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Sunday,
June 22, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Pressure mounts as BKU refuses BKU
demands not justified, says minister CBI fails to trace girl’s murderer Five IAS, 9 HCS officers
transferred Rao ‘offered Rs 65 cr to 3 Shankaracharyas’ |
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No directive on holding rallies: Birender Singh ‘Change’ of girdawari: inquiry ordered DC redresses people’s grievances Robbery cases belie police
claims Bansi rules out
alliance with BJP Bus stand fails to ease traffic congestion Bhajan expects snap
poll Samata Party to contest all 90 seats Held for immoral trafficking
Dance
workshop concludes Post upgraded
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Pressure mounts as BKU refuses to
relent Fatehabad, June 21 Mr Om Parkash, vice-president of the district unit of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), told The Tribune on telephone that a meeting of villagers was held at Kanheri village today. The farmers toeing the line of district administration tried to persuade the agitating farmers to lift their dharna the whole of village has been suffering due to their decision. The BKU activists, however, maintained that they would lift their dharna only after the one at Kandela was lifted. Meanwhile, the police and administration, have increased pressure on the agitating BKU activists. Besides booking them an sedition charges, the police has erected barriers on all roads leading to Kanheri, thereby cutting the village from rest of the country. While the BKU activists have been stopping only government vehicles from passing through the village, the police has been stopping all vehicles whether private or government from entering the village. Besides this notices have been served on village nambardars for their removal. Power supply to the village has also remained badly affected in the village for the past three days. This has isolated the village completely for the past two days. The move has prompted a large section of villagers to pressurise the BKU activists of their village to come to the negotiation table. The SP, Mr K.K. Rao, though said the police was not in favour of using wing force, would not hesitate to use force in case the agitating BKU activists forced them to do so. He said the road blocked of the BKU activists was not posing any problem to the administration as it had diverted all traffic to alternative routes. He said the agitating farmers had been isolated and they had no public sympathy with them. KAITHAL: Adopting a tough posture against the agitating BKU workers the district police has arrested one BKU activist Suresh Kumar of Kharak Pandava on the charge of sedition, inciting people for other unlawful activities. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Yoginder Nehra, said on June 11 the BKU workers had blocked the National Highway, near Simla village in this district, and they had allegedly given a call to the government servants hostage and cause loss to the government property. The accused was later produced in a local court which remanded him to judicial custody till July 3. |
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BKU demands not justified, says minister Fatehabad, June 21 Mr Dhir Pal Singh said that the Haryana Government was ready to discuss any demand of the farmers that was justified. But the demands of the BKU, he said, were totally unjustified. He said that at a stage the Haryana Government had thought of waiving arrears of power bills partially but the High Court in a decision observed that no government was authorised to waive the original amount of the bills. The minister said that those who were blocking roads were not real representatives of farmers as the farming community lived in all 19 districts of Haryana and not in one village only. He wondered whether farmers of whole of the state resided in one village only. He alleged that the so called “farmers agitation” was a conspiracy to defame the government and there were no real issues involved in it. Mr Dhir Pal Singh said that the opposition parties had been making false accusations against the INLD government that it did not fulfill the promise of free of cost power to the farmers. He said that it was a lie that the government ever promised of free of cost power. He said that it was neither in their election manifesto nor part of election speeches of leaders. He said that the government had exhausted all peaceful means with the BKU activists and even now it did not want to use force against them. The government, he said, expected peace-loving farmers to expose those who were out to bring bad name to them. Replying to a question the Town and Country Planning Minister denied that the government had decided to open up registration of sale deeds of plots as reaction to the results of the Fatehabad Assembly by-election. He clarified that the process to issue these orders started much before the election process had begun and that its timing was sheer a coincident. He said that the state government had still imposed certain restrictions on the registration of sale deeds of properties in big towns like Faridabad, Gurgaon, Panchkula and Panipat. The motive behind this, he said, was to save the unsuspecting poor buyers from unscrupulous property dealers and
colonisers. |
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CBI fails to trace girl’s murderer Chandigarh, June 21 The story does not end here. As evident from the documents in possession of The Tribune, the agency tried to shelter the suspects. The witnesses, who had undertaken the polygraphic test, were disbelieved. The victim — a plus one student of Government Secondary School — was returning home on August 26, 1995. After being kidnapped, she was raped at a quarter in Jagadhri’s Railway Colony before being strangulated. Renuka Sharma’s body, “with one or two bruises”, was later stuffed in a gunny bag. A case of murder, rape and kidnapping was registered at Farakpur police station on the same day after the bag was discovered by her desperate father. During the probe, one Sunil Gupta’s name emerged as that of the prime accused. But nothing much was done about it. Rather, Renuka’s father, expressing doubt about the “bona fides of the investigation”, claimed that the body found two months after the incident could have been that of Gupta. Till date, the CBI has not specified whether Gupta was dead or alive. Was he hiding from the law or was murdered by the co-accused in the case? The “vital aspect” was even ignored in a report submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Completely dissatisfied with it, the Chief Justice, Mr
B.K. Roy, and Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar refused to accept the report. The Judges asserted: “The glaring unfairness in the investigation does not permit the court to accept the report as it offends the basic claims and canons of criminal investigation and jurisprudence”. The Judges ruled that the report should be placed before the CBI Director for ordering further investigation into the matter. “He shall ensure that the investigation is conducted by a senior officer in a manner which would help in achieving the common wheel of fair investigation”, the Judges said. Coming down heavily on the CBI for conducting the probe that was “far from desired standards of fair investigation”, the Judges asserted that “the faith the courts normally express in a specialised investigating agency like the CBI has been shattered to some extent”. In their 30-page order, the Judges observed: “It is not possible for us to draw any other conclusion except that an effort has been made to shelter the guilty and the investigation suffers from an element of impropriety”. Giving details, the Judges ruled: “The witnesses, who had consistently made statements before the court, along with the police,, and had even filed affidavits before the court have been belied on the basis of some inventive contradictions. Others, who stood the test of long investigation and undertook polygraphic test without adverse comments from the experts, have been disbelieved. The investigation was directed towards sheltering the suspects rather than taking an overall reasonable and probable view in the matter….” They further ruled: “Prem Kumar, whose statement was the main plank for letting off the culprits, is stated to be a stock witnesses of the CBI. It is not disputed that he had appeared in a number of the CBI cases….” Speaking for the Bench, Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar concluded: “We leave the matter in the hands of the higher officers of this special investigating agency to ensure that the parents of the raped and murdered innocent child obtain the solace of getting justice based on fair investigation…. We hold the view that the agency would not only be able to repel the doubts which have arisen in the mind of the court, but also enlarge, instill and inculcate public confidence by taking measures to ensure that the guilty are brought to the book. This would certainly help in enhancing public faith in investigation of crime and the administration of criminal justice”. |
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Five IAS, 9 HCS officers
transferred Chandigarh, June 21 Ms Anuradha Gupta was appointed the MD, Haryana State Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills relieving Mr Roshan Lal of the said charge. Mr P.K. Gupta was posted as the Commissioner and Secretary, Tourism and Mines and Geology Department relieving Mr Bhaskar Chatterjee of the charge of the Secretary, Tourism and Mr Manik Sonawane of the charge of the Secretary, Mines and Geology. Mr Suresh Kumar Goyal, ADC, Panchkula has been posted as the ADC-cum-CEO, District Rural Development Agency and Special Officer, Agriculture Production Zone, Ambala vice Ms Neelam Pradeep Kasni. She goes as the ADC-cum-CEO, DRDA, Panchkula and the CEO, Shivalik Development Agency. Mr Rajeev Ranjan, ADC-cum-CEO, DRDA, Kaithal, goes as such to Sonepat against a vacant post. As for the HCS officers, Mr J.D. Naharwal, ADC-cum-CEO, DRDA, Karnal goes as such to Rewari against a vacant post. Mr Lajvir Singh has been posted as the ADC-cum-CEO, DRDA, Karnal, and the MD, Cooperative Sugar Mills, Karnal. Mr J.P.S. Dahiya has been posted as the ADC-cum-CEO, DRDA, Kaithal and as the MD, Cooperative Sugar Mills, Kaithal. Mr M.K. Mahajan has been posted as the Joint Director, Administration, Public Relations Department in place of Mr Raj Kumar Rohilla who goes as the Joint State Transport Controller. Mr B.R. Beri, too, has been posted as the Joint State Transport Controller. Mr Sushil Sarwan has been posted as the GM, Haryana Roadways, Chandigarh vice Mr B.R. Beri. Mr Parveen Kumar has been posted as the GM, Project, Irrigation Department, Panchkula. Mr Surjit Singh, the GM (Administration), Tourism Corporation, will hold the charge of the Secretary, HUDA, Panchkula in addition to his present duties. Chandigarh, June 21 |
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Rao ‘offered Rs 65 cr to 3 Shankaracharyas’ Sonepat, June 21 Talking to mediapersons here last evening, he said that the leaders of both parties were befooling the people of the country on this issue which had become the issue of power struggle for them. He said that both the Congress and the BJP did not want to solve this issue for their selfish motives. He also alleged that the successive Prime Ministers had also failed to pave the way for the construction of the temple instead they had complicated the issue on one pretext or the other for their selfish ends. The Swami also charged former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao with offering money to the extent of Rs 65 crore to three Shankaracharyas for seeking their help in his own favour but they declined the offer and did not side with Mr Rao. He also alleged that three Shankaracharyas were harassed by Mr Narasimha Rao thereafter. The Swami claimed that the Muslims of Ayodhya were not against the construction of Sri Ram temple there but they were frightened by the statements of the leaders of various political parties. He also alleged that the leaders of such parties had fielded the fake Shankaracharyas for using them for their political ends. He asked the people not to be misled by the false propaganda of the political parties on this issue and render help to the religious leaders for the construction of a temple in Ayodhya. |
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No directive on holding rallies: Birender Singh Chandigarh, June 21 Following the debacle at the rally at Kaithal on June 7, Mr Nawal Kishore Sharma, AICC general secretary and in charge of party affairs in Haryana, had announced that in future, the Congress leaders of Haryana would have to take the high command’s permission before organising any rally. In a conversation with mediapersons at a restaurant at Panchkula today, Mr Birender Singh said he had not received any such instruction from the high command. Mr Birender Singh, a member of the party’s Central Election Committee, added that a meeting was being held today regarding holding the next rally to press for the demand of completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link
(SYL) Canal. On the incident at the Kaithal rally, where his supporters interrupted the speech of Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Mr Birender Singh said the episode took place because Mr Hooda’s speech was too long. He, however, said he would continue to share the dais with Mr Hooda in the meetings being organised by a section of the Haryana Congress leaders demanding the completion of the SYL Canal. Regarding the issue of infighting in the Haryana Congress, Mr Birender Singh said that he had recently heard about a formula which had been floated to the AICC office-bearers in Delhi on how to bring the warring leaders under control. According to the formula, a person, not an aspirant for the Chief Minister’s post, should be made the president of the PCC. Names of four persons were mooted who could be made the PCC chief as per this criteria. They are Mr Mangeram Gupta, Ms
Shelja, Mr Harpal Singh and Rao Inderjit Singh. Mr Birender Singh said he felt that one must at least give a thought to the idea. He said people of Haryana were fed up with the established leaders and they would appreciate if a new face could come up in the state’s political scene. Among the peasantry, there had been a vacuum of leaders since the demise of Charan Singh and Devi Lal, Mr Birender Singh said. He added that neither Mr Ajit Singh nor Mr Om Prakash Chautala had succeeded in filling the vacuum. He said the peasants of Haryana, who traditionally were supporters of the INLD, were moving away from that party and coming closer to the Congress. The Congress would gain the support of the peasants in a big way if it could made the right moves, he said. He added that he would appeal to top leaders of the Congress to take note of the crisis in the agricultural sector of northern states at the four-day meeting of the Congress to discuss agriculture-related issues at Shimla next month.
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‘Change’ of girdawari: inquiry ordered Raipur Rani (Haryana), June 21 As per the details of the complaint filed before the SP, Panchkula, yesterday, the Public Health Department installed a tubewell at Raipur Rani in 1970 on a land measuring 7 kanals and 18 marlas that was given by word of mouth to the department by a local resident, Prithvi Singh. Later, realising the value of the land, Prithvi Singh sold the land (Khasra No. 42/16) to Paras Mal, son of Jeet Ram, a resident of House No. 1015, Sector-36, Chandigarh. However, the possession of the land remained with the Public Health Department. Having failed to take possession of the land, Paras Mal in turn sold the land to Surinder Singh, son of Charan Singh, in 1995. The latter also failed to take possession of the land from the department. Surinder Singh sold the land to a property dealer and his two partners, all residents of Panchkula, on January 30, 2002. The complainant, Kuldeep Kumar of Raipur Rani, has alleged that the property dealer managed to get a letter (No. 1390, dated July 10, 2002) written from the SDO concerned of the Public Health Department, sub-division No. 1, Naraingarh, to the Naib Tehsildar of Raipur Rani to do the needful in favour of the applicant (property dealer) regarding the particular piece of land bearing Khasra No. 47/16. It may be mentioned that the property dealer had demanded to change the girdawari on his name on the pretext that the tubewell installed on this land was lying unutilised for the past many years due to technical reasons. The complainant has further alleged that the Patwari concerned changed the girdawari of land bearing Khasra No. 42/16 for 2002-03 on the name of the property dealer and his partners, ignoring all rules and regulations as the change of girdawari was actually demanded for the adjoining piece of land (Khasra No. 47/16) that was purchased by them. It has also been alleged that the property dealer, after having managed to get the girdawari changed in his name, sold at least 30 mango and eucalyptus trees by illegally felling them. “The property dealer has presently put the land on sale by carving it into small plots at a price varying from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 per marla with the help of local officials of the Public Health Department and the Revenue Department,” alleged the complainant. Meanwhile, a senior official of the Public Health Department told TNS that a departmental inquiry had also been initiated into the alleged role of officials of the department in the “fraud”.
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DC redresses people’s grievances Karnal, June 21 The Deputy Commissioner directed HVPN officials to install power transformers and remove electricity cables passing over houses and schools without delay. This is for the first time in Haryana that a Deputy Commissioner has started holding Lok Manch in villages. He also appealed to the people to plant at least one sapling in their homes and fields. The saplings would be provided free of cost by the Forest Department from its nurseries. He asked the people to stop resorting to foeticide. Action would be taken against those found indulging in this act, Mr Doon warned. |
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Robbery cases belie police
claims Karnal, June 21 On June 19, armed men broke open the shutter of an electronics shop on the busy Kunjpura road and decamped with the booty. On June 16, robbers waylaid Krishan Lal Taneja, president of the Nehru Palace Market Association and took away a bag containing Rs 2 lakh in broad daylight. Over a week ago, a trader dealing in cigarettes was robbed of a bag containing over Rs 1 lakh by two armed youths at Wazir Chand Colony. The district police, meanwhile, has claimed that it busted an inter-state gang of robbers and arrested six of them yesterday. The gang was allegedly planning to commit a dacoity in a house in Sector 13. The police had also seized two pistols from them. The police said the gang had admitted its involvement in the Wazir Chand Colony robbery. It also confessed to its involvement in robbing a blanket trader of Rs 2 lakh in Panipat. The gang members have been identified as Surinder, Rajendar, Rafaldin, Parshu Ram, Hari Mohan and Amit Jain, all of western UP. |
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Bansi rules out
alliance with BJP Hisar, June 21 Addressing mediapersons at Hansi, about 25 km from here, he said his government would reduce tariff on all categories of power connections. He alleged that the Chautala government had failed to ensure 24-hour power supply even after increasing the power tariff manifold. Denying the possibility of an alliance with the BJP or the Congress, he said the HVP could extend its support to a third front if it was formed at the national level. He also denied any tie-up with Mr Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal. He criticised the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, for interfering in the politics of Rajasthan. He said people of Haryana were facing an acute shortage of power and water and Mr Chautala was organising rallies in Rajasthan. |
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Bus stand fails to ease traffic congestion Ambala, June 21 Despite efforts by Haryana Roadways personnel, a number of buses continue to pick up passengers from outside the bus stand. Roadways inspectors try to ensure that buses do not stop outside and go inside the bus stand. But bus drivers, particularly those from neighbouring states, prefer to pick up passengers from outside the bus stand. They feel that it is “inconvenient” for them to go inside the bus stand. The G.M., Haryana Roadways, Mr Aurobind Sharma, said efforts were being made to ensure that all roadways buses go into the new bus stand. The Ambala Cantonment MLA, Mr Anil Vij, said: “All buses must come inside the bus stand. I will again take up this matter with the Transport Minister.” He said the haphazard manner of picking up passengers caused congestion on the road. “There is a problem for the passengers who go inside the bus stand because the bus they need may not enter the bus stand,” he said. A visit to the area reveals that the passengers who disembark from trains prefer to catch the bus from the main road itself. The passengers stream out of a small gate located between the main entrance and exit to the railway station. To make sure that train passengers do not crowd on the main road, the small gate located between the main entrance and exit was shut down a couple of months ago. This was done to make sure that passengers went out from the main exits only. But the small gate was reopened, ostensibly due to political pressure. Stall owners within the bus stand are of the opinion that all buses must come inside, which will help in improving their sale. They feel that with buses stopping outside, it benefits vendors outside the bus stand.
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Bhajan expects snap
poll Ambala, June 21 Criticising the Chautala government, Mr Bhajan Lal said that no new industries had been established in the state. “People from different walks of life are unhappy with the INLD government,” he said. “Even the BJP-led NDA government has let down the people by hiking the prices of diesel and urea,” he added. He said the Assembly elections in the state could be held earlier than expected. He said that the Lok Sabha and Assembly election could be held together. He claimed that the government machinery was misused in the Fatehabad election. Earlier, Mr Bhajan Lal held a workers’ meeting at Congress Bhavan in Ambala City. He asked the workers to work towards strengthening the party. |
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Samata Party to contest all 90 seats Yamunanagar, June 21 Mr Lamba added that the Samata Party had vote bank in Haryana and they contested all 90 seats of the state in 1996 and emerged main opposition party of the state. He said that their national leader Mr George Fernandes had cordial relations with Chief Minister of Haryana Om Prakash Chautala as both had socialist background. Mr Lamba declared that 60 per cent of candidates would be from the youth. He said that four districts Karnal, Sonepat, Panipat and Yamunanagar have been covered and by July 31 the entire state would be covered. He informed that a national-level sammelan of the Samata Party (Youth Wing) would be organised at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi in the last week of July. He said that from July 1 membership drive would be launched in Haryana. He is to enrol 20,000 members. He announced that from the month of August Tractor Yatra would be undertaken in Haryana to mobilise people of the state to familiarise the people with the policies of the party. |
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Held for immoral trafficking Ambala, June 21 According to information, the DSP, Mr Uday Shankar, along with a team of the Sadar police, raided a house in Durga Nagar on a tip-off and found them in objectionable condition. The police also arrested the owner of the house. The Baldevnagar police had also arrested three women on charge of immoral trafficking. They were also produced in a local court that remanded them in judicial custody. Killed in accident A man was killed in a road accident here on Saturday. According to information, Hardayal, a resident of Lalru village, was going on his motor cycle, when an unidentified vehicle hit him near Ismailpur village. He died on the spot. A case has been registered. Passengers injured More than 12 passengers sustained minor injuries when a CTU bus rammed into a tree near Khan Ahmadpur village on the Ambala-Jagadhri road here on Saturday. The bus, coming from Chandigarh, was on way to Hardwar.
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25 hurt as buses collide Pinjore, June 21 As per information, a private bus, which was carrying female workers of Aristh Company of the Vardhman group at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh stopped near the J.N. Shorry Nursing Home on the Nalagarh road when another bus of the Aujla Transport Company, Chandigarh, which was also carrying female workers of the same company and was coming from the Pinjore side collided with first bus. Twentyfive women were injured. The condition of four was stated to be serious. They have been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. According to Jasvinder Singh, one of the drivers, when he reached near the stationary bus he applied brakes but due to the road being wet the bus skidded and collided with the stationary bus. There were about 100 women employees in the two buses.
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Dance
workshop concludes Ambala, June 21 A scintillating performance was delivered by children who participated in the workshop at the concluding day function at Arya Girls College, Ambala Cantonment. Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala division, Mr Dayal Dogra, was the chief guest. A souvenir was released on the occasion. Mr M.M. Jain gave an introduction of the club while Lt-Col Mishra spoke about the crash course in English run by the club. Meanwhile, a fortnight-long theatre workshop organised by Prerna culminated at SD Senior Secondary School, Ambala Cantonment. Dr Praveen Kohli presided over the concluding day function while Mr A.D. Gandhi was the chief guest. Ms Banto Kataria was the guest of honour. Teachers like Ms Kamlesh Sharma, Mr Tony Batish, Mr Raj Kamal, Mr Budh Raj and Mr Ram Vinod shared their experiences with the students during the wokshop. Programme coordinator Kamlesh Sharma said their organisation, Prerna, was devoted to Indian art and culture and their effort was to introduce children to our rich heritage.
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Post upgraded Chandigarh, June 21 Mr M.S. Malik, DGP, said here today that the step had been taken to make the control rooms more effective and responsive. The decision had fulfilled a longstanding demand of the police force. |
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