Karnal, December 28
In another shooting incident in the district, a taxi driver was shot dead by three assailants near the bus stand here this evening.

According to information, the three persons approached the driver to hire a taxi to some destination in Sonepat district. Following an altercation over some unspecified reason, one of the accused fired at Pawan Kumar (30) from a pistol and sped away from the spot.

The driver was immediately rushed to a trauma centre where he was declared brought dead. He had bled profusely as the bullet had hit him in the neck.

While the police and other taxi drivers nabbed one of the accused, the other two managed to run away from the spot. The police also recovered the weapon used in the crime.

The deceased was sitting on a bench with other fellow drivers at the time of the incident.

Karnal police chief A.S. Chawala said preliminary investigations revealed that the trio belonged to Barrot village of Sonepat district. It seemed that the assailants had an intention to hire the taxi and then loot it by harming the driver, he added.

He further said the nabbed attacker was under the influence of some narcotic and the police was investigating if the accused were members of some gang involved in the criminal activity of car looting.

It was the second shooting incident in the past two days. So far, the police has failed to take any lead in the yesterday’s incident where a local dentist, Dr Ashwani Choudhary, was murdered at his Sector 13 residence.

Chandigarh, December 28
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today assured Rajendra Kumar Pachauri of developing the Gurgaon-Faridabad road as a knowledge corridor.

Pachauri, who headed a panel on climate changes that was awarded the Nobel prize, had called on the Chief Minister here.

The Chief Minister also assured him of exploring the possibility of setting up an institution in Haryana on the pattern of Delhi’s India Habitat Centre.

At the meeting that lasted 30 minutes, the Chief Minister also proposed to constitute a state panel to consider vital issues of environment changes.

The Chief Minister said necessary steps would also be taken for the promotion of “solar passive architecture” as well as for establishing “clean development mechanism” in various sectors.

Pachauri emphasised the need for conservation of natural resources and making the environment pollution-free. He said the development process should be eco-friendly as well as sustainable.

Hooda said the state government was concerned about problems of changing climate and increasing air and water pollution.

Rohtak, December 28
The Pt Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) here has got the sanction for creation of 1,235 new posts of different categories of staffers.

PGIMS authorities have also submitted a final proposal regarding the upgradation of the institute to a medical university to state authorities.

This was disclosed by PGIMS director Prof S.S. Sangwan in a formal interaction with mediapersons here today.

He said the restructuring committee had approved the creation of new posts and the recruitment process would begin after the clearance of the finance department.

Prof Sangwan further stated that work on the construction of a college of nursing, expansion of accidental and emergency building, two new wings of the super-speciality block and additional hostels for boys as well as girls was in progress on the PGI campus.

A 200-bed trauma centre, 100-bed ICU, regional institute of ophthalmology, new OPD blocks, 100-bed mental hospital, 350-bed mother and child hospital, auditorium, lecture hall and extension of Dental College were also in the pipeline.

The director observed that phased enhancement of infrastructure, staff and equipment was being planned and executed to cater to the ever-increasing number of patients visiting the institute. Facilities and equipment like digital X-ray unit, blood irradiator, dual energy dexa-scan machine, fully automated walk-away nephelometry system for plasma proteins had been commissioned recently, he added.

Principal of Dental College Dr Sanjay Tewari, who was also present on the occasion, asserted that the two para-dental courses, dental hygienist and dental mechanic, had been introduced recently. The number of BDS seats at the college had been increased from 20 to 60 and MDS courses in the specialities of operative dentistry, oral surgery and periodontics had been recognised. He further said dental implants had also been started at the college.

The PGIMS dean, Dr V.K. Jain, was also present on the occasion.

Yamunanagar, December 28
In the wake of the December 11 killing of a schoolboy by fellow students in Gurgaon, the Haryana police has asked all district heads of its department to prepare a list of schoolchildren whose parents own licensed firearms.

The idea behind the exercise is to keep a watch on activities of such children and counsel their parents.

The police had also been asked to prepare a list of students who bully other students and those who had some negative tendencies, said sources. The order had been issued to the respective superintendents of police of the districts.

The police wanted the list to be ready at the earliest.

As per sources, the SPs besides using their own sources had also contacted the district education officers (DEOs) to help in preparation of the lists. The DEOs would file names of such students at their respective police stations.

The exercise to identify such students would be carried out in private as well as government schools.

Schoolteachers would inquire children about weapons in their houses. The administration too would use the list of the licenced weapon owners.

Abhishek Tyagi, a class VIII student of Euro International School, Gurgaon, was shot dead from a point-blank range by his classmates due to an old rivalry.

“We do not want such incidents to re-occur here, that is why instructions have been issued,” said Dr C.S. Rao, superintendent of police, Yamunanagar.

After the list was prepared, a meeting would be held with parents and children, who bully others, he added.

Prem Kumar, father of a class XI student, said teachers should remain more vigilant and report about the activities of students to parents. They should also search bags of suspicious students.

Jind, December 28
A 28-year-old youth was murdered and another seriously injured in a clash at Sudhkarn Khurd village here last night.

The police has registered a case against five persons, all residents of the same village, but no arrests has been made so far.

According to the police, the incident took place when the deceased, Surender, and his friend Krishan were having a party with five other residents of the village. Suddenly, an altercation took place between them over alleged lewd remarks regarding a woman in the family of one of them.

Four of them reportedly caught Surender and Krishan and one of them stabbed them several times before they fell on the ground. The accused fled after the incident.

Locals rushed the duo to a hospital at Narwana where Surender was declared brought dead. Krishan was referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak.

A case under Sections 302 of the IPC has been registered against five persons identified as Ramchander, Deva, Himmat, Dharambir and Ramesh.

Meanwhile, a 80-year-old Dalit resident of Morkhi village alleged that he and his family members, including two women, were beaten up by a group of persons of the same village following an altercation over a minor issue yesterday.

He said he and his family were being threatened against reporting the matter to the police.

In another incident, a local leader of the Congress party claimed that some youths snatched his mobile phone when he was walking towards the main bus stand here today. The two youths came on a motorcycle and fled away after snatching the mobile.

In another incident, a youth alleged that some miscreants looted Rs 18,000 from him at Julana, a nearby town, on Wednesday night.

Bhiwani, December 28
It was a day of protests in the city over various issues today. Relatives of Shiv Kumar, a resident of Halu Bazar, who was found in critical condition yesterday and later succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital, blocked the main Ghantaghar Chowk. They were demanding registration of a murder case against the accused. The DSP and SHO of city police station assured protesters of right action.

However, poor supply of electricity invited villagers of Kakroli village to gherao the 132-KV power sub-station today. Protesters alleged that authorities were deliberately imposing long power cuts from the Hadodi feeder.

The SDO, on receiving the information of protest, met farmers and assured them of smooth supply of electricity by January 2. However, the farmers warned of blocking the main Badhra-Jui road in the wake of non-restoration of the electricity supply. The farmers told that a little power was supplied to them for the last one month and their crops had dried up. The authorities tried to pacify the farmers by stating that due to maximum load on the feeder, they had to impose cuts.

Following frequent power cuts and low-voltage supply, panchayats of 10 villages, including Sarangpur, Malwas, Luhani, Jui, Bhakhara, Lalhana, Haripur, Kolura, Asalwas Dubia, Chainpura and Asalwas Merhata, blocked the Bhiwani-Jaipur road for about six hours. The villagers raised anti-government slogans and alleged that the interrupted power supply had damaged their agriculture crops. They also said children were finding themselves unable to continue their preparation for examinations.

Bhiwani, December 28
Under the ‘theft informer scheme’ of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam(DHBVN), about 6,400 informants have given information about thefts being committed in their neighbourhood.

On the basis of the information, the DHBVN officials detected 1,094 thefts of electricity, involving a penalty of Rs 2.14 crore, and as many as 176 informants claimed cash prizes of Rs 5.54 lakh.

The DHBVN gives cash prize up to Rs 50,000 to the informants under this scheme. To avail benefit under this scheme, any person can inform the DHBVN about a theft being committed by any unscrupulous user of electricity, without disclosing his identity. He may give some secret code.

On receiving information, the DHBVN officials will give a unique registration number of the information. On detection of theft, a minimum amount of Rs 1,000 per case will be given to the informant.

If the DHBVN is able to recover the assessed theft amount, 20 per cent of the amount realised, subject to maximum of Rs 50,000 will be given to the informant on providing correct secret code word and the unique complaint number.

His identity will not be disclosed at any stage.

The information can be given on toll-free telephone number 18001801011 or 01662-221527 or emailed at hookacrook4dhbvn@gmail.com or hookacrook4dhbvn@yahoo.com

Yamunanagar, December 28
The foundation stone of the county’s first elephant rehabilitation centre was laid by Haryana minister for forest, environment, tourism, sports and youth affairs Kiran Chaudhary at Bansantoor village in Chhachhrouli here today. The center sprawling over 50 acres of forestland at a cost of Rs 90 lakh and would be ready by March 2008.

The centre sprawling over 50 acre land at a cost of Rs 90 lakh, was being set up on the pattern of a similar sanctuary in Thailand.

The minister also announced that Kalesar forests would be developed into a major eco-tourism center and the department would spend Rs 3.5 crore on it.

A tourist center matching international standards would also be set up with public-private partnership near Hathnikund barrage here.

Later, addressing a press conference, Chaudhary said injured, sick and rescued tuskers from Haryana would be kept at the elephant rehabilitation center. The center would be set up on the pattern of an elephant center functioning in Thailand.

Initially, five thatched sheds for elephants would be constructed and two elephants would be kept in each shed.

The minister informed that services of a Delhi-based NGO ‘Wildlife SOS’ which has expertise in running rescue centers, would be utilised for the centre at Bansantour forests.

Financial commissioner and principal secretary, Haryana, HC Disodia said the funds for this purpose had been provided by the Union government and the recurring expenditure would also be born by the ministry of environment and forests.

JPL Srivastava, director general, ministry of environment and forests, said Rs 50 lakh had already been released for this purpose.

Chandigarh, December 28
Haryana director-general of police Ranjeev Singh Dalal today said they had not given up on their efforts to nab the culprits responsible for the blasts in the Samjhauta Express earlier this year.

“This is one incident that makes us really sad,” Dalal, who was addressing a press conference here, said. He, however, added that investigation into the case was still not over. He said the police went up to Indore in search of the buyers of the suitcases used for carrying the explosive device, but there the probe hit a dead end.

“We must crack the case in the coming year,” Dalal told the SP, railways, Bharti Arora, who, too, was present in the press conference.

Dalal said 2007 was ending on a good note as far cases related to crime against women were concerned. He said the number of rape cases registered this year went down by 106 compared to last year’s figure. This, Dalal said, was achieved by posting women personnel in police stations. Women cops tried to keep in touch with womenfolk in villages, slums and colonies of poor people. Drives against loafers, vagabonds and mischievous elements in rural and urban areas helped in preventing incidents of chain snatching also, the police chief said.

The figure of murder (822 this year) remained roughly the same as last year, Dalal said and added that 82 per cent of the cases of murders were worked out by the police. Analyses showed 28 per cent of the murders were committed in a fit of rage, 16 per cent due to lingering animosity, 8 per cent due to land-related disputes, 7 per cent owing to illicit relationships and the rest for a variety of other reasons.

He said cases of robbery, burglary and theft showed a marginal increase over last year’s figures. On the traffic-control front, Dalal said 22 police stations had been set up in the state for regulating traffic and providing assistance on national highways. During the year, over Rs 3.44 crore had been collected from booking of vehicles for violation of traffic rules, the DGP said.

Dalal said posts of all SHOs in the state had been upgraded to the rank of inspectors from that of sub-inspectors. Four thousand constables, including 300 women constables, had been recruited this year, he said while adding that recruitment of another 4,399 constables for the IRB, the telecom wing of police, the district police and the mounted police was going on.

Dalal also disclosed that a plan for reorganisation of the CID was under consideration to bring about more efficiency in collection of intelligence. It was being proposed to induct personnel exclusively for the CID and offer special incentives to them so that talented people were attracted to the jobs, he said.

Bhiwani, December 28
The district administration today claimed to have earned three times more revenue than before from the Khaanak, Dadum and Kharkari Sohan mines.

Deputy commissioner T.L. Satya Prakash today said it earned Rs 16 lakh revenue on the first day after taking over the works of these mines. Earlier, the government used to receive Rs 5.50 lakh per day.

While complimenting employees engaged in mining operation, he inspected every check post and took stock of the measures. He assured them of all help from the administration in managing the mining work.

Prakash said 15 nakas had been put in the mining area, including 14 at Khaanak and a check post at Kharkari Sohan.

As many as 70 employees of irrigation, revenue, mining, public health, public works, agriculture, block development and panchayat departments had been deployed on these check posts to realise royalty. Besides, 10 employees had been engaged for maintaining accounts and receipts.

The DC said the administration would accomplish its job carefully and the royalty would be charged as per norms. He said the work in these mines would be done from 6 am to 6 pm and no one would be allowed to work after that, adding that those who would operate blast before and after the stipulated time would face police action.

Two kinds of slips would be issued with the cooperation of Baba Mungipa Mines and Minerals and Rajpal and party and theft in mines would be completely stopped.

He further said documents and records related to the mining work for the last six months would be checked.

The district administration took over these three mines three days back and appointed a receiver to the district excise and taxation commissioner following a dispute between leaseholders of the mines.

Later, the officer was replaced with additional deputy commissioner Wazir Singh Goyat. The administration today associated the managing director, cooperative societies, with the receiver and also appointed SDM Tosham Hawa Singh Pachar as duty magistrate.

Faridabad, December 28
The Gujjar community will continue its agitation to press for the Scheduled Tribe status for the community in Rajasthan. Col Kirorimal Baisla, an acclaimed leader of the Gujjar agitation, which has been going on for several months in Rajasthan and other parts of the country, said the community felt let down by the BJP government in the state.

According to him, the Rajasthan government is to send its recommendations for giving Scheduled Tribe status to Gujjars in the state. He alleged that the state government was not acting positively on the issue.

A mahapanchayat of the community would be convened at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, in which members of the community from north India, including Haryana, would take part in it to express solidarity to the demand from the

Rajasthan government, he added. Also, a mahapanchayat would be convened on January 13 at Bayana in Rajasthan.

Twenty-six persons of the Gujjar community lost their lives in a bloody agitation in Rajasthan on the issue. The agitation was also witnessed in Haryana and nearby Delhi, where the members of community had resorted to violence.

In an oblique reference to the Meena community, which was opposing the granting of ST status to Gujjars, he said the Gujjars had no ill will against any one, neither it opposed others being included in the ST list.

He cautioned that the community would chart out its strategy soon regarding ongoing agitation in future. He also asserted that the community would never give up on the demand for inclusion in the ST list.

Bhiwani, December 28
The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has completed the erection of high voltage distribution systems (HVDS) or aerial bunched/armoured /shielded cables based distribution system (ABCDS) in 100 villages under the revenue protection project.

A DHBVN spokesman said here yesterday that the nigam had been laying distribution system of international standards in villages under the prestigious project.

Villages having more than 300 houses would have HVDS while villages, which had up to 300 residential dwellings, would have ABC-based distribution systems. The nigam had selected 2,001 villages for HVDS and 1,119 villages for ABC-based distribution system in Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Mewat, Gurgaon and Faridabad districts.

The spokesman said erection of HVDS or ABCDS in 963 additional villages was in progress, including 341 villages in Sirsa, 397 in Hisar and Fatehabad, 55 in Faridabad, 196 in Mahendragarh and Rewari and113 in Gurgaon and Mewat.

Under the HVDS, all low-tension transmission lines in villages were being replaced with high-tension lines so that they were accident free and groups of 15 to 25 consumers were being given connections from one transformer so that sufficient voltage was provided and there was no overloading of transformers.

Moreover, in case of transformer failure, a small number of consumers would be affected. Each consumer would be given connection from a distribution box under the system by installing electronic meter of latest technology. While under the ABC-based distribution system, aerial bunched cable (ABC) or armoured (steel and rubber coated) cables would be erected for power supply.

He said while creating the new system of distribution, all meters would be shifted to boundary walls or poles. Those who did not have regular power connections would be given connections at the spot.

The people would also be persuaded to install compact fluorescent lamps instead of traditional incandescent bulbs and T-5 tubes in place of T-12 tubes.

Faridabad, December 28
The police has failed to solve a number of murder cases in the Ballabgarh area, which took place recently, much to the chagrin of the people of the area.

While some of the murder cases and the overall circumstances surrounding these do not attract public attention, a couple of others are on the mind of the public due to the brutality exhibited by the criminals.

The incidents of murders here start with Diwali festival night, when an engineering student was murdered by two youths. The youths had allegedly met the victim, son of a personnel of the Goodyear Factory located on the outskirts of Faridabad, as a customary visit on the occasion of the festival. The youths pumped bullets in him from point-blank range.

The Rahul murder case has sent shivers among the residents of the area, and it was the much talked about incident.

The police has failed to crack the case, ending up scratching the surface, so to say.

The other one is the murder case of two sisters, who were undergraduate students of Aggarwal Post Graduate Degree College in Ballabarh.

The two sisters did not return home from college on December 17. The matter was notified to the Ballabarh police as missing person case by the parents.

Next day, the bodies of two sisters were found, who were natives of the nearby Prithla village. One body was beheaded, and the elder sister’s head was crushed. The bodies were found at a railway track. Autopsy reports suggested the rape of both sisters.

The local police first tried to wash its hands by saying that it will be investigated by the railway police.

After massive protest by the residents of Prithla and its thereabouts, the local police relented and arrested three youths of the village and a girl student of the college, who was said to be a friend of the two sisters.

However, the villagers are not satisfied with the police investigation. In fact, recently many residents of Prithla and its thereabouts staged a protest march, for about 8 km from Prithla to the district police headquarters here, demanding early solution of the case.

Residents and relatives of the two sisters allege that the police has come under political pressure of some leaders of the ruling Congress, as one of the youths arrested is a bother of a person who is alleged to be associated with the party headquarters, the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

The police, which has already sought 12 days-remand of the four persons arrested in the case, says that it will soon solve the case.

In another incident, an industrialist along with his relative was stopped near highway in Ballabgarh area about a week back by some persons in a Honda City car.

The two were taken to a secluded place nearby and badly beaten up. Their luxury car and about Rs 7 lakh were taken away by the criminals.