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91 heading for dera building held
Amarnath Land Row
Cong Panel Meeting
Custodial Death |
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Tohana in grip of dengue
Parliamentary panel for airport at Jhajjar
14 shops, banquet hall demolished
Solitary Kinng
Kidney Scam
More power for state
Board to conduct draw of lots
Security beefed up for I-Day
3 killed in mishaps
Girl kidnapped
Road blocked over girl’s death
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91 heading for dera building held
Sirsa, August 12 In another related development, 91 Sikh activists were taken into custody by the police at Odhan this evening when they tried to force their way towards Ghunkawali village where repair work on a historical building of the dera was started today amid heavy security deployment. They were taken to the Fatehabad Police Lines late in the evening and will be produced in Sirsa courts tomorrow. The police was competing the formalities of the arrests in Fatehabad at the time of the filing of this report. The arrested persons will be booked under sections 107 and 51 of the CrPC, according to police sources. The three Sikhs - Balkaran Singh, Sukhmander Singh and Amarjit Singh - were arrested under sections 307, 435, 427 and 452 of the IPC. The police produced them in a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody. The police had registered a case of rioting, house trespass with murderous assault and causing mischief with fire against an unidentified crowd, which allegedly torched houses and shops of dera followers after the death of a Sikh, Harminder Singh, in a dera-Sikh clash on July 18. On the basis of video recordings of the incidents and other evidence that came on the fore, the police has identified some persons responsible for the mob violence. The police has already arrested four dera followers - Sunder Dass, Ram Gopal, Gurjant Singh and Mandar Singh - for the murder of Harminder Singh. Meanwhile, work on the construction of a 800-foot wall of a historical building of the dera in Ghunkawali village began amid tight security arrangements today. More than 100 dera followers have been offering community labour to complete the wall at the earliest. Some miscreants had attacked the Ghunkawali dera on the night of July 18 and had set it on fire after razing the outer boundary wall. Earlier, a Dabwali court had yesterday denied stay on the application of three Ghunkawali residents seeking restraint on the construction of the damaged dera. Harnek Singh, Dharshan Singh and Bhola Singh, all residents of Ghunkawali, had filed a suit for a permanent injunction seeking restraint on the construction on the plea that the land on which the dera has been build belonged to the village panchayat. The allegations were, however, rebutted by the dera. Hundreds of Sikhs first assembled in a gurdwara at Dabwali against the arrest of three Sikhs and then marched towards Ghunkawali to stop the construction of dera. They were, however, stopped by the police at Odhan village. Led by Sukhwinder Singh Khalsa, president of the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Sabha, and Baljit Singh Dadu, president of the Khalsa Action Committee, the Sikhs were carrying kirpans and a majority of them were covering their faces with masks to avoid being identified. Three companies of the police have been deployed from Odhan to Ghunkawali to stop the Sikhs from reaching there and avoid any confrontation between the two groups. |
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Amarnath Land Row
Chandigarh, August 12 The BJP activists from Haryana were protesting against the revocation of land allotted to the Amarnath shrine, following which as many as 548 protesters were arrested under preventive measures. The protesters turned violent when the police stopped them at the barricades on the road dividing Sectors 7 and 8 here. The traffic on the city roads was brought to a standstill for over two hours. The police resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the protesters, who allegedly pelted policemen with stones, leaving over 12 protesters injured. The injured were taken to the General Hospital, Sector 16. The protest led by a couple of ex-MP and ministers of Haryana, including Ram Chander, I.D. Swami, Ram Bilas Sharma, Shihipal Sharma, had planned to march towards Haryana Raj Bhawan, but were stopped at the roundabout of Sector 7 and Sector 8. The protestors insisted on breaching the barricades. Earlier, during the rally, the BJP leaders condemned the policies of the Union government for worsening the situation. While the BJP leaders dubbed the police action as “repressive” and “unwarranted” since there was no provocation, officials of the UT police said the protesters violated prohibitory orders, following 548 workers were taken into preventive custody under Section 107/51 of the CrPC and later released. The protesters claimed that the UT police did not give even a minute, and resorted lathicharge, followed by water canon and teargas shells. |
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Cong Panel Meeting
Chandigarh, August 12 Issues ranging from neglect of constituencies of MPs, the growing “fatal attraction” between Congressmen and rival political parties, and, of course, the recent appointment of members to the Haryana Public Service Commission are likely to figure high on the agenda. Besides, a strategy for gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections slated for next year is likely to be drawn up. The co-ordination committee could well constitute a separate election committee on the lines of the one constituted in Punjab in a bid to get its act together and ready itself well in time. Also, the issue of non-appointment of chairpersons to boards and corporations by the government even three years after being in power will be an issue of debate between the party and the government. This is significant since a number of workers have been eyeing these posts which have been dangled before them without being offered. While the workers want these posts filled, the government is being blamed for holding back these appointments. This is the first meeting of the co-ordination committee after the byelections in May when the party managed to win two of the three assembly seats. While it was decided to put off the appointments of chairpersons till the byelections were over at the last meeting of the committee, other issues, too, are hanging fire with the Congress-led UPA government put through the trust vote. Sources said the appointment of four members to the HPSC “without prior consultation” had also led to wrangled nerves. Congress workers are particularly sore about the fact that two of the four posts have been “awarded” to former bureaucrats while there are “deserving candidates” by the dozens waiting in the wings. It is also learnt that the reasons for the “near-exit” of Congress MP Arvind Sharma just before the crucial trust vote in Delhi and the simmering discontentment resulting in leaning towards rival parties will come up for discussion. Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Phool Chand Mullana said the meeting was essentially to prepare for the Lok Sabha elections. |
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Custodial Death
Chandigarh, August 12 It seems the Haryana Police has failed to realise the perilous implications of non-registration of criminal cases, even after Sarita’s suicide hit the headlines. Taking a serious view of the matter, Justice Ajai Lamba of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked Haryana Director-General of Police to inform the court on action against the erring police officials and steps taken for the registration of case. In his detailed order on a petition filed by the victim’s kin Partap Singh, Justice Lamba has ruled: “Despite there being a clear case, showing merciless conduct on the part of the police, failure in discharge of statutory duties, torture of Rohtash in police custody, causing injuries on the left eye as well as the right leg - as witnessed by the father of the deceased - and there being no explanation, still the registration of the FIR is being resisted by none else than Superintendent of Police, Faridabad (Rural)”. Justice Lamba added: “DGP, Haryana, is required to file a reply before this court clearly showing as to what action has been taken against the erring police officials and steps being taken for the registration of the FIR”. Fixing August 25 as the next date of hearing in the matter, Justice Lamba has also directed that the copies of the orders should be forwarded to Haryana Chief Secretary. Before parting with the order, Justice Lamba took note of the inquiry conducted into the matter by the judicial magistrate (First Class). In his report, the magistrate had clearly stated a fight had taken place at about 11.30 a.m. on April 17, 2007. But the accused was arrested at 9.15 p.m. During that period, he was initially taken to Hassanpur chowki by the cops, and later to the DSP’s office. The magistrate had added the “delay caused by the police officials in getting him arrested is totally unexplained. It is also beyond imagination that for such a petty offence, why the police had not arrested the accused immediately and produced him before the competent authority”. Regarding the allegations of torture in police custody, the magistrate had stated: “Finally, I conclude that the torture of the accused in police custody is not ruled out. However, police officials have not abetted the accused to commit suicide by hanging”. |
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Tohana in grip of dengue
Tohana, August 12 A team of biologists and insect collectors from Hisar that visited Tohana today found larvae of aedes mosquitoes - responsible for the spread of dengue - at several places in the town. Another team of vector survey experts from Chandigarh also reached here in the evening and a team from the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme (NVBDCP) of the union health ministry is expected to reach here by tomorrow. Dr Veena Chugh, additional director-general of health services of the state, informed that the team of experts from Hisar had found larvae of aedes mosquitoes in the standing water at various places of the town. She was here yesterday to assess the gravity of the situation. Meanwhile, Jatinder Kumar, an official of the local municipal committee, was today suspended by SDM Tilak Raj for failing to comply with the orders of improving sanitary conditions of the town. However, the suspension orders were revoked by the evening under pressure from the local unit of the Sarva Karamchari Sangh. The SDM said the municipal employees had assured to improve the conditions in the next few days. However, the situation continues to be grim in Tohana with hundreds of new cases of fever. The authorities had so far been denying the outbreak of malaria or dengue and attributing the deaths to other medical problems. |
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Parliamentary panel for airport at Jhajjar
Chandigarh, August 12 The Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Civil Aviation, where the issue was raised by Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda, has recommended the setting up of an international airport at Jhajjar in Haryana as it felt that Delhi required more than one airport. The committee met in Delhi yesterday. Earlier, Hooda had urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in December last to use his good offices with the civil aviation ministry for setting up a greenfield airport-cum-cargo air complex within the NCR falling in Haryana. Hooda had pleaded that the new airport would cater to low-cost passenger services, air cargo, private operators, helicopter services and aircraft maintenance services in an area of 4,347 acres in Jhajjar district. The site is located in Mandothi, Jakhoda, Rohad, Saidpur and Tanda Heri villages in Bahadurgarh tehsil near the intersection of the NH-10 and the Kundli Manesar Palwal (KMP) expressway. Hooda had also urged the Prime Minister to ask the ministry to review the norm which prohibited the setting up of an airport within a radius of 150 km of an existing airport. The airport at Jhajjar would be within 150 km of the existing airport at Delhi. The government has recently revised the policy allowing the construction of a new airport within 150 km of the existing one, subject to permission from the cabinet. |
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14 shops, banquet hall demolished
Sonepat, August 12 The squad met with strong opposition from the owners of the shops and banquet hall, and even they allegedly pelted stones breaking the glass panes of the JCB machine. However, the additional police force was brought on the spot and the police reportedly rounded up number of people. DTP Solanki said construction of shops and banquet hall in notified controlled area was illegal and the owners of the shops and the banquet hall were served with notices and restoration orders under the Controlled Area Act to demolish the unauthorised constructions. The final decision to demolish the raised structures was taken when the owners of these buildings did not respond to the notices, he claimed. He said he was going to lodge complaints against those who were allegedly involved in opposing the demolition and indulged in pelting of stones. |
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Solitary Kinng
Panipat, August 12 Manjit Singh (45) paid Rs 1 lakh to the owner of a local multiplex to watch the movie from 4 pm to 7 pm. He said he was a true Sikh and had heard that the movie depicted the true character of Sikhs and also highlighted Sikh values like friendship and their spirit to help others. That is why he decided to treat himself by watching the movie all alone on his 45th birthday. Speaking to some mediapersons after the show was over, he said after watching the movie he had become a diehard fan of Akshay Kumar and would soon try and meet him in person to appreciate his work. He said Sikhs had made great sacrifices for the nation and the manner in which the Sikhs had been highlighted in the movie was commendable. Manjit, a resident of the local Gheraraina colony, who was wearing a lot of gold jewellery, said he would soon donating Rs 1 lakh for the poor and needy in the city. Earlier, before watching the evening show of the movie, Manjit Singh had a party with his family and friends. Though some stated that Manjit's act was a publicity stunt to promote the movie and it had been paid by the producers of the movie, Manjit denied it by saying that he had just fulfilled his wish. |
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Kidney Scam
Ambala, August 12 The police has registered a case against Rana on the complaint of the jail authorities. He was allegedly demanding Rs 50 lakh as ransom from Dr Amit, who is, too, lodged in the Ambala jail. While talking to mediapersons Rana said he was falsely implicated in the case. Rana had filed an application in the court through his counsel two weeks ago that he had secured the sim of Dr Amit’s phone and wanted to produce it in the court. He alleged in the application that he was beaten up in the jail. On the directions of the court, his medical was also conduced at the Ambala Civil Hospital. Later, he was shifted to Karnal jail. Rana while producing the sim before the court said this sim belonged to Dr Amit’s mobile (9896454654). Rana said with the help of another prisoner, he managed to collect it. If details of the calls of this sim were made known, the truth would come out, he added. The court handed over the sim to the SHO of the Baldevnagar police station and directed him to investigate into the matter. |
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More power for state
Chandigarh, August 12 This was stated by Union power secretary Anil Razdan while speaking at the inaugural function of the two-day Power Sector Conclave of Northern Region States, which began here today. He said from this project, Haryana would be supplied electricity at an economical rate of Rs 1.19 per unit for 25 years. Although these big mega projects were for the 12th plan, two units of 660 MW capacity each would start functioning during the 11th plan. This project was expected to be completed 13th months earlier than the scheduled period. Razdan said the central government had implemented an accelerated power development and reforms programme and Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana at a cost of Rs 80,000 crore. The Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana aimed at total electrification of villages in the country and provide electricity connections free of cost to poor families in rural areas. |
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Board to conduct draw of lots
Chandigarh, August 12 A spokesman for the board said the draw of lots for the allotment of house numbers in respect of 56 ground floors and 56 first and second floors for economically weaker section (EWS) houses constructed in Housing Board Colony, Sector 15, Sonepat, would be held on August 19 in the colony itself. He said similarly the draw of lots for the allotment of house numbers in respect of 15 each on ground floor, first floor and second floor of type I, 50 each on ground floor, first floor and second floor of type II and 221 on ground floor and 221 on first and second floor of low income group II in Housing Board Colony, Sector 4 and 5, Karnal, would be held on August 28 at 10 am in the colony itself. The board had also invited all applicants of both these sites to witness and participate in the draw. |
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Security beefed up for I-Day
Sirsa, August 12 The task has become difficult as the birth anniversary of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh also falls on August 15. “The dera chief does not celebrate his birthday. He celebrates the birthday of his predecessor Shah Satnamji, which falls on January 25. However, his followers will throng the dera on August 15,” Pawan Insan, dera spokesman, said. SP Amitabh Singh Dhillon said, “The police is well prepared to deal with any kind of situation”, adding, “Hotel owners have been directed to take digital photographs of customers, besides asking for their identity proof.” |
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3 killed in mishaps
Sonepat, August 12 A rickshaw-puller, Ramesh of Mugalpura Colony in
Gohana, and Ramesh of Suwana village in Jind district were killed on the spot when the rickshaw they were travelling in was hit by a truck near Hotel Milap on the Gohana-Panipat highway. The truck driver was nabbed by the police near Murlana village on the highway. The bodies of the victims were sent to the
CHC, Gohana, for a postmortem and a case has been registered against the truck
driver. Gitanjali of Gannaur and BA (first year) student of Gita Vidhya Mandir Girls College,
Sonepat, died on the spot after she fell down from a passenger train near Sandhal Kalan railway station here yesterday. |
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Girl kidnapped
Rewari, August 12 The girl’s father, Balbir Singh, said he came to know of it yesterday when he learnt that Rajbir, who was a frequent visitor to their home, too, had been missing since then. A case of abduction coupled with seduction under Sections 363, 366-A of the IPC as well as the SC/ST Act has been registered against the accused. |
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Road blocked over girl’s death
Sonepat, August 12 According to reports, Payal fell down in an open drain along the Kami road near Saini Pura today. |
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