Mayor of Faridabad, Mr Devender Bhadana, was voted out of office today. He lost overwhelmingly in the no-confidence motion brought by several municipal corporators for which voting was held this morning. Mr Bhadana got the support of only four (including himself) corporators while 19 of the 23-member House voted in favour of the no-trust motion. The Commissioner, Gurgaon division, Mr L.S.M. Salins, had asked the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Mr Pushpraj Singh, to convene a special meeting of the body to discuss the proposed no-confidence motion. As many as 18 corporators out of 23, had submitted a memorandum in this connection to the Commissioner about a fortnight ago. Mr Shiv Charan Lal Sharma, Senior Deputy Mayor, will officiate as Mayor till the formal election of next Mayor. Mr Bhadana had assumed charge as Mayor on May 5, 2000, for a five-year term. He was the second incumbent in the Mayor’s office since it was created in 1994, but the first to have been removed in such a manner. The move against Mr Bhadana started about two months ago when his relations with the Senior Deputy Mayor and other members of the corporation reportedly turned sour on various issues. While the Mayor levelled various charges of corruption against Mr Sharma, the latter, even as he refuted these allegation, launched a campaign for the ouster of Mr Bhadana stating that the Mayor had failed to perform his duties. But according to political circles, the main reason behind moving a no-confidence motion was political rivalry between the Minister of Cooperation, Mr Kartar Singh Bhadana, and Mr Devender Bhadana. Both of them belong to same village but have been rivals for long. It is learnt that the tussle also attracted the attention of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala. While both camps are supporters of the CM, the latter asked the Mayor to prove his majority on the floor of the House, when he contacted the CM a few days ago. Nearly all corporators who voted against the Mayor stayed at an undisclosed place for the past over 15 days. The tussle has adversely affected development work in various wards in the recent past.
	HIGH COURT Judgment reserved in MLA’s case Chandigarh, July 12 A Division Bench of the High Court reserved judgment on appeals filed by Haryana MLA Nafe Singh and others against the orders of Jhajjar’s Additional District and Sessions Judge convicting and sentencing them to life imprisonment in a murder case. The orders were reserved by the Bench, comprising Mr Justice H.S. Bedi and Mr Justice A.S. Garg, after going through the evidence before the trial court, and after hearing detailed arguments. Nafe Singh and others were earlier booked by the Haryana Police under Sections 302, 307, 323, 325, 148 and 452 of the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act after Jairaj Singh had succumbed to his injuries in September 1993 following a quarrel between two parties over the removal of a ladder from a temple without permission. The accused, when confronted with the incriminating evidence against them, had denied the allegations before the Additional Sessions Judge. Claiming to be innocent, they had asked for a trial. Arguing before the Court, their counsel had stated that the accused were being implicated in the case. He had added that the prosecution witnesses were family members and belonged to the Congress party, while the accused were of the rival party. The Additional Sessions Judge, while sentencing the accused to life imprisonment, had observed: “Almost all the accused are young. One of them is an MLA. None of them is a previous convict and have been facing trial since 1993. In these facts and circumstances, I am inclined to take a lenient view against the accused”.
	Life sentence for killing wife Our Correspondent Panipat, July 12 The husband, the mother-in-law and the sister-in-law of Indrawati have been sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 each by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Raj Rahul Garg. According to details of the case, Indrawati of the Gandhi Colony here was married to Jasmer of Palri village under Israna police station about 8 years ago. On October 29, 1994 Indrawati died under mysterious circumstances. Indrawati’s mother, Phoolwati suspected that her daughter had been murdered. Phoolwati approached the then Deputy Commissioner and SP and pleaded for the registration of a murder case against the in-laws of her daughter. A case under Sections 302 and 120 B of the IPC was registered on May 22, 1995, against Indrawati’s husband, mother-in-law Sona Devi and sister-in-law Indra Devi. Indrawati’s viscera report confirmed that her death was due to poisoning. After hearing arguments of the case, the judge awarded the sentence.
	Steps to curb female foeticide Our Correspondent Panipat, July 12 A 10-member action committee has been formed under the presidentship of the deputy commissioner yesterday to strictly implement the Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques (PNDT) Act, 1994. The other members of the committee are civil surgeon, district public relations officer, district attorney, district malaria officer, Mahila Councillor Neelam Narang and local doctors — Dr K.L. Bhatia, Dr A.P. Ghulia and two others. At its first meeting on Wednesday, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr M.R. Anand, directed that all ultrasound clinics should be registered with the civil surgeon office at the earliest. Action should be initiated against those who did not comply with the direction. He also directed the civil surgeon to take action against the clinics performing female foeticide. He also stressed the need to launch an awareness campaign about the Act. He warned doctors against performing sex determination tests (SDT).
	INLD to observe ‘pragati divas’ Our Correspondent Bhiwani, July 12 The INLD has decided to commemorate its second anniversary in Bhiwani as “pragati divas”. The celebrations will deliver a message among the people of Haryana that Mr Chautala still has a grip on the state affairs along with the southern districts. One more reason behind the celebrations being held in the form of rally is to get positive publicity for Mr Ajay Singh Chautala. The elder son of Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Mr Ajay Singh, is an MP. Since he will be in-charge of the celebrations, the credit of the success will go to him. Obviously, Mr Chautala will leave no stone unturned to make the rally a success. He has directed the party stalwarts to maintain discipline in the rally. The rally will be held at Kirorimal Park. Special arrangements are being made to invite mediapersons and attempts are afoot to telecast the anniversary programme on TV. But the INLD, this time, is not bothered about the Congress or the HVP. Its main prospect to hold the rally is to publicise that Mr Chautala can run a government for a long time. A list of achievements is being prepared to eulogise the period of two years of the government.

Mahant who provides water
Nawal Kishore Rastogi

Rewari
By regularly providing drinking water free of cost to thousands of persons, including bus passengers, Swami Prem Das, Mahant of Baba Ram Swarup’s Dadu Dwara (Dadu temple) in Siha village, 20 km from here, has earned the sobriquet of “water providing Mahant” among villagers.

The historic village of Siha, which has a population of more than 5,500, lies at the foot of a branch of the ancient Aravali hills. More than 60 per cent of its population lives in the village and the rest in dwellings built in the fields on its outskirts. The latter are a happy lot because they have access to tubewells to meet their drinking water requirements. However, the residents of the village had been suffering from an acute shortage of water for a long time as the government supply was inadequate. At their request Mahant Prem Das started the supply of water to homes in the village from Dadu Dwara’s tubewell in the nineties. But soon the overhead tank proved too small to meet the increasing demand for water connections.

Seth Jagdish Prasad Rateria, a devotee of Dadu Dwara, at the behest of the Mahant, got a huge overhead tank built at a cost of several lakhs of rupees in the Dadu Dwara complex in June , 1998. Since then there has been a regular supply of water in the morning and evening to the residents free of cost. Even when the supply of power to the village gets disrupted , the Mahant ensures that the water supply continues with the help of a generator at Dadu Dwara. However, those who benefit voluntarily make regular donations to the Mahant to enable him to meet the heavy expenses on the supply of water.

Siha also has a government high school as well as a government primary school. Earlier, the students and staff members felt quite miserable on account of the poor arrangements for drinking water. They approached the Mahant, who started the supply of water through a pipe laid from the Dadu Dwara complex to the school. Last year an overhead tank was also got built, with the blessings of the Mahant, on the school premises by Seth Jagdish Rateria, leading to the regular supply of water to both institutions.

The bus stand of Siha, which lies on the Rewari-Mahendragarh road, serves as a central place for Siha, Maseet, Kahari, Didoli, Lohana and other villages. Thus a large number of passengers can be seen there every day. To provide drinking water to them, the Mahant set up a water hut at the bus stand. The entire expenses were borne by Dadu Dwara.

The 70-year-old Mahant, who was recently elected president of the All-India Dadu Mahasabha, is now engaged in the construction of Shri Bhagwan Ram Swarup Dadu Vani Mandir in the Dadu Dwara complex to propagate the teachings of the great saint Dadu Dayalji Maharaj, who had also impressed Mughal Emperor Akbar with his divine powers.

Governor unveils martyr’s statue
Our Correspondent

Rewari, July 12
The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Mr Suraj Bhan, unveiled the statue of Naib Subedar Hanuman Singh, a post-Kargil war martyr, at Gothra Tappa Dahina village, 30 km from here, yesterday. He also inaugurated two roads named after Hanuman Singh and havildar Vijay Singh, both post-Kargil war martyrs.

The Governor came to the village on an invitation by Mr Ravi Chauhan, a “history sheater” of the village.

The Governor, while paying tributes, said as many as 542 jawans laid down their lives in the Kargil war while over 1000 jawans had sacrificed their lives during the ongoing post-Kargil war. He said it was essential that a booklet containing memories of all 140 war heroes from Haryana be prepared and sent to schools to make the students to aware of their heroes.

The Governor also honoured Sheobai Devi, mother and Krishna Devi, wife of Hanuman Singh and Ram Singh, father of Vijay Singh by presenting shawls to them.

	Swami alleges police harassment Our Correspondent Ambala, July 12 Swami Satya Atmanand, the chief of Param Satya Dham, Ambala City, has alleged that the police has registered a false case against him and a few of his disciples to harass them. He said the police had also forced them to stop the kirtan in the ashram. He added that to protest against the action of the police, he had decided to stop the aarti of the idols in the ashram. The swami alleged that the police had been harassing him on the direction of a leader of the ruling party. He said on July 7, some outsiders entered his ashram and manhandled his disciples. The police, instead of taking action against the assailants, arrested his disciples, he added. The swami alleged that the next evening, the police came again. He was picked up and taken to the police station Baldev Nagar where he was kept throughout the night. Next day he was released after being granted bail from the court. He said this matter would be brought in the notice of Chief Minister and the Governor. He added that he had contacted senior saints like Swami Parmanand and Sadhvi Ritambhra in this regard. If he was not provided justice, an agitation of sadhus would be started here against the police and the leaders who were harassing him.
	Five granted bail in wheat scam case Our Correspondent Ambala, July 12 The Special Judge for CBI cases, Mr B.B. Prsoon, granted bail to five of the accused in the wheat scam case here today. Those who have been granted bail include Om Narian, Dalbir Chawla, Rishi Raj, Rajesh Kumar and Dayanand. Earlier the court had put a stay on their arrest. The Judge ordered them to furnish a personal bond of Rs 20,000 and surety of equal amount each while granting them bail. A senior IAS officer of Haryana and a former senior manger of FCI, Haryana, and other two had also been listed in this case. A case against eight persons, including R.K. Ranga, was registered at Panchkula in 1997. Ranga has been granted bail in this case by the High Court. Later the case was handed over to CBI, which filed the challan in this court a few months back. The CBI, in the challan, accused Ranga and others of selling wheat meant for public distribution system to a few private mill owners and accepting commission from them. Ranga was also presented in the court during the proceedings of the case. He is in Ambala Central Jail in judicial custody. The court had denied him bail in another case related to a wheat scam, registered against him at Rohtak.
	2 roadways employees hurt in clash Our Correspondent Yamunanagar, July 12 Two Haryana Roadways employees were injured today by maxicab drivers when the latter were stopped for carrying illegal passengers on the luggage carrier. Mr Narinder Singh, General Manager, Haryana Roadways, Yamunanagar depot, and Mr Dalip Singh, District Transport Officer, Yamunanagar, were carrying a check this morning at Sadhura, about 30 km from here. Maxicab was stopped by the checking party. The driver of the maxicab hit the car of the General Manager. After the incident, the General Manager and the DTO squad caught hold of the maxicab driver. Meanwhile, other drivers of maxicabs whose vehicles were challaned reached the site to help their colleague. The maxicab drivers misbehaved with the officials and a few of them started throwing stones at them. A car of the GM and a minibus of Haryana Roadways were damaged. It is reported that a maxicab driver had mercilessly beaten a driver, Som Parkash, and Sub-Inspector Kashmiri Lal of the Yamunanagar depot. They were shifted to the Civil Hospital at Jagadhri. Mr Narinder Singh when contacted said he immediately informed the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police, Yamunanagar, about the incident. The Sadhura police has registered a case against at least 12 persons.
	Gramin Mahila Sangh executive Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 12 Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand, who also is the ex-officio president of the Bharatiya Gramin Mahila Sangh (BGMS), Haryana branch, today nominated certain women from the rural areas members of the newly constituted Haryana State Rural Women Executive Committee of the BGMS branch for three years to accelerate development and decide the programmes of the voluntary organisation. The decision to constitute this committee was taken at a meeting of the governing body of the BGMS branch held at Haryana Raj Bhawan here under the chairmanship of the Governor. Mrs Sarita Devi was nominated treasurer of the governing body. The Governor said more women would be nominated to the executive committee. It was also decided that various organised bodies of women in the rural areas or those working for this section in Haryana would be affiliated as constituent units of the BGMS.
	Refinery celebrates anniversary Our Correspondent Panipat, July 12 The second anniversary of Panipat Refinery was celebrated on its premises here today. Blood donation camps were also organised in association with the Red Cross Society in which 70 persons donated blood. Mr Jaspal Singh, Executive Director inaugurated sewing centres at nearby Baholi and Dallana villages on the occasion. He also gave away sewing machines to women at these centres.