Rohtak, April 2
While the matter regarding alleged irregularities in HCS selections during the previous Om Prakash Chautala regime in Haryana is under the court’s consideration, another case of gross violation of rules in the appointment of college lecturers during his tenure has come to light.

Apart from exposing blatant overruling of the UGC norms by the state authorities, the present case also puts a question mark on the role played by the UGC authorities, who preferred to look the other way on being apprised of the matter.

The Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) advertised various posts of college-cadre lecturer in May 2001. These included 20 posts of lecturer in computer science. The eligibility criteria stated in the advertisement were as per the UGC norms.

After scrutinising the applications, the HPSC issued interview letters to those candidates who had cleared the national/state-level eligibility test (NET/SLET) for lectureship in the subject of computer science and applications as prescribed by the UGC.

However, a little later, many more candidates not having NET/SLET certificates in the said subject were also issued interview letters. These candidates, who had qualified NET/SLET in mathematics, physics, statistics or operational research, were even selected as lecturers.

This, despite the fact that the UGC had officially specified in 1998 that “as the UGC has included the subject of computer science and applications in the national-level eligibility test for JRF award and lectureship from June 1995, the NET/SLET qualification is mandatory for the subject with effect from November 29, 1995”.

Perturbed by the gross violation of UGC rules in the appointment of lecturers by the state authorities, Pankaj Lathar of Rohtak brought the matter to the notice of the UGC authorities.

In his written representation addressed to the UGC secretary, Lathar stated that several persons appointed by the then Haryana government as lecturers of computer science were ineligible for the said post as per the UGC criteria.

“But due to nepotism and proximity to the HPSC chairman and member(s), these persons got selected despite being ineligible as per the UGC norms,” Lathar said in the representation.

He underlined the fact that these candidates had not cleared NET/SLET in computer science and applications (as required) but in their parent subject (viz. physics, mathematics, etc). Lathar urged the UGC authorities to look into the matter and take appropriate action.

However, the only action the UGC authorities took was that they forwarded his representation to the education secretary to the government of Haryana. After awaiting action for long, Lathar gave another representation in 2002 and yet another in 2003, but all these met the same fate.

In all three forwarding letter(s) to the Haryana education secretary, the UGC authorities have stated that the representation was “self-explanatory”. Still, the state authorities did not even reply to the UGC communiqué. Perhaps the UGC authorities also considered their job done after forwarding the representations.

In an apparent bid to camouflage their wrongdoing and set things right for future, the state authorities decided in 2004 to make UGC-NET/SLET in computer science compulsory by amending the relevant recruitment rules.

This very act on the part of the then state government and its timing are enough to raise doubt about its intentions. While the UGC made clearing of NET/SLET in computer science and applications mandatory in 1995, the Haryana government introduced this aspect in its rules in 2004.

Whether the government wanted to comply with a mandatory provision laid down by the UGC as its constitutional duty or it intended to save its skin by regularising the “arbitrary” appointments through this move is anybody’s guess.

Chandigarh, April 2
A deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of the Haryana police has been placed under suspension for allegedly “helping” the accused get away with kidnapping and rape of a minor in Shingar village in Punhana block of Mewat district.

Sources said DSP Mahabir Singh, shifted out of Mewat and posted at Madhuban right after the incident, had committed the wrong of handing over the victim to the three accused in the case. While the girl was still in their custody, she was “pressurised” to give the accused a clean chit in her statement recorded in the court, the sources said. Later, after the girl was recovered from the accused, her statement was recorded for a second time under section 164 of the CrPC in which she stated that she had been kidnapped and raped by the accused. She had also elaborated on the DSP’s alleged role in covering the tracks of the accused.

The sources claimed that the girl was returning home with her parents on December 20 when three men, Nasim, Shaukin and another accused, pushed her parents away, forced the girl into a Maruti and drove away.

The girl was taken to Goa by the three persons where she was raped. In the wake of her kidnapping, the police began mounting pressure on the parents of the three men involved in the crime to urge their wards to produce the girl.

Succumbing to police pressure, the boys returned with the girl after a couple of days and presented themselves before “politically well-connected” DSP Mahabir Singh. The sources maintain that instead of taking the boys in his custody and sending the girl to a nari niketan, the DSP sent her off with them.

Later, when the parents of the girl approached the local police about the fate of their daughter, they were surprised to hear that she had returned a day before, but had not reached home so far. On investigation by senior police officials, it came to light that the DSP had sent the girl with the boys and that she had given her statement that she had “willingly” gone with the boys.

Maintaining that a minor’s consent had no legal sanctity even if she had willingly gone, the police department was particularly perturbed with the behaviour of the DSP. The sources said he had acted “irresponsibly” in handing over the girl to the boys and even permitted her to make a statement while she was in their custody. Handed over to her parents, the girl later gave a detailed account of her kidnapping, rape and the role of the DSP.

After registering a case against the boys and arresting them, the local police moved a case against the DSP for departmental action. A thorough inquiry was conducted based on which Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda gave his approval for the cop’s suspension. The sources said Mahabir Singh was also allegedly involved in diluting a drug trafficking case, unearthed in Pehowa, by removing certain sections against the accused.

Ambala, April 2
The CBI court today extended the judicial custody of the accused in the kidney scam till April 11. As many as 12 accused, including Dr Amit, were produced in the court of Special Magistrate Abdul Majid here.

Pooja, who was granted interim bail till April 9, was also present in the court.

The accused who were produced include Dr Upender, Dr Surj, Dr K.K. Aggarwal, Linda, Suresh, Harpal, Ramesh, Gayasuddin, Umesh, Manoj and Jagdish. Dr Jeevan was not present in the court as he was in the custody of the Jaipur police.

The court directed the Jaipur police to produce Dr Jeevan on the next date of hearing.

The CBI application in which it requested the court to freeze the bank account of Dr Amit in Canada will be heard on April 11.

Later, talking to mediapersons, Dr Amit said the media had exaggerated the matter. He said he had not committed any crime by transplanting kidneys to save lives.

He alleged that the CBI had falsely implicated him and his family members in the scam. 

Jhajjar, April 2
Financial irregularities worth lakhs have come to light in the Municipal Council of Bahadurgarh.

The MC authorities have passed a building plan in violation of rules and fixed development charges thereby incurring heavy loss on the state exchequer.

In a fresh controversial sanction to a building plan for a multi-storeyed commercial building proposed to be constructed along the NH-10 near Modern Industrial Estate, the MC authorities evaluated and fixed the external development charges (EDC) at a rate much lower than what is fixed by the government i.e. at Rs 180 per square yard.

While the EDC rate for commercial building plans is Rs 790 per square metre, the MC charged only Rs 8,54,189 as EDC for sanctioning the building plan thus saving about Rs 44 lakh for owners of the mall builder.

Municipal councillor Bhagwan Singh Rathi said the total EDC amounts to Rs 52 lakh for passing this building plan as per the Building Bylaws revised in January 2005. Therefore, a loss of Rs 44 lakh has been inflicted on the state exchequer, he added.

The councillor said the total area for the proposed commercial building is 4,472 square yards and as per rules of the Building Bylaws, every site plan of 1,000 square yards and above it could be sanctioned only by the director, Local Bodies, Haryana.

The local bodies department has imposed a recovery of Rs 2,9,71,959 for passing the building plan of Hari Garden, a banquet hall and Rs 4,1,23,350 for passing about a dozen other building plans at various other places of the town.

The MC has charged the development fee at residential rates as Rs 120 per square yard while the actual rate applicable for these sites is Rs 790 per square metre.

The municipal council president said he had no knowledge about sanctioning of any building plan for the multi-storeyed commercial building in the MIE and if there were any violations of the Building Bylaws, the concerned officials would be held responsible for it.

Chandigarh, April 2
The Punjab and Haryana High Court yesterday quashed a complaint, and all subsequent proceedings, against The Tribune’s editor-in-chief H.K. Dua, and others.

Haryana’s IPS officer Bharti Arora had filed the complaint alleging the publication of false and defamatory news items, including the one on the use of red beacon atop her official vehicle. Currently posted as Superintendent of Police, GRP, Ambala, Arora was posted at Karnal at that time.

Pronouncing the verdict in an open court on a petition filed by Dua and other “editorial board members”, Justice Vinod Kumar Sharma of the High Court ruled: I find force in the contention raised by senior counsel (R.S. Cheema) appearing on behalf of the 
petitioners. In this case, it would be seen that two news items published in the newspaper were with respect to the conduct of a public servant in discharge of her public function and has not gone any further. Thus, the case squarely falls under exception second to Section 499 of the IPC.

Justice Sharma added: It may be noticed that as in the present case no offence under Section 499 of the IPC is made out against the petitioners because of second exception to Section 499 of the IPC, the continuation of proceedings against the petitioners, therefore, would be nothing but misuse of process of the court.

In the detailed 24-page order, Justice Sharma ruled: It may be noticed that in view of different notifications issued from time to time, it can be safely presumed that the news items were not motivated or colourable. However, the petitioners herein, who are members of the editorial board, have expressed their regret by publishing the regret in the newspaper…. Their regret can be accepted by the court, instead of forcing the petitioners herein to face trial and thereafter accept their regret.

The judge added: Though counsel for the respondents (Gagandeep Singh Wasu) contested the plea of acceptance of regret on the plea that the petitioners should face trial and this court should not exercise power under Section 482 of the CrPC to quash the proceedings on the basis of regret published in pursuance of the order of this court, this plea of the respondents could have only been accepted if a clear-cut case was made out against the accused-petitioners. However, the facts and circumstances in this case permit this court to accept the regret published by the petitioners in the newspaper.

The petitioners had earlier sought the quashing of criminal complaint number 135 dated July 16, 2005, titled “Bharti Arora versus Kulwinder Sandhu and others”. The complaint was pending in the court of Karnal’s Chief Judicial Magistrate. Directions for quashing the summoning orders, and subsequent proceedings, had also been sought.

Chandigarh, April 2
The two power distribution companies, the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, have decided to launch a mass awakening campaign to educate people about the consequences of power theft and electricity conservation.

Stating this here today, A.K. Singh, managing director, UHBVN, said subdivisional officers of the two companies would visit at least one village or one colony of the urban area having maximum technical and commercial power losses in their respective areas every Saturday in April and May. He said instructions had been issued to constitute teams of a minimum four members in each subdivision who would also visit schools under the personal contact programme. Sarpanches, panches, councillors, prominent persons, public opinion-makers and representatives of social welfare organisations of the areas concerned would be invited to join the campaign. He said the theft of power and its non-judicious use were the main causes for the mismatch between the demand and supply of electricity. Emphasising the need for making efforts at the local level, he said the campaign had been started to educate the common people. The power utilities are making strenuous efforts to ensure maximum power supply to the consumers. Barring exceptions, a major part of the country, including the northern region, is facing shortage of power. In view of this it has become a necessity to make people aware of the consequences of pilferage of power and its conservation.

It would be highlighted in the campaign that the use of electricity for other than the sanctioned purpose and unauthorised extension of load also amount to theft of power.

These provisions had been made through amendments to the Electricity Act, 2003. Under the provisions of the Act, the theft of electricity had been declared as a cognizable and non-bailable offence.

Ambala, April 2
The allocation of new liquor shops in Ambala for the current financial year has left residents of a few villages of Ambala district upset.

The villagers are now up in arms against the village authorities and contractors of the liquor shops protesting against the placement of the new liquor shops in the villages.

Residents of Boh and Saha villages have even written to the deputy commissioner asking him to intervene in the case.

In Boh village, the liquor shop has come up near residences of the Harijan community, while in Saha village, it has come up near the Ravi Das mandir.

Both the villages have one liquor shop each. Residents are protesting against the setting up of new shops, which have come up just two days ago after the new contracts have come into place.

For the past two days, the villagers are staging dharnas. An all-night vigil was also conducted in Saha village yesterday to ensure that the contractor of the liquor shop does not open the shop at night.

Sarpanch of Saha village Suresh Kumar said it was wrong to have a liquor shop next to a temple and they would not allow it to come up there.

Shankutla Devi, a resident of the village, said a liquor shop next to a temple was unheard off. “We cannot have drunkards at temple’s doorsteps,” she added.’

The police has also registered a case on the behest of the villagers.

However, in Boh village, residents said they did not have the support of village elders. Raj Rani said elders of the village were hand in glove with the contractors and authorities.

Karnal, April 2
A sum of Rs 30 crore will be spent on the modernisation of the state police force during the current financial year.

This was stated by DGP Ranjiv Dalal at the passing-out parade of new police recruits at the Haryana Police Academy, Madhuban, here today.

As many as 316 new recruits, including 292 women, today passed out from the police academy.

Parliamentary secretary, home department, Paramvir Singh took the salute and inspected the passing-out parade on the academy campus.

Speaking on the occasion, Paramvir Singh lauded the role of the Haryana police in maintaining law and order and curbing criminal activities. He called upon the new recruits to serve the people with utmost honesty.

Welcoming the chief guest, DGP Dalal said the strength of women in thte force in all its cadres had increased manifold during the past eight months. He said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had taken keen interest in the recruitment of women in the police and reserved 10 per cent seats for them.

Dalal appreciated the efforts of V.N. Rai, director, HPA, for introducing a new syllabus “Sensitive police for sensitive society” recently in the training course of police recruits.

Ambala, April 2
The cantonment board elections, which are being held after a decade, are expected to see a lot of political activity.

The elections for Ambala cantonment will be held on May 18 from 8 am to 5 pm. The counting of votes will begin on May 19 at 8 am and the results will be declared on the same day. The nomination papers can be filed to the returning officer on April 12 from 10 am to 2 pm. Scrutiny will take place on April 15.

Candidates can withdraw their candidature on April 16 if the nominations are scrutinised by the returning officer himself and in case the nominations are scrutinised by the nominee of the returning officer then they can withdraw on April 22 up to 4 pm in the office.

The list of candidates contesting the elections will be finally displayed on April 25 at 10 am in the office.

A total of 16 members will be there on the board. While eight members are elected, four members are nominated and four are ex-officio members.

Kurukshetra, April 2
The police has rubbished the reports that 13 persons have been arrested in connection with the deaths of nine persons of a family, whose bodies were found floating in the Bhakra Canal.

The newly appointed SHO of Pehowa police station, inspector Avtar Singh, said certain persons were called in for questioning at the police station but none of them was arrested.

He said on the basis of a list of the alleged defaulters, who had refused to pay their loan to Mam Chand Singla, traders and farmers were called for mere questioning. They were let off after the interrogation, he added.

Chandigarh, April 2
The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation has earned the highest-ever gross income of Rs 100.90 crore during the just concluded financial year as per the provisional financial results.

Managing director of the corporation Rajeev Arora said here today that this was a quantum jump of 76.87 per cent as compared to the previous fiscal. This growth had been made possible due to enhanced activities of the corporation and better funds management. He said the term loan activity of the corporation also achieved a significant growth during the year when it sanctioned term loans to the tune of Rs 91.23 crore. The disbursement stood at Rs 57.10 crore during this period.

The corporation had drawn an ambitious plan for setting up new industrial estates and infrastructure projects for which a land bank of about 17,000 acres was being created. Prominent among these projects included the KMP Expressway, industrial model townships at Rohtak, Kharkhoda, Faridabad and Jagadhari, and expansion of the IMT Manesar, Bawal, Barhi, Rai, Karnal and Saha industrial estates.

In addition to this, dedicated theme parks were being developed which included food parks at Rai and Saha, apparel park at Barhi, footwear park at Bahadurgarh, textile cluster at Panipat, auto parts cluster at Gurgaon, light engineering goods at Faridabad, agricultural implements at Karnal and technology parks under the campus development norms at Panchkula, Rai and Manesar.

The corporation had drawn an ambitious plan to provide housing for the industrial workforce in the state. The first such project was being set up at the IMT Manesar where 192 single-room dwelling units and 36 dormitory units were being constructed for allotment to the fully operational industrial projects there. 

Jind, April 2
Residents today came out on roads in protest against the price rise and related common issues.

They asked the government to take tough measures to provide immediate relief to the common man. A memorandum was also submitted to the district authorities in this connection.

The protest, which was organised under the banner of the Jan Sangharsh Manch, a local social body, highlighted the problems faced by residents in view of steep rise in prices of all essential commodities and non redressal of various issues faced by poor and middle-level income group.

The manch, in the memorandum, also took up various issues regarding the ongoing policies for poor.

Seeking immediate action, the manch has claimed that several families, who had been allotted 3 marla plots under the Indira awas yojna way back in 1984, were still awaiting possession. It demanded a fixed salary of minimum Rs 10,000 from the new fiscal year.

Yamunanagar, April 2
A brother of a woman employee with the Chandigarh police was arrested for allegedly inflicting serious injuries on his sister’s mother-in-law, Parkasho Devi (62).

The woman is fighting for life at a private hospital. The accused was today produced in a local court, which sent him to a one-day police remand.

Parkasho Devi of Shiv Colony, Radour, here was found wounded in her house by her husband on March 27.

Gulab, a resident of Chandigarh and brother of Labh Kaur, an employee with the Chandigarh police and eldest daughter-in-law of the victim, was arrested from Chandigarh.

The police had earlier booked Rajinder, an uncle of the other daughter-in-law of Parkasho Devi. The case registered against Rajinder would be cancelled, said Om Parkash, acting SHO of Radour police station.

The arrest was made after Prakasho Devi regained conscious and narrated the incident. She told the police that Gulab had come to her house on March 27 and asked her to sell the village land and settle in Chandigarh with her son Rajkumar and daughter-in-law Labh Kaur. She rejected the proposal, following which Gulab allegedly stabbed her.

Chandigarh, April 2
Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh’s petition for quashing cases registered against him by the CBI was today dismissed as withdrawn before Justice Lakshmi Narain Mittal. The petitioner is facing allegations of involvement in the murder of Sirsa-based scribe Ram Chander Chhatrapati, former dera manager Ranjit Singh of Khanpur Kaulian village in Kurukshetra district and the rape of the dera inmate.