Fatehabad, July 12
In a novel way of registering their protest against poor amenities, villagers of Mohamad Pur Rohi planted paddy on streets submerged under filthy rainwater today.

Mohamad Pur Rohi is the native village of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and parliamentary secretary Dura Ram.

Dura Ram maintained that a sum of Rs 1 crore, announced by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for the construction of streets in the village, had been received and the streets would be constructed soon.

Villagers Hardayal Singh, Rattan Singh, Gurbax Singh, Balwant Singh, Satnam Singh, Het Ram, Shakuntala Devi, Manjit Kaur, Bhagwanti Devi, Parkash Kaur and Gurdeep Kaur alleged that they had been facing this situation for years.

They alleged that the streets in wards 1 and 2 of the village were constructed 10 years ago, but now the bricks of the streets had been uprooted by the authorities.

They said the streets get submerged under filthy water during these days and it had become difficult for them to pass through these streets.

They said they had knocked every possible door, but when nothing worked, they decided to plant paddy on the streets as a mark of protest.

The villagers have threatened to block vehicular traffic in case their problem was not solved soon.

Dura Ram said Hooda had already announced Rs 1 crore for the construction of pucca streets in the village. He said the funds had arrived now and the streets would be constructed soon.

Fatehabad, July 12
Owing to a faux pas committed by the implementing agencies of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), an embarrassing situation has arisen for the district authorities here.

Many a red face could be witnessed in the district administration after two projects inaugurated by commissioner Hisar division P. C. Bidhan earlier this month had to be put in the cold storage, as the authorities discovered later that the works were not covered under the NREGS.

Even the payments released for these works have been recalled by additional deputy commissioner C.G. Rajnikanthan.

NREGS is a scheme under the newly implemented National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which has been implemented throughout the country from April 1, 2008.

At a meeting of the Zila Parishad (ZP) held on June 9, proposals for starting 36 works were placed before the authorities for sanction.

However, the matter was deferred to June 13, as some of the members of the ZP objected to these works on the grounds that 30 out of the 36 projects pertained to the digging of a pond, which was not advisable in rainy season.

Later, 88 works were approved by the authorities on June 13.

The ADC released 36 cheques, amounting to Rs 37.15 lakh, as the first instalment for the execution of 36 projects in different villages of the district.

While most of these works pertained to the digging of ponds, the authorities approved the works of construction of panchayat ghars at Kana Kheri and Mochi Wali villages at a cost of Rs 6.51 lakh each.

The authorities also released cheques of Rs 1.95 lakh each for both panchayats towards the first instalment of the project cost.

The district authorities invited commissioner Hisar division P. C. Bidhan for the inauguration of the two projects and foundation stones of the panchayat ghars were laid by Bidhan on July 1 with much fanfare.

But, interestingly, within days of the inauguration by Bidhan, the ADC recalled money released to the panchayats earlier on the plea that these works were not covered under the NREGS.

He said a letter had been sent to the directorate for getting special permission for carrying these works under the NREGS.

Faridabad, July 12
Haryana Janhit Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi yesterday said in principle he was in favour of the Indo-US nuclear deal but did not support the proposed nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board in its present format.

Bishnoi, who had come to attend a function at Tiagaon village, said he had already raised nine objections to the agreement submitted to the IAEA in a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Though he said he was in favour of the nuclear deal in the interest of the country, his party would not support the UPA government in Parliament at the time of confidence motion on the issue.

Criticising UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he said she was responsible for the unprecedented inflation.

Regarding Haryana, he said the Congress government in the state had failed on all fronts and held Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda responsible for it.

With regard to the next Lok Sabha elections in the state, he said his party would declare the names of its nominees for all 10 parliamentary constituencies by August 15.

He said his party would not forge an alliance with anyone and would face the election alone.

According to him, the Congress leadership had back-stabbed his father and former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal as the latter was ignored at the time of choosing Chief Minister after the last Assembly elections. This was so in spite of the fact that Bhajan Lal was instrumental in party’s electoral victory in the state.

He asserted that Hooda had no moral right to be the Chief Minister. People of the state were reeling under all kinds of problems.

He said his party would further intensify its struggle against the anti-farmer policy and anti-people policies of the government.

The party had already taken action against four district presidents of the party on disciplinary grounds, he added.

Chandigarh, July 12
Under fire from all quarters for allotting university works to an architectural firm headed by his son, Prof R.P. Hooda, vice-chancellor of Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, today sought an inquiry into the allegations levelled against him.

In a letter to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as also to the office of Dr A.R. Kidwai, Governor of Haryana, who is also the chancellor of the university, Professor Hooda said he was ready to bow out and face any action if found guilty of “deficient conduct/functioning”.

Maintaining that the reputation of the university had taken a beating because of several controversies in the recent past, Professor Hooda said: “I can quit at any moment. However, this controversy will rage which is why I want an inquiry by any agency, any means, by a retired or sitting judge of the high court or just about anybody the Governor decides on.”

Citing petty politics and a lobby of employees with vested interests, operating in close coordination with construction companies, for the controversy, he said the row started with the engaging of an architectural consultancy in various university projects which is managed by his son and four others. “I have nothing to hide. I am open to any kind of inquiry and my working over the last six months can also be examined to arrive at the truth,” he said.

Critical of the “petty politics” at play in the university, Professor Hooda, in his letter said “the matter has been blown out of proportion and a lot of petty politics has come into play for extraneous reasons”.

The immediate provocation for putting in a request for the holding of an independent inquiry came after political parties in the opposition began raising questions about the working of the university.

Of late, MDU was in the news for an alleged paper leak of the MD/MS/PG diploma entrance test in which the university’s executive council had suspended the deputy registrar and a former controller of examinations after their names figured in the FIR. Also, the university was in the news for engaging a private firm for the installation of an integrated internet and telephony system without inviting tenders.

Panipat, July 12
Those aspiring to get “assured” seats in the post-graduate (PG) course in some of the famous medical colleges of South through middlemen might be in for a rude shock as several cases of people getting duped by middlemen have recently been reported from various parts of the region.

The middlemen get advertisements published in newspapers of repute to lure resourceful people, who end up paying hefty amounts of money to these middlemen only to realise that they have been cheated.

The matter came to light when a renowned physician of the city got duped of Rs 2 lakh and approached a local court to get his money back.

In an attempt to get his son admitted to an MD course in a private medical college of Karnataka, Dr B. K. Gupta paid Rs 2 lakh to a Chandigarh-based middleman. The doctor read an advertisement in a newspaper that promised an assured seat in the MD course.

Believing the advertisement to be genuine, he called on the number mentioned in it and got in touch with a middleman, who identified himself as Balraj Kumar.

The person promised the doctor that if he paid him Rs 2 lakh in advance, he would definitely get his son a management seat in one of the renowned medical colleges of Karnataka.

The doctor visited Balraj Kumar in Chandigarh and paid him the demanded amount.

Balraj took the money and told the doctor to wait for a couple of days. But when his son did not get a seat even after the last date of admissions in the southern colleges had passed, the doctor got apprehensive. He approached Balraj Kumar, who told him that he could not arrange a seat for his son and offered to return his money.

He later gave a cheque for Rs 2 lakh, which bounced, leaving the doctor high and dry. Upset over the loss of money, the doctor finally approached the local court, which yesterday issued summons in the name of Balraj.

Yamunanagar, July 12
Mohan Lal, who had allegedly consumed poison along with his three family members yesterday, died at a hospital here today.

His body will be handed over to his family members after the postmortem examination.

Mohan Lal’s wife Aruna and son Anshul had died yesterday. His daughter Neha, who has been admitted to a private hospital, was said to be stable, but not out of danger.

The police has registered a case under Sections 306 and 506 of the IPC against unknown persons, who had allegedly threatened Mohan Lal over phone.

DSP Het Ram, who has been handling the case, said the police has requested the telephone department concerned to provide details of the phone calls that Mohan Lal had received a day before the incident. It would help us to arrest the culprit.

A case under Section 302 of the IPC had also been registered against Mohan Lal for allegedly giving poison to his family members, he added.

“We never imagined that Mohan Lal could take such an extreme step as he was a strong man. He never revealed his problems to us, otherwise we would have definitely helped him to come out of the financial constraints,” said Mohan Lal’s elder brother Vijay Kumar.

He said the persons, who had allegedly pressurised Mohan Lal to pay the debt, should be arrested as soon as possible.

Neha, who has been put under observation, said her father on their way to Panchmukhi Hanumaan temple yesterday told them that he was left with no other option, as he had no money to pay the debt. They also consumed soft drinks after taking celphos tablets.

Jind, July 12
Several residents of Karsola village in the district resorted to violence when they attacked the Julana block level police station this morning. This resulted in damage to furniture and certain items in the police station.

While the cops in the police station fled, no one was injured in the incident.

The villagers had been agitated over the alleged inaction and delay on part of the police to arrest the accused in the murder of a 34-year-old shopkeeper of the village on the night of July 9.

The 12 accused, including a liquor contractor, are absconding. The villagers were pacified after the intervention of senior officials, including a DSP, who announced to hand over the investigation of the murder case to the CIA staff.

The kin of the deceased, accompanied by a group of about 60 to 70 persons, reached the police station at about 10 a.m. and started throwing items, including tables and chairs, amidst shouting of slogans against the police officials. While they were on a ransacking spree, three of the employees of the department fled, sensing trouble.

The villagers asked for the Station House Officer and levelled certain allegations, including taking favour in return for bribe.

Claiming that despite the accused being booked and identified, they alleged that the police had not arrested them and had been providing them space to get bail, adding that the accused had been influential persons and could bribe anyone in this connection. They blamed the SHO for the delay and harassment caused to them and told the DSP that they had no option but to stage protest. They even announced that they would block the traffic on the National Highway Number 10 after two days if the police did not arrest all accused.

Chandigarh, July 12
Photo electoral rolls of all 90 assembly constituencies in Haryana are being revised on the directions of the Election Commission of India in view of newly delimited constituencies in the state with January 1 as the eligibility date.

Therefore, the draft photo electoral rolls will be published on July 18 and displayed on notice boards in the offices of all concerned deputy commissioners-cum-district electoral officers, sub-divisional officer (civil), sub-district electoral officer concerned, electoral registration officer, revenue tehsildars, district public relations officers, post offices, patwar khanas, panchayat gars and also in offices of municipal bodies from July 18 to August 1 for inspection by public.