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| Friday,
December 6, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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BORDER CLASHES Panipat, December 5 In fact, the daylight kidnapping yesterday, one day after three farmers were injured in the firing by Ramra Par farmers, has put a question mark over the efficacy of the police to provide security to the hapless farmers on the Haryana side of the border. Apparently in retaliation to the arrest of two UP farmers by the Haryana police in connection with the firing incident, several armed persons from Ramra Par descended on the fields of Tamsabad village yesterday and kidnapped four Farmers — Jameel, Buddha, Sukhbir and Ram Mehr. The whole day, the top district officials were at their wits’ end when one of the captives, Jameel, who somehow managed to give the abductors a slip, informed the villagers that the three others had been killed by the UP farmers. The district administration swung into action and top officials then contacted their counterparts at Kairana. The officials and the villagers heaved a sigh of relief when it was learnt that the three captives were safe and sound. Ultimately, the captives were taken away by the Kairana police and, after lengthy discussions, were freed late last night. A temporary police post had been set up in Tamsabad and the police were also toying with the idea of deploying mounted cops along the border to thwart any attempt by the UP farmers to create law and order problems. Meanwhile, the Haryana Police had booked about 18 persons for firing on the Tamsabad farmers. The local farmers, however, are not very impressed. They point out that firing and harvesting of crops under the cover of firing by the UP farmers had become a routine affair and every year the Haryana farmers lose crops worth lakhs of rupees’. Till a permanent solution to the disputed ownership of land was found, bloody clashes would continue to the disadvantage of the Haryana farmers, they argue. It may be mentioned here that the Yamuna, which changes its course every year, is to be blamed for the territorial dispute. The change in its course transfers scores of acres of land to the jurisdiction of either Haryana or UP. Repeated attempts by the district administrations of both the states over the years have come to nought, apparently due to the lack of strong administrative will. Since Muzaffarnagar district, notorious for the manufacture of “desi katta” (country-made pistols), is a hub of pistols, it gives an ideal opportunity for anti-social elements to jump into the farmers’ dispute and create serious law and order problems. |
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Government
agencies flout HC order in HAU centre Gurgaon, December 5 The issue has kicked up a political controversy with the Congress, along with several other organisations, adopting a confrontational approach with the government on the issue. The forces opposed to the move have formed an ‘Action Committee’ to spearhead the agitation. The Dakhini Haryana Kissan Mazdoor Union, a panchayat of 360 villages headed by Mr Deva Singh, and representatives of farmers of the area are part of the committee. The agitators allege that the government has closed the KVK to set up, among other things, a casino. Significantly, more than a 100 village panchayats of the area have made representations to the authorities against any move to wind up or shift the KVK. The agitators have also sent representations to several authorities, including the Governor of Haryana and Chancellor of HAU, the Prime Minister and the Union Minister of Agriculture on the issue. The KVK, set up on 46 acres, conducted various research studies on a wide range of subjects, including animal husbandry and crops. Also, it disseminated the findings of research works done by HAU among the farmers and the rural people. The university, with obvious pressure from the state government, decided to close the KVK. The government has now shifted the local offices of the Excise and Taxation department to this land. The scientists and staff of the KVK, who have all been transferred, are temporarily functioning in the open air. The secretary of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) and president of the Dakhini Haryana Kissan Mazdoor Union, Mr Khazan Singh, had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) urging its intervention against the closing up of the KVK. The respondents in the case are the state of Haryana through Secretary, Department of Agriculture, the Chancellor of HAU, its Vice-Chancellor, the Secretary of the Excise and Taxation Department and the Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon. The high court, responding to the PIL, directed the respondents on November 26 “to maintain status quo in regard to the centre as of today, subject to further orders to the contrary”. Significantly, the news of the court’s directive came here when the agitators were staging a sit-in dharna outside the office of the District Magistrate (DC). The agitators said that they had records to prove that they had intimated the DM of the court’s directive. They alleged that the court’s order was ignored as some constructions were undertaken in the complex and the office of the Excise and Taxation Department was shifted to the land after the directive came. The Deputy Commissioner, Excise and Taxation, Mr J. S. Ahlawat, however, rebutted the allegations. |
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CRIME AGAINST WOMEN New Delhi, December 5 In the first incident, the rapist cop, Ajayveer Gulia, alias Bablu, along with Mukesh lured the girl to Chander Vihar in Nangloi and raped her. The girl was told by the accused that she was being taken in a car for an interview in the security services but instead they took her to one Kuldeep Properties and raped her. The victim had reportedly responded to an advertisement in a newspaper, demanding boys and girls for security services for which she contacted them on the phone. However, while one of the accused, Mukesh, was arrested by the police, Ajayveer has been absconding ever since the incident took place. The Delhi Police Commissioner, Mr R. S. Gupta, immediately ordered his dismissal and said there was no place for such people in the force. The police, besides launching a manhunt to trace Ajay, also stepped up vigilance, surrounding his house. In the second incident, the seven-year old victim was raped and then murdered by her cousin in the New Ashok Nagar. The victim was found missing on Sunday evening from her house and was last found playing in the lanes near her house. The police said the victim’s cousin, Pramod (20), was staying with the victim’s family in a rented accommodation. The victim’s father, Sudhir, and Pramod are both labourers. On the fateful evening, Pramod took the victim to the nearby bushes near Chilla Regulator and raped her. After committing the crime, Pramod allegedly strangulated the girl.
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MDU V-C may get second term Rohtak, December 5 This is when only a few persons could complete their term of three years as Vice-Chancellor in the past. Several of them had to fight the state government and the Governor who is the Chancellor of the university for the completion of their term. Mr Hardwari Lal, Brig (Retd) O. P. Chaudhary, Mr Vivek Sharma and Lt-Gen (Retd) O. P. Kaushik all had to face the wrath of the Chancellor and the state government. Appointments in the university were banned during their tenure and financial grants were curtailed to the extent that one of the above-mentioned Vice-Chancellor had to take a loan from a bank to pay salary to its employees. On many occasions, persons from the IAS cadre had been appointed Registrars to clip the wings of the Vice-Chancellors. The question regarding the completion of his three-year term and extension to the present Vice-Chancellor was answered by the Chief Minister himself by visiting the former’s residence for dinner on December 3, staying there for more than two hours and discussing long-term plans of the university. Not only this, the Chief Minister had spent at least one hour on December 4 at the university and had a round of the campus to see the progress of works undertaken. He also publicly commended the efforts and vision of Maj-Gen (Retd) Suhag. On this occasion, he also said that if the university community unanimously decided, statues of Ch Devi Lal and BJP leader Dr Mangal Sein, facing each other, should be installed at the university’s main gate. A cross section of the university employees are of the view that Maj-Gen Suhag is the only Vice-Chancellor in the university’s 26 years of existence, who has had cordial relationship with the Governor, the state government and other centres of power. |
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Illegal
arms making grows thick in Ghaziabad, December 5 A country-made revolver, which costs Rs 400 to manufacture, can be sold for Rs 2,000, say insiders. A rifle or double-barrel gun costs between Rs 700 and Rs 800 and can be sold for Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,000, thus giving a huge profit to the makers. Many unemployed mechanics are reported to have found in this trade a remunerative employment. And there are reports that guns are being manufactured even in sugarcane fields in the state. A Delhi Police team, which had come chasing some criminals recently, had seized a large number of country-made revolvers in a sugarcane field in Muzzafarnagar. Mechanics of the Khadar area are known to be playing a key role in the nefarious manufacture of revolvers. A police team had recently arrested one Navin with a gun from the Patpar Ganj industrial area. Navin, originally a native of Khatauli in Muzzafarnagar, had told the police that he had been into illegal manufacturing of weapons, including revolvers, gun and rifles, in his village, Chand Suman, for the last two years along with two friends, Mange Ram and Madan. He also told the police that he was supplying arms and cartridges in Shahdara and adjoining areas. The police had taken Navin to Chand Suman, where, in a raid in a sugarcane field, a large number of arms were seized. They included about a dozen revolvers, rifles and guns and a large quantity of cartridges and bullets. Raw material and equipment for manufacture of arms and cartridges were also recovered by the police. The police feel that Navin’s friend had got wind of the impending raid and they must have fled leaving the arms and equipment in the field. Navin had told the police that a large number of people were engaged in this illegal but profitable business at different places in Meerut division. |
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With no one to open
server, BSNL services hit Faridabad, December 5 According to certain customers who had lined up at these service centres, their bills were not taken till 11.15 this morning as the staff on duty came up with the plea that the server of the computer network had not been started by the main office at Sector 16 here. The BSNL office sources informed that an employee of a private company, which had installed the network, had gone on leave and no one in the main office had the knowhow to open the server network. The system could be opened only after 11 am. |
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SPECIAL FOCUS ROHTAK Rohtak, December 5 As against 26 incidents of rape last year, the police have registered only 16 such cases till November 30 this year. Similarly, the incidents of molestation of women have declined from 23 in 2001 to 12 this year. However, there is a slight increase in incidents of dowry deaths in the district. There has also been increase in incidents of kidnapping and abduction. As against 13 cases of kidnapping reported till November 30, 2001, the police have registered 6 cases this year under this head till November 30. The police, however, claimed to have solved 12 of these cases. All the accused involved in the incidents of rape, have also been arrested, the police claimed. According to the figures, 56 persons were murdered in the district till November 30 this year as against 55 in the previous year. The incidents of attempt to murder have increased from 27 last year to 33 during this year till November. During its drive against illicit weapons, the police have recovered 98 country-made pistols, 11 country-made revolvers, one gun and 73 live cartridges besides 33 knives till November 30. The recovery of stolen property, however, has been very poor during this period. The police could solve only 47 per cent (150 out of 319) cases of theft this year. Under the local and special laws, the police have registered 458 cases under the Excise Act and seized hundreds of bottles of illicit liquor, 924 pouches, 72 bottles of English wine and 20 bottles of beer besides 4,020 kg ahan. It had recovered 553.750 grams of smack, 8.167 grams opium, 21.147 grams of charas and 47.750 grams of puppy husk till November 30 this year. The police claimed to have solved all cases of dacoity and recovered 2.46 lakh of stolen property. Similarly, the police claimed to have solved 22 out of 25 incidents of robbery till November 30 and recovered stolen property worth Rs 1.34 lakh, nearly 70.40 per cent of the total looted property. The solving of burglary cases has been very poor. The police have solved only 81 out of 206 cases of burglary (39.30 per cent) and recovered only Rs 1.34 lakh out of the total stolen property of Rs 36.80 lakh (36.40 per cent). |
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IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, December 5 The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Santosh Kumar Gangwar, said in a written reply that last year there were only 87 CNG outlets in the national Capital and in order to meet the growing demand of CNG, the infrastructure was being increased in a phased manner. The compression capacity of CNG will be increased to 16.11 lakh kg per day by June 2003, as against 4.43 lakh kg per day compression capacity a year ago, he added. The Minister of State for Labour, Mr. Ashok Pradhan, informed the Rajya Sabha that the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi has informed that the request for relaxation of shopping hours till 10 p.m. will be considered on request from the shops and establishments. He added that relaxation will be granted in accordance with the provisions of the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act, 1954 and the rules made thereunder, on receipt of requests for it. The STD services between Delhi and some of the cities were partially affected during the last week of October 2002. The Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Sanjay Paswan, told the Rajya Sabha that there is no specific and identifiable technical reason for it. He added that MTNL, Delhi is proposing to have alternate long distance media. Agreements with other national long distance operators are being signed. The Minister of State for Power, Mr. Jayawanti Mehta, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said the last tariff order was issued by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission on May 31, 2001 and was made effective from June 1, 2001, which still continues. The tariff stages for Delhi are 149.86 paise per kWh for domestic purposes, 415.81 paise per kWh for commercial purposes and for agricultural purposes and industrial purposes, it is 50.00 paise per kWh and 424.80 paise per kWh respectively. |
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MCF AE leaves post due to inept juniors Faridabad, December 5 Recently an Assistant Engineer (AE) of the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF), who was given charge of AE (Buildings) in one of the zones, decided to relinquish his charge within 18 days as he found that certain junior officers were `allowing’ encroachments and unauthorised constructions on a large scale. While relinquishing the additional charge of AE (Buildings), the official, in his letter to the MCF Commissioner listed 54 prominent parties and individuals who have gone in for unauthorised constructions or encroachments in the zone. The AE stated in his letter that on his joining day he had asked the concerned inspector (Building) about the situation. But he claimed that the subordinate did not respond in an appropriate manner and failed to satisfy his queries about the large-scale encroachments in his area. He said no notices were issued to the encroachers even though an order had been issued and he strongly felt that ‘all these developments were going on with the active connivance of some officials of the zonal office’. He said his `heart was burning’ due to the humiliation and the unwanted, undesirable and evil deeds of the officials. The officer added that in view of the aforesaid and since he was not a party to unauthorised constructions and did not want to be held responsible for such activities, he was constrained to relinquish the charge of AE (Buildings). The MCF authorities could not be contacted for their version despite several attempts. |
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MCD goes soft, appeals to SC on
demolitions New Delhi, December 5 The corporation had demolished 44 shops following a directive given by the apex court. The Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the corporation, Mr Ashok Jain, said earlier traders had objection to tehbazari on the footpath in front of their shops. That was why they had purchased the tehbazari from the original allottees. But now they had no objection. There would be no concrete construction on the sites. BJP councillor Vijender Gupta said tehbazari was given to traders about 50-60 years ago and now its demolition would hamper their business. |
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, December 5 Mr Khurana said he had met the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr
L.K.Advani, earlier this week. Mr Advani had told him that a legislation would be introduced on the basis of a Bill on full statehood passed in 1998 that involves carving out a Union Territory of certain areas. “If consensus is evolved during the current session of Parliament, the Bill will be introduced now or it will be delayed,” he told mediapersons. “I hope Delhi would become a state by the time of the Assembly elections to be held late next year,” he said. BJP hails ban on liquor vends:
The leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Mr Jagdish
Mukhi, told mediapersons that the Court’s ruling was welcome given the spate of atrocities on women. The new, liberal excise policy had met with stiff resistance from women’s groups and activists who felt the liberalised excise policy would alter consumption pattern to the detriment of public health. Even otherwise, Mr Mukhi said it was the constitutional responsibility of the Government of NCT of Delhi to encourage prohibition. He felt the Excise Minister ought to withdraw the new liberal excise policy given the Court’s ruling and the protests by women’ groups and activists. History books for Class XI:
Earlier, the court had issued a stay order on the printing of the books following a Public Interest Litigation
(PIL) filed by B. G. Verghese, Aruna Roy and others alleging that the books were being used by the government to propagate their saffron agenda. The students and their teachers had to resort to old books and book banks to tide over the crisis that had erupted in the absence of the texts. With the court order still pending and the NCERT’s refusal to reprint the older version, the schools had to create book banks for their students. With the release of these books, the NCERT has delivered the first phase of books written according to the National Curriculum Framework for School Education
(NCFSE), 2000. In the second phase, textbooks for Classes II, IV, VII, X and XII will be released for the academic session starting in April 2003. |
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Makan to open chrysanthemum show at Dilli Haat New Delhi, December 5 Earlier, the venue for this popular show was Purana Quila. But, for the first time, the show will be held at Dilli Haat, where the national award-winning craftsmen will display their creations. The chrysanthemum show will be inaugurated by the Delhi Tourism Minister, Mr Ajay Makan, on December 7 in Dilli Haat at 11.30 am. Chrysanthemum, the golden flower owes its origin to China. Subsequently, it gained favour in Japan, where it is used in different forms of art. Japanese adopted it as the “Flower of the Nation” and placed it in Japanese literature, poetry, legends and fables. It also found a place in screens, fans, flower vases, even in their weapons and national flag. India is one of the oldest countries to grow chrysanthemum as the flower of God. Chrysanthemum is a wonderful flower and found in different shapes, sizes, forms and colours. It has got more than 300 varieties. Being the first flower of the season, it is getting more and more popular in Delhi. Because of its versatility in form, size and colour and its longer vase life, it has found a place in the world of floral market. |
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GDA to cough up Rs 4.50 cr on stillborn project Ghaziabad, December 5 The GDA project for Transport Nagar was started years ago but it remained buried in files only. This is the story of a much-touted project which died before it could materialise into something concrete. The stillborn project has caused a loss of Rs 4.50 crore as the GDA has to deposit the interest accrued on the loan granted by the NCR Board. The GDA plan for developing Transport Nagar opposite Nand Gram Colony on the Hindon river was announced in 1996. A Rs 10 crore loan had been sanctioned to the GDA on the UP Government’s guarantee and the principal amount had to be returned along with 10 per cent interest to the NCR Board. But somehow the plan remained stillborn as it remained confined to the files only. Surprisingly, it was never given a start outside the shadowy world of files. The GDA is meanwhile trying for a reprieve. |
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NCR BRIEFS Noida: Five persons have been booked for selling property bought with a loan from the State Bank of India before repaying the loan amount. According to Mr Ajay Kumar, inspector at the Dadri Kotwali police station, Sanjay Kumar, Farman Ali, Ghanishyam Shara, Ajit Singh and Rattan Kumar had taken a loan for lakhs of rupees from the State Bank of India in 1995 to buy a property. Without returning the bank loan, they allegedly disposed of the property. The manager has now registered a case against the five accused, who live in different parts of Dadri for misappropriating the bank property.
Rail traffic disrupted Sonepat: Rail traffic on the Delhi-Panipat section remained disrupted for about an hour following a defect in the railway line between Panipat and Diwana railway station, about 40 km from here, today. According to a report, some passenger trains bound for Delhi were held up at nearby railway stations, stranding thousands of commuters there. On receipt of information, the Railway officials rushed to the site and repaired the railway track within an hour or so.
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Money squabble leads to murder New Delhi, December 5 After the incident, Prakash told the police that he and Bohdev were on their way to Sangam Vihar when three persons intercepted them and demanded money from them. Since Bohdev refused to pay, the assailants shot Bohdev at point-blank range. During preliminary investigations, the police could not arrive at any concrete conclusion. The police suspected Prakash and when the police repeatedly questioned him, he confessed to the crime. He disclosed that he had borrowed Rs 10,000 from Bohdev’s brother and when Bohdev came to know about it, he had put pressure on him to pay back the amount. Subsequently, unable to accept the demand of Bohdev, Prakash decided to kill him and shot him dead from his country-made weapon. Man Held for looting:
Burglar held:
Memorandum
to NHRC:
In February this year, the Corporation had assured the Safai Kramachari Union that safai kramcharis working from 1990-92 would be accommodated as permanent staff of the Corporation. However, nothing has been done so far, a press release said. |
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Marriage party robbed while sipping tea
Ghaziabad, December 5 One of the robbers was in police uniform. The desperadoes robbed valuables worth Rs 1 lakh from them. Harish of Mohalla Peerwala, Dankaur, has lodged a report with the police that he, along with the others, was returning from a marriage party from Ghaziabad. Around 1am they stopped for a cup of tea at Apna Hotel, near Sikandrabad. They were soon surrounded by five armed miscreants who beat them up and robbed them of cash, watches, gold chains, rings etc, Harish added. OC
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Oriental Bank of Commerce issues 240 Green Cards Rohtak, December 5 The bank has three branches in the rural areas of district Rohtak at
Brahmanwas, Seeman and Maina. Seventy-one farmers were issued credit cards at these branches on
Wednesday. Mr Y.K.Vermani, Assistant General Manager of the Bank said that the green card of the Oriental Bank helps the farmers in meeting their requirements. With the help these cards, the farmers can pay for seeds, fertilizers, diesel and electricity bills. The expenses incurred on machines used for harvesting can be paid through this card. In addition, the poultry,
dairy and medical expenses of the children can also be paid through this
card, he said. |
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