Fatehabad, July 17
The ongoing standoff between Sikhs and Dera Sacha Sauda followers has resulted in families leaving dera folds in exodus and returning to their earlier religion in this district.

Most of these were Sikh families, had poor background and have returned to Sikhism.

The process started immediately after the Bathinda incident in which the dera chief was accused of imitating Guru Gobind Singh. The trend refuses to die even after two months.

The Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkaar Sabha led by Sukhwinder Singh has launched a special campaign in the area and its members have been persuading villagers to leave the dera and return to Sikhism.

As many as 53 families owing allegiance to the dera joined Sikhism at Ratia on Monday.

The local gurdwara parbandhak samiti welcomed the families to their fold by offering them siropas.

The families said they had been associated with the dera for the past some years but had now decided to return to their original religion.

At Chandpura village in this district, 20 families severed their relations with the dera today.

Jathedar Hardip Singh Khalsa of the sabha offered siropa to them in the village gurdwara.

It is the same gurdwara which was stoned by some dera followers on June 14 this year.

In another incident, 18 families belonging to the dera bid goodbye and returned to Sikhism today at Kulan in this district.

In the last two months many families from villages like Bahbalpur, Cheemo, Jakhal and Tohana have left the dera.

Interestingly, every time the news of dera followers severing their links with it have appeared in the newspapers, local leaders of the dera have denied the reports saying the persons claimed to have left the dera were never its members.

Sources close to the families leaving the dera claim that threat of social boycott prompted them to shift their religious commitment.

The sources said as most of the families associated with the dera were from the lower strata of society, they could ill afford social boycott from the landlord families on whom they depended a lot for their living.

Sirsa, July 17
In the wake of yesterday’s clash between Sikhs and dera followers in Ghukna Wali village, three more companies of the Border Security Force(BSF) were deployed today. Besides at the Dera Sacha Sauda, security was also tightened at all sensitive places and border areas with Punjab.

BSF men were deployed on all roads that led to the dera and nakas were held on the way. Besides it, the security was also tightened in the dera while Z plus security has already been provided to the dera chief by the state government keeping in view threat to his life.

The ADGP (Law and Order), V.B. Singh, also reviewed the security arrangements and held meetings with the SP and other police officials of the district.

The police is conducting raids at several places to arrest members of both the groups involved in the yesterday’s clash. The case was registered under Sections 148, 149, 332, 353, 295-A and 506 of the IPC against unknown persons on the statement of tehsildar Amarjit Singh. As the video recording of the incident was available with the police, it has helped to identify the persons involved in the clash, SP Vikas Arora told The Tribune.

Regarding the clash, the dera spokesman told the media today that the administration had been intimated 24 hours in advance about the religious congregation to be held in Ghukna Wali. A branch of the dera was established there in 1952. Despite this, the dera followers were attacked. The administration had assured us protection when the dera followers had lifted their fast unto death, the spokesman added.

Taking serious note of the clash between Sikhs and dera followers, deputy commissioner V. Umashankar on Tuesday directed all SDMs and tehsildars to strictly deal with the mob after holding a meeting with them. The DC said the SDMs of concerned areas did not have to wait for any orders if they found the situation deteriorating. The SDM could first issue a warning.

However, officials and paramilitary forces have been told to control the situation tactfully. He said no one would be allowed to take law into his hand.

Sirsa, July 17
Eight members of a peace committee constituted by the district administration today resigned protesting against yesterday’s clash between Sikhs and dera followers.

The members quit after the head of gurdwara Sri Guru Granth Sahib Baljit Singh Dadu demanded that the peace committee be dissolved as it had become irrelevant after the clash. He along with other Sikhs protesters had yesterday lifted dharna from the national highway only after the committee members of Kalanwali area announced to quit.

The committee comprising 32 members, including 28 members from the representatives of various organisations, was formed on June 19. However, DC V. Umashankar expressed full faith in the functioning of the committee even after its eight members resigned here. He said they had worked out a strategy again to convince the members of both the groups to maintain peace.

Chandigarh, July 17
The possible show of strength between warring Haryana Congress factions led by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and former CM Bhajan Lal during the presidential elections is set to take an interesting turn. Bhajan Lal’s younger son and suspended Congress MP from Bhiwani Kuldeep Bishnoi will cast his vote in the Haryana Assembly, here.

Normally, the MPs cast their vote in Parliament, though under rules they can cast their votes in the state Assemblies also after the prior approval of the returning officer.

Bishnoi’s presence in Chandigarh on the polling day is being interpreted as an attempt to ensure that a maximum number of MLAs vote against the Congres’s official candidate Pratibha Patil.

Not that the prospects of Patil would be adversely affected if the Congress MLAs in Haryana cross vote, particularly after the UNPA has decided to abstain. But it would be certainly embarrassing for the ruling group if Bishnoi manages votes against the party candidate in excess of a particular number.

The ruling group is mentally prepared for a certain number of MLAs in Haryana voting against Patil.

If Bishnoi manages cross-voting by more than three, it will certainly be an achievement for him, even if a minor one in his long struggle to fulfil his dream of becoming Haryana’s Chief Minister.

The votes will be secret and no party whip can be issued. It is virtually impossible to detect who has cross voted.

The Congress has a strength of 67 in the House of 90. The BJP has two MLAs, who are expected to vote for Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. The nine INLD members would abstain. Ten independent MLAs, one BSP MLA and one NCP member are expected to vote for Patil because they are supporting the Hooda government. Thus, ideally the Congress should get the votes of 79 members. If it gets the votes of 76 members, Hooda would be all smiles.

Rohtak, July 17
Perhaps in a bid to shatter its image of being an urban outfit, the Haryana BJP has decided to launch an extensive campaign of meeting the villagers at chaupals to know their grievances and ‘expose’ the failures of the state regime before them. The party plans to cover nearly 4,500 villages in two months.

The Haryana government’s failure to provide regular supply of electricity and water, slow progress of developmental projects, labour unrest and increasing communal tension in the state are the main issues on which the BJP will try to build a mass movement and corner the Congress government in the state.

“The political strategy of the BJP’s state unit as well as the outline of the anti-government campaign will be finalised at a meeting of the party’s state executive to be held at Panchkula on July 20,” said Capt Abhimanyu, general secretary of the Haryana BJP, at a press conference organised here today.

He said the party’s national general secretary, Ram Lal, and secretary in charge of Haryana affairs Vijay Goel would be the main speakers at the meeting. “The preparations and arrangements of the BJP rally to be held at Rohtak on October 27 would also be reviewed at the rally,” he added.

Addressing mediapersons, the BJP leader alleged that while the law and order situation in the state was deplorable and corruption was rampant, the entire ruling group was engaged in property dealing.

Chandigarh, July 17
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has demanded that the Haryana government should blacklist all companies of the Jindal Group of industries and prosecution should be launched against its owners, including Naveen Jindal, Congress MP from Kurukshetra, for allegedly trying to grab government land for a song.

The demand was made by secretary-general Ajay Chautala, senior party leader Sampat Singh and president of the Haryana unit of the party Ashok Arora at a joint press conference here today.

Sampat said the land, belonging to the Haryana Agriculture Marketing Board, was put on auction under the pressure of Naveen though his request for the land was turned down by the board several times.

He said since the administrator of the board at Hisar had categorically written that the bid could have been much higher if the four organisations belonging to the Jindals had not pooled and if other parties had also participated in the auction. The officer, he said, had also recommended further investigation into the pooling by the four organisations. Therefore, a criminal case should be registered against the Jindals.

The INLD leaders said their party had also pointed out certain discrepancies when the Hooda government had signed a number of power-purchase agreements worth crores of rupees. The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission had now also pointed out the same discrepancies and the agreements had been held up.

They said similarly when the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of a gas-based power project in Faridabad, the INLD had pointed out that since no gas was available in the country, the project would not succeed. They said the project had now been abandoned. 

Rewari, July 17
As many as 1000 members of the Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) and village forest committees participated in the 58th van mahotsava celebrations held at Mahendergarh on Sunday.

The function was inaugurated by state forests and tourism minister Kiran Chaudhary, who planted five saplings in the ITI complex at Mahendergarh.

Making a specific mention of the warning contained in the American Vice-President Al Gore’s special report on global environment, the minister said if we failed to effectively arrest the rapidly declining forest cover, North India would face a grim situation of almost total depletion of water resources by 2015.

Emphasising the urgency of making Haryana greener to ward off the impending disastrous situation, she called upon the people to go in for optimum tree plantation. Reiterating the state government’s resolve to increase the forest and tree cover in the state to 10 per cent by 2010, she said 4 crore saplings would be planted on about 12,440 hectares of land during 2007-08.

As regards the existing Community Forestry Project, whose duration expires in March, 2008, she announced that Rs 230 crore had already been sanctioned by the union planning commission for its further continuance. Eight new herbal parks would be set up in various districts of the state this year and an elephant rehabilitation centre would also be established at a cost of Rs 90 lakh at Kalesar in the coming months.

Asserting the Forest Department had made a significant contribution towards the socio-economic empowerment of the women, she said as many as 1,095 WSHGs were now engaged in women nurseries and other income generation activities.

Yamunanagar, July 17
Three accused in the journalist murder case were today sent to three-day police remand by a local court.

The three had surrendered before the court yesterday while the other three accused in the case are still absconding.

The three accused were produced again in the court today. The police asked for eight-day police remand as weapons, vehicle and bloodstained clothes were yet to be recovered.

However, after hearing the defence council’s pleas, CJM Kanchan Mahi sent them to three days’ of police remand. The accused will be produced in the court on July 20 again. — TNS

Ambala, July 17
Indian National Lok Dal leader Saroj Ghauri was arrested this afternoon after drugs were recovered from her residence in Ambala Sadar. Saroj is the former district president of the Ambala Cantonment unit of the Indian National Lok Dal.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided her residence, located behind kabari bazaar. The team, led by SHO Dharam Veer and DSP Rajesh Kumar found opium and poppy husk hidden in a box in Saroj’s house.

A police official said 430 gram of opium and 1.5 kg of poppy husk has been recovered.

Other INLD leaders distanced themselves from the incident and not a single person from the party turned up at the Ambala Sadar police station, where Saroj was being questioned.

During interrogation, nobody was allowed inside the police station.