Chandigarh, October 6
A solution to the demand for a separate gurdwara parbandhak committee for Haryana, which would be acceptable to all, seems to be in the offing following a meeting between representatives of Haryana Sikhs and those of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at Kurukshetra today.

The first fallout of the meeting is the indefinite postponement of the plan of the Haryana Sikhs to resort to ‘direct action’ and take over the sewa at the historical Chhatti Patshahi Gurdwara of Kurukshetra on October 8.

General secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Prem Singh Chandumajra
and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, adviser to Badal, met members of the core
committee of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) at
Kurukshetra and appealed to them to postpone their plan in view of the ongoing
Gurta Gaddi Diwas celebrations.

They told the Haryana Sikhs that all senior leaders of the SAD and the Amritsar- based SGPC were busy with the celebrations, which would conclude on November 7.

The core committee members included the president and the general secretary of the HSGPC Jagdish Singh Jhinda and Didar Singh Nalvi, respectively.

Informed sources say Chandumajra and Cheema assured the Haryana Sikhs that “business-oriented” meetings would be held with them after November 10 and a solution to their satisfaction would be found before November 20.

Following this assurance, the Haryana Sikhs decided to postpone their plan
for direct action.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has urged the Haryana Sikhs to maintain communal harmony in the state.

In a statement issued here today Hooda said confrontation could not solve any problem, which could be sorted out only through dialogue.

He said the state government had already constituted a committee headed by state agriculture minister H.S. Chatha to seek the opinion of the Sikhs of Haryana regarding the formation of a separate SGPC for the state. The report of the committee was awaited.

Hooda said he had already assured the Haryana Sikhs that any decision in this regard would be taken on the basis of their aspirations.

He expressed the hope that saner counsel would prevail upon all concerned and no unlawful activity would be committed in the interest of peace and harmony.

The advance would be admissible to regular class-I, II, III and IV state government employees/officers. — PTI

Karnal, October 6
Enraged family members of former ASI Mangat Singh, who had committed
suicide on October 4, today threatened to consume poison if justice was not
meted out to them.

The family members -Vimal Kaur, wife of the deceased, daughter-in-law Shallu, along with other members- met deputy superintendent of police Surinder Singh and narrated tale of vows.

Despite of an FIR, no case had been registered so far, said a family source, adding they would commit suicide if no action was taken in the next 48 hours.

They family members alleged Gurveer Singh, son of the deceased, was falsely implicated in a case of cheating registered by Pradeep.

He was mentally tortured and harassed by Pradeep, his family members and
SHO Azad Singh.

Following this, Mangat Singh took the extreme step as he could not bear the miserable condition of his son, they alleged.

He was also peeved over the alleged misbehaviour of the police and Pradeep with his daughter-in-law, they added.

Shallu alleged Pradeep and his family members’ along with Azad Singh had came to their house without any search warrant and misbehaved with her when she questioned about their unauthorised entry.

DSP Suriender Singh asked them to give their complaint in writing and assured that investigations would be handed over to some other officer if they were not satisfied with the present investigation officer. Later, they met SSP A.S. Chawala and begged for justice.

Bhutana (Karnal), October 6
In order to help the Haryana fish farmers to achieve higher profits, Professor Mohan Joseph Modayil, member of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, laid stress on the breeding of arvana and Molly fish, which fetch good prices in the market.

Interacting with a group of fish farmers in Bhutana village near here, Professor Modayail, a former director of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin, said that it was imperative for the farming community to have constant interactions with the scientists to have latest information, knowledge and technologies for further increasing the productivity.

Value addition through processing of fish would yield more profits to fish farmers, he added. A.K. Srivastava, director, National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), emphasised on the urgent need to integrate the possible enterprises in farming systems to ensure the better utilisation of family labour and more profits.

He mentioned the example of Sultan Singh who attended the first training programme in fish production in 1983 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and since then he never looked back. He has been constantly getting newer information and technologies that have paid him rich dividends.

Sultan said he conducted various experiments on different breeds of fish at his farm in the past two decades in association with Dr. J.C. Markanday, former head of the KVK, NDRI that brought not only the results but earned him recognition also.

Dalip K. Gosain, head, KVK, said the centre could educate fish farmers about the advanced sexual maturity and breeding of various breeds of fish three months ahead of the natural breeding season in North India.

Sirsa, October 6
The police today registered a case against some local chemists for voluntarily causing hurt to public servants, assault to deter public servant from performance of official duty, obstructing public servant from performing duty and criminal intimidation after a team of the drug control department from Panchkula was allegedly attacked by a mob comprising chemists.

The team members, who had gone to take samples of medicines from seven shops of the town after complaints of sale of intoxicants, were allegedly chased away by the mob forcing them to run away leaving their belongings inside the shops.

The team sealed seven chemist shops and two illegal godowns used by chemists after the owners refused to open those even after police intervention.

A 15-member team, including three additional state drugs controllers, G.L. Singla, R.K. Chugh and Ashok Bhamba, five senior drugs control officers (SDCOs) and seven drugs control officers (DCOs), reached here today after they had received complaints of sale of spurious medicines and drugs causing addiction.

In their complaint made to SP Amitabh Dhillon, the team members alleged that when the seven teams set up by them started the proceedings of taking samples from seven shops of the town simultaneously, their members were attacked by M.L. Bajaj, president of the local union of the chemists. Bajaj’s shop was also being checked for objectionable drugs at that time.

“Soon a mob led by Bajaj attacked our team members taking samples at various places of the town forcing our officers to run for safety,” alleged G.L. Singla, additional drugs controller, Haryana.

“We were not allowed to collect belongings like half-filled sample forms,” he added.

When the SP provided police force to the team for completing their process of collecting samples from the shops, they found all shops of the town closed.

The police has registered a case against the mob. “Several attempts to contact the owners yielded little results,” Singla said.

“We have sealed seven shops, including Rajiv Medicos, Rajdhani Medicos, Haryana Pharmaceuticals, Behl Medical Agencies, Bajaj Medicos, G.P. Medicos and Shivam Medicos, and two godowns that were being illegally operated,” he said.

Panipat, October 6
Harassed at the hands of an affluent exporter of the city, a local resident has approached the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for help.

Ghanshyam Sharma, a resident of Bishan Swrup Colony, said he had been living in terror for the past four months as he dared to oppose the construction of an unapproved building in his neighbourhood.

He alleged that the owner of the building, who is rich and powerful exporter, not only sent some musclemen to thrash him, but also managed to prevail upon the police, which refused to register a case against him.

According to Sharma, the exporter was constructing a huge building along his house without getting an approval form the local civic authorities that was in violation of the building bylaws.

He claimed that he approached the local MC to get the construction work stopped, but the MC failed to initiate any action against the illegal construction.

He also wrote a letter to the deputy commissioner, who ordered an inquiry and asked the SDM to look into the matter. However, the efforts failed to produce any results, Sharma said.

He said following this, the owner of the building along with one of his accomplices started pressurising him to withdraw the complaint, but when he refused to oblige, the two allegedly intimidated him of dire consequences.

He alleged that the duo even threatened him with a revolver saying that they would eliminate him in case he did not withdraw the complaint.

He said though he reported the matter to the police for registration of an FIR, no action was taken in this regard.

He alleged that following this the accomplice of the exporter came to his house along with some hired criminals and thrashed him mercilessly.

He again reported the matter to the police after getting himself examined at the local Civil Hospital, which confirmed that he had been beaten up.

Despite this, the police failed to register an FIR against the accused, who continued to threaten him.

He said because of regular threats from the accused, he and his family had been living in terror that had made their lives miserable.

He then wrote letters to senior officials of the police department, who ordered immediate registration of a case against the accused, but the district police did not act on the orders, he claimed.

He said having failed to get justice from anywhere, he was left with no other option but to write to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In his letter to the CJ, Sharma said since the police was not taking action against the accused, they could now harm him and his family at their will.

He requested the CJ to initiate action and ensure safety of his family. He asserted
that in case he and his family were harmed by the accused, the authorities would
be held responsible.

Meanwhile, district police chief M.S. Sheoran refused to comment on the issue stating that he was on leave.

Panipat, October 6
Union minister of state for finance Pawan Kumar Bansal has said the government will look into the allegations of fraud being committed by private insurance companies to ensure that commoners are not cheated by these high-profile firms.

Addressing a conference organised by the North Zone Insurance Surveyors at the local S.D. Vidya Mandir, the minister said the union government was committed for the welfare of all sections of society and private players would not be allowed to dupe poor of their hard-earned money.

He said a strict action could be initiated against such private companies, which would be found flouting the norms laid by the law.

Speaking on the occasion, chairman of the working committee of the Haryana circle of the body Radhey Shyam Garg said under the prevailing circumstances more than 12,000 surveyors were facing a threat of losing jobs.

There was an urgent need of taking remedial measures to safeguard the interests of those working in the field of insurance, he added.

He said several private companies were forcing the surveyors to file reports to
suit their own financial interests and by doing so these firms were exploiting the
unsuspecting clients.

He said the issues raised by the surveyors would be taken up in the Lok Sabha so that an appropriate solution could be drawn at the highest level.

Kurukshetra, October 6
District and Sessions Judge, R.C. Bansal, in a judgement announced here today, sentenced three persons for life imprisonment and two years rigorous imprisonment under sections 302 and 201, read with section 34, of the Indian Penal Code for murdering Nasib Singh, resident of Khanpur Roran village, 10 km from here on October 21, 2007.

All the three accused - Labh Singh, alias Labbu (23), Vikram Singh (20), Mohan Lal (23) - are the residents of Khanpur Roran.

They have also been fined Rs 5,000 and Rs 1,000 each; if not paid, they would
have to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months and two months for
each fine respectively.

In the judgment, it has been said that both the sentences shall run concurrently
and the period already undergone by the convicts during investigation and trial
be set off.

It has also been mentioned that all the three accused had been facing trial on the charges that on October 21,2007 in the area of Jyotisar village near railway crossing, they committed the murder of Nasib Singh by intentionally causing his death and threw his dead body in the Habri canal in the area between Dhand and Nilokheri and caused disappearance of the evidence with intention to screen themselves from legal punishment.

On November 15, 2007, complainant Joginder Singh, father of murdered Nasib Singh, moved an application to the police in which he alleged that on October 21, 2007 his son Nasib Singh, alias Pamma, went to Kurukshetra to see the Dussehra fair, but after seeing the fair he did not reach home.

After searching for him in vain, on October 24, 2007 he recorded a report in the police station regarding his son going missing.

In his compliant, he had alleged that Vlkram Singh, Labh Singh and Mohan Lal served his son Nasib Singh with liquor.

They in connivance with each other then killed his son and concealed the dead
body somewhere.

Rewari, October 6
National general-secretary of the BSP and in charge of the party affairs in Haryana Man Singh Manhera today virtually kicked off the party’s election campaign by calling upon people of the Bawal region to massively vote for the party candidate, Zakir Hussain, in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing Jan Chetna Rally in Bawal, Manhera said while the party would field Zakir Hussain from the Gurgaon parliamentary constituency, four other candidates from the other four constituencies of Haryana had already been announced as well.

Categorically stating that the party would contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats without going into an electoral alliance with any other political party, he said the names of candidates from remaining five constituencies would be announced by October 20.

Lashing out at the Congress, which, he asserted, had done little for the welfare of farmers, workers and other weaker sections of society.

He said the Bahujan Samaj Party, under the able stewardship of its supremo and UP Chief Minister Mayawati, was virtually engaged in the third war of independence to root out poverty and unemployment from the country.

He asserted that the social engineering formula successfully implemented by the BSP supremo in UP would be instrumental in the effectual elimination of the curses of fractured brotherhood and communal disharmony which, he alleged, were the creation of the wrongful policies being pursued by the Congress as well as the BJP.

Alleging that Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had played a pivotal role in establishing affinity between the Congress and the BJP which covertly engineered cross voting of its MPs to make things easy for the Congress during the trust vote in Parliament recently.

He also alleged that this was done by the BJP to prevent the prospective ascendancy of Mayawati to the post of Prime Minister.

Simultaneously, ventilating his party’s antagonism to the Indo-US nuclear deal, he asserted that it was neither in interest of the country nor beneficial for the people.

He further said the nuclear power, which would cost more than the thermal as well as gas-generated power, would drain poor consumers.

Stating that the Lok Sabha elections could take place any time in the coming few months, he exhorted people to oust the Congress, the BJP and all such political parties at hustings and ensure installation of Mayawati as the next Prime Minister.

The participants, he said, would share knowledge regarding the conservation and judicious use of natural resources for overcoming global food crisis and alleviating poverty. — UNI

Gurgaon, October 6
The state finance minister and chairman of the District Grievances Redressal Committee, Gurgaon, Birender Singh, has ordered a departmental action against the tehsildar of Farrukhnagar Block here following a land scam unearthed in the inquiry conducted by ADC Abhe Singh Yadav.

As per the inquiry report submitted, tehsildar R.K. Garg had wrongly sanctioned mutations of land measuring 2,107 kanals and 7 marlas in Siwadi village.

The report mentioned that the said land was declared surplus by the special collector surplus, Gurgaon, vide orders dated April 11, 1961.

It was mutated in favour of Haryana on June 11, 1982. As a result, the ownership
of the land was transferred from Sheela Devi, Munesh Kumar and others in favour
of the state.

The land was further allotted to the eligible persons under the provisions of law and several allotments were made from 1982 onwards.

Thus, by virtue of this allotment, the ownership of the land was transferred in favour of the allottees.

The report held that the original owner of the land, Madan Gopal, and others filed a civil suit in Gurgaon court on April 19, 1985, in which the state was made a party and no other person, including the allottees were made defendants.

The suit was decreed by the civil court on September 8, 1989, and no appeal was preferred by the state. However, some allottees filed separate civil suits in the civil court, which were dismissed.

Later on, an execution petition was filed this year and the respondent state was issued notice for May 12, 2008, and the SDO, civil, Gurgaon filed reply in which objections were raised.

The report revealed that since the decree was not executed and no mutation to this effect was sanctioned to change the ownership vested in favour of the allottees till August when the mutations were wrongly sanctioned by the Farrukhnagar tehsildar.

As per an interesting development in 2006-07, a total of 1,494 kanals and 4 marlas out of this land was sold by the decree holders by way of registered sale deeds.

The then naib tehsildar, Farrukhnagar, did not verify the ownership before registering these sale deeds.

However, no mutation was sanctioned at that time. Garg sanctioned the mutations whereas the area fell in the revenue circle of the naib tehsildar and these were sanctioned without hearing the interested parties whose ownership was taken away.

Kaithal, October 6
Intensifying its drive against anti-social elements, during the last 24 hours the district police arrested three persons and recovered three pistols from them.

All the accused were produced in a local court that sent them to judicial custody
for 14 days.

Giving details, SP Sultan told mediapersons here today that last evening a police patrol party noticed a man moving suspiciously near the bus stand here who tried to flee on noticing the police party.

The suspect was overpowered by the police; his search revealed that he was carrying a .12-bore pistol.

The accused was identified as Ram Kumar of Sudkankalan village. He disclosed
that he had purchased the weapon from some persons who came to his village
to sell jaggery.

In another case, a police party of the CIA noticed a suspected youth at Titram bus stand and interrogated him.

He was identified as Ram Chander of Sudkan Kalan village. The accused told the police that he purchased the pistol from a truck driver of Uttaranchal for Rs 4,500 due to some family dispute.

In yet another case, a CIA police party during patrol arrested Subhash of Deoban villagefor carrying a .315-bore pistol.