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Saturday,
August 25, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Bhadana case: strange political bedfellows Jail in charge
surrenders SYL : Cong asks PM to
intervene CM lays stone of board building Major Ahuja cremated with full honours |
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IN FOCUS HC rescues youth Girls outshine boys in open school exams Move to regularise ‘kundi’ connections Ranking TT
meet opens Car thieves meet tragic end Youth shot dead
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Bhadana case: strange political bedfellows Chandigarh, August 24 While the concern of the ruling INLD for Mr Bhadana is understandable and justified because not only is he a party MLA but also a Minister in the Chautala Cabinet, what has come as a surprise is the fact that even certain Congressmen espouse his cause. And these Congressmen are other than Mr Bhadana’s younger brother, Avtar, who is the Congress MP from Meerut. A Faridabad-based journalist, Mr Subhash Sharma, had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court in October last alleging that Mr Kartar Bhadana and one of his relatives, Mr Ram Kishan, were carrying out illegal mining operations in the Ishaq Mandi area of Faridabad district. When Mr Sharma’s writ petition came up for hearing on October 19, 2000, a Division Bench headed by Mr Justice Jawahar Lal Gupta appointed an advocate of the high court, Mr R.S. Bains, the Local Commissioner to ascertain the factual position. Mr Bains found the allegations to be true. On April 20 last, the high court asked the CBI to inquire into the illegal mining operations in the entire Faridabad district. The Bench said it had asked the country’s premier investigating agency to inquire into the allegations though ordinarily it was the prerogative of the state government to investigate all offences committed within its jurisdiction. However, in this case the allegations had been levelled against a person who held the Cabinet Minister’s post in the government, which was given two opportunities to investigate the charges levelled by the petitioner and the government missed both. Hence, the inquiry by the CBI. The court had asked the CBI to inquire into the entire mining operations in Faridabad district after Mr P.S. Patwalia, counsel for Mr Bhadana, pleaded with the court that the inquiry should not be directed against his client and Mr Ram Kishan alone but should be broadbased to include anyone indulging in illegal mining. In a way, thus, the court had issued “consent orders”. The court had desired that the CBI should complete the inquiry preferably within six months. After the expiry of almost four months, the Haryana Government has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the high court orders. Its efforts to save its Minister, among others, from embarrassment are understandable. Fearing that Mr Sharma may become a party in the Supreme Court also, Mr Bhadana’s friends in the Congress swung into action. According to sources close to Mr Sharma, a former Haryana Congress President, Mr Dharam Pal Malik, has put pressure on him to patch up with Mr Bhadana. Mr Malik, who is a close associate of a former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, is camping these days in Faridabad to mobilise support for a public meeting to be addressed there by his mentor on September 9 and is staying in the same hotel which houses the office of the newspaper for which Mr Sharma works. The sources say on August 21 Mr Malik called Mr Sharma to his suite where the president of the Faridabad District Congress Committee, Mr B.R. Ojha, and another party activist, Mr Amarjit Singh, a close associate of the former MLA of Kalka, the late Prush Bhan, were also present. Mr Malik asked Mr Sharma to patch up with Mr Bhadana because “many of his relatives are in the Congress and are also close to me”. The sources say Mr Sharma politely declined Mr Malik's request. No wonder, politics makes strange bedfellows. |
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Jail in charge
surrenders Bhiwani, August 24 It may be recalled that Gupta was absconding in a case under a Section of the Indian Penal Code vide an FIR No. 208 of May 30, 2001. Later, this week the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the state government to arrest him by August 24. The dreadful prisoner Zile Singh who was imprisoned for nearly 25 years in various cases by the court was released before the 16 years of the stipulated period. On an anonymous complaint, the then Deputy Commissioner of the town ordered an inquiry into the matter. The SDM who conducted the inquiry submitted his report on May 20 wherein six persons, including Dhani Ram of Rohtak, who was stated to be an expert in preparing fake certificates, were held responsible for the release of the criminal. Five jail employees including the Jail Superintendent, the Deputy Jail Superintendent, clerk and sweeper were later arrested. In the meantime, Jail Superintendent R.K. Gupta placed writ before a court to prevent his arrest, but the court rejected it. Zile Singh was sentenced to five years of imprisonment by a court in a case of dacoity committed in Delhi and was kept in the Bhiwani jail. He was convicted for 25 years of imprisonment in different cases. Allegedly in connivance with the jail officials and Dhani Ram, he succeeded in releasing himself on the basis of fake release orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Zile Singh was later arrested by the police from Bhiwani in May this year. |
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SYL : Cong asks PM to
intervene Chandigarh, August 24 Talking to newsmen here the president of the Haryana Congress, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said Mr Vajpayee should personally intervene to facilitate a negotiated settlement of the river waters dispute between the two states on the pattern of the solution found to the Cauvery water dispute. Accusing the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, of deliberately maintaining a studied silence on the SYL issue, Mr Hooda demanded that an all-party meeting should be convened to evolve a common strategy on the river waters issue. He alleged that Mr Chautala was maintaining silence on the issue to help the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, with whom Mr Chautala had very good personal relations, in the coming Assembly elections. Mr Hooda alleged that the law and order situation seemed to have gone beyond the control of the INLD government. It was never so bad as it was now, he said. He regretted that while Punjab could obtain a package of Rs 100 crore from the Centre for its paddy growers, Haryana had failed to get a package of Rs 38 crore for its farmers. Mr Hooda said instead of playing politics in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Chautala should concentrate on his own state. |
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CM lays stone of board building Faridabad, August 24 While there were more than five lakh tubewells in the state, underground water resources had either depleted or the water level had gone down in many areas, in the state. |
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Major Ahuja cremated with full honours Ambala, August 24 Major Ahuja’s body was brought to his residence in Urban Estate, Ambala City, at 3 p.m. by Army personnel. A large number of people had turned up at his residence. Members of his family broke into tears when the body reached there. Senior Army officers, including Commander PH & HP (I) Sub Area, Brig N.D. Prasad, were present on the occasion. The body was taken to a nearby temple from where it was carried to the crematorium. The slogans of “Major Amit Ahuja amar rahein” rent the air when the body was put in an Army truck. People walked along the vehicle carrying the body. An Army officer said Major Ahuja and two Army personnel were struck during heavy shelling by Pakistan in the Gurez sector. At the crematorium, which was packed with people, Army as well as police personnel did “ulta shastra” and “shok shastra” as a mark of respect to the martyr. A number of wreaths were laid which included wreaths on behalf of the Army Commander, Western Command and Colonel of the Dogra Regiment, Lieut-Gen Surjit Singh, the Corps Commander, Lieut-Gen Kapil Vij, the Sub Area Commander and commanding officers of different units stationed at Ambala Cantonment. Among others, Inspector-General of Police, Ambala Range, Mr H.S. Ahlawat, the Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, Mr D.D. Gautam, the Superintendent of Police, Mr Sandeep Khirwar, the Zila Sainik Board secretary, Capt V.S. Narwal (retd) and the vice-president of the board, Lieut-Col Bali (retd) were also present on the occasion. A sum of Rs 10,000 will be immediately given to the family by the Red Cross Society. A close relative of the Ahuja family said that Major Ahuja was born in February 1975 and had done his schooling from Ambala before joining the Army. He studied at St Paul School, Ambala City, and then at the Army School, Ambala Cantonment. He did graduation from DAV College, Ambala City. Later he cleared the Combined Defence Services examination and joined the Indian Military Academy. He started his career with Dogra regiment. Meanwhile the District Congress president, Mr Balwant Gupta, has strongly criticised the district administration for not removing the flags which had been put up for a function held at Panchayat Bhavan since the body was carried from in front of the bhavan. “The district administration could have acted well in advance and removed the flags, but they did not do so. It is a serious lapse on their part,” Mr Gupta said. A district administration official, however, stated that a two-minute silence was observed at the function and no cultural programmes would be performed for the time being as a mark of respect to the martyr. |
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IN FOCUS Kalka Since this park is located in the centre of the Railway Colony, its condition cannot be unknown to the Railway authorities, but for some reason best known to them, they are not paying any attention to it. Now women and children have started avoiding this park and their place has been taken by gamblers and tipplers, who find it a place suitable for their activities. They start gathering here in the evening for their sessions of gambling and drinking which go on till late in the night. This disturbs the peace of the colony, allege the residents. They have represented to the Railway authorities that they should pay attention to the park and make it once again a place fit for women and children of the Railway Colony. Roads in the colony are also in bad condition. Deep potholes make it hard even to walk along them. Even this has been brought to the notice of the authorities a number of times, but with no effect. |
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HC rescues youth Rohtak, August 24 The youth, identified as Rajbir, a resident of Beri village in neighbouring Jhajjar district, was subsequently released. According to police sources, the CIA staff of the district police had taken Rajbir in its custody in a case of alleged threats for ransom received by local businessman Avtar Singh ‘Dolly’ a few days ago. He was kept in police lock up without recording his arrest, the sources added. The court had directed the warrant officer to raid the police station following a writ petition filed by Rajbir’s family. District Police Chief A.S. Ahlawat, when contacted on telephone, confirmed the incident but refused to comment. UNI |
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Girls outshine boys in open school exams Bhiwani, August 24 |
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Move to regularise ‘kundi’ connections Fatehabad, August 24 A spokesman for the DHBVN told mediapersons here today that teams of nigam officials would put up camps in these villages from September 1. The spokesman said the nigam had selected Balanwali, Nanheri, Meghawali, Dhani Majra, Hinjrwan Kalan, Khasa Pathana, Hinjrawan Khurd, Gillan Khera, Shakkarpura, Ghotru, Daryapur, Dhani Dulet, Kirdan, Bisla and Singhala villages for regularising “kundi” connections. The teams, the spokesman said, would issue regular power connections to these consumers on the spot and the consumers would not be put to any inconvenience. |
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Ranking TT
meet opens Ambala, August 24 About 235 table tennis players from 14 districts in age groups of under-10 to senior group would participate in the four-day tournament. A two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect for Maj Amit Ahuja, who was killed in shelling in the valley. Mr Goyal said a new sports policy had been prepared so that sportspersons from Haryana could excel at national and international tournaments. He said talented children would be given training from a young age at sports nurseries. |
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Car thieves meet tragic end Bhiwani, August 24 The car reportedly smashed into the truck and villagers had to use wires to retrieve their bodies from the car. A case has been registered. |
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Youth shot dead Rewari, August 24 It is alleged that the assailants, numbering five, had come from Hisar in a taxi. The taxi driver on hearing the gunshots informed the police. But by the time the police arrived, the assailants had reportedly escaped. The murder of Ashok Kumar is stated to be a
sequel of another murder of Vijay which was committed here about three years ago and for which Radhe Shyam and Balbir Singh, brothers of Ashok Kumar, had been facing trial in the sessions court here. |
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Ravi Parkash appointed Dean Rohtak, August 24 |
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