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Sarvkhap panchayat today, prohibitory orders in Gohana
Government mum over Khanak mining scam Concern over constructions in Aravali ranges Appointment was error, law officer told
INLD, BJP nominees begin campaign
Two ‘kale kachchawale’ men nabbed
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Patwari held for graft
5 arrested for abducting girl
Woman, minor son ‘poisoned’
Two labourers buried alive
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Sarvkhap panchayat today, prohibitory
Gharwal (Sonepat), September 8 The District administration has imposed prohibitory order under Section 144 CrPC in Gohana in view of the panchayat to check any untoward incident, said an official spokesman. Sonepat SP Rajinder Singh said that all entry points to Gohana had been sealed and security arrangements made at important points, including bus stand, railway station and main bazaar. More security personnel were deployed in and around the Balmiki Colony of Gohana where over 50 houses of Dalits were burnt on August 31 by a mob allegedly belonging to upper castes most of them Jats in the presence of civil and police officers of the district following Baljeet’s murder. Elaborate security arrangements are also made at Gharwal village to check mischief by anti-social elements, he added. Meanwhile Gharwal village panchayat sarpanch Phool Singh told The Tribune that arrangements had been made for tomorrow’s panchayat at government school of the village. All villagers belonging to different castes had contributed money for organising the panchayat, he added. Criticising the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government for ignoring Baljeet’s family, he demanded that at least Rs 20 lakh to his family and a government job for a family member should be provided. Baljeet’s eldest brother Satbir Singh also expressed dissatisfaction over absence of any compensation to his family. Meanwhile, Sonepat BJP MP Kishan Singh Sangwan told The Tribune that he was ready to hand-over his accused son Pradeep and his accused brother Ranbir Singh to the panchayat if it desired so. He refused to hand-over his son to a police team when it had raided his house on September 2 and told mediapersons next day that he would hand-over his son to the panchayat. Mr Sangwan claimed that all 23 persons, including his son, brother and Baljeet’s five brothers had been framed by the police in the case related to the torching houses of Dalits just in an attempt to distract public attention from the failure of administration in handling the situation. Blaming several Congress men for attacking the Balmiki Colony, he said that the Hooda government had booked his relatives to defame him and to get a political mileage using Dalit card in ensuing Rohtak by-election. To a question, he said that he had visited the colony on the night of August 31. To a query, he clarified that he opposed compensation to only those Dalits who had been involved in Baljeet’s murder and were wanted by the police in this case as it would encourage only anti-social elements. At the same time, he expressed sympathies with those Dalits whose houses had also been burnt due to none of their faults in the attack. Meanwhile, Rohtak Commissioner NC Wadhwa visited the colony of Gohana today morning to take stock of rehabilitation work going on there. |
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Government mum over Khanak mining scam
Khanak (Bhiwani), September 8 One of the major allegations levelled was the illegal collection of “goonda tax” on construction material at Khanak in Bhiwani district. The scam continued for more than three years and involved an amount of Rs 250 crore. Six months have passed since Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda assumed power, still no inquiry has so been instituted into this multi-crore scam. This, despite the fact that stone-crusher owners as well as labourer associations have been demanding cancellation of lease and institution of a CBI probe into the matter. Usual practice at Khanak was that stone-crusher owners would get lease of the mining plots. However, in November, 2001, the then Chautala regime gave the lease to Baba Mungipa Mines and Mineral Company. Crusher-owners allege that in collusion with the government, owners of the company established illegal checkposts outside the leasehold mining area, started collecting excess royalty, which ran into hundreds of crores. Stone-crusher owners staged a demonstration to Chandigarh in February, 2002, to protest against the lease to the said company and its “wrong and illegal” practices. At that time, several senior Congress leaders, including Mr Hooda, Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, supported their struggle. On coming to power, the Hooda government abolished the system. However, it later reverted to the same system, though at a reduced rate. Due to widespread protests, it was forced to lift the nakas again. But neither the lease was cancelled, nor a probe ordered. On March 16, 2005, Mr
R. S. Yadav, Assistant Mining Engineer, Mines and Geology Department, Bhiwani, wrote a letter to Baba Mungipa Mines and Mineral Company. The letter stated that the company had established check-posts outside the leasehold area, thus violating the lease agreement. The company was told to install weighsbridges and checkposts within the leasehold area, failing which the lease could be cancelled. The company did not comply with the directions. Besides, the leasehold contractors have not paid amount due for the past three months. They were also supposed to give 15 per cent of the lease amount to the village panchayat concerned, but they have not deposited this amount either. However, despite all these facts, no action has so been taken against the company holding the lease contract. To register their protest against the government inaction, crusher-owners and labourers have been staging a demonstration for the past six days. |
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Concern over constructions in Aravali ranges Panchkula, September 8 In spite of a notification regarding ban, hundreds of constructions, including colonies and multi-storey residential buildings, residential schools, and farm houses of the country’s top politicians and industrialists, have come up in the Aravali range. Top colonizers have set up many residential colonies here, allegedly after levelling the Aravali hillocks by blasting them. These constructions are causing environmental degradation in the region. The notification by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, issued in 1992 prohibits location of any new industry, including its expansion/modernization; all new mining operations including renewal of mining leases; felling of trees; and construction of any clusters of dwelling units, farm houses, sheds, community centres, information centres etc; and, electrification, in certain prescribed areas of the Aravali range. The areas, where the construction and mining activities are banned, are the reserved forests and protected forests, and all areas shown as gair mumkin pahar, gair mumkin rada, gair mumkin behed, banjar beed, or, rundh (all categories of land as shown in land records). Construction is also prohibited in all areas covered by notifications issued under Punjab Land Preservation Act, and areas of Sariska National Park and Sariska sanctuary in Rajasthan. Constructions here are allowed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests only after it receives the plan and an Environment Impact Statement. However, the Estimates Committee of the Vidhan Sabha headed by MLA Karan Singh Dalal has reportedly found that none of the violators in the ecologically sensitive Aravali Range had taken prior permission from the Ministry for the construction activity. The Estimates Committee has also found that though the Ministry of Environment and Forests repeatedly sought explanations from the Haryana Environment Department regarding action taken against the violators, the Environment Department said that the designate authority for taking action — Haryana Pollution Control Board — had not issued any notices. Well- placed sources say that once the inquiry by the Estimates Committee is over, many heads are expected to roll, for “allowing violations.”
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Appointment was error, law officer told Chandigarh, September 8 As per a communiqué received by the Office of AG from the Home Department, Haryana, Mr Kwatra’s inclusion in the list of law officer was the result of a typographical error. In his place, advocate Rajesh Kataria has been appointed. Mr Kataria is the person, who, the government claims, was appointed in the first place and not Mr Kwatra. Sources in the AG office wondered why it took the Haryana Government over four months to discover the mistake. “Also, was it a mistake in the first place? There are chances the government might be getting rid of the law officer to appoint another favourite,” observed a law officer. The “clarification” has given rise to more problems than the government could have anticipated. Sources in the AG office disclosed that Mr Kwatra has been regularly representing the government before various Benches of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A senior law officer wondered what would be the status of the decided cases in which Mr Kwatra represented the government. Also, will Mr Kwatra be eligible to receive salary for the period in which he functioned as a law officer? Moreover, will the man ‘originally’ appointed as Senior Deputy AG be given retrospective effect vis-à-vis salary and other perks? Sources said there are a large number of cases in which Mr Kwatra appeared before various Division Benches of the High Court and many of them were even disposed of. “What about cases that were either disposed of or dismissed? Who will be responsible for the same? Some heads must roll for such a mistake, if it was one,” remarked a law officer. When contacted, the AG, Mr Hawa Singh Hooda, refused to comment on the issue.
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INLD, BJP nominees begin campaign
Rewari, September 8 INLD nominee Balwan Singh Suhag inaugurated his election office at Kosli, 35 km from here, yesterday. He said this time the Rohtak byelection was going to be a keen contest among the INLD, the BJP and the Congress candidates. Launching a scathing attack on the Hooda government former INLD legislator Nafe Singh Rathi asserted that the popularity graph of the Hooda government had steeply declined for obvious reasons in the past six months and the masses had now started fondly remembering the good-old days of the Chautala regime. The BJP nominee, Capt Abhimanyu, too, addressed election meetings in 21 villages of the Salhawas segment of the Rohtak parliamentary seat on Tuesday. He was given a rousing reception by the people in most villages. |
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Two ‘kale kachchawale’ men nabbed
Yamunanagar, September 8 As per police sources, five members of the gang struck in the house of Mr Dalip Singh and looted Rs 8,000 from his mother at around 2.30 am. While they were trying to flee, Mr Dalip Singh and his son Mr Tejinder Singh overpowered one of the gang members, who was later identified as Mukesh. The four other members of the gang fled the scene. Mukesh hails from Sharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, a case under Section 295 and 395 of the IPC has been registered and the police has announced to honour Mr Dalip Singh and Mr Tejinder Singh for their courageous act. |
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Patwari held for graft
Panipat, September 8 According to VB sources, Ramesh contacted an inspector, Mr Sham Lal, when Bhale Ram, patwari of Buana Lakhu, had demanded bribe from him. The inspector brought the matter to the notice of Deputy Commissioner, who deputed Block Development Officer of Israna, Mr Ashok Shikara, as Duty Magistrate in this case. Following which, the VB gave a coloured note of Rs 500 to Ramesh for giving it to the patwari. As and when he gave the note to the patwari at his house, team of the VB nabbed him while taking bribe. An FIR was lodged against him.
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5 arrested for abducting girl
Sonepat, September 8 Mr Rajinder Singh, Superintendent of Police, said here today that the arrested youths were identified as Mukesh (prime suspect), Sunder, alias Ghaula, Parveen, Surat and Rakesh, alias Sonu, all belonged to Datauli village and the Balmiki community. The police, he said, also recovered an Indica can used in the crime. The SP said the action followed lodging of an FIR with the Gohana police by Mr Ramphal, a resident of Kasandi village, alleging abduction of his brother’s daughter. |
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Woman, minor son ‘poisoned’
Hisar, September 8 The complainant alleged that on non-fulfillment of their demand, Mukesh’s in-laws poisoned her and her son to death. A case has been registered in this regard.
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Two labourers buried alive
Fatehabad, September 8 According to reports, the labourers were plastering the walls of a well belonging to a farmer, Amar Singh, at Daiyyar village in this district when a wall started giving way. Labourer Dayanand was buried under the debris of the well, while another labourer Jai Bhagwan, was saved. While trying to rescue Dayanand, another labourer, Mohinder, was also buried under the debris. The bodies of the victims could be found early this morning. |
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Strive for excellence, students told Ambala, September 8 The Naggal MLA, Mr Nirmal Singh, was the chief guest. Mr Nirmal Singh recalled that he had studied in the college 27 years ago. He exhorted the students to strive for excellence in different fields. In dance, Nalin was ranked first, Sukhpal and Neetu were placed joint second while Amit Rana third. The consolation prize winners are
Gundeep, Sharmila Das and Sweta. The programme was coordinated by Prof
Y.M. Saini. The stage was managed by Prof Inderjeet Kumar and Ms Rachna Khanna.
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Money stolen from car Ambala, September 8 Mr Ashok Aggarwal, who is a resident of Panchkula, had withdrawn Rs 50,000 from HDFC Bank. He had kept Rs 8000 in his pocket, and the rest of the money in a bag. He had parked his car near the Halwai Bazar chowk in the bazar. After
returning from a paint shop, he found that the bag containing cash was missing. A shopkeeper said that he had seen two youths on a motor cycle near the car. The police is investigating the incident.
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Notice issued on candidate’s plea
Our High Court Correspondent
Chandigarh, September 8
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