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HVP formally merges with Cong today
Devi Lal varsity VC resigns
Missing girl case mystery deepens
Man crushed to death
Insurance companies mum on relief to farmers
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No witness turns up in lynching case
Chautala plans programme for traders
Dalal raises land allotment issue
Selja criticises police action in Batto Devi case
Ramesh Kumar is chief of college principals’ body
4 held on charge of impersonation
HSIDC reduces interest rates
Dr Zakir to head Haryana Urdu Akademi Life term for three brothers
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HVP formally merges with Cong today
Chandigarh, October 13 Relationship between the latter two may not remain a secret after tomorrow when the HVP formally merges with the Congress. The HVP has convened a meeting of the party's executive committee in Delhi at 12 noon tomorrow to get the proposal of merger approved by the EC members. The announcement regarding the merger is scheduled to be made at a press conference at the AICC office in Delhi at 4 p.m. tomorrow. Mr Rajev Jain, HVP leader, said a large number of HVP supporters would reach the AICC headquarters tomorrow to show their solidarity with the merger move. Mr Surinder Singh, secretary-general of the HVP, would represent the party at the programme , Mr Jain said. He said Mr Bansi Lal would not be attending the function due to health problems. The merger, taking place shortly before the Assembly elections in the state, has given a shot in the arm of Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda. It is no secret that he is an aspirant for the post of the Chief Minister of Haryana. Mr Hooda, himself a member of the Lok Sabha, is going to have a say in the distribution of tickets of Congress candidates for the Assembly polls slated to take place early next year. Possible support of Mr Surinder Singh will bolster his position as far as the race for the post of Chief Minister is concerned. A fairly recent manifestation of Mr Hooda's rapport with Mr Bansi Lal was when the latter defended him following allegations of dowry harassment levelled against Mr Hooda by his estranged daughter-in-law. Earlier, Mr Hooda, during his tenure as the PCC president, had tried to rescue Mr Bansi Lal's Government by offering outside support. Even during the Assembly elections in 2000, there was allegations against Mr Hooda that he gave tickets to weak candidates in Bhiwani district so that HVP candidates could win maximum seats in the district which is known as Mr Bansi Lal's bastion. While Mr Surinder Singh, understandably, has refrained from showing any inclination toward Mr Hooda at this juncture, Congress sources admit that the merger will strengthen Mr Hooda's position. |
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Devi Lal varsity VC resigns
Sirsa, October 13 Once considered an ambitious project initiated by the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, the government seems to have second thoughts on the project. Within three weeks, the two top officials once considered close to the Chautala regime, have left the university. Mr Chautala had handpicked both officials, but they were later shown the door. Officials say the Vice-Chancellor had been asked to tender his resignation as the political bosses of the state were not happy with his style of functioning. In recent faculty appointments, he had accommodated certain candidates having proximity to opposition parties, that had invited the wrath of the INLD leadership. Source said Dr Dahiya had an autocratic style of functioning which had infuriated certain officials. “He use to force decisions on others and did not take suggestions from his subordinates on any matter. This was the prime reason that Dr Punia had developed a rift with the Vice-Chancellor and resigned as Registrar,” said an insider. Dr Dahiya did not have cordial relations with Dr Punia and it resulted in the exit of the latter. He might have played a role in the lobbying against the Vice-Chancellor, sources said. This morning, the Vice-Chancellor announced his decision and remained within his room, finishing certain important pieces of works. The flag with the CDLU insignia was missing from his official Esteem car today. Dr Dahiya had been faculty member of IIT, Delhi, and was always embroiled in controversies since he joined the CDLU. Even after completing one-and-a-half years, the university was still functioning from a single building, as there was an alleged laxity on the part of the Vice-Chancellor. A number of irregularities marked his tenure, including over 10,000 cases of late result, issuance of distinct detailed marksheets, students to identify their evaluated answer sheets and repeated delay in construction activities. Meanwhile, there were rumours about the future of the CDLU. Sources said the way the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar had quit the CDLU, it seemed that government had other plans. Before establishing it as a university, it was a regional study centre of Kurukshetra University. Officials feared that it might be converted into a Kurukshetra University centre again. |
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Missing girl case mystery deepens
Hisar, October 13 In a complaint lodged with the police, Ruby’s uncle, Swabhiman Lamba had stated that Pooja Rathi, who had taken Ruby to Hisar, had abducted her. Pooja, (25) is pursuing her Ph.D at Guru Jambheshwar University (GJU) here. In his complaint, Mr Lamba alleged that Ruby had taken her documents and Rs 50,000 to Hisar. She stayed at a GJU hostel with Pooja. When she did not return for two days, he reached the GJU to inquire about her. Pooja and Ruby met him at the hostel gate. He said Pooja assured him that Ruby would get admission to the B.Ed course. Mr Lamba returned to Bhiwani, but after waiting for two days, he, along with Ruby’s mother,
Swaraj, came to Pooja’s hostel. There, they were told that Pooja and Ruby had left the hostel a day before. Following this, they went to Pooja’s home at Bahadurgarh. There they met Pooja’s mother, but she told them that she did not know anything in this regard. Mr Lamba went to the GJU again with his friend. They met Pooja on the university campus, but she only said Ruby was safe “wherever she was.” On the compliant of Mr
Lamba, the police registered a case. Pooja and her mother were interrogated, but they denied that Ruby had been kidnapped. Pooja said Ruby had come to her and they stayed together, but there was no question of kidnap. “She came and left on her own,” Pooja maintained. Following this, Ruby called up her family and told them not to bother Pooja. She told them that she was staying as a paying guest at Chandigarh. On learning this, a police party was sent to Chandigarh and Panchkula, but to no avail. |
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Man crushed to death
Samalkha (Panipat), October 13 The agitated students had jammed the GT road outside the old bus stand and hurled stones on several buses for about one-and-half-hour. Windowpanes of more than 10 buses were broken and at least 12 passengers were injured. Later, the students went to the Samalkha police station and the DSP office and hurled stones on several buses outside both places. It took about an hour for the police to reach the spot as most of the policemen had gone to Panipat as a part of their duty in view of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s visit on Saturday. Students of all three colleges of Panipat also boycotted classes and blocked traffic on the national highway outside Panipat bus stand for about an hour. Some of the students in Samalkha told The Tribune that roadways drivers didn't stop buses to avoid pass-holder students. The ex-serviceman was crushed to death because the driver of the bus (HR 63 1897) had tried to take the bus out of the reach of the students so that they could not board it. The incident occurred at about 8.30 a.m. when a large number of students were waiting for buses outside the old bus stand. As no driver was stopping his bus, a police personnel deployed there gave signal to a truck to stop so that the buses following it would automatically stop. Subsequently, several buses had to stop. However, the driver of the Jhajjar depot bus put it on the wrong side of the road in an effort to speed past the students, crushing Satpal to death. He was taken to the Panipat Civil Hospital where he was declared brought dead. The students thought the victim was one of them. As a result of which they hurled stones and blocked the traffic. When the driver of the bus tried to flee from the spot, the students chased him and nabbed him at Jadipur village. However, he managed to free himself from their clutches and escaped. Later, the Samalkha SDM, Mr Sat Prakash, and the DSP, Mr Badan Singh Rana, also reached the spot. They met with the representatives of the students and assured them that the arrangements would be made for stopping the buses to facilitate them to reach their colleges in Panipat. Talking to The Tribune, the SDM said some of the miscreants among the students had pelted stones on the buses. Action would be taken against them for damaging the buses. Financial help would be provided to the deceased’s family as per the roadways norms, he added. |
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Insurance companies mum on relief to farmers
Fatehabad, October 13 The Centre had recently introduced the scheme under which cotton and bajra crops were insured. Though the scheme was optional for the farmers, the nationalised banks made it compulsory for farmers who had taken agricultural loans from their branches. The farmers were made to pay heavy premium for the insurance. They were made to pay 2.5 per cent for the insurance of bajra crop and 4.05 per cent for cotton crops. As a large percentage of farmers had taken agricultural loans, a large number of farmers were covered under the insurance scheme. No covernotes were issued to the farmers for premium paid. The rain caused moderate to heavy losses to the kharif crops of the farmers. Cotton crop was hit badly. Having suffered losses due to rain and hailstorm, the farmers have been running from pillar to post to know how their losses are to be compensated for. The Young Farmers Association, Haryana, has demanded immediate compensation to farmers. Talking to mediapersons here today, Mr Ranbir Singh Chaudhary, district convener of the association, said farmers all over the state were totally ignorant of the procedure for the settlement of their claims of damaged crops. He said farmers had suffered heavy losses due to inclement weather in this district and a majority of them had their crops insured while procuring crop loans from the banks. But there was no one to guide them as to how they were going to get compensation for the losses. He demanded that the authorities should come out with some clarification in this regard. Mr Chaudhary lamented that despite the assurances of the Agriculture Commissioner, Government of India, on his visit to Fatehabad last week, the Cotton Corporation of India was yet to begin procurement of cotton crop in grain market. He demanded that the CCI should immediately start procurement operations. |
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No witness turns up in lynching case
Jhajjar, October 13 Sources said none of 42 witnesses turned up to record their evidence even though most of them are police personnel and public servants. Thirtytwo persons have been made accused in the case who secured bail in the fifth date of hearing. They include the then posted police staff at the Dulina police post, the DSP, the CTM, the Tehsildar and other civil and police officials who rushed to the Dulina post to control the mob. The mob had captured the post and lynched five persons after draging them out of the police post. The lawyers on behalf of accused Anand Kadian said the case was listed in the ADJ OP Varma’s court, who was not a competent authority for hearing. As charges had also been levelled under certain Sections of the SC/ST Acts, along with Section 302 of the IPC and other Sections, only a senior ADJ could hear the case. However, kin of the four of the five victims —Virender and Dayachand from Badshahpur village, Tota Ram from Akleempur village, Raju from Tikali village, Gurgaon district, and Kailash from Ravidaspur village, Karnal district — turned up for the hearing. The court fixed next hearing on November 19, 2004. The family members of Virender, Dayachand, Raju and Tota Ram rued that even two years after the incident, justice eludes them ameliorating their sufferings. |
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Chautala plans programme for traders
Chandigarh, October 13 A decision to launch this programme on the pattern of two earlier programmes, ‘Sarkar Aapke Dwar’ and ‘Sarkar Udmiyon ke Dwar’ was taken at a meeting presided over by the Chief Minister here to review the functioning of the Excise and Taxation Department. The Chief Minister expressed concern that while on the one hand the Central Government had been urging the states to introduce Value Added Tax (VAT) system to ensure uniformity of tax structure in the entire country, on the other hand it had given certain incentives in central excise duty and income tax waivers to states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttranchal. |
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Dalal raises land allotment issue
Chandigarh, October 13 In a statement issued here today, Mr Dalal said after the issue was first raised by him and Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, president of the Youth Congress, the Chautala Government had changed its strategy to hand over the prime land to the DLF. He alleged that now the government wanted to denotify the land so that it reverted back to the panchayat. Thereafter, Mr Dalal alleged, a fake auction would be arranged and the land would be sold to the DLF at much below the market price to develop a cyber city. Earlier, the panchayat land was acquired by the Information Technology Department of Haryana on behalf of the DLF for a paltry sum of Rs 4 crore. Mr Dalal said if the government denotified the land and tried to dispose it off through a fake auction, he would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court to save the interests of the state. He said when the Congress would come to power in Haryana, all such land deals would be cancelled and cases would be registered against guilty officers and the Chautala family. He said efforts were being made to "whitewash" the remarks written by an IAS officer against two senior IAS officers, who were close to the Chief Minister in the Nathupur panchayat land case. Mr Dalal also demanded that the state government should hand over all criminal cases against Pawan Beniwal, who was arrested by the Delhi Police along with the dreaded criminal, Dimpy, on October 5, to the CBI for investigation. The state police would not do justice because Pawan was closely related to an INLD MLA. He also demanded that the Director-General of Haryana Police and the other authorities must ensure a strict vigil on Beniwal while he was kept in the state jails so that he did not escape in connivance with the powers that be. |
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Selja criticises police action in Batto Devi case Ambala, October 13 Kumari Selja said while the perpetrators of the crime were roaming freely the police was taking action against the victim’s family. “We are living in a free country but people lose faith in the system when such incidents take place,” she said. District Congress Committee president, Ambala unit, Mr Ashok Jain said the police had not even given them a patient hearing in this regard. “When we wanted to meet the SP and were told that DSP was handling the case. The DSP said the ASP was handling the case and the ASP had gone out of town. We then decided to meet the
IG. We went to his office after taking appointment but we were told that he had gone to attend a meeting,” he
said. Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee deputy spokesperson Pradeep Chauhan criticised the police action. Former minister Nirmal Singh said they would vigorously pursue the matter after consulting Kumari
Selja. |
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Ramesh Kumar is chief of college principals’ body
Yamunanagar, October 13 The
Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Prof A.K Chawla, was present
during the election held at Panipat. Prof G.D Sharma, former Secretary,
UGC, presented a paper on autonomous colleges. Dr Ramesh Kumar said
that it was time that a ‘choice-based credit’ system was introduced
in universities in the larger interests of students. He said in the
coming days, Indian universities would face a tough competition from
foreign universities. “We are not mentally and infrastructurally
prepared to face the competition from foreign universities”, he said,
adding that the association was ready to help the government in framing
policies. |
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4 held on charge of impersonation
Rewari, October 13 They parked their jeep, fitted with a red beckon, near Sangwari village, about 10km from here, on National Highway No. 8 and allegedly extorted money from vehicle-operators posing as officials of the Regional Transport Authority. A sum of Rs 2,000, which they had allegedly extorted from certain vehicle-operators, was seized. They were remanded in judicial custody by a local court yesterday. |
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HSIDC reduces interest rates
Chandigarh, October 13 He said that the HSIDC was offering loans for setting up industrial projects, commercial complexes, purchase of machinery and working capital requirements, corporate loans and line of credit to industrial units. |
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Dr Zakir to head Haryana Urdu Akademi Chandigarh, October 13 Dr Zakir is not new to the Akademi which he has earlier headed for a long time. His stint is still remembered as a highly creative period in the history of the Akademi. The order of appointment was given here by Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai. |
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