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Need for quality education: Lt-Gen A motorcyclist performs a daredevil act during an Old Boys’ meeting at Sainik School, Kunjpura, Karnal, on Sunday. Tribune photo: Ravi Kumar
Sangh Parivar forms Dharam Raksha Samiti |
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Gautam blames Garewal for alliance
‘Refugee’
Issue
SIM card helps identify accident victims
End of Hostage Crisis
Tiranga March
Kidnapped boy rescued after 7 months
Power Grievances
Drive to eradicate polythene bags
Attack on Doctor
900 awarded degrees
5 kidnapped persons return home
Media cautioned against sensationalism
‘Refugee’ Issue
297 cases settled at lok adalat
HJC: Rectify irregularities in BPL list
1 killed in road mishap
Red Light Atop Vehicles
Man axes wife
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Need for quality education: Lt-Gen
Karnal, November 16 A gold medallist at the NDA, General Nanda said he attributed it to the ground training and education received at Kunjpura Sainik School. Stressing the importance of imparting quality education to students, he said the level and quality of education would determine their future. Asked why the youth was not much interested in joining the Army, he said multinational companies were paying fat salaries to young qualified professionals and it was natural that the cream would go to these organisations. The Sixth Pay Commission had addressed the problems of Army personnel to some extent, but there was an urgent need for making the armed forces more lucrative and attractive. To a question about suicides in the Army, he said these incidents took place because of stress and demoralisation and the problem was not peculiar to the Army alone and other sectors were also stung by it. A number of adventure and other colourful programmes were organised on the occasion. A dog show by the police dog squad at Madhuban, dare-devil acts by motorcyclists of the Signals from Ambala, display of tanks (Patiala) and helicopters (Jalandhar) and a captivating show by adventure, art and craft and electronics clubs of the school were the highlights of the celebrations. Later, 26 seniormost old students were honoured and the Old Boys Association had its annual general meeting. A grand cultural show was organised in the evening by school students and Old Boys. The principal of the school, Col Arun Dutta, said “Always look up, sky-birds on wings of fire” is the motto followed by the students.
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Sangh Parivar forms Dharam Raksha Samiti
Panipat, November 16 The conclave claimed that Hindu saints were being booked on terrorism charges under a planned conspiracy aimed at defaming the sant samaj. The saints attending the conclave chose to clarify that there was no “Hindu terrorism” in the country and it was nothing but a political hypocrisy to meet vested interests. The conclave gained importance with the participation of all organisations under the Sangh Parivar, including the BJP and the VHP, and a large number of saints from across the nation. Speaking on the occasion, BJP president Rajnath Singh said in case the union government continued to sully the image of the saints, the BJP would not sit back and would come to the forefront to protect the honour of the saints. He said if need be the party would even take to the streets. Coming to the rescue of Sadhvi Pragya, the BJP president said if the government had stumbled upon any evidence against her, it should bring it in public. VHP president Ashok Singhal, while terming the registration of cases against saints as unfortunate, said saints had kept rich Indian traditions alive till day and they had an important role to play in maintaining the national social fabric. Coming out openly in support of the BJP, Singhal made a strong appeal to the sant samaj to hold public meetings across the nation to garner support for the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections. Sangh sanchalak K. Sudarshan said the killing of innocent people through terrorist activities had no place in Hindu society. He said only the one who hated terrorism was a true Hindu. The term Hindu was a way of life and did not refer to any certain sect, he said. However, some political leaders were trying to divide Indian society on the lines of caste and sects, he asserted. Other prominent leaders who attended the conclave included VHP general secretary Praveen Togadia, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand B.C. Khanduri, former Chief Minister of Delhi Madan Lal Khurana and former union home minister I.D. Swami. BJP president Rajnath Singh said the investigations into the Malegaon blasts and the Samjhauta Express blasts were politically motivated. He contended that how could the probing agencies accuse Colonel Purohit of having provided RDX for the Samjhauta Express blasts when no RDX was used in these blasts. He said the government had itself pointed out that no RDX had been used in these blasts, but the statement given by the ATS ran contrary to the investigation already conducted into these blasts. This proved that it was a politically motivated move, he claimed. He defended Colonel Purohit, stating that he was being falsely framed in the case. |
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Gautam blames Garewal for alliance
Chandigarh, November 16 Talking to newsmen here, Gautam, whose removal as the leader of the legislature party has been sought by the BJP in a communication sent to the Speaker of the Haryana assembly, said when the entire state unit of the party was against an alliance with the INLD of Om Prakash Chautala, it was Garewal, who “manipulated” things in such a way that the high command was persuaded to ignore the advice of the state unit and enter into an alliance which was not to the liking of state leaders and party workers. The Haryana BJP has also recommended to the high command that action should be taken against Gautam for his “anti-party activities”. Gautam, who has been opposing the alliance right from day one, denied that he was speaking against the alliance at the behest of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. He said no doubt Hooda was a gentleman, but he had no control over the administration and Hooda was surrounded by those “who studied in the Devi Lal school of politics.” He accused Hooda of not being fair to all sections of society and of being soft towards Chautala. He said the people of Haryana would never forgive Hooda for not taking action against Chautala for his alleged corrupt activities. The BJP leader said though he held party prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani in high esteem, he could not digest the decision of the senior leader to go with Chautala. Expressing the hope that the BJP high command and the RSS, which controlled the BJP, would reconsider the alliance, Gautam said the BJP’s hopes of getting Jat votes on the strength of Chautala’s support would turn out to be misplaced. He said in certain districts, the Jat base of Chautala had been considerably eroded by Hooda. He refused to disclose his future plans in case the BJP expelled him. He said though he was loyal to the party, yet interests of the people of Haryana were above the party for him. |
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‘Refugee’
Issue Ambala, November 16 Sharma had raised this issue in the Saraswat Brahmin conference at Karnal in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday. Dilip Chawla Bittu, Punjabi leader and press coordinator of the Chief Minister, said the Punjabi community in the state was happy that an important issue related to the honour of the community was raised by Venod Sharma. He said it was unfortunate that even after 60 years of Independence, the word “refugee” was in practice. He said successive governments had used the Punjabi community merely as a vote bank, but the Hooda government had sincerely watched the interests of Punjabis. The Punjabi Vikas Sabha has extended support to Venod Sharma on this issue and praised him. Spokesman for the sabha Sudhir Kumar said the Chief Minister should take up this issue on a priority basis as it was directly related to the sentiments of the Punjabis. Meanwhile, talking to mediapersons here yesterday, Venod Sharma said he would take up this matter with the Chief Minister and, if needed, with the union government also. He said another important issue related to the Brahmin community would also be taken up. He is of the view that Brahmins should get the ownership rights of land which they got as donation for their livelihood.
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SIM card helps identify accident victims
Sirsa, November 16 Both bodies were charred beyond recognition along with the Maruti car that had caught fire immediately after colliding with a maxi cab and even the mobile phone was badly disfigured in the fire. “We found the SIM card intact and identified the bodies on the basis of mobile number of the SIM and other numbers stored in it,” said Ajit Singh, SHO, Baragura. The victims have been identified as car owner Hardeep from Odhan village and Gopal from Panjuana village. Both of them were in their early thirties. “Both were friends and were going towards Panjuana in the car fitted with an LPG kit. The car collided with a stationary maxi cab on the bridge of a minor and immediately caught fire,” he said. Sources said people watched in helplessness as the car went up in flames with the two victims seated inside. The front portion of the maxi cab also caught fire, but it was glided into the minor to douse the fire by villagers. The police and fire engines reached after and hour and extinguished the fire of the car, but no one dared to go near the car for fear that the LPG cylinder might go off. It was late in the night that the two charred bodies could be extricated from the badly burnt car with much difficulty. The bodies were found stuck to the seats, which too had melted due to heat. A badly burnt mobile was found from the car. Though the mobile was not in order, its SIM card was found in order. When the police used this SIM card in another mobile set, it helped establish contact with the kin of Gopal and after that the identity of the Hardeep was also confirmed.
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Seaman to reunite with family soon
Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service
Rohtak, November 16 The ship known as “Stolt Veller”, a chemical tanker, was abducted by the pirates on September 14 when it was on its way to Indian port of Mumbai from the US. Bijender Singh, a seaman with a Hong Kong-based company, was a part of the 18-member crew, which was held on gunpoint by the pirates seeking money to release the ship and the staff. Bijender’s father, Ramniwas, said: “My son is free at last and it’s the biggest sigh of relief for all family members who had perhaps forgotten about the happiness and had been under tension for the past two months.” He said the life had become hell from the day when the family came to learn about the hostage reports of the ship. The family did not even celebrate Diwali and had been praying for the safe return of Bijender. Ramniwas, who himself works with the merchant navy, had come on special leave following the reports of the hostage of his son’s ship. He had also been employed with the same company whose tanker had been under siege and he was on its way from Germany to Dubai when he came to know about the development. He said although he had been in touch with the company officials, the good news came this morning when an official of the company office in Mumbai informed him that a deal had been struck with the pirates and the ship had been freed. The ship is likely to touch the Mumbai shore in next two or three days and his son will reach home within the next four days. Claiming that the release of the ship and the crew had been possible with the efforts of the company, he said he and his family were grateful to the company authorities, who had not spared any effort to ensure the safe return of the crew. He said the last time the family heard from his son was about a month ago, when he talked to them and told that he was okay. The telephonic communication was possible due to the shipping company’s help. Bijender has been with the company for the past four years and was satisfied with the job, said Ramniwas.
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Youth pledge to fight social evils
Our Correspondent
Kurukshetra, November 16 The youth along with MP Naveen Jindal reiterated their effort to make their city and state number one in the country by following the teachings and ideals of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. They pledged to make their city free of all social evils like poverty, child labour, malnutrition and atrocities on women. They would focus on girl education, proper hygiene and health facilities for all and opportunities for all in the national development. The march was organised by the Flag Foundation of India. Jindal said, “We the youth of the country reaffirm our role and participation in the development of self, state and the country. We reiterate that we will follow the mantra of doing it ourselves rather than waiting for somebody else to do it for us. To be the best, we will improve society and ourselves. We pledge that progress shall be seen in our daily lives, be it studies, profession, agriculture or social development.” Congratulating every Indian, Jindal said, “It is indeed a matter of pride and honour for every Indian that today the Tiranga is flying on the moon and it is indeed a great effort of scientists that has put India amongst the top five countries whose national flag is flying on the moon. Today our head is held high in the field of games and sports at the international level and I take this opportunity to congratulate Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh for getting bronze medal in the Olympic Games and making Haryana proud. We also congratulate Sania Nehwal, Abhinav Bindra, Sachin Tendulkar and Vishwanathan Anand in making India and every Indian proud.” He said, “Nehru was the architect of free India. It is the result of his foresightedness that we are reaping the fruits. It was he who in the initial days of our freedom laid the foundation of a strong economic policy. He laid emphasis on education and educational institutions for higher studies, right to equality for all sections of society, freedom and equality for women, secularism and an endless list of his efforts to put India into one of the leading developing nations of the world,” he added.
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Kidnapped boy rescued after 7 months
Sirsa, November 16 In the lap of his mother Satyawanti, Rajiv, it appeared, was still scared because of the agony undergone by him when The Tribune met him at his Khairpur house today. Rajiv was kidnapped from the town on April 25 and was reportedly taken to Delhi by a gang of criminals, who made children beg and used them for other criminal activities. The police has arrested the two kidnappers identified as Appa Rao (30) and R. Mugam (25) in this connection from south district of Delhi. The special staff of the south district police busted the gang. According to sources, the police stumbled upon the miscreants during its investigation into the murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan. Rajiv’s father Keshav, who works as a construction worker, said he never received any ransom call from the kidnappers. The police zeroed in on all criminals of the area and learnt about this gang that kidnapped children and forced them into begging and other criminal activities. A team of the Delhi and Sirsa police laid a trap in Madangir and arrested Rao and Mugam. The kidnapped child was rescued. On being questioned, the boy said his name was Rahul and Appa Rao was his father. However, later he said he had lied due to the fear of the kidnappers. The interrogation of the two confirmed that the boy was kidnapped from Sirsa. They further disclosed that they had trained and forced the child to commit petty thefts. They had planned to kidnap and recruit more such children. Active for the past few years, the two were also found involved in cases regarding the Excise Act, said the police. The police today produced the accused in a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody.
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Nigam to hold open darbars
Tribune News Service
Hisar, November 16 A spokesman for the DHBVN said here recently that the darbars would start at 10 am in which complaints and grievances would be redressed on a first-come-first-served basis. All types of complaints, including meter reading, correction of bill, change of meter, new connection, replacement of electric installations, system improvement and power supply, would be entertained. The deputy general manager, all assistant general managers and their staff would remain present in the darbars with relevant record. The general managers (Op) would also visit and attend some darbars. The darbars would be held on November 15 at 33 kV substation, Sirsa, 33 kV substation, Darbi, and 33 kV substation, Rori in Sirsa; 33 kV substation, Ratia, and Pirthala village in Fatehabad; 33 kV substation, Rajgarh road, Hisar, Customer Care Centre, Civil Lines, Hisar, and 33 kV substation, Koth Kalan in Hisar; Customer Care Centre, New Colony, Alipur village, subdivision office, Farukhnagar, subdivision office, Sohna, and sub-office, Nagina in Gurgaon. On November 20, the darbars would be organised at subdivision No. 2, Bhiwani, subdivisional office, Jui, and subdivisional office, Sanjarwas in Bhiwani district; divisional office, Narnaul, and divisional office, Mahendragarh in Mahendragarh district; divisional office, Rewari, and divisional office, Dharuhera in Rewari district. The open darbars in Faridabad district would be organised at 44 different places during this month on different days up to November 28. The spokesman said that during October, the DGMs organised 18 open darbars in their respective operation divisional areas to mitigate grievances of consumers promptly. They received 300 complaints out of which 245 were redressed. Orders for taking action were given for rest of the complaints at site. He said the DHBVN had asked its officers of different levels to interact with the consumers through meetings with industries’ associations, resident welfare societies and customer care advisors regularly.
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Drive to eradicate polythene bags
Kurukshetra, November 16 The campaign, which started from Hindu High School, Ladwa, passed through Thakri Devi Girls High School, Shugni Devi Girls Senior Secondary School, Sangam Market, Athvadiya mandir, old sabzi mandi, Bajaja Bazar, Sarafa Bazar and Masjid. It concluded near Brahm mandir and Khera mandir. Besides senior citizens, other residents of Ladwa and Ladwa municipality employees joined the campaign and inspired the people not to use polythene bags and keep their surroundings clean. They urged the people to avoid using polythene bags and instead of throwing them these should be destroyed as the polythene bags choke the drainage system, create hindrance in water recharge and destroy fertility if thrown in garbage. Meanwhile, SCC members appealed the state government to set up a polythene treatment plant in Ladwa and other towns. |
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3 held, 2 others in hospital
Tribune News Service
Karnal, November 16 Two persons, identified as Samunder and Dinesh from Gogripur, were arrested last night while Vijender, also of the same village, was arrested today. The remaining two persons, Krishan and Balwinder, who were also injured in the clash, were admitted to the hospital. Samunder and Dinesh were produced before the duty magistrate who remanded them in two-day police custody. A case under sections 307, 148 and 149 of the IPC was registered against five persons, SSP A.S.Chawala said. Meanwhile, the condition of Dr Madan deteriorated today and he was shifted to the PGIMS, Rohtak. Dr Madan was attacked by some persons at his clinic on Friday night after he and his staff had an altercation with them on the payment of fee. Sources said the argument started when the compounder charged Rs 50 for the same medicine which was given for Rs 20 in the morning. Two persons who had come to the clinic, after an altercation with the doctor, called some people on the phone who attacked the doctor and his two assistants. Shopkeepers in the locality had pulled down their shutters in protest against the incident yesterday and sought action against the accused.
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900 awarded degrees
Kaithal, November 16 In his address, Randeep Surjewala said the youth were “a source of energy and strength” for the nation. He laid stress on imparting quality education to students as it paved the way for good employment opportunities for them. He said 2008 was being celebrated as “year of education” in the state and the present government had taken number of steps to improve the education system. He said 16 proposals for setting up private universities had been submitted to the government this year. Speaking on the occasion, Shamsher Singh Surjewala exhorted the youth to work with dedication and devotion to achieve their goals. Students who excelled in various fields were given away prizes on this occasion. Members of the teaching and non-teaching staff, who had completed 25 years’ service in this institution, were also honoured at the function. Earlier, Subhash Mittal, president of the college governing body, welcomed the guests. Principal S.K. Garg highlighted the achievements of the institution. |
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5 kidnapped persons return home
Yamunanagar, November 16 The family members said they were not aware of where they were left after being kidnapped, but managed to reach home safely. They refused to divulge the details when contacted. The investigating officer, DSP Ashok Kumar, said the family members had yet not revealed where they were left. “We have got some clues and are investigating the matter,” he said. In a complaint to the police, Suresh’s brother Ved Parkash had alleged that his brother Suresh, along with the latter’s wife Sushma and children Arun (15), Niraj (20) and Priyana (18) were kidnapped due to an old rivalry over a property dispute.
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Media cautioned against sensationalism
Kaithal, November 16 This was stated by deputy commissioner Vikas Gupta while speaking as a chief guest at a function held on the occasion of Press Day at the mini-secretariat here today. Mediapersons and DPRO Hazari Lal Verma were among those present on the occasion. Gupta said while performing its duty, the Press could create awakening among the masses about the problems being faced by the country. He said it was a matter of concern that because of stiff competition in the media, shortcomings had crept into the system of reporting. Hence, it becomes the responsibility of mediapersons and those controlling the print and electronic media to introspect and introduce a system of self-checking and restraint. Journalists also expressed their views on the role of the Press and the difficulties faced by mediapersons while performing their duty.
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Punjabi leaders back Venod Sharma
Our Correspondent
Ambala, November 16 Sharma had raised this issue in the Saraswat Brahmin conference at Karnal in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday. Dilip Chawla Bittu, Punjabi leader and press coordinator of the Chief Minister, said the Punjabi community in the state was happy that an important issue related to the honour of the community was raised by Venod Sharma. He said it was unfortunate that even after 60 years of Independence, the word “refugee” was in practice. He said successive governments had used the Punjabi community merely as a vote bank, but the Hooda government had sincerely watched the interests of Punjabis. The Punjabi Vikas Sabha has extended support to Venod Sharma on this issue and praised him. Meanwhile, talking to mediapersons here yesterday, Venod Sharma said he would take up this matter with the Chief Minister and, if needed, with the union government also. He said another important issue related to the Brahmin community would also be taken up. He is of the view that Brahmins should get the ownership rights of land which they got as donation for their livelihood.
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297 cases settled at lok adalat
Kurukshetra, November 16 It was presided over by District and Sessions Judge R.C. Bansal. Stating this here yesterday, secretary of the District Legal Services Authority-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrate Naresh Kumar Singhal said 68 civil cases, 91 motor vehicle challan cases, 60 criminal cases, martial cases, rent cases, revenue cases as well as other pending cases were settled at the lok adalat. Singhal said people whose income was less than Rs 50,000 per annum were eligible for free of cost legal assistance by the authority. The lok adalat was such a platform that played an important role to maintain brotherhood. The cases were settled with the mutual consent of both the parties. No appeal could be made against the decisions of lok adalats, he added. Additional District and Sessions Judges Shekher Dhawan, L.N. Jindal and S.S. Singh Dahiya, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Pradeep Kumar, Judicial Magistrates (first class) Narender Sharma, Ravneet and Renu Rana and Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate, Pehowa, Gurvinder Kaur settled the cases. |
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HJC: Rectify irregularities in BPL list
Kurukshetra, November 16 Condemning the Haryana government, Sharma alleged that failure of control over the government machinery was also one of the reasons that there were irregularities in the BPL survey, which had been conducted to benefit people of the choice of local leaders of the Congress government. In a signed statement released to mediapersons here yesterday, Sharma demanded that the government should take immediate steps to solve the situation. He warned the Haryana government that if irregularities in BPL lists were not rectified immediately, the HJC would not hesitate to come on roads to seek justice. |
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1 killed in road mishap
Sirsa, November 16 An orchestra party from Sirsa was going to Ratia to perform in a marriage in the morning today, when it was hit by a truck on the side. The driver of the Sumo vehicle lost control over the vehicle and it hit against a tree. The vehicle overturned after the accident. Guddi (25), a dancer in the orchestra party, was killed on the spot, while nine others were injured. The injured have been rushed to the local general hospital for treatment. |
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Red Light Atop Vehicles
Gurgaon, November 16 The government has already issued notification about the officers and VIPs, who are authorised to use the red light atop vehicles. The deputy commissioner said the officers, who were entitled to use red or blue light could mount the same on their one personal vehicle in case they did not have a government vehicle.
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Man axes wife
Fatehabad, November 16 The victim had five daughters and a 15-day-old son, who have been left to fend for themselves as their father has fled after killing his wife. The eldest daughter of the couple is 15. The accused, Ramesh, alias Pappu, is a safai karamchari in the village and was addicted to poppy husk and other narcotics. According to reports, he axed his wife Kalo Bai to death in the wee hours today after some altercation. When his daughters went to the room where he killed their mother, the accused threatened to kill them in case they revealed this fact to anyone. The accused fled after committing the crime. The police has registered a case. |
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Nostalgia filled Lt-Gen A.K. Nanda as he went down memory lane at Old Students’ Day at Kunjpura Sainik School here today. An alumnus of the first batch (1961) of the school, General Nanda said nothing had changed and he vividly remembered the days spent in the school.
