Chandpura (Fatehabad), March 1
In a dramatic turn of events, Sant Baljit Singh Dadu of Dadu Sahib Gurdwara was today “arrested” by the police along with a large number of his supporters on the outskirts of Chandpura, where he was to inaugurate a three-day “Gurmat Samagam”, a religious congregation in the village gurdwara.

However, after hours of confusion during which his supporters protested against his arrest, tried to deflate tyres of police vehicles and raised slogans, a group of armed Sikhs escorted him out of the police vehicle and they walked a distance of 2 km straight to the village gurdwara, leaving the authorities dumbfounded.

The Sikhs started their congregation once Dadu reached the gurdwara. Earlier, addressing his supporters before courting arrest, Dadu alleged that the state government was discriminating against the Sikhs at the behest of Dera Sacha Sauda followers and had even been stopping them from performing their religious functions.

“The Haryana Government is suppressing Sikhs, who are in a minority in the state, to cash in on the votes of Dera Sacha Sauda followers in the coming parliamentary polls,” he alleged.

Contrary to expectations, Dadu kept his date with Chandpura village today and reached the outskirts of the village with hundreds of his supporters despite a heavy deployment of the security forces.

Dadu was to reach Chandpura at noon to address a congregation but he entered Haryana borders a few kilometres away from the village at 2 pm in a cavalcade of vehicles.

Dera Sacha Sauda followers had objected to the congregation and had also threatened to organise a parallel “naam charcha” after which the authorities had imposed prohibitory orders and denied permission to both Sikhs as well as the dera followers.

Elaborate security arrangements had been made today and a heavy police force and the Rapid Action Force had been deployed in and around the village to stop Dadu from reaching the village gurdwara.

DIG (Crime) Shatrujit Singh, Fatehabad Deputy Commissioner JS Ahlawat, Fatehabad SP CS Rao and SP (Crime) Sandeep Kheerwar led a large number of officials, who camped in the area since early this morning.

A large number of dera followers had also assembled in the “naam charcha” ghar of the village, making the situation volatile.

The authorities stopped the cavalcade of Dadu 2 km before the village and informed them about the prohibitory orders imposed in the village.

The authorities met a delegation of the Sikhs and told them that they would have to arrest them in case they tried to enter the village.

The authorities also told them that they could hold their peaceful congregation after the prohibitory orders were withdrawn.

However, Dadu refused to return and announced to court arrest. “The arrests were peaceful and there was no resistance from Dadu and his followers,” said the Deputy Commissioner.

However, once Dadu left the police vehicle and went inside the gurdwara around 7.30 in the evening, the authorities were left with no option but watch and hope that no inflammatory speeches were made from inside the gurdwara.

Fatehabad, March 1
Four persons were killed and two others seriously injured when a jeep of a marriage party collided with a tractor-trailer near Chinder village in this district last night.

The injured are being treated in Agroha Medical College and Hospital. According to reports, Pardeep and Sandeep, sons of Samunder Singh of Randhawa village in Sirsa district, were to be married yesterday and their marriage party was going towards Agroha in the evening when a jeep carrying members of the marriage party collided with a tractor-trailer near Chinder village in this district.

The collision was so strong that Samunder Singh, father of the bridegrooms, his elder brother Bhagwan Dass and two other baratis - Manohar and Loona Ram - died on the spot.

Bhola and Inder Singh were injured seriously and have been shifted to Agroha Medical College and Hospital.

They alleged that four peacocks had been poached on Friday. They alleged that of the 12 peacocks present in the village till recently, only two had been left now.

Nuh (Mewat), March 1
The Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Supply Project worth Rs 425 crore, the first phase of which was inaugurated by UPA chairperson and AICC chief Sonia Gandhi today, was expected to benefit as many as 258 water-starved villages of the Mewat area.

Water shortage has remained an acute problem for the people of the Mewat area ever since its inception. Water crisis, coupled with certain socio-economic factors, has been impeding the development of this area.

Admitting this in her speech, Sonia maintained that the development of Mewat was a challenge since the formation of Haryana in 1966.

Expressing satisfaction over the development works undertaken by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress regime in Haryana, she said the state government had accorded top priority to end the scarcity of drinking water in the district.

The said project, which was inaugurated at Kondal village in Palwal district, would mainly cater to the people of the Mewat area.

Referring to the instance when the members of the Muslim community of Mewat had decided to stay in India instead of shifting to Pakistan at the time of Partition on an appeal by Mahatma Gandhi, Sonia said the people of Mewat had set an example of social harmony which others should emulate.

Carrying forward the AICC chief’s assertions, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda disclosed that a proposal for the construction of a Mewat canal at an estimated cost of Rs 326.40 crore had been sent to the Central Water Commission for approval.

Hooda pointed out that the country’s first mobile court was started in Mewat, and added that the Kotla lake here was also being developed.

Chandigarh, March 1
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has asked banks in Haryana to encourage financing of tractors to self-help groups, joint liability groups and farmers’ cooperatives.

NABARD has said there is low annual use of tractors for own farm activities and limited prospects of custom hiring in the state.

“We have estimated a potential of Rs 830.12 crore for farm mechanisation activities in Haryana during this financial year. We are not only encouraging the financing of new tractors, but also of second-hand tractors,” said a senior official.

Farmers’ clubs in the state will soon cross the 500 mark and the total number of self-help groups, which are credit-linked, stands at 14,500 with a total bank loan of Rs 110 crore.

“Thus there is a huge potential for providing loans for farm mechanisation through these groups,” said the official.

NABARD has recommended that the state government promote and establish service centres for custom hiring of tractors.

The bank, while asking regional rural banks and cooperative banks, to encourage financing of second-hand tractors to small farmers, has cautioned them to first take into account the useful life left of the tractor before working out the repayment schedule.

“Keeping in view the optimum utilisation and viability norms, the financing for second-hand tractors should be encouraged,” the bank has told the state government, while presenting the state credit policy recently.

Sirsa, March 1
Irate villagers ransacked the police station in Rori village in this district today after the murder of a woman and her mother-in-law by some unidentified persons.

The villagers broke windowpanes of vehicles parked in the police station and also damaged the property of the police station, forcing policemen to run for cover.

They were irked at the gruesome murders in a house situated at a short distance from the police station and the attitude of the police after they were informed about the incident.

The villagers alleged that the police reached the murder site two hours after being informed and made some unsavoury remarks when they objected to its “lackadaisical” attitude.

The police reinforcement that reached from the headquarters from Sirsa used mild force and tear gas shells to bring the rampaging mob under control. The police also reportedly fired into the air to disperse the agitated villagers.

The murders appear to be the handiwork of some robber but the police is still to reach any conclusion and its dog squad and fingerprint experts were busy taking evidence from the scene of the crime.

“Evidence of struggle by the women, scattered household items and empty jewellery boxes lying near the scene of the murders point towards the possibility of robbery being the motive but the police will reach any conclusion only after investigation,” Sirsa SP Subhash Yadav told The Tribune.

Bhushan Jain, the house owner and shopkeeper, had gone to Delhi yesterday to attend a congregation, while his mother Krishna (55), wife Mamata (24) and two sons (aged three years and seven months) were in his house in Rori village.

Neighbours heard the cries of children from inside the house this morning and when they went in, they found the two women lying in a pool of blood.

The two were attacked with sharp-edged weapons and their household belongings were found scattered, giving the impression that the house had been burgled.

“We informed SHO Devender Nain about the incident in the police station situated at a short distance from the scene of the crime but the police took more than two hours to reach there and when some villager objected to the indifferent attitude of the police, the SHO told that they were not here to see this particular case only,” alleged angry villagers.

SP Subhash Yadav and DSP Dheeraj Setia talked to some prominent villagers to resolve the situation and ordered the immediate transfer of the SHO.

“SHO Devender Nain has been transferred and Shish Ram, SHO of the CIA police station, Sirsa, has been entrusted the investigation of the case,” Yadav said.

The situation was tense but under control in the village at the time of the filing of
this report.

Chandigarh, March 1
A former IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, Dhanendra Kumar, has taken over as the chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), a high-power body that will decide on non-competitive practices such as cartelisation.

Dhanendra Kumar has held several important assignments, both in the state as well as the Centre.

Immediately before he took over charge at the CCI, he was executive director of
the World Bank.

Dhanendra Kumar is known among his colleagues as an “infrastructure man” for his work in fields like industry and telecom.

He was administered the oath of office by Union Minister for Company Affairs Prem Chand Gupta yesterday.

Another former bureaucrat, Harish Chander Gupta, former Coal Secretary, joined as a member of the CCI.

Three more members will be appointed soon. India is among 105 countries to have a full-fledged competition commission.

Dhandendra Kumar says the commission will ensure best global practices to promote level-playing field and get consumers the best quality in goods and services.

The priority will be on sectors which are essentially consumer-oriented. It will also ensure that the benefits of the stimulus packages announced by the government to spur the industry reach the consumers.

The commission will ultimately replace the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade
Practices Commission.