Chandigarh, May 26
With a new-found confidence after the victory in two of the three assembly byelections, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today did not resort to diplomacy in admitting that there were saboteurs within the Congress.

Addressing party workers from Indri and Gohana, who had come to greet him at his official residence here, Hooda said during the byelections, the party men not only taught a lesson to the opposition but also to those who enjoyed their present status due to being in the Congress but worked against the party candidates.

He said frustrating the designs of such elements in the Congress was the “most important” task performed by the party workers.

Claiming that the result of the byelections was a clear indication that the Congress would win all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state during the next elections, Hooda said he would soon visit Gohana, Indri and Adampur to express his gratitude to people of these areas, who had endorsed the policies of the state government.

He said these were the first byelections in the state, which had not witnessed even a minor incident of violence.

Otherwise, he said, the people of the country still remembered the mayhem during the Chautala regime in the early 1990s.

The people had given a “historical verdict” against those (read Bhajan Lal and Om Prakash Chautala) who had been practicing the “politics of collaboration” to remain in power. The BJP nominees lost their security deposits in all three constituencies. The aggregate of all three BJP nominees was not enough to save the security deposit of even one party candidate. The INLD was not acceptable to the people and the HJC had turned out to be a non-starter.

Hooda said while the Congress won from Gohana and Indri, in Adampur “only an elderly person” had won the byelection. “It is wrong to say that Bhajan Lal faired well in Adampur. In fact the election was his farewell because he had sought votes by projecting it as his last election,” he added.

Hooda described Bhajan Lal’s win as “a politically meaningless non-event”.

Working president of the Haryana Congress Kuldeep Sharma said the byelections had given a fresh mandate to Hooda as his credibility was the main issue before the voters. Not only the people, functionaries of the Congress also made his honesty and functioning as the main issue for the byelections and no one raised an accusing finger on him.

Rajya Sabha member Dr Ram Prakash also said the election was contested in the name of Hooda. Power minister Randeep Singh Surjewala also congratulated the party workers for their significant role in the byelections.

Later talking to mediapersons, Hooda said he would soon undertake a Cabinet as well as administrative reshuffle, which would be based on the performance of officers.

Sonepat, May 26
National president of the Panchayati Raj Cell of the BJP and local MP Kishan Singh Sangwan today resigned from the National Executive of the BJP following the defeat of his son and party candidate Pradeep Sangwan from the Gohana assembly byelection.

Sangwan told mediapersons here today that the party had many hopes from him and this was the main reason that the party had fielded his son as the party candidate for Gohana bypoll.

As he was not able to improve the image of the party in the byelections, he had resigned from the membership of the national executive of the party on moral ground, he said.

Listing the reasons for the defeat of the party, he said he owned the moral responsibility of the defeat and the verdict of the voters, who have forgotten the price rise, shortage of power and water and other anti-farmer and anti-people policies of the central and the state governments. — PTI

Karnal, May 26
The Haryana government has asked the state crime branch to investigate the Hisar central jail medicine purchase scam to probe the role of certain jail officials and the reported financial irregularities.

IGP (prisons) M.S. Mann said a DSP rank officer of the crime branch would investigate the case, in which lakhs of rupees was misused by the Hisar jail staff.

The Tribune had first reported the case on March 27 in which an FIR was registered against the medical officer, pharmacist, jail superintendent, deputy jailer and other jail subordinate staff for cheating, forgery of records, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.

Three chemists of Hisar district were also booked for their alleged role in the scam.

All accused, except the then jail doctor, named by the jail authorities have still not been arrested by the Hisar police.

Sources said a mere partial checking of faulty purchase procedure revealed bungling of more than Rs 11 lakh at the jail.

It was the first-ever official checking into the purchase of medicines in state jails and sources said it could run into crores of rupees if the records were thoroughly examined.

The jail head office wanted to hand over the case to the vigilance department to check the huge financial records with the help of experts. It also wanted that records of medicine purchase from 2000 should be thoroughly examined.

Mann confirmed that the accused officials and the chemists had not been arrested even after two months of registering an FIR.

The jail staff had allegedly violated the jail manual rule and exceeded the medicine purchase limit without seeking mandatory prior permission from the head office.

It was alleged that the jail officials in connivance with certain chemists had purchased medicines at a price more than the MRP whereas it was approved to buy medicines at “lowest market rate”. Also, the purchase bills were allegedly forged.

In certain jails, medical expenditure of per prisoner is Rs 6.60 per day whereas at Hisar central jail it was recorded at a whopping Rs 56.02 per prisoner per day.

Panipat, May 26
Leaders of the Gujjar community in the state here today said community members would soon reach Rajasthan to express solidarity with the Gujjars facing the “wrath” of the Rajasthan government.

Making this announcement at a community panchayat organised in Chajpur village near here, the leaders announced that they would block the National Highway No. I tomorrow to register their protest against the use of force by the Rajasthan government.

The panchayat had been organised to discuss the situation in Rajasthan following which the announcements were made. The Gujjars later blocked the Sanoli road in protest against the stance adopted by the Rajasthan government in “crushing” the Gujjar protest.

The community leaders said in case the ongoing tussle between the Gujjars and the Rajasthan government was not resolved soon, they would intensify their agitation.

The panchayat condemned the Rajasthan government and also slammed Sonia Gandhi for maintaining silence over the issue.

The leaders said the government could not suppress people’s voice by the use of force. Demanding immediate dismissal of the Rajasthan government and imposition of President’s rule in the state, the community leaders said the way people were being killed in the neighbouring state reminded them of the British raj.

They also demanded that Gujjars be given reservation rights as promised earlier. The Haryana Gujjar community would organise blood donation camps and would offer all logistic help to the struggling Gujjars there.

The Gujjars blocked the Sanoli road for about half an hour and brunt the effigy of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Senior officials of the district reached the spot and convinced the protesters to lift the blockade. Today's panchayat was attended by senior leaders of the community, including state secretary Dharam Singh and Mokham Singh.

Panipat, May 26
Citing lack of basic infrastructure in the new industrial sector, around 500 dyeing house in the city have refused to shift their establishments leaving the district administration in a quandary.

Even as the district administration have been going all and out to convince the industrialists to shift their establishments to save the city from pollution, the dyers have stated that there is no infrastructure in Sector 29, part II, that can support their operations.

President of the Dyers Association Yashpal Malik alleged that the administration had been pressurising the industrialists to shift to the new sector. He claimed that the dyers were ready to co-operate provided that basic infrastructure was made available in the sector.

“The dyeing units require more than 20 crore litres of water each day and till date not even a single drop of water has been supplied there. Besides, the power authorities have given in writing that they need at least one and half years to commission a power house in the industrial sector. How can we shift without water and power?” contended Malik.

However, the district administration maintained that besides a treatment plant to reduce water pollution, the industrial sector is ready with all requisite infrastructure, including power, sewers, water and roads.

After the administration stepped up its efforts to convince the dyers to shift, the association moved the high court. The court stayed the shifting and asked the authorities concerned to ensure that proper infrastructure was made available. The dyers claimed that till date there was none.

In December, when the local authorities moved in and served the dyers with a notice to seal their units if these were not shifted, the dyers filed a contempt petition in the court. Following this, the local authorities withdrew the notice.

Under the prevailing circumstances, it has become almost impossible to shift the units that continue to pollute residential areas of the city.

Meanwhile, Yashpal Malik said till proper amenities were not provided in the new sector, the dyeing units could only be displaced and destroyed, but not shifted.

Karnal, May 26
As Renuka Kalyan, a key witness to the sensational firing incident in which her husband and brother were killed, has reportedly refused to record her statement for some unspecified reasons, the police is adopting a wait-and-watch policy.

She had sustained grievous head injuries in the firing incident on April 22.

Renuka had undergone treatment at a New Delhi hospital and her condition is reportedly improving.

Sources said now she was at her parents’ residence near the township.

On the night of April 22, Navhit Kalyan and Saranbeer, husband and brother of Renuka, were killed at her in-laws’ residence in Sector 14.

A special investigating team was constituted to probe the case that involved the Kalyans, a politically well-connected family.

Terming it a sensitive case, the police is mum on the progress in the case. Saranbeer, a law student, had allegedly shot dead his brother-in-law Navhit, injured his sister and later committed suicide.

As per the FIR, Saranbeer allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself, claimed Ram Kumar Kalyan, father of Navhit.

The family of Saranbeer, however, had disputed the claim.

Karnal SSP A.S. Chawla said the police was in touch with Renuka.

“She had refused to record her statement due to certain reasons. Renuka is a crucial witness to the firing incident. We have to wait till she finds herself fit to record her statement to the police,” he said.

He added that the forensic report was with the police but refused to share the details. Saranbeer had reportedly fired from a licensed pistol.

But it was not clear as to how many bullets were shot from the pistol. Also, the police was mum on whether all shot(s) were fired from the same weapon.

Other aspects, including the circumstances that prompted the assailant(s) to open fire at Kalyan’s house on that fateful night were yet to be revealed. The police had claimed that Ranbir, advocate and father of Saranbeer, had an arms licence and was issued three weapons against it.

According to the police, one pistol was recovered from the crime spot whereas two other weapons had been sealed and sent for forensic investigation. The licence was valid up to July this year.

Ambala, May 26
In an effort to curb anonymous letters regarding terror threats that the Railways receive often, the Railways has announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 to whosoever identifies these anonymous writers and callers.

A decision to this effect was taken here today after the Railways received another threat to blow up the Ambala Cantt railway station, Brara railway station and other places.

A letter written in Hindi was today received by the station master of the Brara railway station. It said on June 10, the Ambala Cantt, Sahranpur and Chandigarh railway stations would be blown up. It also said religious places in Faridabad and Rothak and the Chandigarh airport would also be targeted. The letter, which praised various terrorist organisations, was signed by Babar Khalsa, Punjab area commander. According to officials, the letter bore a postal stamp of Ambala dated May 16. A FIR against unknown persons has also been registered.

SP, Railways, Bharti Arora said such letters were received practically every 15 days and in an effort to curb the mischievous elements, who indulged in such activities, an award of Rs 50,000 was being announced.

Karnal, May 26
Two pilgrims were killed and two others sustained serious injuries in a road accident near Shamgarh village, near here, this morning.

All victims were from the same family and were on the way to Delhi from Vaishno Devi.

The police said Sudha Sharma and her mother-in-law Saraswati died on the spot when a Bolero jeep hit their car. The accident allegedly took place when the driver of the jeep tried to avoid hitting a motor cycle rider and jumped the divider of the GT Road.

According to the police, Archana and Vandana were admitted to the trauma centre and their condition was stated to be serious.

A case of rash driving was registered against the jeep driver.

Yamunanagar, May 26
The brother and relatives of Sonia, who had allegedly ended her life along with her husband and daughter, today submitted a memorandum to Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda through the senior superintendent of police demanding arrest of the remaining accused in the case.

Sonia along with her husband Rajinder and daughter Somakshi had ended her life on May 17. Rajinder after consuming poison had called up his brother-in-law Ajay Kumar to report the matter.

Ajay Kumar, who led the relatives to the office of SSP Dr C.S. Rao, said Rajinder told him that they were taking the extreme step because they could not deal with the financial crisis.

Family members of Sonia a few days ago had placed her body on the road demanding arrest of the accused. Two of the five accused were arrested. Kumar demanded that the remaining three accused should be arrested immediately. 

Jhajjar, May 26
A class VI student, Dharmender, of Asaudha village drowned in Gurgaon canal near his village last night. The deceased had gone to take a bath in the canal.

The boy (11), son of Fakirchand, went missing last night. His clothes and slippers were found near the canal last night, following which his parents tried desperately to contact the canal authorities for help.

The parents alleged that despite repeated efforts neither the canal officials picked up the phone nor the police arrived on the spot.

However, when water flowing in the canal was diverted to the drain today, villagers and family members of the boy found the body floating in the canal.

Fatehabad, May 26
The police today claimed to have arrested a “most-wanted” criminal, who had given the police a slip a few days ago and had opened fire on a police party sometime back.

The accused has been identified as Amar Singh Bishnoi, a resident of Kharakheri village in the district.

SP Saurabh Singh said the police had tried to nab Amar Singh on May 17, when he along with four others was hatching a conspiracy to loot vehicles on the national highway.

The other four - Rajinder, Ram Bilas, Sunil and Mahabir - were arrested on that day but Amar Singh managed to escape.

The SP added that Amar Singh had fired at a police party at Agroha some months back and was wanted by the police in Hisar also.

The accused was a hardcore criminal of the area and the police had recently succeeded in getting his property seized as it was purchased out of the money earned from smuggling poppy husk and opium.

Gurgaon, May 26
As the vaccine against P-3 virus is available only in government hospitals, the district administration has appealed to people of all strata to get the anti-polio vaccine administered to their wards below five years of age at polio booths on June 1.

Deputy commissioner Rakesh Gupta made it clear that vaccine against P-3 would not be available at any private hospital. He appealed the people not to waste this opportunity. The earlier vaccine given against P-1 virus in previous pulse polio rounds had almost eliminated this virus. Fresh cases of polio showed that these occurred due to P-3 virus.

Chairing a meeting of the district task force, organised to make the coming polio round a success, the deputy commissioner appealed the panchayats to cooperate in bringing maximum number of children to the polio booths on the first day of the coming round of the pulse polio campaign.

He took serious note of unsatisfactory activities during the last round and asked the doctors concerned, who were nodal officers, to explain laxity in their areas. He cautioned that this should not be repeated in the coming round.

Dr Vishesh, a WHO representative, reported in the meeting that during the last polio round, unsatisfactory activities were observed in primary health centres under urban Gurgaon, Gurgaon village, Kasan and Wazirabad areas.

He also said heads of some schools of Gurgaon city disallowed entry of vaccinators to their premises for the purpose.

The deputy commissioner instructed the district education officer to ensure that this was not repeated. Those objecting to vaccination would be liable for action under Section 182 of the IPC.