Rohtak, March 19
Residents of Ismaila Haryana village on the National Highway (NH) No 10, about 20 km from here, blocked the rail and road traffic for about an hour this noon in protest against the alleged beating up of the sarpanch of the village by the police.

The blockade was lifted after senior police officials of the district reached the spot and ordered registration of a case against the cops, including the SHO. This, however, resulted in inconvenience to hundreds of motorists and the rail passengers, as the villagers blocked the movement of the trains on the Delhi- Ferozpur section of the Indian Railways and the traffic on the NH No 10.

The protesting villagers alleged that the accused cops thrashed the sarpanch Sunil and some other residents on March 17 and kept them confined in the police station at night for no fault. According to reports, hundreds of residents of Ismaila and sarpanches from neighbouring villages assembled on the NH No 10 at around noon blocking the flow of traffic.

It is reported that senior police officials, including the ASP and two DSPs, who went to Sampla for inquiring into the allegations levelled by the sarpanch against the SHO and other police personnel, could not pacify the agitated villagers demanding suspension of the “erring” policemen and registration of a criminal case against them. Some of the protesters also rushed to the railway track near Ismaila railway station and did not allow movement of trains.

Bowing to the wishes of the agitating villagers, the police in the evening registered a case under Section 148,149,323 and 506 of the IPC against Sampla SHO and 7 other police personnel posted at Sampla police station. It was only after the criminal case was registered against the policemen that the protesters lifted the blockade from the NH No 10 and the railway track allowing flow of traffic.

Chandigarh, March 19
The national leadership of the BJP might have distanced itself from its candidate from Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi, for his alleged communal utterances at a public rally, the Haryana unit of the party has come out openly in his support.

A veteran party leader, Ram Prakash Sharma, who has been appointed chairman of the campaign committee of the state, said here today Varun had committed no wrong. The candidate contesting against him from Pilibhit had a long list of criminal cases against him and had been terrorising the people in that area. It was the duty of Varun to instill confidence among his supporters against such a person. This was exactly what Varun did, Sharma claimed.

Justifying Varun’s reported action of greeting the audience with “Jai Shri Ram”, Sharma said the elections were being held in India and not Pakistan where the name of Lord Rama could not be invoked.

When asked was he not contradicting the stand taken by the national leadership of the BJP, which had sought to wash its hands off the controversy, Sharma said he was expressing the sentiments of the party workers.

Harjit Singh Grewal, chairman of the Punjab Infotech, who is co-convener of the BJP affairs in the state, was also present when Sharma extended his support to Varun.

Sharma said the party had appointed observers for all five constituencies it would contest in the state. Kanwal Pal Gujjar would be the observer for Ambala; Kailash Sharma for Karnal; Om Prakash Dhankar for Sonepat; Ganeshi Lal for Gurgaon and Veer Kumar Yadav for Faridabad.

He said the UPA and other parties had no issue to face the electorate. Therefore, these parties had only one agenda - to criticise BJP prime minister candidate LK Advani.

He said once the INLD, the alliance partner of the BJP, announced its candidates, joint public meetings would be held in all constituencies, which would be addressed by national leaders of the BJP.

Yamunanagar, March 19
Kumari Selja, MP, was today caught in fault for using lecture stand of the government school to address the public gathering at Chhachhroli town in spite of the implementation of code of conduct in view of the Lok Sabha elections in the state.

Taking cognisance of the violation of the code of conduct, DC Amit Kumar Aggarwal has prepared a report in this regard and will be sent to the state Chief Electoral Officer tomorrow for action.

Selja had addressed the public gathering in Chhachhroli town last evening. It was alleged that lecture stand of Government Senior Secondary School For Boys, Chhachhroli, was used during public gathering. The two officials include the district elementary education officer and the tehsildar concerned were directed by the SDM to conduct an inquiry. As per the reports submitted to the DC, by the two officials in the evening confirmed the matter.

DC said as per the two reports, we had found violation of the election code of conduct and report in this regard would be send to the Chief Electoral Officer in the morning .The nature of the action would be decided by the Election Commission, he added.

Ambala, March 19
The Ambala Deputy Commissioner said strict action would be taken against anyone found violating the code of conduct here.

Addressing a gathering of mediapersons he stated that as the Returning officer of the Ambala parliamentary seat (reserved) he was leaving no stone unturned to ensure free and fair elections.

To ensure the same he stated that a committee had been constituted, which would be headed by Ambala Roadways GM Arvind Sharma. This committee which would also include other members would look into any complaint that was registered with the administration with regard to the violation of the code of conduct.

He said as a preventive measure the district police had been directed to collect arms from licensed holders, especially from those people who they suspected could cause trouble.

”As many as 2,800 residents of Ambala hold valid arms license. We have so far collected arms from 550 of them and are in the process of acquiring more, he said.” A special exemption to carry arms except for those authorised to do so he stated had been given to sportspersons that involved the use of weapon, like archery, etc.

Steps would also be taken to properly seal all liquor vends and no under-the-counter sale would be permitted he stated.

Special nakas were also being put up to check smuggling of liquor and use of illicit liquor. Canvassing would not be allowed take place between 10 pm and 6 am and a candidate could spend only up to Rs 25 lakh on their campaign. “We will carry routine checks to ensure the poll expenditure is being followed, he said.”

The Ambala constituency has a total of 1,259,674 voters across 9 assembly segments. which include Kalka, Panchkula, Naraingarh, Ambala Cantt, Ambala City, Mullana, Sadhaura, Jagadhri and YammunaNagar. As many as 1,411 polling stations will be setup for polling, which will take place on May 7 in the state.

Chandigarh, March 19
Union minister and Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal claimed here today that the government formed after the Lok Sabha elections would be headed by his party.

The reason, according to him, was the “steady deterioration” of the BJP-led NDA and the failure of the Third Front to take off.

Sibal, who was talking to mediapersons at the office of the Haryana Congress unit, said the 10-party Third Front “is neither cemented by ideology nor by any common minimum programme. The only thing that brings these parties together is their desire to pull themselves out of irrelevance.” The Third Front was a non-starter because “nobody knows who is in the front and who supports who.” The BSP had publicly stated that it would contest the Lok Sabha elections alone and on its own terms. The BJD had stated that it would choose its options after the elections. He said since none of its constituents had a national base, the Third Front could never be a national front.

The Congress spokesperson said after the Lok Sabha elections the Left parties would lose their bargaining capacity as their strength would be depleted substantially.

Claiming that the Congress was the only party, which had a national presence and a national agenda, he said the formation led by it alone could give an ideological base and policy framework, which would take the country forward.

Hisar, March 19
Higher education in India has acquired a critical role in maintaining rate of economic growth, said Dr RK Chauhan, secretary, UGC, here today.

He was speaking as the chief guest at a national conference on “Business and Management” in Haryana School of Business, Guru Jambheshwar University (GJU) of Science and Technology.

Chauhan said higher education was undergoing a sea change especially in the post-economic reforms era. The country now realised that higher education was an investment in human capital and directly linked to the global-competitiveness of the economy.

Complimenting the GJU for establishing the business school, he said, it had become a brand and was now one of the leading business education institutions of north India.

Dr Devinder Dayal Singh Sandhu, vice-chancellor, said creation, assimilation and dissemination of new ideas had added importance in the present era, where knowledge had become the most critical source.

A book titled Contemporary Researches in Business Management edited by Dr SC Kundu, Dr Vinod, and Dr Karam Pal was also released during the function.

More than 200 scholars are taking part in the conference.

Karnal, March 19
Hundreds of students who have obtained degrees and diplomas in various under graduate and postgraduate technical courses through distance education mode from various universities, deemed universities and other institutions may not be eligible for initial appointment and promotion in the Haryana government.

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has issued a notification in this regard, clarifying that degree/diploma in any discipline of technical education, including engineering and technology, earned through distance education mode from universities, deemed universities and technical institutions was a valid qualification for initial recruitment as well as promotion, subject to the condition that such degree/ diploma programme conduced through distance education mode had been approved by the joint committee of UGC-AICTE-DE.

However, the AICTE has in its communication, dated December 22, 2008, addressed to the Director, Technical Education, Haryana, clarified that it had not given approval to any university/ institution to offer UG, PG degree programmes and diploma programmes in engineering/technology through distance education mode till date (December 22, 2008). As such no UG/PG degree and diploma in engineering/ technology obtained through distance education is valid for initial appointment and promotion.

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Haryana, on January 13, 2009 regarding equivalency of technical qualifications awarded by deemed university in distance education for the purpose of recruitment and promotion in the Haryana government.

It was observed at the meeting that since a large number of institutions that had come up in the state and outside were awarding degrees/diplomas in various disciplines of technical education and a state-level eligibility test should be conducted by the state government and only those who pass the test should be considered for various jobs in the government and the public sector undertakings. Such test should be held once or twice in a year, depending on the response.

Further, the recruiting commissions should consider constituting a committee comprising nominees of the general administration departments, Technical Education Department, subject matter experts and law experts to consider and advise on various types of qualification related issues faced by them.

It was felt that committee of experts should also be set up to advise the Chief Secretary’s office while according approval to qualification proposed by the departments. The Technical Education Department should be notified as the nodal body to give advice on the issues related to equivalency aspects of qualifications and recognition of degree/diplomas.

Gurgaon, March 19
A serving woman District and Town Planner (DTP) of the Haryana Government has been indicted by two probes conducted by separate enquiry officers.

The matter was first probed by the then ADC of Gurgaon; and later by a DIG of the Chief Minister’s Flying squad.

In his enquiry report, the DIG of the CM's Flying Squad has held the said DTP guilty of mala fide intention.

The report, a copy of which is in possession of The Tribune, specifically mentions that if the state government does not act against the DTP, the Punjab and Haryana High court can ask the government to pay the damages (claimed in crores) to the college management.

However, despite this, the state authorities are yet to take any concrete action against the said DTP, who is presently posted in Chandigarh.

Earlier, a strong-worded enquiry report of the then ADC of Gurgaon, who was appointed the enquiry officer regarding the matter, was rejected by his superiors. The officer, who gave an adverse report against the DTP, was asked to prepare a fresh report.

Nearly two years ago, the management of the Anupama College of Engineering and Institute of Management, Bhora Kalan, Gurgaon, had lodged a complaint against the said DTP, who was serving as the DTP (Enforcement) in Gurgaon, to the authorities concerned.

The college management alleged that on February 5, 2007, the DTP got their college building demolished without giving them prior notice(s). The college authorities further asserted that the step (demolition) was taken as the demand of Rs 20 lakh bribe put forward by the officials concerned had not been met.

Following this, an inquiry into the allegations was marked to the then ADC of Gurgaon, T.L. Satyaprakash, who submitted his report on April 5, 2007.

In this report, the enquiry officer stated that the DTP (E) did not support the enquiry and all records had to be collected from various informal sources. He pointed out that the DTP even took away the relevant records from the office.

The report goes on to state that "...the enquiry finds the officer concerned guilty of negligence, incompetence and irresponsibility of the highest order causing a loss of Rs 11.86 crore...The procedure (of demolition) is highly flawed and seems to be a prejudicial action with undue haste...The officer was not only negligent but also prejudicial and had malafide intentions...”

This report was, however, rejected and the enquiry officer told to file a fresh report after examining the legality of the demolished structure.

On May 24, 2007, Satyaprakash submitted a fresh enquiry report to the then Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon. Though the new report also held the said DTP guilty on certain counts and recommended a probe by some competent authority, it adopted a visibly softer stance and lacked the tone and tenor of the previous one.

Even the CM Flying Squad DIG submitted his report more than a year ago on December 24, 2007; but the authorities concerned seem to be in no mood to act against the said DTP.

Meanwhile, the then DTP (E) of Gurgaon was transferred. As of now, she is posted as DTP (HQ) in Chandigarh. On being contacted, the college chairman, Devendra Gupta, said he had been seeking information on as to what action had been taken against the said DTP in light of the probe reports from the authorities concerned, but to no avail.

Chandigarh, March 19
The Punjab and Haryana High Court wants expeditious initiation of departmental action against two IPS officers and another cop in Sarita’s alleged rape and suicide case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already recommended major penalty proceedings against IPS officers Hanif Qureshi, the Superintendent of Police, and Anil Dawara, the then Inspector-General of Police. Similar action has also been recommended against Sajjan Singh, the then additional superintendent of police. All the officers were posted at Rohtak at the time of the alleged rape.

As the case came up for resumed hearing, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Hemant Gupta made it clear that the departmental action recommended by the CBI be initiated expeditiously, but not later than six months.

The Bench also directed the investigating agency to file the charge-sheet in the suicide and illegal detention cases expeditiously, but not later than four months.

In all, three cases of illegal detention, rape and suicide have been registered in the matter

Representing the premier investigating agency, Onkar Singh Batalvi informed the Bench that the charge-sheet had been filed in the rape case and the matter was at the evidence stage.

Responding to the Bench’s query on the delay in filing the charge-sheet in the other two matters, Batalvi said the sanction orders for the prosecution of the accused had not been handed over to the investigating agency by the Haryana government.

Counsel for the State of Haryana, on the other hand, informed the Bench that the sanction orders had been issued on March 18; and the same would be handed over to the CBI in the court itself.

The CBI is looking into the circumstances leading to Sarita’s alleged rape and suicide. It was asked to probe the matter after Justice Ranjit Singh had taken suo motu cognizance of the incident.

Sarita had ended her life on June 9 in front of her two little daughters by consuming poisonous substance at the Haryana Police Headquarters in Panchkula.

Accusing the Rohtak police of protecting the accused constables, the rape victim had alleged two police personnel, head constable Balraj and constable Seelak Ram, had raped her two months back.

Rohtak, March 19
Mediapersons based at Meham have condemned the reported incident of alleged manhandling and snatching of a camera of a photojournalist by the supporters of an MLA belonging to the ruling party. The victim had gone to cover a political meeting at Bhaini Surjan village in the Meham subdivision today. It is reported that the supporters of MLA Anand Singh Dangi allegedly manhandled villagers also, who showed black flag to the MLA in the village. The camera persons of the vernacular dailies were not only ‘threatened’ but their cameras were snatched by some persons, when they had been taking photos of the protest by some of the villagers. Ravinder Malik, a photographer with a Hindi daily alleged that the MLA’s men not only snatched his cameras but also misbehaved with him.

Later, mediapersons in Meham held a meeting to lodge a protest on the incident, which was also attended by the MLA himself. MLA reportedly expressed regret about the incident of manhandling of photographers and promised to return the cameras on Saturday. Dangi, however, despite repeated attempts, could not be contacted for his version in this connection.

Chandigarh, March 19
The National Sample Survey Organisation reveals that extension service providers of valuable conservation technologies reached only 40 per cent of Indian farmers and this problem was even more alarming in the Shivalik area, JP Kaushik, special secretary and director, Agriculture Department, Haryana, said here today. Conservation of natural resources assumes greater significance in view of the changing climatic conditions. Though Haryana is a pioneer state in adoption of Resource Conserving Technologies and scientists have developed such technologies for the Shivalik area, yet reach of these technologies to farmers was very limited, he said.

“'Therefore, the first biggest challenge before us is how to reach the farmers in the Shivalik area, Kaushik said while delivering his inaugural address in the workshop on Resource Conserving Technologies for Shivaliks organised by the Indian Association of Soil and Water Conservationists, Dehradun, at Central Soil & Water Conservation Research & Training Institute (CSWCRTI) here today.

Kaushik further said the area including, districts of Panchkula, Ambala and Yamuna Nagar in the foothills of Shivalik, is more prone to climatic changes as it is highly eco-fragile in view of slope, high run off, high soil erodibility and poor fertility.

He said the department was also implementing the scheme of ‘Recharging of Groundwater’ as groundwater table is depleting day-by-day and in more than 54 per cent of the area of the state is brackish. — UNI

Rewari, March 19
The Bawal police arrested an alleged cattle-smuggler Vikas Bhardwaj of Hisar and impounded a Bolero on the Jaipur-Delhi highway yesterday. However, his two accomplices - Madan Verma, resident of Jind and Shammi Khan of Mewat district managed - to escape.

The police, which registered a case of cheating, extortion and impersonation under Sections 420, 384, 170 of the IPC against the trio, produced Vikas today in the court of JMIC Rajesh Garg who bailed him out. The police also seized “fake” documents pertaining to their linkage with some weeklies published from Hisar and Delhi as well as Maneka Gandhi’s association for animal welfare from the impounded vehicle.

Sources said the trio intercepted the cattle-smugglers’ vehicles, which were carrying over 400 goats and sheep, along the Narsinghpur Khera border and extorted Rs 5,ooo from them while posing themselves as journalists and functionaries of the above-mentioned association. Thereafter when they proceeded ahead, the police intercepted their vehicles in Odhi village where the cattle-smugglers spilled the beans about the alleged extortionists.

Karnal, March 19
The police has booked a doctor and nurse of a local ultrasound centre in a case of alleged female foeticide on the complaint of Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Naresh Saini.

The matter was reported to the police after couple Rita and Bhim Singh of Teontha village in Kaithal confided to him that the doctor and nurse at the ultrasound centre were responsible for conducting the pre-natal sex determination test and subsequent abortion.

Rita and Bhim Singh disclosed to the CMO that the nurse and doctor of the local ultrasound centre were responsible for getting her pre-natal test done and aborting her as the child was a girl child. She said she already had three daughters and after abortion she felt sick and uneasy and got to know in the PGI that her uterus had been ruptured. On the complaint of the CMO, SDM MK Ahuja along with the police raided the ultra sound center but it was found to be closed. The police sealed the centre and booked both doctor and nurse under different Sections of IPC.