Kurukshetra, June 18
Kurukshetra University has landed in a controversy after the vice-chancellor handed over the temporary charge of the registrar to a controversial official of the university.

Joint registrar Ramesh Sharma was given the additional charge of the registrar after Prof V.K. Aggarwal had resigned from the post on May 29. According to the university sources, Sharma was suspended thrice in the past for different reasons. In January 2002, the executive council of the KU had passed a resolution debarring Sharma from being assigned any significant office in the future.

It is also learnt that a former vice-chancellor had allegedly created the post of the joint registrar to “adjust” Sharma, who was then the financial controller of the KU. The official remained in the thick of controversies and was put under suspension by three different VCs due to his controversial working. University sources emphasised that the KU authorities should certainly consider an official with some respectable past for the post of the registrar. It is pertinent to mention here that even the teachers’ associations, including the Haryana College and Teachers Association (HCTA) and the All-India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation (AIFUCTO), had apprised the VC about the issue in writing.

“On one hand, 2008 has been declared as the education year and on the other hand a controversial officer has been appointed at the significant post,” said the zonal secretary of the AIFUCTO, Prof Pawan Sharma.

Vice-chancellor Dr R.P. Bajpai told The Tribune that he was not aware about Sharma’s controversial past at the time of assigning the additional charge to him. “I have recently joined the university and I was never informed that Sharma was suspended or the EC had passed strict strictures against him,” claimed the VC. However, he said Sharma had been given only a temporary charge and there was nothing to be worried as new incumbent would join the office soon.

Rohtak, June 18
Haryana Governor A.R.Kidwai, who is also the chancellor of the newly formed Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences here, has appointed the local PGIMS director, Prof S.S.Sangwan, the first vice-chancellor of the university.

According to official sources, orders in this regard were received at the PGIMS director’s office yesterday. The PGIMS director has been appointed the first vice-chancellor of the health university for a period of six months or till the appointment of a regular vice-chancellor, whichever is earlier.

The appointment has been made as per the provisions of the Pt Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak Act,2008.

Ambala, June 18
A controversy has arisen over the sale deed of a bungalow in Ambala Cantt, which has been sold by Haryana Congress president Phool Chand Mullana to Ambala Cantt Congress MLA D.K. Bansal.

Deputy commissioner Mohammad Shayin has marked an inquiry into the sale deed to SDM Mukesh Kumar Ahuja.

The bungalow in question is spread over 6 acres and is situated at Harding Lines in Ambala Cantt. What has raised eyebrows is the cost at which the bungalow has been sold - a meagre Rs 20 lakh - and the manner in which the registry has been done.

Bansal maintains that he has only bought the built-up area of the bungalow (8,100 sq ft) and not the entire 6 acres; thus the amount of Rs 20 lakh is justified. However, the fact that he had to move court against his own party senior has surprised many.

Bansal said their was a specific date for executing the sale deed, on which day no one from the other party turned up. “We are permitted by the law to go to court in such a case, and that is what I did,” he added.

The agreement for the sale of the bungalow was made on March 28. An amount of Rs 10 lakh was paid then and the remaining amount was paid later and on the directions of the court on June 6. The registry was done on June 9.

Bansal said the sale deed was correct and rumours were being spread in an attempt to defame him.

“The sale deed is for a covered area of 8,100 sq ft and accordingly the stamp duty was paid,” states Bansal.

Local politicians have, however, termed the sale as a fraud and have stated that at a time when registries are not taking place in the district, the bunglow’s registry is even more controversial. Rattan Lal Kataria, a former MP, Ambala, and vice-president of the state BJP, and former MLAs Anil Vij and Jasbeer Mallour have demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter. 

Panipat, June 18
The Gujjar Sangharsh Committee, constituted to pursue the case against officials who had ordered the firing at Pattikalyana on May 29 in which two persons were killed, has accused the district police of using pressure tactics to prevent the affected persons from giving “anti-establishment” statements before the Rohtak commissioner, who is conducting an inquiry into the incident.

At a meeting of the committee held in the local grain market, Gujjars lamented that policemen were visiting the aggrieved persons time and gain, asking them not to give any statements before the commissioner. The committee demanded that an independent agency be asked to conduct a fair probe into the acts of the district police.

Committee members said the district police chief and other officials who could directly or indirectly affect the inquiry should be immediately transferred. They said until these officials were transferred from there present place of posting, the Gujjars would not join the inquiry.

The committee stated that a delegation would soon meet Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and would put forth the demands of the Gujjars to transfer the officials. The delegation would also demand that a fair inquiry be conducted as promised by the Chief Minister during his visit to Pattikalyana. The meeting was attended by a number of state Gujjar leaders.

Kurukshetra/Karnal, June 18
Ravinder, a resident and panch of Biholi village of Kurukshetra district, allegedly committed suicide last evening to show his resentment against the alleged atrocities of police officials of Karnal district unleashed on three youths of the village, including himself.

The panch had reportedly consumed celphos at his residence to end his life. Later, he died at a private hospital in Kurukshetra. He left a 12-page suicide note holding the police of Karnal district responsible for his death.

Taking serious note of the suicide note, the Karnal police today suspended an ASI posted at the Butana police station in the district.

Kurukshetra district police chief Amitabh Dhillon said a case had been registered against two constables and an ASI of Karnal district.

Karnal SSP A.S. Chawla said names of Ravinder and two others of the same village had cropped up in a case, in which a girl had reportedly gone missing from Karnal district. A case was registered at Butana police station in this regard.

He said the family of the missing girl had specifically named five persons, including Ravinder, in the case. Records of mobile phone confirmed that the girl was in touch with Ravinder and others.

Terming the extreme step taken by Ravinder as unfortunate, Chawla said it was important to locate the girl to have significant details. He claimed that in the past one month, Ravinder was not summoned for any questioning.

Meanwhile, departmental inquiry has been initiated against Vrish Bhan, the suspended ASI.

Dhillon said in his 12-page suicide note addressed to the Karnal SSP, the deceased had claimed his innocence in the case. He had alleged that Karnal cops had harassed him by abusing him during the questioning at the police station.

He, however, clarified there was no mention of physical torture in the suicide note and there were no injury marks on the body.

Chandigarh, June 18
June has been a bad month for the Haryana police. It has been in the news and for all the wrong reasons. And in the process has provided ammunition to the opposition to target Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

First, a woman, who belonged to Rohtak, the native district of Hooda, committed suicide in the Panchkula office of the force’s director-general on June 9. The woman was allegedly raped by two policemen posted in the Rohtak CIA staff. Mother of two daughters, she was forced to take the extreme step because her repeated pleas to the district police for justice had fallen on deaf ears.

The government was first forced to transfer the Inspector-General of the Rohtak range, the SP of Rohtak and a DSP. But this failed to curb the protests against the horrifying incident. Ultimately, the government had to order a CBI inquiry.

Hardly had the protests against the suicide of the rape victim died down, the police was again in the news. A report in a newspaper alleged that a fake doctor of Panchkula had told the CBI during interrogation that he had paid money to a very senior officer of the Haryana police to get security for himself.

Though the police officer denied the allegation, the news report immediately prompted Kuldeep Bishnoi of the Haryana Janhit Congress and Om Prakash Chautala of the INLD to demand the resignation of Hooda and the immediate suspension of the police officer concerned.

The CBI, however, soon provided relief to the cornered police officer when it denied that any such allegation had been made against him before the agency. It went further in the support of the officer when it said it had not even interrogated the fake doctor. The news report had also mentioned that a senior IAS officer had parked official funds to the tune of Rs 5 crore in a bank, in the return of which the officer had pressurised the bank to grant a huge loan to the fake doctor.

The Haryana police got another jolt yesterday when a member of a village panchayat in Kurukshetra district, Ravinder Kumar, allegedly committed suicide in protest against his harassment at the hands of the Karnal police.

Ravinder and his two friends, Tika Ram and Pawan, were being repeatedly called and “interrogated” by the Karnal police in connection with a missing girl, whose parents had lodged an FIR. The police claimed that these three persons had made repeated calls on the mobile of the missing girl.

It is alleged that before Ravinder committed suicide, Tika Ram had to spend days in a hospital after he was allegedly tortured by the Karnal police.

Ravinder left a 12-page suicide note giving details of how he was tortured and harassed by the Karnal police. The Kurukshetra police has registered a criminal case based on his suicide note.

Bhiwani, June 18
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced that a chapter on Maharaja Aggarsain will be included in the curriculum of all schools in the state. Besides, Manheru Government Senior Secondary School will be named after freedom fighter and former Chief Minister late Banarsi Das Gupta.

The Chief Minister stated this after laying the foundation stone of Banarsi Dass Gupta Memorial Park to be constructed at a cost of Rs 1.50 crore here today.

He said Maharaja Aggarsain was an embodiment of equality and socialism and the Aggarwal Samaj had been following the footprints of Maharaja Aggarsain.

Lauding the role of Aggarwal Samaj, he said the samaj had done a number of charitable works, including the construction of dharamshalas, wells, hospitals and temples, not in the country but abroad also.

Paying tributes to B.D. Gupta, he said he did not belong to any society. Rather, he was a great son of India. He went to jail during the freedom struggle and faced a number of ordeals.

The Chief Minister directed chief administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority, T.C. Gupta that the memorial park should be completed within a period of four and half months. He said the native village of B.D. Gupta had already been declared as a model village. He assured that all sort of help would be provided to the

Aggarwal Samaj in executing any scheme named after B.D. Gupta.

Education minister Mange Ram Gupta announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh from his discretionary fund.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion of the 610th birth anniversary of Saint Kabir, Hooda urged the people to follow the principals and ideals of Saint Kabir. He announced that a plot would be given for the construction of Kabir Bhawan in Bhiwani.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of Mahatma Gandhi Shopping Centre, community centre-cum-residential complex of the Housing Board to be constructed at a cost of Rs 41 crore.

Later, addressing a gathering after inaugurating a boosting station at Bank Colony here and water works at Ajitpur village here, the Chief Minister said the government had earmarked Rs 155 crore during the current financial year under the Indira Gandhi water supply scheme for providing 8 lakh water supply connections free of cost to the families belonging to the Scheduled Castes in the state.

Bahadurgarh, June 18
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has asserted that Haryana was the first state in the country to launch a scholarship scheme worth Rs 280 crore for the Scheduled Castes students and girls of below poverty line (BPL) families.

The Chief Minister was addressing a religious ceremony on the eve of the 610th birth anniversary of Saint Kabir at Chhudani Dham, 15 km from here, yesterday.

Hooda maintained that the state government was providing the scholarships ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 400 per student every month.

“The underlying idea behind introducing the scheme was to check the school dropout rate among students,” he said, adding that as many as 70 per cent students left the school up to the middle standard.

Paying glowing tributes to Saint Kabir, Hooda observed that the great saint was born in an age when orthodoxy was prevalent in society. “In such circumstances, Saint Kabir gave the message of human equality,” he pointed out.

Referring to the demands put forward regarding the development of Chhudani village, the Chief Minister assured that a road from Kablana to Chhudani would be constructed and named after Sant Garib Dass.

Badli MLA Naresh Sharma, Jhajjar deputy commissioner Vijay Singh Dahiya and superintendent of police Vikas Arora were among those present.

Chandigarh, June 18
The Haryana government today signed a memorandum of understanding with the ministry of defence to open a Sainik School in Tappa Gothra Khori village. The second Sainik School in the state, it will be set up in Rewari district, minister of state for defence production Rao Inderjit Singh said in a statement here.

The minister said the Rewari school, a long-pending demand of the people of the region, would enable the youth of the region to avail themselves of the “excellent educational facilities” and discipline in such institutions. The minister said southern Haryana had always been the traditional recruitment ground for the defence forces for many years.

The panchayat has already made available 50 acres of land free of cost to set up the Sainik School in Tappa Gothra Khori village. 

Chandigarh, June 18
The Haryana government has introduced pre-engineering course in 11 engineering colleges of the state with intake of 200 students each from the academic session 2008-09.

Stating this here today, Haryana technical education director M.P. Gupta said the newly introduced pre-engineering course would be affiliated to the Haryana School Education Board, Bhiwani, and 50 per cent seats of this course would be reserved for the students who had passed their matric examination from rural schools. The students would be awarded senior secondary school examination certificate by the board. — UNI

Yamunanagar, June 18
Farmers of 20 villages whose land was acquired for setting up the Deenbandhu Chottu Ram Thermal Plant here today demanded jobs for their family members. They threatened that otherwise they would launch an agitation.

The villagers claimed that the government had promised jobs to at least one member of their families in the thermal plant while acquiring the land.

The farmers, under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, today held a meeting in Ratanpura village and demanded jobs for their family members in the thermal plant.

The villagers accused the government of going back on its promise regarding the jobs. Shamsher Singh Tyagi, general secretary of the BKS, said a mahapanchyat of the farmers would be held on June 22 to chalk out the further strategy.

The government has acquired 1,140 acres in 32 villages here for the thermal plant.

The villagers claimed that the then Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal, had promised jobs to them.

On Haryana Day last year, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had announced a 24-hour power supply to villages falling within a 10-km radius of the thermal plant, but nothing of the sort happened, said Rana Balbir Singh, former sarpanch of Ratanpura village, who chaired the meeting. 

Fatehabad, June 18
The Haryana archeology and museums department’s recent notice of eviction to 15 households of Bhirdana village in the district has sent shivers down the spine of residents.

The department has asked these residents to vacate their houses as these are situated on a protected site. The residents have been running from pillar to post to save their houses, but have failed to get assurance. “We have been living in these houses since 1970 and now the authorities are asking us to vacate them,” said Ajmer Singh, one of the villagers, who have got notices from the department.

Another villager Atma Ram said they had no other place to live. He said they would be ruined in case they were evicted from their houses. Bhirdana was one of the most important sites of archaeological importance in Haryana, where evidences of Indus Valley Civilisation had been found.

Madhav Acharya, deputy director of the department of archaeology and museums, said construction of any kind was prohibited in the vicinity of 300 metres from the place, which was a protected monument under the Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964.

He said farmers who had acquired this land from the Waqf Board on lease or otherwise could use this for tilling purpose but could not construct any house or building on it.

Fatehabad, June 18
The police today booked 150 persons for rioting, causing damage to government property and assaulting government servants on duty in Ratia town last evening.

Senior BJP leader Mahavir Prasad, HJC (BL) leader Mangat Ram and former MLA Jarnail Singh are among those who have been named in the FIR.

They have been booked under sections 147, 148, 149, 353, 186, 347 and 427 of the IPC.

Ratia residents had yesterday protested against the alleged lackadaisical attitude of the district authorities in rescuing the victims of the Ghaggar mishap.

The protesters raised slogans against the authorities and stoned vehicles of the SDM and another officer late in the evening yesterday.

The protesters had also blocked traffic near Sanjay Gandhi Chowk.

The leaders of the BJP and the HJC (BL) against whom the cases have been registered had entered into heated arguments with administrative officers over the alleged indifferent attitude of the authorities, which allowed vital period to lapse and resulted in the death of the two victims.

The bodies of Sonu and his four-year-old son Jatin were recovered from the Ghaggar yesterday after some farmers spotted those floating in the river.