Chandigarh, August 20
Giving no immediate relief to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Justice Surya Kant and Justice L.N.Mittal, while separately hearing pre-arrest bail pleas by the dera chief, today issued notices to the CBI, which has accused him of being involved in two murder cases and a case of sadhvis’ alleged sexual exploitation.

The dera chief had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking pre-arrest bail in three cases registered against him by the CBI.

The pre-arrest bail prayer in the cases involving conspiracy to kill Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former dera devotee Ranjit Singh, a farmer from Kurukshetra, was taken up by Justice Surya Kant, who issued notice to the CBI for August 22.

Whereas Justice L.N. Mittal issued notice to the CBI for August 28 while hearing the bail plea relating to the matter of alleged rape of sadhvis.

The counsel for dera chief consistently contended before both judges that the CBI had never sought the petitioner’s custody for interrogation and there was no allegation either that the petitioner had tried to influence the investigation.

Even as the counsel hammered on the political conspiracy to malign the petitioner, Justice Surya Kant observed that the CBI was the nation’s premier investigation agency and nothing should be seemed to be done by the government alone.

The judge also directed that the statements of Sarjeevan, Ranjit Singh’s sister, and Khatta Singh made to the CBI, be submitted before him.

The petitioner’s counsel stressed that the case was politically motivated and that the petitioner was a respectable man, enjoying massive following. “There are fanatics everywhere who can do anything,” the counsel averred, suggesting that the dera chief could not be held accountable for his followers actions.

He emphasised that there was no evidence with the CBI except the statement of Khatta Singh and that a plan had been hatched by the agency to “fix” the petitioner at the behest of politicians.

Hearing the bail plea in the case of alleged rape of sadhvis, Justice L.N. Mittal asked the counsel as to why the petitioner had not gone before the trial court, as was the practice.

The petitioner’s counsel averred that there was no bar as such to come before the high court and stressed that the rape case was concocted, with Sarjeevan never stating that she had gone to “gufa”.

He further submitted that without going into the merits of the case, the question of paramount importance at this stage was related to the liberty of the petitioner.

The CBI, after investigating the cases following the high court’s orders, had filed charge-sheets against the dera chief and others before a special CBI judge, Ambala, on July 31. The CBI court had summoned the dera chief to appear before it on August 31, following which the dera chief moved the high court to seek pre-arrest bail.

Fatehabad, August 20
President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) Simranjit Singh Mann said he was not averse to the idea of a separate gurdwara management committee for Haryana in case Sikhs of the state so wanted.

However, he added that it was due to the failure of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to come out of the influence of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and assert its independent authority that the Sikhs in Haryana were feeling the necessity of a separate gurdwara panel.

Talking to mediapersons at Aherwan village near here today Mann alleged that Badal and his family had been using the SGPC and its funds for the advancement of their own narrow ends.

Mann appealed to Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to withdraw all cases registered against Sikhs in Haryana in connection with the ongoing Sikh-dera row.

He said he would soon personally meet Hooda in this connection and seek his intervention as the police has booked many innocent Sikhs, including some advocates recently.

Mann said his party was against vitiating the peaceful atmosphere of Haryana in the ongoing Sikh-dera row from the very beginning and had suggested to organise the Sikh conclave against the dera chief at Kilianwali in Punjab.

But, Badal, he alleged, wanted to shift the agitation of Sikhs to Haryana to grind his political axe hence he made the Akal Takht Jathedar announce the Ratia conclave, which was later postponed sensing resentment among Sikh masses.

Mann further alleged that Badal wanted to create a rift between Hindus and Sikhs in Haryana.

The SAD (A) leader said his party was now organising a big conference at Sunam, Punjab, on August 22 to force the government to take some concrete action against the dera chief.

On the question of water disputes between Punjab and Haryana, Mann said Haryana had no right over water flowing in rivers falling under the Punjab territory.

He rather suggested that the areas of Sirsa, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Cheeka, Panchkula and parts of Fatehabad and Hisar should be included in Punjab as, he claimed, that these were Punjabi-speaking areas and this would automatically end the demand of more water by Haryana as these areas would then have access to water coming under the Punjab share.

Bhiwani, August 20
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said India was poised to become an economic super power soon because of the visionary thinking of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Addressing a rally organised here on the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi he said the youthful former prime minister had envisioned India as a super power in the 21st century and his dream was about to be realised in the near future.

The late prime minister also strengthened panchayati raj institutions which brought the fruits of democracy and independence to the grassroots level. “We draw inspiration from his value-based style of politics and the Haryana Government would continue to pursue his policies”, he added.

The chief minister said the government was setiing up the Rajiv Gandhi Education City where world class educational facilities would be developed for youth.

He announced that the new Government College for Girls coming up here would be named after Rajiv Gandhi. Likewise, the General Hospital here would be renamed after former chief minister Bansi Lal. A park would also be developed soon which too would be named after Bansi Lal.

Haryana Congress chief Phool Chand Mullana said the opposition had no issue against the Hooda government which was a testimony to the efficient and transparent functioning of the government machinery. He admitted that there was shortage of power but he termed it as an inherited problem which would be resolved soon.

Indian Youth Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said there was a need for launching political initiative against forces that promoted casteism in society and politics. The Congress had always taken all sections together in all struggles and would continue to do so, he added.

Haryana YC chief Sanjay Chhoker who organised the rally demanded more representation of youth in government and party. He said the party should accommodate youth at the time of allotment of ticket for different elections.

Working president of Haryana Congress Kuldeep Sharma, Jai Parkash, Naveen Jindal, Atma Singh Gill, MPs and Tourism Minister Kiran Chaudhary and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dharambir were among those present.

KURUKSHETRA (OC): To promote integration and harmony among all sections of society, on the birthday of late prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, Sadbhavana Diwas was celebrated as Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas here on Monday. On this occasion, essay writing, slogan writing and painting competitions and also a debate on renewable energy were organised at the district level. Deputy Commissioner T. K. Sharma gave away prizes to the winning school and college students.

Panipat (TNS): On the occasion of Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas, the district administration on Monday felicitated Narinder Rathi, sarpanch of Bal Jatan village. The village had showed exemplary work on popularising source of solar energy.

According to Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Ranjan the village had set an example by using the methods of alternate energy in daily life.

Keeping in view the modern day crisis of pollution, he stressed upon the need to switch over to alternative source of energy.

Rohtak, August 20
India is emerging as a hub of knowledge-based industry and scientific research, apart from being the second fastest growing economy in the world. In the given scenario, the universities ought to play a greater role in producing skill-endowed professionals to meet the global standards.

This was stated by the Haryana Governor and Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU) chancellor, Dr A.R. Kidwai, while inaugurating a two-day national conference on biotechnology on the premises of MDU, here, today.

Dr Kidwai said the universities in India must upgrade their academic programmes and encourage path-breaking research.

Renowned biotechnologist and Panjab University vice-chancellor Prof R.C. Sobti observed that owing to its rich biodiversity, India had a substantial genetic resource base for genomic studies. He asserted that initiating studies on the Indian genotypes was the need of the hour.

Prof Sobti exhorted the scientists to base their research on societal concerns and advised the educated youth to shun the mindset of going abroad in search of greener pastures. “Instead, you should contribute your mite in bridging the ever-increasing gap between the have and the have-not by serving your own country,” he said.

Earlier, MDU vice-chancellor Prof R.S. Dhankar detailed the delegates on the academic expansion and progress made by the university during his tenure.

The conference is being organised by the Advanced Centre for Biotechnology of the university to focus on the challenges and emerging trends in the field. Nearly 250 delegates are participating in the conference. Technical sessions on various aspects of biotechnology were conducted today with leading scientists and biotechnologists taking part in the deliberations.

Prior to the conference, Dr Kidwai laid the foundation stone of the Institute of Hotel and Tourism Management on the MDU campus.

Panchkula, August 20
For once, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s birth anniversary was not lost in trite political speeches of who did what, where and when. In a departure from convention, his anniversary was observed to honour the determined, the progressive and the valiant of Haryana, drawn from different walks of life yet bound together by the success of their endeavours.

At the function organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Rashtriya Yuva Chetna Sangathan and the Haryana Pradesh Kisan Khet-Mazdoor Congress, the day clearly belonged to Rajiv Gandhi’s spirit of resolve and progression as the illustrious 20 shared the spotlight for triumphing against odds to come out right on top.

The only surviving member of the Constituent Assembly, Ranbir Hooda, Mangal Pandey’s fifth generation kin Devi Dyal Sharma, Major Balwan Singh of Kargil’s Tiger Hill-capture fame, Asubi Khan, social worker Rajinder Rana, sportspersons Suresh Kumar, Mamta Kharab, Seema Antil and Geetika Jakhar, cinematographer Manmohan Singh, businessman Amit Goyal, mountaineer Santosh Yadav, first woman to Antartica, Dr Kamal Wilku were all there as harbingers of change sweeping across society and state.

If a veiled Asubi Khan from Neemkhera panchayat was awarded for heading the only women panchayat of the state and bringing about sweeping changes in the village landscape, Kamla received the award for her family’s contribution to promoting women education by way of establishing a “Kanya Gurukul” at a time when educating the girl child was nobody’s priority.

Agriculture scientist Jagdish Chand Katyal’s effort in improving crop production and Kewal Singh Chauhan’s pioneering experiment to grow baby corn were acknowledged at the function which also awarded Magsaysay awardee Rajinder Rana and bravery awardee Vikram Gautam for showing exemplary courage in saving a his classmate.

In army regalia, Major Balwan Singh received a thunderous round of applause as he received the award from Shamsher Singh Surjewala, chairman of the Kisan-Khet Mazdoor Congress. Col Hoshiar Singh, a martyr of the 1971 Indo-Pak war, received the award in recognition of his father’s valour.

Introducing each of the awardees to the gathering at the Indradhanush auditorium bursting at its seams with public, Haryana’s Transport Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said that Rajiv Gandhi was synonymous with youth, empowerment of the common man and women, strengthening of panchayati raj institutions. “India is poised to become an economic power by 2020 due to his vision and forward thinking,” he said.

Rewari, August 20
The Government Railway Police (GRP) has registered a case of murder and destruction of evidence of the crime against the suspects, Ashok and Dinesh, sweetmeat sellers from Bawal, following a complaint made by Battan Devi, wife of the deceased, Daharambir, and revelation made in the postmortem report that the inflicted injuries could well be the cause of the death.

Earlier, when the body of Dharambir, a milk vendor of Asalwas village near Bawal, was recovered from the railway track near Karnawas station on August 14, the GRP treated it as a case of accidental death.

However, when Daharambir’s wife alleged that her husband was murdered by the duo, who threw his body on the track to give it a shape of accidental death, the GRP booked the suspects under Sections 302, 201 and 34 of the IPC.

Yamunanagar, August 20
A dharna by nine councillors of the Yamunanagar municipal committee who have levelled serious charges of corruption against MC’s chairperson and her councillor husband today entered into the 12th day. The councillors, including a Congress councillor, were demanding a high-level inquiry into the issues raised by them.

In another related development a secretary of the Haryana Pardesh Congress Committee Satpal Kaushik today shot off a letter to the Haryana chief minister to look into the allegations levelled by the councillors.

The Bhartiya Janata Party extended its support to the councilors today. Party's senior leader and former minister Dr Kamla Verma today went to the camp of the agitating councillors at the MC office and announced its support.

They have given a call of protest march for tomorrow.

Deputy commissioner Nitin Kumar Yadav said he had asked the MC to provide with the details of the works being done by the MC by evoking the emergency section of the MC Act (Section 35).

The councillors have alleged that the chairperson Kavita Arora misused the section for ‘personal’ gains and favoured certain people. Councillors, including

Gurdyal Puri, Vijya Babar, Mohini Gupta and Anita Jain, were also alleging that they were being denied funds to carry out development works in their wards.

The chief minister should intervene and order removal of the chairperson, was the demand of the councillors during a press conference last evening.

"The whole idea behind installing a woman chairperson in the committee has been defeated as it was her husband, a councillor himself, who was acting on her part,” complained Mohini Gupta.

The councilors alleged that the local MLA and parliamentary secretary Dr Krishna Pandit was supporting the chairperson and her husband Gulshan Kumar.

On the other hand, Kavita Arora while addressing a press conference today dismissed all allegations. "We have not misused power and there was no bias in the allocation of funds for different wards,” said Arora.

Yamunanagar, August 20
Sweets were distributed in Mandoli, native village of beleaguered Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, as soon as the news of his interim bail was flashed on various TV channels today.

Excited villagers danced to the tunes of songs from his films. Rakhi sister of Sunil Dutt said Sanjay was innocent and the Supreme Court would absolve him of all charges. — TNS