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Shrine Bill goes for Presidential reference
Cong workers stage protest
CM expresses grief at Yogi’s death
Feud over missing cocks leads to murder
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Bills on holding panchayat poll
‘not legally tenable’
MLA betrayed by
Congress?
Haryana may accept DA on pension demand
Migrant labourer commits suicide
Murder case solved
Pay scales of sugar mill
employees revised
Corp’s Raising Day celebrated
Cong leader’s murder condemned
Buses to start plying in
cantonment area
Relief for Class III, IV govt. officials
Peak load curbs on industries lifted
Boy crushed to death
One electrocuted
Rice rates announced
Inter-state gang of criminals busted
Exporters unhappy over delay of
consignments Cash,
jewellery stolen
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Shrine Bill goes for Presidential reference
Chandigarh, October 7 Justifying the state government move, an official here said that it had been decided to reserve the Bill for Presidential reference because the subject matter of the Bill fell under the concurrent list of the Constitution. “ The Law Department has recommended the Bill be referred to the President”, the official said. Sources here said Presidential approval being a lengthy process, the fate of the Bill was not likely to be known before the Assembly elections in the state early next year. For the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) of Haryana, it is going to be good riddance as implementation of the proposed Act is bound to attract protests by the clerics of Kurukshetra temples. Among political parties, the BJP in particular is eying the opportunity to exploit the resentment of priests and expand its base in Kurukshetra area. According to the Bill, the state government will take over the administration and management of 75 famous temples of historical importance falling within 48 km of Kurukshetra radius. The state government will constitute a board which will control the administration, management and governance of the temples and also look after the funds collected in these temples. The Chief Minister of Haryana will be chairman of the board, the Urban Development Minister will be vice chairman, while the Deputy Commissioner of Kurukshetra will be the member-secretary. The Bill contains specific proposals to abolish the rights of the priests over the temples. “All rights of pujaris (priests) shall stand extinguished from the date of commencement of the Act”, it says. The state government will appoint a tribunal, which after giving personal hearing to the pujaris, shall recommend compensation to be paid to the pujaris by the board in lieu of the income the pujaris have been deriving from the temples. If a priest surrenders his right to compensation and offers himself for employment to the board, the board may offer him employment. The priest in question, however, will have to give an undertaking to abide by the administrative and disciplinary control of the board. The Bill adds that other people engaged in various activities related to the shrine will be deemed to have become employees of the board and will be subject to its administrative and disciplinary control. |
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Cong workers stage protest
Karnal, October 7 Hundreds of Congress workers, under the leadership of Ms Nirmal Kalyan, general secretary of the state unit of the Mahila Congress gathered outside the mini-secretariat and led a procession to the District Magistrate’s office. They also presented a memorandum to the District Magistrate representing their demands. Mr Rajinder Kalyan, member of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), who was also present. He alleged that the state government had approved the construction of two canals — Gharaunda Distributory System (Phase–I) and Nagla Distributory (Phase-II) in the year 1987 and the then Irrigation Minister S.S. Surjewala had laid the foundation stone of these projects on April 5, 1987, but so far the construction work had not been started. He said the ‘khaddar belt’ was earlier a flood-prone area, but now the water level had gone down and submersible pumps were being installed by the farmers. He said the construction of canals was the only solution to prevent the water level from going down further. It was expected that at least 100 villages would be benefited from this project.
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CM expresses grief at Yogi’s death
Chandigarh, October 7 Popularly known as Yogi Bhajan, Mr Chautala termed him as a renowned spiritual leader, who was revered in the western world as one of the holiest men of this era. |
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Haryana State Games begin
Panchkula, October 7 Irrespective of the fact chief guest, Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, was late by over two- and- half hours, and the audience had to listen to raaginis in praise of Mr Chautala and his government's achievements, it failed to dampen the spirits of the participants. The show began with a march past by the participating teams from all 19 districts of the state, and the seven teams from different Boards and Corporations. This was followed by a cultural programme, including a performance by Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans and a maashal parade by the 240-member contingent of the Haryana Police. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Chautala announced that in case of death of a sportsperson during national or international events, a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh would be given to the next of kin, and in case of any disability, a financial assistance ranging from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh would be provided. He said that the present State Government had already given cash awards of over Rs 5.43 crore to over 2600 outstanding sportspersons in order to encourage them. He said that an astroturf had already been laid at Gurgaon, and two more were being laid at Hisar and Shahbad. The fourth astroturf would be laid at Panchkula to provide modern sports facilities to the players. Haryana would be the only State to have such a number of astroturfs, he added. He said that a sum of Rs 22 crore had been spent to develop sports infrastructure in Panchkula alone. A Regional Sports Centre of the Sports Authority of India named after Ch Devi Lal was being developed in Sonepat district and the state government had spent Rs 110 crore on this ambitious project. He said that the performance of players from the state had improved in national and international events. While the players of Haryana won 65 medals in national games at Ludhiana, they won 73 medals in Hyderabad. Similarly, there was a marked improvement in winning medals in Common Wealth, Asiad and Afro Asian games. He said that it had been decided to provide sports items worth Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 to the registered youth clubs in rural areas. Also, a gymnasium would be built for such clubs. He added that there were 21 sports nurseries to groom players between the age of 10 to 14 years and training centres were functioning at Bhiwani and Hisar to impart training to the sportspersons between the age of 14 to 17 years. Earlier, Secretary-General of the Haryana Olympic Association and DGP, Haryana, M.S. Malik said that 5000 players were taking part in the 20th State games. He said that Haryana was the only State to have its Olympic Bhavan being constructed at a cost of Rs 7 crore in Panchkula whereas, the Indian Olympic Association was yet to have such a building. Mr Chautala also gave away cash awards amounting to Rs 6.50 lakh to those sportspersons who had brought laurels to the State and nation by winning medals in the international sports meets. A cash award of Rs 1 lakh each was awarded to Didar Singh for Hockey and Kumari Geeta for Wrestling. Similarly, cash award of Rs 75000 each were awarded to Ms Rachna Shekhawat and Ms Geetika Jakhar for wrestling and to Ms Sushma and Ms Meena Kumari for boxing. Cash award of Rs 50000 each were presented to Mr Somvir and Mr Anurag for wrestling and Ms Renu for boxing. Mr Chautala also announced to give Rs 10 lakh to the Haryana Olympic Association for promotion of sports. |
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Feud over missing cocks leads to murder
Kaithal, October 7 Bhagwan Dass a photographer with a newspaper, who was taking pictures of the burnt houses was also beaten up by some youths today. He suffered injuries and was admitted to a private nursing home at Kalayat. According to the complaint lodged by Kiran Pal, a Rajput and, son of Arjan, the victim of Patti Rao of Kalayat, he along with his father had gone to the house of Teka Sainsi to complain about the missing cocks from their cattle shed, as they suspected his hand behind their disappearance. As soon as they complained about the missing birds, Teka started abusing them. Soon his son Ranbir, Baljeet and Surinder allegedly attacked Arjan and started beating him up. The victim fell unconscious and was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Kaithal, where he was declared brought dead. As the news about his death reached Kalayat some agitated persons put houses at the Sainsi Basti on fire late last night. The police also arrived on the scene. The fire was brought under control by the fire brigade tenders which reached the site quite late. Heavy police force was deployed in the area after the incident and the SP, Mr Ranbir Sharma, and the SDM, Mr Bhupinder Singh, visited the affected areas late last night. He met members of both castes and made efforts to defuse the tension. Baljeet and Surinder have been arrested in connection with the murder of Arjan .The police has also registered a case under Section 436, IPC, against certain persons in connection with the burning of the houses. According to information, the members of the Sainsi community who had left the village fearing violence have not returned so far. Meanwhile, a number of mediapersons have protested against the beating up of the press photographer and demanded stern action against the culprits. The SP said the situation was under control and he had talks with members of both communities who have promised to maintain peace. |
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Bills on holding panchayat poll
‘not legally tenable’
Chandigarh, October 7 A former State Election Commissioner of Haryana, Mr T.D. Jogpal, told TNS on the phone from Bhiwani that such an action would be against the provision of Article 243(e) of the Constitution of India. He said a similar attempt was made by the Punjab Government when it dissolved the panchayats one- and-a-half-years prior to the expiry of their terms. He said the Panchayati Raj Union and others challenged this action before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which quashed the notification for the elections. The court ruled on July 9, 2002, that the elections to the panchayats could be held only “a shortwhile before the expiry” of their terms. It defined “shortwhile”as “the time required for completing the election”. The High Court said: “A combined reading of the provisions of Sections 29, 29-A and 209 along with Part IX of the Constitution shows that the state government can initiate the process of the elections prior to the date on which the term of the existing panchayats is due to expire. How much prior? It would depend upon the situation at a particular point of time. The Constitution and the Act do not prescribe any period. Thus, no hard and fast rule can be laid down. Normally, the period shall only be such as may, of necessity, be needed by the authority to complete the process of election.” Mr Jogpal said the present term of the panchayats and the municipal bodies in Haryana would expire only on April 26, 2005, and, therefore, if the elections are announced and held in December, 2004, it would be illegal and unconstitutional and contrary to the provisions of Article 243(e) of the Constitution of India as interpreted by the High Court. |
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MLA betrayed by
Congress?
Karnal, October 7 Former Chief Minister and Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Bhajan Lal has appointed MLA’s arch-rival Suresh Gupta Mandiwala, a local Congress leader, as the organising secretary of the state unit of the party. Interestingly, both the Guptas are cousins, but politically at loggerheads with each other. Once a close confidant of Mr Bhajan Lal, the local MLA lost his confidence when he rejoined the Congress in June, through Congress MP Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who has been opposing the Congress president on all political fronts for quite sometime now. Political observers say the induction of Mr Suresh Gupta as the organising secretary of the HPCC was a severe blow to the already ‘broken’ local MLA who was trying hard for a comeback in the mainstream politics with the sole plank of opposing the ruling INLD. He had accused the INLD of misusing political power to implicate him in false cases of corruption, fraud and tax evasion. Sources said the MLA was hopeful of gaining ‘sympathy of the electorate’ in the coming Assembly elections, but the new inter-party political rift that had come to the fore with the induction of his cousin into the mainstream politics had further created troubles for him. Local MP Arvind Sharma, who does not enjoy cordial relations with the MLA, has undoubtedly helped Mr Suresh Gupta in getting this political post. Mr Gupta was considered as the main strength behind Dr Arvind Sharma’s election campaign and his victory in the recently held Lok Sabha elections. It may be mentioned that Mr Suresh Gupta was considered a strong man in the local politics. He secured more than 18,000 votes in the 1992 Assembly elections on the Congress (Tiwari) ticket. Later, in the 1996 Assembly elections he was denied party ticket. He contested the elections as an independent candidate. He secured over 8,000 votes from the town. A three-time councillor, he was also once elected president of the local Municipal Council. Meanwhile, the internal rift among the local Congress leaders, particularly the aspirants of the party ticket in the coming Assembly elections, has come to fore. Ms Sumita Singh state president of the Mahila Congress, Mr Harvinder Kalyan, secretary of the HPCC, Mr Zile Ram Sharma, president of the party’s district unit, and Mr Tejinder Mann, a former minister, were among the aspirants for the party ticket, besides, the sitting MLA and Mr Suresh Gupta.
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Haryana may accept DA on pension demand
Chandigarh, October 7 So far the staff of the government-aided private colleges in the state do not get D.A. on pension. The government had accepted their demand for pension about four years ago. The pension scheme, however, was silent about D.A. Most of the employees were getting 50 per cent of their last pay drawn as pension. With the price index going up, they are in difficulty. According to informed sources, when a delegation of the Haryana College Teachers Union met the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, on Tuesday he accepted their demand. The Directorate of Higher Education had forcefully recommended that D.A. should be given to the retired college staff on pension. However, the case will now go to the Finance Department, which will again put up the file for Chief Minister's approval. The sources say for the next two years there would not be much financial burden on the state government if D.A. is granted on pension. There are 629 retired college employees who are paid about Rs 4 crore as pension per annum.The government had taken over about Rs 44 crore of these employees' contribution to the provident fund in lieu of pension.
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Migrant labourer commits suicide
Karnal, October 7 Sources in the police said the deceased was identified as Sham Pal, a native of Shaifapur village, Mujaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh. He was living in Karnal with his brother, Om Veer, at Shashtri Nagar Colony for the past couple of years. According to Om Veer, Sham Pal returned home late in the night on Wednesday. “He was drunk, therefore, I scolded him and asked him not to drink in future if he wanted
to stay with me”, he said. When Om Veer went to wake him up in the adjoining room, he saw that his brother was hanging from the ceiling fan of the room. He
immediately called the police. The police took the dead body into custody. A post-mortem examination was conducted on the body at the Civil Hospital. Later, the body was handed over to the deceased’s
brother. Around 17 persons had allegedly committed suicide in Karnal district during the current year. Ten out of the 12 male persons who had committed suicide were in the habit of drinking
heavily. |
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Murder case solved
Jhajjar, October 7 The police said here today that Jai Singh, a resident of Chhara village, was found dead about four months ago. Ravinder had given a supari of Rs 2 lakh to a contract killer, Kuldeep, to kill Jai Singh, the police said. Ravinder, who was arrested yesterday, disclosed during interrogation that the deceased was employed by him as a driver. He suspected that Jai Singh had physical relationship with a woman of his family. Kuldeep killed Jai Singh on May 24. Kuldeep is currently in judicial custody in Rohtak jail. Meanwhile, a scooterist was crushed to death by a truck on the Jhajjar-Sampla road near Jondhi village today. According to information, the deceased, Sanjay, a resident of Jondhi village, was going to his village last night on a scooter when the mishap happened. He died on the spot. The police has registered a case. |
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Pay scales of sugar mill
employees revised
Chandigarh, October 7 While stating this here today, an official spokesman said the revision of pay scales, variable Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA) and Retaining Allowance involved a financial implication of about Rs 3.47 crore per annum. The DA would be given on percentage basis as against increase of Rs 2 per point increase in consumer price index in the existing pattern. The DA would be 59 per cent as on July 1, 2004. Thereafter, the DA would be increased as announced by the government for its employees. The pay scales had been revised on the recommendations made by a committee headed by the Town and Country Planning Minister to consider the demands of the Haryana Sugar Mills Workers Federation. The recommendations had also been accepted by the federation, for which it had entered into an agreement with the Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills for seven years. He said the unskilled workers would now get a pay scale of Rs 2750-4300 and semi-skilled workers would get a pay scale of Rs 2900-4550. In case of skilled-B and clerical-IV as well as skilled-A and clerical-III categories, the pay scale would be Rs 3450-5300. The highly skilled and clerical-II employees would get a pay scale of Rs 3750-5700. In case of supervisor-C and clerical-I, the revised pay scale would be Rs 4000-5975 and for supervisory-B, it would be Rs 4500-6675 and for supervisory-A Rs 5500-9500. He said HRA would be given at the rate of 5 per cent to the employees of four sugar mills in ‘A’ class cities of Karnal, Sonepat, Panipat and Rohtak and in case of remaining eight sugar mills, it would be given at the rate of 4 per cent of the basic pay. However, no employee would get HRA less than the amount he was getting at present. The retaining allowance of unskilled seasonal employees would be increased from 20 per cent to 25 per cent and in case of semi-skilled category, it would be raised from 30 per cent to 35 per cent. However, there would be no change in the retaining allowance for other categories, which was 50 per cent at present. |
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Corp’s Raising Day celebrated
Ambala, October 7 Lt General G.D. Singh, GOC Kharga Corps, interacted with officers on Kharga Corps, which is a strike corps has completed 33 years since it came into being on October 7, 1971. The corps was raised at Krishannagar in West Bengal by Lt-General T.N. Raina. The corps participated in the liberation of Bangladesh. The corps after capturing Khulna, Jessore, Jhenida, Magura and Faridpur was shifted to the Western theatre and deployed near Kot Kapura in January 1972 as part of Operation Cactus Lily. Later, it moved to Chandi Mandir where it remained till January 1985 and thereafter it moved to Ambala. The corps was deployed during Operation Vijay in 1999 and Operation Parakram in 2002.
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Cong leader’s murder condemned
Ambala, October 7 In a meeting held at Ashirwad complex on Jagadhari road, Kisan Congress activists condemned the murder of Dharmendra Singh and they stated that it was an indicator of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The Kisan cell leaders have already got in touch with Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhajan Lal and apprised him of the situation. It was decided at the meeting that the Kisan cell would stage demonstrations if the persons responsible for the murder of Dharmendra Singh were not arrested within the next 72 hours. District Congress Committee Ambala cantonment unit president Ashok Jain condemned the murder of Dharmendra Singh. “It is a shocking incident and the murder of Dharmendra Singh shows that nobody is safe in Haryana. The law and order situation has deteriorated under the Chautala government,” he said.
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Buses to start plying in
cantonment area
Ambala, October 7 It was flagged off by the MLA, Mr Anil Vij, and the Deputy Commissioner Mr R.P. Gupta. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Vij said the buses had stopped plying within the cantonment area due to security reasons in 1985. Residents of the area, particularly women and students, used to face inconvenience due to the discontinuation of the service,” he added. He said following a meeting with the Sub Area Commander Brig G.S. Malhi, a decision was taken to re-start the bus service in the interest of the people. Mr Vij demanded that the names of certain areas kept by Britishers should be changed. “The areas like Topekhana Bazar, Regiment Bazar, BC Bazar, Mali Parade, Lal Kurti should be named after freedom fighters,” he said. The Deputy Commissioner supported the demand of Mr Vij. He said the issue of house tax exemption to those living in the cantonment area would be taken up and added that the local residents would be provided with yellow and pink ration cards. The General Manager Roadways, Mr Aurobind Sharma, said buses would stop at Railway Station, Indra Chowk, Geeta Gopal Chowk, Parshuram Chowk, Race Course, Golden Lion, Nursery School area, Commissioner office and Boh-Babyal. The buses would also pass through Defence Colony and from Bapu Asa Ram Ashram till Panjokhra.
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Relief for Class III, IV govt. officials
Chandigarh, October 7 Haryana Advocate General Ashok Aggarwal, appearing for the government, also submitted an undertaking on behalf of a senior government officer that transfer orders of the remaining employees will be taken back. As for those employees, who have been transferred due to long stay at one station, the government has decided to contest their claims challenging the transfers. The developments took place during the hearing in a bunch of over 100 writs challenging arbitrary transfers. The petitioners-employees have alleged that a majority of transfers are being made in an arbitrary manner, with the Chief Minister's office also issuing orders to the departments to even in case of transfers of Class III and IV employees. The petitioners have also claimed that in the light of the arbitrary directions from the Chief Minister, the competent authority to transfer them is left with no role. He has been turned into a rubber stamp. They have also claimed that en bloc transfers have become a norm rather than aberrations. IAS officer Vijay Singh, Officer on Special Duty in the Chief Minister's Office, who had been summoned to the court, was present throughout the hearing before the Division Bench of Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Viney Mittal. On the last hearing, the court had asked the Haryana Government to reconsider the representations of some class III and IV employees against arbitrary transfers.
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Peak load curbs on industries lifted
Chandigarh, October 7 While stating this here today, a spokesman of the Power Utilities said that the peak load restrictions were imposed on industries along with power cuts during the month of July due to scanty rains and sharp increase in demand of the agriculture sector. With the improved position of power availability in the Northern Grid and reducing load of agriculture, other power cuts had already been withdrawn during the last month. Now, with the removal of peak load restrictions, all type of industries in the state could run round-the-clock. Meanwhile, the Power Distribution Corporations have issued the order of downward revision of tariff for agricultural tubewells in the state from August 15, 2004. An official spokesman said here today the decision had been taken following the Cabinet decision and orders of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission. He said that all the consumers having metered tubewells were now required to pay at the rate of 25 paise per unit and the farmers having unmetered tubewells would pay at a rate of Rs.35 per BHP per month. Earlier, the metered tubewell owners were paying 65 paise per unit to 38 paise per unit and unmetered tubewell owners were paying at the rate of Rs.104 to Rs.48 per BHP per month, as per slabs on the basis of depth. He said that the monthly charges had also been reduced to merely Rs.200 per BHP per year, which were earlier Rs.500 per BHP to Rs.218 per BHP per year as per slabs of depth. The 12 months period for determining the annual minimum charges would be taken from November 1 to October 31. |
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Boy crushed to death
Sonepat, October 7 Vikas was going on his bicycle when the bus hit him near the SDM’s office. He died on the spot. The police has registered a case of rash and negligent driving against the driver. According to another report, Sitar (45), a resident of Mohammadabad village, was seriously injured when he fell from a moving bus on the GT Road near Biswan Meel Chowk today. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital here, from where he was referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak. Meanwhile, a farmer, Sata, was buried alive when a mound of earth fell on him at Rohna village today. He was rushed to a private hospital where he died. |
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One electrocuted
Jhajjar, October 7 According to information, the victims were boring for a hand pump when an iron rod come in contact with the electricity wires crossing overhead. While one of them, Bhoop Singh, died on the spot, Hans Raj received serious burns and was admitted to a private hospital in the town. Both are residents of Kheri Asra village in the district. |
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Rice rates announced
Karnal, October 7 A senior official of the Haryana Food and Supplies Department said the price for the leviable common variety of raw rice had been fixed at Rs 1003 per quintal and that of par boiled rice at Rs 988.90 per quintal. The rates of grade-A leviable raw rice was Rs 1051.50 per quintal and that of par boiled rice of grade-A. Rs 1038.20 per quintal. He said the state government had approached the Union Government to enhance the procurement price of leviable rice to protect the interests of millers. |
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Inter-state gang of criminals busted
Sonepat, October 7 The members of the gang were allegedly involved in number of criminal cases registered against them in Kundli and Rai police stations of the district. Most of the cases were of murders, dacoities and thefts. The police hopes to solve many such cases in Akbarpur Barota, Aterna and Bahalgarh villages committed during the past two years. The culprits were identified as Sher Singh, alias Bachu, Rajinder, alias Kalwa, Amar Singh, alias Sanjeev, Luxman and
Shama. The police has also launched a massive hunt to apprehend other members of the gang, who managed to escape. The police has recovered two revolvers, iron rods and gold ornaments worth several thousands of rupees from the gang. |
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Exporters unhappy over delay of
consignments Ambala, October 7 Dr NC Jain, Chairman, Haryana Exporters Association, said that the their consignments were held up due to the slow movement of containers at Mumbai Port. He said that this was affecting them since the foreign buyers were not receiving their goods in time. “The orders are likely to be cancelled due to abnormal delay which may lead to heavy losses to the exporters of Ambala,” he said. Dr Jain said that goods worth Rs 5 crore are held up at Mumbai Port. “The information received from our agent at Mumbai states that there is likely to be further delay,” he said. He demanded that the Union government must find a solution to the present situation at Mumbai Port to save the exporters from heavy losses. |
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Cash,
jewellery stolen Ambala, October 7 Narauta Ram in his complaint filed with the police said that early in the morning he went to toilet for a few minutes. when he came back he found that the box kept in a room of his house was taken away by some one which contained cash of Rs 3.40 lakh. 6 tolas of gold, 500 gm of silver and a number of saving certificates. The police registered a case. |
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The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today expressed grief and sorrow over the death of Harbhajan Singh Yogi, who died of a heart attack in the USA yesterday.
