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| Thursday, August 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Diarrhoea
grips Hisar villages Sack
Chautala govt: Opposition CM
promises complete procurement SHO suspended for Dalit youth’s death 3 of
family hurt in attack |
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POSTING/TRANSFERS Gang of train robbers
busted ‘DSP
responsible’ for case against SSP Xen
clarifies on power failure Electrocution
case: Xen suspended Robbery
at car showroom Police-public sammelan Golden Forest MD sent to police custody Medical store owner robbed Man
hacks wife to death Rs 1.40 lakh robbed at
gunpoint
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Diarrhoea grips Hisar
villages Hisar, August 1 It all started with several residents of Mingnikhera showing symptoms of diarrhoea and severe vomiting about 10 days ago. More than 30 residents of the village were affected. Although initially there were reports that cholera had spread in the village, the authorities denied these reports vehemently. Later, dozens of residents of Kinala were also affected by a similar disease which manifested itself in the form of vomiting and loose motions followed by a high fever with severe body aches. Most of those affected had to be hospitalised for severe dehydration and high fever. Kanwari village was affected yesterday with about 20 residents showing the familiar symptoms. Ram Dutt Shastri (85) reportedly died of severe diarrhoea. However, officials continue to describe his death as natural. Several children have also been affected in the village. The village has just a health worker by way of medical facilities. Most of those affected have therefore
been admitted to private hospitals at Hansi and here. A visit to these villages revealed that the residents were forced to live in extremely unhygienic conditions which have been aggravated by recent rains. Wet and rotting garbage and choked open drains had become breeding ground for mosquitoes. In Kanwari despite complaints to the authorities no steps have been taken to remove the garbage or spray the drains. The villagers wanted their village fumigated but so far officials have not responded. The Civil Surgeon, Dr R.K. Bansal, was hurriedly transferred late of Monday night amidst reports of failure to control the spread of disease. He has been replaced by the Zonal Medical Officer, Dr R.K. Batta. The new civil surgeon was not available for comments as he was stated to be touring the villages. What has made the villagers unhappy is the reluctance of the authorities to accept the outbreak of disease. As a result, official help is limited to cover up exercises rather than treatment and preventive steps. The villagers also allege that drinking water being supplied to them was contaminated. They said the chlorination process was proving ineffective. In Hisar too there have been complaints of supply of contaminated water. Though diarrhoea has not been reported on a large scale here, the incidence of viral fever is growing. |
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Sack Chautala govt:
Opposition Chandigarh, August 1 The memorandum was submitted by a delegation which was led by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bhajan
Lal. The memorandum accused the Chautala government of indulging in political vendetta by implicating its political adversaries in false cases as well as of corruption. False cases had been registered against nearly 30 former Ministers. It said that while the Central Government was worried about the misuse of official machinery for political purposes in Tamil
Nadu, amazingly it was unaware of similar happenings in Haryana. False cases were allegedly registered against those politicians who dared to expose the alleged corrupt deals of the Chief Minister and his sons. Later addressing a press conference Mr Bhajan Lal and other leaders alleged that the Chautala government recently made “vulgar” misuse of official machinery to organise a rally at Bhiwani to mark the completion of its two years. The memorandum alleged that antisocial elements were being released from jails on parole. The leaders said it was their apprehension that these antisocial elements could liquidate them any time. Hence, they said, they should be provided with Central security. The memorandum listed several alleged instances of corruption by the Chief Minister and his family. It demanded that a case registered at the Dabwali police station against Mr Chautala at the instance of his brother relating to disproportionate assets should be investigated by the CBI. The case was closed on the report of the investigating officer after Mr Chautala became the Chief Minister. It alleged that the coffers of a “Janseva Trust”, floated by Mr
Chautala, were empty before 1999. But after Mr Chautala became the Chief Minister, the trust was flush with funds. It had raised a commercial building in violation of the norms of the
HSIDC. The Opposition alleged irregularities in the release of acquired land in several districts, in the purchase of electric meters, in issuing a licence to a private coloniser to develop a cyber city and in giving a contract to a private firm for imparting computer education. It also alleged irregularities in the procurement of wheat and rice. A trust in the name of Mr Devi Lal had now been set up and the panchayats were allegedly pressurised to give land to it. |
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CM promises complete
procurement Karnal, August 1 Mr Chautala was speaking at a function about 30 km away from Karnal where he paid tributes to Shaheed Udham Singh on his 61st martyrdom anniversary on the premises of Shaheed Udham Singh National College. While lauding the courage of Shaheed Udham Singh, Mr Chautala said he was a symbol of indomitable courage, valour and patriotism. Shaheed Udham Singh had taken a solemn pledge to take revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh carnage. Mr Chautala said our soldiers had shown exemplary courage while defending the unity and integrity of the country during the Kargil war. He said most of the soldiers who laid down their lives while fighting the enemies were from Haryana. He disclosed that keeping in view the hardships of jawans the Haryana Government had provided financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the dependants of martyrs to boost their morale. While talking about the contribution of farmers in making the country self-sufficient in food production, the Chief Minister said India had a buffer stock of over 602 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrain. He revealed that over 27,000 candidates had qualified the test for police recruitments but only 1,050 vacancies were available. He made it clear that the recruitment would be made only on the basis of merit. Mr Chautala said efforts were being made to encourage sports in the state by giving various incentives to sportpersons. He said the Haryana Government was committed to creating sports infrastructure in the rural areas as well. He made a fervent appeal to the people to pay their power bills and help the government detect power theft so that line losses could be reduced. While referring to the demands of the college the Chief Minister said he would get the case examined for taking over of Shaheed Udham Singh College by the government. He also announced the setting up of a chair after Udham Singh in Kurukshetra University and to name Pawan Park, Panchkula, in the name of Shaheed Udham Singh. The Chief Minister disclosed he would visit European countries to woo industrialists to set their own ventures in the state so that ample opportunity of employment could be generated in the state. |
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SHO suspended for Dalit youth’s death Rewari, August 1 It is learnt that following complaints about a feud which took place between members of two Dalit families - one headed by Mr
Hari Ram and the other by his younger brother Mr Keshav Ram — on July 23 at Gokalgarh village near here, the police summoned them at the police station. When Mr Keshav Ram, his wife Ms Kamla Devi, elder son Mr Amar Nath and a younger son Mr Lakhan lal went to the police station yesterday, Mr
Amar Nath was singled out and allegedly beaten mercilessly following which he collapsed. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was declared dead after some time by the doctors. His death created a stir following which members of his family and other residents gathered there and demanded immediate arrest of the police official responsible for it. Apprehending trouble, heavy police force was deployed at the hospital. Senior police and civil officials tried hard to pacify the agitated members of the family, but they remained adamant and the parleys continued throughout the night. Today the irate villagers, including a large number of women, blocked the Rewari-Rohtak road near Gokalgarh village protesting against the Dalit youth’s death caused by “brutal” beating by the police. They also raised slogans against the police. Meanwhile, Capt Ajay Singh
Yadav, Deputy Leader of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party, and Mr Ved Prakash Vidrohi, President of the Haryana unit of the Janata Dal (U), today visited the hospital where they led a peaceful demonstration against police barbarity. They expressed dissatisfaction at the “poor and inefficient” functioning of Mr Manjit Singh Ahlawat, SP. Mr Vidrohi also demanded immediate transfer of the SP. Both leaders demanded registration of a case of murder, immediate arrest of the guilty police official, compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the bereaved family and a government job for one member of the family. The deceased is survived by his young wife Poonam and an infant son. Later the body was taken to Gokalgarh where it was cremated. The funeral was attended largely. |
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3 of family hurt in
attack Panipat, August 1 The injured have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital. According to hospital authorities, the injured are out of danger. A police case has been registered at the Madloda police station, but no arrests have been made so far. According to available information, the families of Mr Mahender Singh and Mr Kabul Singh had quarreled over grazing of cattle in the fields of Mr Mahender Singh on Sunday. However, families were pacified by a timely intervention of the villagers. On Monday night, Mr Kabul Singh, along with 12 armed accomplices, went to the tubewell of Mr Mahender Singh where the latter’s sons, Mr Gurdev Singh and Mr Swarn Singh, were irrigating their fields. One of their relatives, Mr Sahib Singh, was also present there. On seeing the armed persons of a rival group, all three started running, but were shot at and injured seriously. The incident created panic among the villagers. However, after the firing stopped, they reached the spot and brought the injured to the Civil Hospital. On receiving information about the firing incident, the Madloda police immediately reached the village and went to the hospital to record the statements of the injured. |
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POSTING/TRANSFERS Chandigarh, August 1 Mr Sant Kumar, Joint Secretary, Industries Department, has been posted as Director and Joint Secretary, Food and Supplies, against a vacant post. Mr Deepak Tayal, Assistant Commissioner (UT), Mussoorie, has been posted as Subdivisional Officer (Civil), Jhajjar, vice Mr Sandeep Singh, who goes as Deputy Director, Urban Development, against a vacant post. Mr Supravin Kumar, Assistant Commissioner (UT), Mussoorie, has been posted as Subdivisional Officer (Loharu) replacing Mr R.K. Singh, who becomes District Transport Officer, Kaithal, relieving Mr Pradeep Kasni. |
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Gang of train robbers
busted Ambala, August 1 Four attempts were made by the gang.
On April 10, packages of computer parts were dropped from the Pooja Express train near Ambala Cantonment railway station, but the gang failed to recover the goods. On June 16, one package was dropped from the passenger train near Saraibanjara railway station and again the gang failed to recover the goods. On June 23, one package was dropped near Rajpura railway station and this time the gang succeeded in taking away the goods. The fourth attempt was made on the Chattisgarh Express train on June 28 when two packages were dropped between Ambala city and Rajpura railway stations. A special team was constituted by the Divisional Security Commissioner, RPF, Ambala Division, Mr Nirmal Singh, which was headed by ASI Sukhdev Raj. The team learnt that three criminals were arrested by the CIA, Ludhiana. The gang members were questioned by the RPF staff of Ambala. After questioning the gang members, raids were conducted by a team led by Inspector RPF D.J. Singh at Kansal village. The gang leader, Raju was arrested during the raid. The other gang members, who have been arrested, include Arjun Thakur, Sanjay Sood, Banwari Lal, Jasmeet Singh and Kamal Yadav. The shop of the receiver of the stolen goods in Malout Mandi was raided and stolen railway property was recovered from there. Further questioning of the gang members has revealed that they were active in the passenger trains on the Saharanpur-Ludhiana, Chandigarh-Ambala and Delhi-Ambala sections. The modus operandi of the gang was to watch the loading of packages at Delhi, Saharanpur and Ambala, sit in the general compartment adjoining the luggage van and commit theft of packages after breaking the seal. They would open the door of the luggage van and throw the goods out near the road. |
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‘DSP responsible’ for case against
SSP Rohtak, August 1 Bimla (24), a resident of Dubaldhan Majra village in Jhajjar district, alleged yesterday that the SSP, Rohtak, had tried to molest her at his official residence on July 20. Having been rejected in the physical efficiency test for police recruitment held in June, she had gone to meet the district police chief with a request for re-testing her. Sources said the government had gathered information about the background of the complainant through its intelligence agencies so as to decide the future course of action. It is learnt that ‘a police official had encouraged’ the complainant to blow up the issue. The sources said a DSP had played a key role in taking the matter to the court as he was not on good terms with the SSP. The SSP reportedly summoned the DSP and scolded him for ‘instigating’ the complainant. The latter reportedly denied the charge and both exchanged heated arguments. The DSP also went to Chandigarh to clarify his situation to the DGP, Mr Mahender Singh Malik. The SSP, when contacted, admitted that the DSP had gone to Hardwar on two days’ leave. The sources said a section of employees, including two DSPs, had been opposing the SSP since he took charge here. The SSP had once withdrawn the facility of a government gypsy provided to one of the two DSPs and removed him from some important cases. Meanwhile, Mr Shadilal Batra, Congress MLA, has demanded immediate transfer of the SSP and an inquiry into the incident. |
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Xen clarifies on power failure Sonepat, August 1 In a press statement, he said that the power supply affected by the collapse of the 132/33 KV 25 MVA transformer at 132-KV grid power sub-station, Fazilpur, to Kharkhauda and Bhatgaon, had since been restored on a staggering basis by making an alternative arrangement through the 132-KV grid power sub-station at Fazilpur. |
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Electrocution
case: Xen
suspended Kurukshetra, August 1 Confirming this on telephone today, a UHBVN senior officer said on the condition of anonymity that the Shahabad Markanda Executive Engineer, Mr S.S. Panwar, had been given additional charge of the Pehowa area. A subdivisional Officer, a Junior Engineer and two other employees of the Electricity Department had already been suspended. The bus driver, Anil Kumar, had been arrested under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the Indian Penal Code. |
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Robbery
at car showroom Faridabad, August 1 The robbers entered the Baltic Hyundai showroom at Sector-27 on the Delhi-Mathura road at about 2 a.m. and beat up the security guards. One of the guards was stabbed. The culprits took away four car stereos, five telephone instruments and three mobile phones from the showroom. A case has been registered. |
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Police-public sammelan Ambala, August 1 A number of people had turned up at the sammelan which was presided over by the Superintendent of Police, Mr Sandeep Khirwar. Among others, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr D.D. Gautam, the ADC, Mr Mahinder Kumar, the DSP, Mr Uday Shankar, and Mr Deep Ram, Principal, GMN College, Mr I.D. Shukla, Mr Rameshwar Prasad, Pandit Shankar Dass, Mr Om Prakash Malik, former police officer, Mr Kirpal Singh, were present at the sammelan. Mr Khirwar said that the police force had to function within set parameters and through efforts like the police-public sammelan, improvements can be brought about. “Social auditing enables smoothening of the police-people relationship”, he said. He said that public interface was important and this sammelan was a step towards making the people and the police closely related. He opined that the police would get valuable feedback. The police had a certain image because of historic reasons, he said. “Programmes like these enable introspection. Regarding a point raised about public contact programmes in different areas, we are encouraging such contact programmes. Although it is difficult to satisfy everyone, the police force must act according to what is legally and morally correct”, he said. Mr Uday Shankar said that in the past seven months, the district police had succeeded in solving several cases. The District Congress President, Mr Balwant Gupta, criticised the sammelan as it had been turned into a “government function”. “No invitation was extended to me, while INLD and BJP leaders were invited. This clearly shows that the sammelan was an eyewash”, he said. |
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Golden Forest MD sent to police custody Ambala, August 1 The Haryana State Vigilance Bureau had registered a case under Sections 406, 420, 468, 471 and 120-B, IPC, against the managing directors of Golden Forest and
certain other persons. During investigation of the case, Pamela Syal and Neena Syal, both residents of Panchkula, and Lembar Singh of Mani Majra had been arrested. |
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Medical store owner robbed Ambala, August 1 The incident took place at about 5.15 p.m. at Harish Medical Store. Two youths arrived on a scooter at the store. They brandished a weapon and demanded money from the store owner. The duo then escaped on the scooter with some
money. |
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Man hacks wife to death Jhajjar, August 1 According to information, Ramphal attacked his wife Pataso Devi (40) with an axe while she was sleeping at night. Villagers found her body lying in a pool of blood in the morning. Ramphal is absconding. |
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Rs 1.40 lakh robbed at
gunpoint Ambala, August 1 The Headmaster of Government High School, Mullana, Mr Bhagwat Swaroop, along with the school clerk, Mr Laxman Dass, had gone to a bank in Barara to collect the pay of the school staff. When they were returning to the school on a scooter, they were accosted by two motorcycle-borne youths near Holi village. A police official said that after brandishing a pistol, the duo snatched the bag containing money from the men. They then fled from the site. |
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Platoon Commander held for accepting bribe Ambala, August 1 The Platoon Commander allegedly demanded Rs 500 for reinstating a Home Guard jawan. The jawan approached the Vigilance Bureau. The sleuths nabbed the Platoon Commander when he accepted the bribe. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered. |
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Township
renamed Chandigarh, August 1 A notification to this effect has been issued by the Department of Industries. |
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1 killed in accident Faridabad, August 1 |
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