Rohtak, June 14
Dismissed policemen Balraj and Sheelak Ram - accused of raping Sarita - were remanded in 14 days of judicial custody by a local court today. The accused were produced in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Bhupender Nath, who sent them in judicial custody.

The defence counsel pleaded for scientific tests like narco-analysis of the accused so as to prove their innocence. The court fixed July 8 as the next date of hearing to hear the arguments in this regard.

While being taken to the court, both the accused told mediapersons that they were being framed in the case. The family members and other supporters of the dismissed policemen, who were also present there, endorsed their claim.

The accused and their wives alleged that DSP Manvir Singh had prompted Sarita to “falsely” implicate them in rape case after they refused to pay money to them. The family members and fellow villagers accompanying the accused demanded legal action against the said DSP.

DSP Manvir Singh, who was transferred from Rohtak last evening, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. The SSP could also not be reached.

Meanwhile, Sarita’s husband Subhash as well as the family members of the accused met deputy commissioner R.S. Doon, who assured them that the probe was being conducted in a fair and impartial manner and no injustice would be done to either side.

Doon said two fixed deposit accounts containing Rs 2.5 lakh each had been opened in the name of two daughters of the late Sarita.

“We will also ensure that the girls get admitted to some good school and also bear the expenses incurred thereon,” he added.

Ambala, June 14
A team of the Mumbai police today came to Ambala Central Jail to take Dr Amit, Dr Jeevan and Dr Upender, accused in kidney scam, to Mumbai. The trio is wanted in Mumbai in connection with a case registered against them in 2005 on charge of removing a kidney of a person in Mumbai. Sub-inspector Sudhir Dakvi led the team.

Sudhir said a metropolitan Magistrate of Mumbai had issued a production warrant against the three accused to produce them in the court on June 16. The Mumbai police handed over the production warrant to the Ambala jail authorities, who asked them to obtain an order from the Ambala CBI court in this regard. The paper formalities could not be completed by 8 pm. Sources said the Mumbai police would take the accused to Mumbai tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, one of the accused, Dr Upender, is admitted in the local Civil Hospital. He had fell down in the court during the hearing of the case yesterday and became unconscious.

According to hospital reports, he was a patient of heart disease. The Mumbai police met the doctor of the civil hospital. The doctor told them that Upender should not be taken to Mumbai as his condition was not normal.

Chandigarh, June 14
Inadequate space availability in Ambala and Rajpura has caused a detour of the ambitious Eastern Freight Corridor project of the ministry of railways. A feasibility study has pointed out that there is inadequate space available at Ambala Cantt, Ambala City and Rajpura, which has necessitated a detour. Besides, urban structures developed around the railway stations are another bottleneck.

So, instead of coming to these stations, the track will now run parallel from Kalanaur in Haryana up to Kesri village. From there, the track is proposed to be brought on detour towards the National Highway-I, passing through Mohra, Kotkachwa, Bara, Jalbera and Balana. Then, after crossing the NH-65 up to the Ghaggar, it will go through Punjab up to Dhandhari Kala in Ludhiana district of Punjab where a logistic park with various facilities is under construction.

Since a detour has been proposed, the laying of the track will require acquisition of land for the purpose. Despite the fact that land acquisition has led to trouble in the past, Ambala deputy commissioner Mohammad Shayin is convinced that a row is unlikely to brew in his district.

“Ambala is already an established hub for transportation. It is a prestigious project and will immensely benefit coal companies, steel plants and thermal power stations. It will provide the much-needed rail infrastructure for growth of the Indian economy and will also generate indirect employment during the construction phase. The public will, on the contrary, be pleased about the corridor passing through their area,” he maintains.

The freight corridor will pass through the NH-1, the NH-65, the NH-64 among others through a railway flyover and high-level bridges over the Tangri and the Ghaggar.

The whole corridor will have a computerised train-control system and the project is expected to be completed in five years. The Eastern Corridor, as approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, will start from Ludhiana in Punjab and terminate at Kolkata via Ambala, Sharanpur, Khurja and Allahabad. The route length of 1279 km of the Eastern Corridor is expected to cost Rs 11,589 crore and will be built in two phases. The alignment will pass through Ambala and Yamunanagar in Haryana, providing critical rail infrastructure.

The Eastern Freight Corridor, which will run between Ludhiana and Kolkata, will be completed in five years at an investment of Rs 11,589 crore. It will be a completely electrified route and will also have a link line between Dadri and Karcha.

Hisar, June 14
Ishwar Singh, a former sarpanch of Mattersham village, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 for murdering six members of his family, was shot dead on the Sirsa road here today.

He was currently on bail. He had allegedly murdered his father, wife, two sons, his sister-in-law and a nephew in 1999.

According to the police, the deceased was travelling in a car with a companion. Two youths overtook the car and waved Ishwar Singh to stop. As soon as the car stopped, one of the youths allegedly shot Ishwar Singh in the head and the duo fled.

The former sarpanch had allegedly tried to kill his brother Chander a few days ago by running his car over him. However, Chander survived the murder attempt.

Chander was injured in the shootout, which had claimed the lives of six family members of Ishwar Singh. He is the only eyewitness in the case.

Chandigarh, June 14
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that the veil of secrecy cannot be thrown over the selection process of public servants.

In a significant judgement, a Division Bench has ruled taxpayers are entitled to know how the selection of public servants is carried out.

The Bench has also ruled the nondisclosure of information on the selection criterion to the candidates is likely to affect adversely their legitimate right to compete.

With the orders, the high court has also thwarted the Haryana Public Service Commission’s attempts to keep away information on the selection of assistant engineers from a candidate’s father, Dalip Singh Gill. The Bench has dismissed the public service commission’s petition challenging the State Information Commission’s orders, directing it to furnish the information to Gill.

Gill had filed an application seeking information from the Public Service Commission on the criteria adopted by it, and how many marks are allotted for academic qualification, experience and interview.

After the same was allowed by the Information Commission, the Public Service Commission moved the high court claiming the information was highly confidential and no useful purpose would be served by revealing it to Gill.

Laying down the law, the Bench of Justice M.M. Kumar and Justice Sabina ruled: “If information with regard to the selection process is not disclosed to the candidates, their legitimate right to compete in the selection process is likely to be affected adversely.

“The criterion for selection and marks allocated to various heads are in the public domain and for the benefit of each and every candidate. The taxpayers, who are contributing to the public service, are also entitled to know as to how the selection of public servants is being made.

“The disclosure of such information is unlikely to cause any embarrassment to any private individual as it obviously does not relate to the private affairs of individual nature. The information sought does not require the disclosure of marks obtained by a particular individual.

“The candidates, who are to take exam either by appearing in the written test or in viva voice are vitally interested and affected by the disclosure of information as their prospects of selection are likely to improve or mar by the selection criterion.”

The Bench also ruled: “We are further of the view that the transparency of the recruitment process by the agencies like the Public Service Commission is the hallmark to avoid any whisper. It is well said sunlight is the best antiseptic and secrecy breeds corruption. If there is openness in the selection process, it promotes equality, objectivity and impartiality.”

Dismissing the petition filed by the Public Service Commission, the Judges added there was no “impediment in the disclosure of information, which has been directed to be furnished by the State Information Commission”. 

Chandigarh, June 14
The Pt B.D. Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, has achieved the distinction of being ranked 14th at the national level and fifth in North India among the 30 top medical colleges of the country.

This was stated by the Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in a statement here today. He said a survey conducted by the Centre for Forecasting and Research, New Delhi, of more than 250 medical colleges had placed the PGIMS, Rohtak, at number 14 in the topmost medical colleges of the country.

The results, he said, were published in the prestigious Wall Street Journal based in New York and its Asian subsidiary magazine, Mint, of June 12. 

Ambala, June 14
Residents of Barara and nearby areas of Mullana and Saha have been facing a problem in the delivery of LPG cylinders. Shaheed Manjeet Gas Agency based in Barara is the only gas agency, which supplies LPG to at least 80 villages of the area. The agency has over 14,000 connections.

Residents of nearby villages alleged that they received gas cylinders very late and had to go without cylinders for days.

The agency provides home delivery in Barara while in surrounding villages, they send a vehicle, which delivers at a fixed point like a gurdwara, and residents get it from there.

Residents of the villages alleged: “The supply does not come for days and when it comes, we have to wait for long hours. We are dependent on this one agency only.”

The agency is the first gas agency in the rural area of Haryana and was inaugurated on July 26, 2002, by the then petroleum minister, Ram Naik.

Residents are now demanding another agency. However, it is learnt that all their efforts have gone in vain.

Members of the Haryana Samaj Seva Kendra said they had brought this matter to the notice of Kumari Shelja, MP, Ambala Cantt. However, nothing had been done so far.

A letter was also sent to Bharat Petroleum, who had apparently stated that there was no need for another gas agency. Facts on ground, however, spoke otherwise, said general-secretary of the kendra Baljit Singh.