Chandigarh, December 1
Stating that about 10 per cent of legislators at the central and state levels are believed to be hardened criminals and history-sheeters, former additional director general of police, Haryana, V.K. Kapoor, said about 700 state assembly legislators and 40 MPs had an unsavoury background.

With the involvement of legislators in human trafficking, the criminalisation of polity, he said, had turned a full circle in the vandalised political landscape of the country. He was speaking at a conference on “Legacy of Nehru : The making of India” at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development here today. The session was chaired by the Governor of Haryana, Dr A.R. Kidwai.

He said almost all legislators were believed to be engaged in some kind of corruption and an honest politician could no longer think of entering into the election fray.

Pointing out that more countries have gone down because of internal corruption than external aggression, Kapoor said Indian politics had a kaleidoscopic quality and was manifested by religious schisms, regional power centres, caste rivalries conflicts between the rich and the poor and tightly woven strands of modernity and deep tradition.

The country at present, he said, had too much government but too little governance, too many public servants but too little public service, to many laws but too little justice and too much talk but too little action.

He said the need of the hour was comprehensive electoral reforms, empowerment of local governments, instruments of accountability and speedy and efficient justice.

Managing Editor of the Asian Age M.J. Akbar spoke on Nehru and the making of modern India. He delved upon Nehru’s contribution in India’s development, his role in the eradication of famine in the country and his policies on investment. He also touched upon on the Nehru’s style of dealing with his opponents.

Former editor of The Tribune, Hari Jaisingh, while speaking on Media and the legacy of Nehru, said the time had come for the media to look within and respond to the changing times and situation within the democratic framework.

He said what was needed urgently was empowerment of citizens with right information so that they were not taken for a ride. 

Kaithal, December 1
The court of sub-divisional judicial magistrate, Guhla, Parveen Gupta has farmed charges against a former Guhla SDM-cum-registering authority R.S. Kharab, a clerk, Sube Singh and Suresh Jindal of Cheeka after holding them prima facie guilty of cheating and entering into a criminal conspiracy to cause monetary loss to the state government.

According to information, Sanjeev Verma joined as SDO-cum-registering authority, Guhla, on January 13, 1999 and detected some irregularities in the issuance of small digit numbers. An inquiry was conducted on his directions and it was revealed that records pertaining to the registration of some vehicles were tempered with. The VIP numbers were issued for three vehicles without payment of requisite fee, which ranged from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000.

Following the inquiry report, Sanjeev Verma got an FIR registered under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC.

However, the investigating agency filed a cancellation report and requested fresh investigation. DSP Guhla conducted the inquiry and filed a report against Sube Singh and Suresh Jindal.

The complainant, Sanjeev Verma, led preliminary evidence following which Sube Singh and Suresh Jindal were summoned to face trial under relevant sections. Suresh Jindal filed an application in the court to summon R.S. Kharab, which vide its order dated November 18, 2005, summoned R.S. Kharab as an accused. His plea before the court to discharge him was dismissed.

The court of sessions judge, Kaithal, also dismissed his criminal revision petition and he faced trial.

After examining various witnesses and perusal of the evidence on record, the court came to the conclusion that registration numbers, HR09F- 0001, HR 09 E- 0005 and HR 09 D - 003, stood allotted against old numbers, HR09-7701, HR 09-8799 and HR 09-6921.

The pages of the register where endorsement regarding cancellation of old numbers and allotment of new numbers were made were half torn. The records were in the custody of Sube Singh, who prepared false documents to cause wrongful loss to the state exchequer. He was charged under Sections 465, 468, 420 and 120-B of the IPC.

The court came to the conclusion that Suresh Jindal entered into a criminal conspiracy wih Sube Singh and then registering authority to get special registration numbers and was charged under Sections 420, 468 and 120-B of the IPC.

In case of R.S. Kharab, the then registering authority, the court concluded that it was prima facie proved that he entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat the state exchequer of Rs 55,000 by allotting special single digit numbers without getting requisite fee deposited. He was charged under Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC. 

Chandigarh, December 1
Nearly five years after former chairman of the Narnaul market committee Rajbir Singh was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted him relief.

Taking up his appeal, a Division Bench of the high court, comprising Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Justice Mohinder Pal, has held him guilty for abetment to commit suicide and has reduced the sentence to five years.

Rajbir Singh, also a former member of the Indian Tourism Development Corporation, was accused of murder in a case related to the death of a woman, about eight years ago in a village near Narnaul.

A case in this regard was registered after the death of Shakuntala. It was alleged that on April 4, 1999, when Shakuntala had gone to his house in Nizampur village, reportedly to take back the money he owed her, she was allegedly given tea laced with poisonous substance, reportedly lead to her death.

Prior to her death, Shakuntala had reportedly conveyed to the police that she apprehended threat to her life from Rajbir Singh. She had also communicated her fears to Bhal Singh, an IPS officer posted in Jaipur.

During the investigation, the police found Rajbir Singh guilty under Section 306 of the IPC for abetment to suicide. Subsequently, after examining him the sessions court, Narnaul, held him guilty under Section 302 of the IPC in 2002 and sentenced him to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000.

Contesting the order of lower court before the high court, defence counsel Naresh Kumar Sanghi and Aditya Sanghi argued that as per postmortem report it was a case of consumption of celphos, which has a stinking smell and cannot be given unknowingly.

Therefore, the woman could not have been forcibly administered the same. Also there was no evidence of administration of poison by the accused.

Bhiwani, December 1
Protesting against the alleged house arrest of a youth of Ramalwas village under Badhra Assembly constituency, who had announced that he would go with 51 camels in the “janhit rally” to be held tomorrow, the former Charkhi Dadri MLA, Satpal Sangwan, blocked the Jaipur-Bhiwani road near Adampur bus stand here today.

Addressing the protestors, Ratan Singh Dandama said the government was all fret and fume of the success of the “janhit rally” of Kuldeep Bishnoi and had seized vehicles in nearest police stations.

He said now the police had started lifting Kuldeep’s supporters from their residences.

He said the police had house arrest Suresh of Ramalwas village, a supporter of Kuldeep Bishnoi, from his tubewell last night.

He alleged that the relatives and family members had no idea about the whereabouts of Suresh and were running from pillar to post to locate him.

The protesters under the leadership of Satpal Sangwan raised anti-Hooda slogans and later met the DSP, Charkhi Dadri.

On getting cold response, they took out a procession from markets. 

Fatehabad, December 1
Volunteers of the local Great India Social Club today carried out an awareness drive against HIV/AIDS and distributed condoms among truck drivers and slum dwellers on the occasion of the World Aids Day.

The activists of the club led by president Ramesh Sethi and executive members - Rajesh Gandhi, Nand Kishore, Amar Jain, S.K. Mittal, Kamal Batra and Pawan Kalra - went to the local truck stand, taxi stand, canter stand and slum areas and informed the people about the deadly disease.

The volunteers also distributed literature regarding HIV/AIDS among them.

Sethi said 33 million people across the world were affected with this disease, according to a UN report and immediate attention of the people was needed to eradicate this disease.

SIRSA: Over 1,000 students of various government schools participated in the AIDS awareness rally carried out in the city on the occasion of the World AIDS Day here on Saturday.

Besides, a quiz competition was also organised by the health department for the students.

Civil surgeon P.R. Kayasth, who had organised the awareness drive, highlighted ways to tackle and prevent AIDS.

A function was also held at Choudhary Devi Lal Vidyapeeth, which was attended by over 200 students.

Keeping in view the rise in the number of HIV + patients every year in the country, the director general of Choudhary Devi Lal Vidyapeeth, Dr K.S. Dhindsa, highlighted the urgent need to root out the deadly disease. 

Bhiwani, December 1
Members of several organisations and relatives of the deceased today jammed Ghantaghar Chowk along with the body of the youth, who was murdered by some unidentified persons yesterday. The protesters shouted anti-administration slogans.

According to the report, some unidentified armed youths fired indiscriminately at Yadvender of Shanti Nagar and Vijay of Hanuman Dhani when they were sitting in a tent house located on the Kaunt road. Yadvender died on the spot while Vijay sustained serious injuries. The police had registered a case against unidentified assailants but failed to arrest the culprits even after a day.

The main road was blocked for more than two hours. The protesters were demanding immediate arrest of the culprits and a police post on the Kaunt road.

The BJP district unit condemned the shooting incident at a meeting held here today, which was presided by its district president, Rishi Prakash Sharma. Sharma alleged that the criminals were roaming freely in the present government.

He threatened to stage demonstration if killers of Yadvender were not arrested soon. 

Chandigarh, December 1
The Haryana government today announced to extend the period of the scheme for the waiving of the interest, penalty and surcharge on house tax in all municipal councils, municipal committees and the municipal corporation, Faridabad, up to December 31, 2007.

While stating this here today, a spokesman of the urban local bodies said the response to this scheme had been overwhelming. In view of this, the government had decided to extend the period of the scheme so that the left-out beneficiaries could also avail themselves of the benefit under it.

He said under the scheme, the interest, penalty and surcharge on house tax would be waived provided the principal amount was paid.

Similarly, the government had also extended the period of the scheme of waiving interest, penalty and surcharge on water charges in the municipal corporation of Faridabad up to December 31, 2007, he added. 

Chandigarh, December 1
In a move that is likely to have a bearing on the profits of private players in the business, Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (HAFED) has decided to slash the prices of its weedicides up to nearly 25 per cent of the existing market prices this rabi season with immediate effect.

In a breakaway from the prevailing prices, HAFED has announced a bonanza for farmers by providing them quality products like Sulphosulfuron 75 WG, Cladinofop-Propargyl 15 WP and Isoproton 75 WP at the lowest prices in the state in comparison to private brands.

Farmers will now get Sulphosulfuron 75 WG at Rs 225 per acre against the market rate of Rs 325 per acre, Hafed Cladinofop-Propargyl 15 WP at Rs 313 per acre against Rs 393 per acre and Isoproton 75 WP at Rs 180 per kg against the market rate of Rs 225 per kg.

With the sowing of wheat complete, the time is now right for the spray of weedicides which goes on till the last week of December. “We have slashed our margins, reducing the prices of the weedicides significantly. Since the rates of weedicides have been reduced for every acre, the total cost difference becomes very substantial given the fact that we have nearly 50 lakh acres under wheat cultivation,” says HAFED MD Sudhir Rajpal.

Maintaining that HAFED was an apex cooperative body of Haryana working for the benefit of farmers, he added that it had always pioneered various schemes.

“In the same series, HAFED has decided to supply good quality pesticides and weedicides to farmers at reasonable prices under the name of ‘HAFED’ formulated at its pesticide unit at Taroari. 

Jind, December 1
A farmer died and his son was left seriously injured in a clash that took place between him and his brother over a dispute connected with agricultural land, measuring one-fourth of an acre, here this morning. The victims were ploughing the field when the incident took place. The injured has been referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak, for treatment. The police has registered a case but no arrest has been made so far.

At least six deaths reported in the district in one year were a result of some family feud.

The deceased was identified as Raghubir (47), who had a dispute with Hukma, his brother, over a piece of agricultural land. Though both brothers were the owner of about 2 acres of land. About one-fourth of an acre of land was disputed and both of them had been ploughing it.

While a panchayat had been held on this issue in the village about two months ago and Raghubir was reportedly authorised by it to till the land. But according to the complaint lodged with the police, the accused, Hukma and his two sons, identified as Dilbagh and Balinder arrived at the field, armed with axe and sticks this morning, when the father and son were working in the field and started an assault. The victims who received grievous injuries were shifted to the civil hospital here after the locals intervened. But Raghubir succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital, while his son Satish (24) was admitted here in a serious condition. The doctors here later advised the kin to shift him to the PGIMS, Rohtak. A youth had allegedly hacked to death his mother in a nearby village about one and a half months ago after he developed a dispute over some issue. 

Fatehabad, December 1
Inculcating good reading habits are important for sharpening of the intellect among children and the more one reads the more one becomes knowledgeable, said Desh Nirmohi, director of the Haryana Sahitya Akadami, while addressing school children at Government High School in village Kajalheri here today.

Nirmohi had come here to preside over a poetry recitation and story telling competition organised by the Akademi.

Students Maya, Chhotu Ram, Promilla, Kavita, Salma, Monica, Manisha and KIran excelled in the poetry recitation and story telling competition.

The district public relation officer Sahib Ram Godara and writer Balram Saini were present on the occasion.

Students presented a myriad of cultural activities on the occasion.  

Gurgaon, December 1
An amount of Rs 11.59 crore will be spent on improving the condition of roads in Gurgaon district under the first phase of the Rajiv Gandhi bridges and roads infrastructure development programme launched by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday from Charkhi Dadri subdivision.

Staing this yesterday deputy commissioner Rakesh Gupta said the infrastructure programme envisaged an expenditure of Rs 3,000 crore on the construction and widening of the existing roads and bridges in the state. Gupta said the programme would be implemented in three phases.  

Rewari, December 1
Satish Kumar (23) died when his motor cycle was reportedly hit by an unknown vehicle on the Bhoodthala-Kosli road last night.

The mishap occurred when he was returning to Bithwana village, near here, after his participation in a social function at his sister’s house at Bhoodthala village.