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Row over property of Nobel Laureate’s kin Haryana not to do away with Form ST-38
Rajput panel’s plea to visit Afghanistan
INLD for replacement
of Justice Garg
MC decision sparks off controversy
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ASI caught taking bribe
24 BJP workers injured
8 held for bid to kidnap ZP candidate
Student killed in
road accident
Two held for murder of Dalit youth
Judicial complex in Ambala Cantt sought
Lecturer presents
paper in China
Prisoner escapes from hospital, held
Power consumers given last chance to join scheme
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Row over property of Nobel Laureate’s kin
Narnaund (Hisar), August 31 Mr Lalbir Gautam, president of a local youth organisation, who is the whistle-blower in the case, alleges that Ms Bimla and her adopted son, Virender, alias Chand, had gone missing ever since the land was “sold”. Mr Gautam maintains that since he dared to expose the multi-crore land grab scandal, he had been receiving threats from the persons behind the conspiracy. He has lodged a complaint with the local police, but no action has so far been taken in this regard. According to local residents, Ramji Lal Khurana came to the village after Partition and got settled here. By and by, he made considerable property. Khurana married twice, but remained issueless. He then adopted a boy, but he turned out to be mentally challenged as he grew up. After the death of Khurana and his first wife, his second wife and the adopted son became his legal heirs. However, some local persons eyed the prime land and were always after Ms Bimla and her son. “After Chand went missing last month, Ms Bimla requested me to search for him. This was how I got involved in the matter,” says Mr Gautam, adding that apart from the agricultural land, the family also owned a cold storage and a plot in the vegetable market at Jind. He asserts that as he got to know the alleged attempt to grab the property, he was threatened with dire consequences by Mr Manbir of Rajthal village and Mr Pawan Kumar, who was working as a driver of Mr Jai Prakash, Congress MP from Hisar. The youth body chief alleges that the persons involved in the scandal had illegally procured a medical fitness certificate for the mentally challenged Chand and the sale of land had been effected at the tehsil office after taking a kickback. While the police has not taken any action due to lack of a specific complaint, the Tehsildar, Mr Sudarshan Kumar, maintains that the sale of land had been effected after following the proper procedure. He said the record regarding the matter had been sent to the Hansi SDM’s office and the sale had been carried out under the charge of Naib Tehsildar Mr Sultan Singh. However, Sultan Singh could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Meanwhile, a mahapanchayat was recently called in the village to settle the matter, but the panchayat could not be held allegedly due to political pressure. As of now, the village residents, especially youths, who have a sympathetic attitude towards the Khurana family, are trying to get the matter settled. |
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Haryana not to do away with Form ST-38
Chandigarh, August 31 A note prepared by the Excise and Taxation Department Commissioner stated that several deficiencies in the returns filed by the dealers had been noticed. It added that deficiency notices were sent to erring dealers asking them to file their returns correctly. The note was prepared for the first meeting of the Consultative Committee constituted by Haryana to redress the grievances of trade and industry. The meeting was held here today under the chairmanship of the Excise and Taxation Minister, Mr Venod Sharma, and was followed by a Press conference addressed by the Minister. The Press conference, however, turned out to be a rather prosaic affair as Mr Sharma confined himself to talking about the benefits of VAT and problems faced by Haryana due to the non compliance by neighbouring UP and Rajasthan to the VAT regime. Mr Sharma added that about 200 representatives from trade and industry took part in the meeting and that the government had assured the participants full support in case of their having any trouble on the business front. The note prepared by Commissioner, however, revealed that even more than the VAT related problems, the government was apprehensive about the traders demanding abolition of the Form 38 introduced by the previous government for payment of sales tax. The government stand on the issue is clear. “This matter has been deliberated upon at various level of the state government and a clear conclusion is not to do away with Form ST-38. This form facilitates commercial transactions by the honest dealers”, the note said. Mr Sharma, when asked whether the participants in today’s meeting demanded abolition of Form-38, replied, “not exactly”. The demand for abolition of the Form and the government’s answer (“trade and industry will not face any difficulty in obtaining the Form from the taxation officials”) figures on the top of the note prepared by the E&T Commissioner. Other demands being raised by the traders from time to time - for which the government functionaries had braced themselves up before coming to today’s meeting - included reduction in tax for surgical instruments from 8 per cent to 4 per cent, reduction of tax on tractor tyres to 4 per cent and that of animal driven carts to zero per cent, reduction of tax on sweet meats to 4 per cent from the existing 12.5 per cent, reduction of tax on Aggarbatti to 4 per cent from 12.5 per cent and reduction on tax on henna (mehandi) to 4 per cent from 12.5 per cent. The traders are also demanding zero tax on poultry supplements. The demands came up in the meeting and the participants were assured that these were being “examined” by the government. The note also revealed that Excise and Taxation Department has sent a recommendation to the government to exempt “truthfully labelled seeds” from sales tax. It may be recalled that certified seeds in Haryana are already tax free.
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Rajput panel’s plea to visit Afghanistan
Rewari, August
31 With a formal request as well as documentary evidence in this regard, a three-member delegation comprising Mr Bhanu Prakash Singh, Capt Vikram Singh and Mr Naresh Chauhan, met External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh in Delhi recently. Capt Vikram Singh presented to the minister an excerpt from E. Jaiwant Paul’s book” Arms and Armour: Traditional Weapons of India”. The author says that during his visit to Afghanistan, he had found a small tomb of Prithviraj Chauhan a few metres away from a larger tomb of Mohammad Ghori on the outskirts of
Ghazni. He further says that he was shocked to find that the Afghans still stamped on Prithviraj’s grave because Mohammad Ghori had been done to death by Prithviraj Chauhan. Presenting a second such documentary evidence, which pertained to Mr S.C. Sharma’s article “Ghazni’s Best Kept Secret”- published in the Indian Express of April 25, 1998, Capt Vikram Singh pointed out that during his visit to Afghanistan, Mr Sharma too had found a cellar near Ghazni which contained a small tomb where Prithviraj Chauhan lay buried. Capt Vikram Singh also submitted to Mr Natwar Singh a copy of the letter dispatched in December, 2001, by Mr Justice Guman Mal Lodha (a retired Judge of the Rajasthan High Court) and a member of Parliament, to the then External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, in this regard. Mentioning the cordial relations which India had with Afghanistan, the delegation also impressed upon the minister the urgency of bringing back the remains of Prithviraj Chauhan to India for a worthy memorial at Delhi as well as
Ajmer. |
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INLD for replacement
of Justice Garg
Chandigarh, August 31 This was stated in an INLD press release issued here today. The release said a memorandum presented by the delegation to the President stated that Justice Garg had been appointed to inquire into the incidents that had rocked Gurgaon. The appointment had been opposed by the Bar Council and District Bar Associations of the state. The memorandum drew the attention of the President to the bad power situation in the state. It also drew his attention to the “vindictive and motivated action” of the government in rendering thousands of young persons unemployed by disbanding the Haryana State Industrial Security Force. The personnel of the force were appointed under the due process of law, the memorandum said. The party also expressed concern over the law and order situation in the state. It added that security was being provided selectively to VIPs. Mr Bhajan Lal, a former Chief Minister, had been provided with ‘Z’ plus security and a Minister in the state government had been given ‘Z’ security. On the other hand, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, a former Chief Minister, had not been given any security cover. His parliamentarian son, Mr Ajay Chautala, and other members of his family had also not been given any security, stated the memorandum.
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MC decision sparks off controversy
Sirsa, August 31 According to the information gathered by The Tribune, the MC passed the resolution without any objection from the councillors. But the officials termed the decision of the civic body as biased and uncalled for. The MC had pleaded that the offending parties had failed to pay the taxes, but the officials blamed the authorities for a foul play. Interestingly, out of the 16, the council had mentioned only 11 names of the owners, whereas names of the rest were missing in the list. House tax is the main source of income for the local MC and the manner in which dues worth lakhs had been waived, the officials smell a foul play in the case. The MC had decided to waive off Rs 6,96,230 and Rs 1,43,855 to be collected for house tax and fire tax, respectively, from the offenders. According to the officials, the MC was ‘forced’ to pass the resolution due to the political pressure. |
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ASI caught taking bribe
Kurukshetra, August 31 Confirming this here yesterday, the district police chief, Mr Sanjay Kumar, said a case regarding abduction of a girl was registered at Thana Ladwa and investigation assigned to ASI Jitender Singh. Meanwhile, a taxi driver, Happy, lodged a complaint with the police that he was being threatened by the ASI either to pay a bribe of Rs 30,000 or he would be implicated in the abduction case. Happy told the police he was not involved in the case and his taxi had been hired by the alleged abductors. Initiating action on the complaint, a police party, including DSP Mahabir Singh, Pehowa, and Nayab Tehsildar, Kurukshetra, chalked out a plan. They asked Happy to call the ASI Jitender Singh to a room at Thana Ladwa, 10 km from here and offer him Rs 10,000 as ‘advance’ money. The ASI was then caught red-handed while accepting the bribe, Mr Kumar said. |
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24 BJP workers injured
Sonepat, August 31 According to a report, the injured persons include Mr Bhaley Ram Narwal, president of the district unit of the BJP Ms Sunita Lohchab, vice-president of the state BJP, Ms Shakuntala Rathi, vice-president of the district mahila unit of the party, her husband, Mr Ram Kumar Rathi, and Ms Shakuntala Sharma. All the injured BJP workers were rushed to the Community Health Centre at Ganaur for treatment, wherefrom Ms Shakuntala Rathi was referred to the Civil Hospital, Sonepat. On receiving information, the DSP of Ganaur, Mr Shiv Dayal, rushed to the health centre and recorded the statements of the injured persons. The BJP leaders have blamed the sarpanch of the village and his associates for the attack, but the sarpanch has disputed the claim and alleged that Ms Shakuntala Rathi was responsible for hampering the work for the construction of the chaupal in the village.
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8 held for bid to kidnap ZP candidate
Sonepat, August 31 According to a report, the arrested persons were identified as Parveen Kumar of Samalkha, Brejesh, Randeep, Vikas and Sanjay of Ugrakheri village, Vinod of Hassanpur village, Sanjay of Sanauli Khurd village and Raj Kumar of Mandi village. The police, during a search operation, seized a .32-bore country-made pistol from the possession of Parveen and another country-made pistol from the possession of Brejesh. It registered cases against all the arrested persons. Police sources said Jatinder was a candidate for the post of chairman of the Panipat Zila Parishad and he had been
hiding himself in a room booked in this hotel. His rival candidate got information about him and he sent his supporters to kidnap Jatinder. When they reached the hotel, Jatinder informed the Superintendent of Police, Mr Anil Kumar Rao, about them. The SP directed the SHO of Murthal police station to take action against the miscreants. The SHO conducted a raid on the hotel and arrested all of them. |
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Student killed in
road accident
Kaithal, August 31 According to information, four students of the Haryana College of Technology and Management were returning on foot after taking their dinner from a nearby dhaba last night. A vehicle being driven rashly hit them as a result of which Sandeep Sandhu and Sandeep Dahiya from Delhi were injured. Some students living in the hostel rushed the injured to a private nursing home here. Sandeep Sandhu and Sandeep Dahiya were referred to medical hospital, Rohtak but Sandeep Sandhu succumbed to the injuries on the way to hospital.
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Two held for murder of Dalit youth
Sonepat, August 31 Giving this information, Mr Anil Kumar Rao, Superintendent of Police, told mediapersons here that the arrested youths were identified as Arun, alias Monu, of Ashok Nagar, and Ravi, alias Ravinder, Alias Deepak, of Nandwani Nagar, Sonepat. The police recovered two country-made pistols, seven live cartridges and a stolen motor cycle from the possession of the arrested youths. The police has registered a case under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Indian Arms Act against them. The SP further said that the culprits, during the course of investigations, confessed to their involvement in the murder of Amit and told the police that they had shot dead Amit in view of old enmity as Amit along with his associates had beaten up Arun, alias Monu, a few months ago. |
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Judicial complex in Ambala Cantt sought
Ambala, August 31 A five-member delegation of the Bar Association, Ambala cantonment had met the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court yesterday in Chandigarh. The delegation comprised Bar Association president Om Prakash Malik, former Bar Association president and MLA D.K. Bansal, Mr Umesh Mittal, Mr Tarun Bhardwaj and Mr Arvind Goel. The delegation pointed out that Ambala had had judicial courts for the past 100 years, but on September 24, 1990, on the orders of the then District and Sessions Judge, Ambala, the courts were temporarily shifted to Prem Nagar in the Sessions Court complex. They said the residents and lawyers of Ambala cantonment had been demanding the shifting of the courts back to the cantonment. But instead of that, the courts were shifted to the newly built judicial complex which is constructed in an extreme corner of Ambala City. This has resulted in causing inconvenience to the residents of Ambala cantonment. The delegation members observed that the Haryana Government had earmarked a piece of land measuring 5100 sq yards near the football chowk for the construction of the judicial complex and the high court had approved the site. But, construction has not started so far. The delegation members urged that the judicial complex at Ambala cantonment should be constructed at the earliest so that the courts could be shifted.
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Lecturer presents
paper in China
Ambala, August 31 Dr Jyoti Chandra said the international convention of Asian scholars was held at Shanghai. She said that the venue was Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and about 1500 specialists from all over the world participated in the convention. The convention theme was ‘Future of Asia’. Dr Chandra said papers on different subjects, including urbanisation, Asian diaspora, megapolitics and regional development were presented in the convention. The Asian diaspora panel was divided into two parts and had only two Indian representatives. Dr Chandra spoke on the ‘Indian diaspora in Europe’. She observed that Indians had settled in different countries and their migration had been taking place for quite some time. She said that second generation Indians had their own ethnicity.
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Prisoner escapes from hospital, held
Ambala, August 31 The Superintendent of Police of Ambala, Mr Rajbir Deswal, said that Gulzar had been taken from the Central Jail, Ambala, to the Civil Hospital as he was not well. Gulzar is alleged to be involved in the Segta murder case. The prisoner managed to escape from the hospital as the police personnel, who accompanied him, are suspected to have consumed alcohol. Mr Deswal said last night they received information that a prisoner had escaped. Immediately efforts were initiated to trace the escaped prisoner and he was arrested in Ambala City. He said a case had been registered against five persons, including three policemen. The medical examination of the police personnel was carried out last night. A car driver, who allegedly helped Gulzar escape, has also been booked.
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Power consumers given last chance to join scheme
Chandigarh, August 31 They will not have to pay any surcharge on the bills of previous cycles. However, a late entry fee of Rs 60 will be charged from the consumers joining the scheme. An official spokesman said here today that the scheme would be open to the defaulting consumers up to September 30. He said the last date for providing reconnection to the defaulting disconnected tubewell and domestic consumers in the rural area had also been extended up to September 30. |
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Saplings planted in college
Ambala, August 31 The Principal, Dr Kiran Angra, said the sapling plantation programme was organised by Nature and Eco Club of MDSD Girls College with support from the State Bank of India. Among those present were Mr Y.S. Kaushik, Mr K.K. Aggarwal, Mr Pradeep Kumar, Mr S.K. Nagpal, Mr P.C. Dua and Mrs Narinder Kaur. |
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