Chandigarh, March 17
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) today revoked the suspension of former Haryana DGP, M.S. Malik, who has in the meantime retired, for the second time.

Taking note of the provisions of Rules of 1969, the CAT held: “We consider the order of suspension as revoked on the expiry of 90 days. Meanwhile, the order of extension of suspension is treated as illegal and is quashed. The applicant is deemed to be reinstated with effect from September 13, 2005.” The CAT stated that Malik was also allowed to claim pension benefits.

Haryana cadre IPS officer Malik was suspended by the Haryana government in 2005 after he was accused of irregularities in the Haryana State Industrial Security Force (HSISF) recruitment. Challenging his suspension, Malik had moved the CAT, which had ordered the Haryana government to quash his suspension in 2005. However, the Haryana government had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the CAT orders.

In its orders, the high court had stayed the CAT order. Thereafter, Malik had again moved the CAT maintaining that his suspension was to be reviewed by the Haryana government after a period of 90 days. The orders on this application were pronounced today.

The Hooda government had suspended the former DGP for alleged irregularities in the recruitment of HSISF staff.

In his application, Malik had claimed that he had been a victim of political vendetta unleashed by the ruling Congress government. Malik added that the state had extended his suspension violating the Rule 3 (8) (c) of the Rules of 1969. While the state of Haryana argued that the suspension was extended so that his case could be reviewed by a competent authority.

This is the second case of suspension of an officer of DGP rank wherein the CAT has revoked the suspension orders. Earlier this month, the CAT in Maharashtra had reinstated the former DGP, Punjab, S.S. Virk, who was suspended last year. 

Chandigarh/Kurukshetra, April 17
At least 20 persons sustained burn injuries when a petrol tanker turned turtle and was allegedly set on fire near Bhawani Khera village, 4 km from Kurukshetra, today. Eleven of them received over 50 per cent burns.

District police chief Amitabh Dhillon said the petrol tanker, which was on the way from Kurukshetra to Jhansa, suddenly turned turtle near Bhawani Khera village. Onlookers rushed to the spot of the accident, pulled out the driver and the conductor from the tanker and took them to a private nursing home.

Meanwhile, villagers saw petrol flowing out of the tanker and started collecting it for their use. It was at this moment that Banta Ram, alias Ranbir, allegedly struck a match to the petrol and the tanker caught fire injuring the onlookers. On a complaint of Ajmer Singh, a resident of Bhawani Khera, Banta Ram has been booked, the SP said. The police reached the spot. The fire brigade was pressed into service which had a tough time controlling the fire.

The 11 persons who sustained serious burns have been identified as Raj Kumar, Suresh, Ranbir, Gurmeet, Jai Parkash, Harkesh, Amarjit, Gurmeet Singh, Tarsem Singh, Gurdeep and Tarsem and have been admitted to the PGI and the GMCH in Chandigarh.

Tarsem told The Tribune at the GMCH tonight that as the people working in fields were collecting petrol for their vehicles, the sudden blast following the fire in the oil tanker took the onlookers by surprise injuring several of them seriously. The victims were first rushed to the civil hospital in Kurukshetra from where 11 persons were referred to Chandigarh hospitals.

Doctors said almost all injured were serious as they had sustained over 50 per cent burns.

Meanwhile, the police has registered a case against Banta Ram under sections 435, 427, 438, 307 and 379 of the IPC. The petrol tanker has been impounded by the police.

Samalkha (Panipat), April 17
In a heartrending incident of road rage, a young engineer was set afire by three unidentified occupants of a truck on the GT Road here today.

The victim was first beaten up and then set on fire after he refused to pay Rs 100 for taking lift in the truck. The victim, Ajit Singh, who was spotted by a PCR patrol van at 2 am near a banquet hall, was immediately rushed to the primary health centre, Samalkha, with severe burn injuries.

Later, he was referred to the PGI, Rohtak, where he succumbed to his injures at 6.15 pm. PGI director Prof S.S. Sangwan said the victim had more than 90 per cent burn injuries. As he had also sustained nearly 80 per cent deep wounds, chances of his survival were bleak, he added.

Panipat district police chief M.S. Sheroan said there were no eyewitnesses of the incident but the police was making efforts to make some headway. Ajit Singh, an engineer with a firm in Ghaziabad, was on his way to Salwan village in Karnal district.

Before dying, he told the police that after he failed to board a bus, he decided to take a lift in a truck from Bahalapur village on the GT Road in Sonepat district.

On reaching near Samalkha, Ajit had a dispute with the truck occupants. At the PHC, the truck occupants asked for Rs 100 whereas he was adamant on paying Rs 50 for travelling in the truck.

Infuriated over the payment of paltry amount, the three unidentified truck occupants dragged Ajit out of the truck and beat him up. Later, after pouring diesel on him, they set him on fire along the NH-1.

Chandigarh, April 17
Haryana social justice and empowerment minister Kartar Devi today clarified that the disbursement of pension and allowances to the beneficiaries under various social welfare schemes through banks is not compulsory but an added advantage to the beneficiaries.

Kartar Devi said the beneficiaries had only been given the option of drawing their pension and allowances through banks.

The existing system of drawing through gram panchayats in the rural areas and through urban municipal bodies in the urban areas would also remain in practice.

She said that government had only extended the facility of disbursement through banks for bringing transparency in the system.

The minister said the officers concerned would help the beneficiaries open bank accounts and would extend all cooperation in this regard.

Karnal, April 17
Veteran Congress MLA from Kaithal Shamsher Singh Surjewala’s remark that all Indian agriculture institutes and farm scientists are a “non-performing class” has brought a sharp criticism from senior scientists and politicians.

At a press conference here yesterday, Surjewala, who is also the chairman of the All-India Kisan Khet Mazdoor Congress, had termed the entire Indian agriculture scientist fraternity as “careerist” and blamed them for serving “themselves” rather than the nation. He had categorically stated that all 80 institutes of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and various farm universities had become “sick” institutes.

Terming the statement as “highly irresponsible and shameful”, various quarters said instead of baseless criticism, the scientific fraternity should be encouraged to meet the growing demands of the nation.

According to Dr Gurbachan Singh, director, Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Surjewala’s remark was indeed hurting.

“It is highly unfortunate to say the Indian scientists are doing nothing. Various central institutes like CSSRI had reclaimed 1.3 million hectares of alkaline land in Haryana, Punjab and UP. It is due to the significant efforts of the institute that this barren land has been adding more than 7 million tonnes to the food stock annually,” he added.

Dr Singh said the scientists had been working hard on given assignments but the real problem lies in the implementation part.

Another senior research scientist, on the condition of anonymity, said credibility of an Indian scientist could be gauged from the fact that several research institutes were invited to work in collaboration with various international platforms.

He said the trivial statement had hurt the entire system as the research works were monitored and appreciated by various national bodies, which were duly represented by eminent scientists of the country.

Jhajjar, April 17
The suicide by an engineering student of a private college in Bahadurgarh sparked violence on the campus as students went on the rampage and damaged college property. They were holding a college lecturer responsible for the death of final-year student Vipin Taneja.

Sources said the student had been failed in internal assessment by a college lecturer. The student’s parents alleged that this drove him to take the extreme step.

He reportedly set himself ablaze in his house on Saturday. The police rushed to the institute and controlled the situation.

The PRO of the institute said on a complaint of the parents, the lecturer concerned had been suspended. The college had also promised to provide free education to the sisters of the victim.

Chandigarh, April 17
The three assembly byelections in Haryana on May 22 will provide an opportunity to all political parties in the state to test their strengths as well as the mood of the voters.

With former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal virtually in retirement, it will be for his son Kuldeep Bishnoi to prove himself in the electoral battle. Right from the day one, he had been leading the revolt against the Congress leadership.

He never made any attempt to hide himself behind his father’s shadow like many “political-sons” do. He always projected himself as not only the leader of his political outfit, Haryana Janhit Congress, but also as the future Chief Minister if his party came to power.

For the INLD of Om Prakash Chautala, it will be an opportunity to show that it continues to be the sole alternative to the Congress in Haryana.

The byelections will also be a barometer to measure how much acceptability the INLD has regained since it suffered a humiliating defeat in the 2005 assembly elections.

At that time, its strength in the House was reduced from 47 to mere nine seats, which were not even enough to fetch the status of the leader of the opposition for Chautala.

For the Congress, the byelections will be a litmus test to see how well the various welfare schemes launched by it have gone with the voters.

The party will get an opportunity to test if the gentleman-politician image of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will fetch it votes or the voters want more from him.

The BSP will test how far its social-engineering has been accepted by the people of Haryana or it has still to do more.

This is the only party which has announced its candidates for five of the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, almost a year ahead of the scheduled elections.

Since the three constituencies, Adampur, Gohana and Indri, are essentially rural constituencies, the BJP will have an opportunity to show its acceptance in the rural areas of the state.

Though the outcome of the byelections will not affect the stability of the Hooda government, which still has two more years in office, these will definitely indicate the way in which wind might blow in the next Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Rewari, April 17
Lt-Gen Avdhesh Prakash, Colonel of the Kumaon and Naga Regiments and Director-General of Information System of the Indian Armed Forces, today paid an official visit to Rewari on an invitation of the Rezang La Shaurya Samiti (RLSS).

Addressing a gathering of Rezang La martyrs’ families, functionaries of the RLSS, ex-servicemen and other distinguished citizens here, he said the nation and the Army were proud of the battle of Rezang La in which Ahir jawans of the Charlie Company of 13 Kumaon had made the supreme sacrifice while valiantly fighting the Chinese at the Rezang La post in Chushul sector of the Laddakh region on November 18, 1962.

He lauded the role of the RLSS. He presented a bank draft for Rs 25,000 to Col Ram Singh, chief patron of the RLSS, and also distributed, on behalf of the RLSS, kisan vikas patras of Rs 5,000 each to 11 girl children of the martyrs’ families.

Earlier, he paid homage at the Rezang La War Memorial here.

Chandigarh, March 17
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) today revoked the suspension of former Haryana DGP, M.S. Malik, who has in the meantime retired, for the second time.

Taking note of the provisions of Rules of 1969, the CAT held: “We consider the order of suspension as revoked on the expiry of 90 days. Meanwhile, the order of extension of suspension is treated as illegal and is quashed. The applicant is deemed to be reinstated with effect from September 13, 2005.”

The CAT stated that Malik was also allowed to claim pension benefits.

Haryana cadre IPS officer Malik was suspended by the Haryana government in 2005 after he was accused of irregularities in the Haryana State Industrial Security Force (HSISF) recruitment. Challenging his suspension, Malik had moved the CAT, which had ordered the Haryana government to quash his suspension in 2005. However, the Haryana government had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the CAT orders.

In its orders, the high court had stayed the CAT order. Thereafter, Malik had again moved the CAT maintaining that his suspension was to be reviewed by the Haryana government after a period of 90 days. The orders on this application were pronounced today.

The Hooda government had suspended the former DGP for alleged irregularities in the recruitment of HSISF staff.

In his application, Malik had claimed that he had been a victim of political vendetta unleashed by the ruling Congress government. Malik added that the state had extended his suspension violating the Rule 3 (8) (c) of the Rules of 1969. While the state of Haryana argued that the suspension was extended so that his case could be reviewed by a competent authority.

This is the second case of suspension of an officer of DGP rank wherein the CAT has revoked the suspension orders. Earlier this month, the CAT in Maharashtra had reinstated the former DGP, Punjab, S.S. Virk, who was suspended last year. 

Gurgaon, April 17
The situation at auto parts manufacturing company Automax in Binola village in Gurgaon district has returned to normalcy as all agitating workers returned to work.

Deputy commissioner Rakesh Gupta claimed that representatives of the workers and the company’s management agreed to resolve the matter after the intervention of the district administration.

Both sides gave undertakings in this regard. While the workers assured that they would not create any hindrance to the work of the company and would observe peace, the management of Automax promised that no worker would be punished out of vengeance.

The situation in Honda, Hero Honda and other companies at Manesar was also normal and all their workers reported for work. The situation had become tense after the police resorted to a mild lathicharge on the workers of Automax on Tuesday.

They were protesting against the alleged vindictive attitude of the company’s management as well as its bid to frustrate their efforts to form a union.

Sonepat, April 17
The family of the owner of a local medical store in Housing Board Colony allegedly received ransom calls for Rs 2.50 lakh from an unidentified person late last night.

The family has also been threatened with dire consequences if the amount was not paid. A case has been registered in Murthal police station on the complaint of the owner, Krishan, and the police has started investigations.

According to the complaint, Krishan’s son, Pawan, who was at his medical store in Royal Hospital in Murthal, received a call on his mobile at 10 pm from a person, who demanded Rs 2.50 lakh.

After coming to his residence in Sonepat, family members dialled the number of the person from their residence phone. The person again threatened them and demanded the amount.

Today morning, the person again called the family from a landline number and repeated his threat.

Afraid of the threats, Krishan lodged a complaint with the police.

Karnal, April 17
The Haryana police today announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to anyone who gives information about the whereabouts of Baksheesh Singh, the alleged mastermind of the attack on the convoy of the controversial head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda.

According to the police, Baksheesh, a former Khalistan Commando Force activist, had plotted to eliminate Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the dera head, on February 2 near Nilokheri in Karnal district. The Karnal police had arrested five persons, including a 21-year-old girl, for their alleged involvement in the attack, but Baksheesh is still at large.

Chandigarh, April 17
To check hoarding and prevent possible evasion of taxes, it has been made mandatory for company/firm/individual, which purchases wheat in excess of 10,000 metric tonnes throughout the country during the rabi season 2008-09, to submit returns to the secretary (food) of the state from where maximum quantity of wheat has been purchased.

In case, the purchase of wheat exceeds 25,000 metric tones throughout the country, the returns should be submitted to the undersecretary (Policy-III), department of food and public distribution, Government of India.