Solan, August 1
Anti-terrorist squads (ATSs) from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat arrived at Baddi last evening to interrogate Mohammed Akeel Qureshi, who had come to eliminate three engineers of a Barotiwala-based industrial unit but was arrested by the police on Thursday evening.

Besides this, a team of the central Intelligence Bureau and the Military Intelligence had also arrived there to hold a joint interrogation of the SIMI activist. Various agencies were now trying to ascertain as to why he had chosen to indulge in contract killing in the industrial town. The agencies were also trying to work out if he was trying to initiate SIMI activities here and if any terror strike was being plotted or was there a plan to use the area as a safe haven by other notorious miscreants from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The plan to eliminate the engineers has shocked the local police and locals as the region was known for its low crime rate. It was difficult to believe that such heinous crimes could be committed here.

With various agencies carrying on with their joint interrogation, the local police has so far got little time to work on their case involving his arrest with illegal arms.

Some years back the Baddi police had found the involvement of a Godhra-carnage accused Attabai in series of vehicle thefts. The police team, which had gone to Gujarat to trace some stolen vehicles had found Attabai behind the sale and purchase of stolen vehicles.

This revelation has once again given rise to the assertions that the state’s industrial hub of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) was being used as a safe haven by criminals from other states and with murders and dacoities becoming a routine, the BBN was transforming into an easy lay for miscreants from other states.

Malana, August 1
A brave new war- “Malana peas” versus infamous contraband “Malana Crème” (a hash named after Malana)- has blown the winds of change in the region notorious for hashish world over. But charas mafias are now targeting “poor villagers using women as safe hashish couriers” sabotaging “Malana Vikalp and dodging the police”.

This new shocker has come as a wake up call to all those fighting drug mafias and trying alternative crops for villagers. They suspect that certain locally entrenched mafias are using “poor illiterate village women or others” as “safe touts” to deliver charas consignments from Malana and Rasol to outside destinations.

However, villagers appear to be upbeat about Malana peas that are flourishing in pockets in the village fields. But they talk in a hush-hush tone about “Malana bhang”, indicating an influence of mafias and lure of making easy money from cannabis that still haunts them.

The first two victims of charas mafia are local poor women- Kaketi Devi, wife of Hem Raj, and Dharmi Devi, wife of Moti Ram. The police arrested them under the NDPS Act after it recovered 4 kg of charas from them while they were on their way from Malana to Jari in April last.

The villagers claim their husbands have been suffering from “acute mental health problems for the past five years. Dile Ram, pradhan, Malana panchayat, says they remain mentally unstable even after they were treated at the Mental Hospital, Dharampur, two years ago. “Nobody knows as to what went wrong with them,” he adds.

But they do not name persons trying to send charas consignment through women. “Even the police came here to inquire about that, but nobody knows here about them,” he adds.

The police say the two women are not naming the source person of the consignment. They say they got consignment from a Nepalese while they were on their way to Jari.

Despite the negative propaganda, Malana peas appear to be on a strong wicket competing boldly with the contraband cannabis.

OP Sharma, the brain behind the Malana Vikalp, an NGO-cum-cooperative Malana society, says, “By August 15 peas crop will be ready for harvest. Over 220 odd village members sowed 118 quintal of peas for the first time here. It is a big challenge to sustain motivating villagers to make a complete switchover from cannabis, which needs no extra efforts to cultivate”.

Sharma, who holds camps here on project with experts, says opponents try to abort the efforts, but we have succeeded so far.

Sharma, Ram and Malana Vikalp members sound a positive note, “We will grow more peas, potatoes, maize and cabbage in near future come what may”.

Kullu DC BM Nanta says the administration will provide all support and would organise more camps in other villages also.

Hamirpur, August 1
The Elementary Trained Teachers (ETT) Union today took out a rally in Hamirpur in support of their demands and also staged a dharna outside the DC office.

About 250 ET teachers assembled at the Gandhi Chowk in the morning and later marched to the DC office passing through the bazaar and the Bhota Chowk raising slogans in favour of their demands.

Since the past four years, the ETT union is demanding starting of appointment process of their category. President of the union Rakesh Kumar said, “The ET teacher trained from Jammu & Kashmir come under the NCTE which is recognised throughout the country, but surprisingly the state government has been trying to ignore them.”

The union said since the process of recruitment of ET teachers is on in the state they should be given preference in these appointments.

They have also warned to intensify their agitation if their demands were not considered by the government.

Hamirpur, August 1
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Hamirpur, today put pharmacist Ram Moorty working at the Galod Primary Health Centre (PHC), who was booked for alleged molestation of a patient by the police on Wednesday, under suspension after hundreds of agitators blocked traffic at Galod. 

The administration bowed to the demand of suspension of the pharmacist after villagers and members of the Mahila Mandals from the surrounding area, not satisfied with the action against the accused, resorted to road blockage at Galod this morning.

The agitators after assembling near the Galod PHC blocked the traffic for about two hours accusing the administration for being soft towards the accused.

It is notable that the accused had obtained a bail from the court in this incident and the health authorities as an administrative action had merely transferred the pharmacist from the Galod PHC to Gubar PHC on Thursday.

The villagers were demanding serious action against the accused as there were many complaints against him in the past too.

Hamirpur SP Asif Jalal and the BMO rushed to the spot and persuaded the agitators to lift the traffic blockade by announcing suspension of the accused pharmacist.

The SP also assured the agitators that action against the accused was on and he would be dealt as per the law.

It is pertinent to mention here that Moorty was booked for molestation of a woman patient under Section 354 of the IPC while administering an injection to her and her husband had made a complaint to the authorities on Wednesday. Confirming the suspension of the accused pharmacist, CMO Dr DS Chandel told The Tribune, “On instructions from the government we have put Moorty under suspension pending the inquiry against him and he has been transferred to Gubar.”

Mandi, August 1
Scientists and progressive farmers have flayed the fruit whole sellers using the banned “calcium carbide and etheral for ripening and colouring of fruit to fetch high price.

According to inputs gathered from scientists and progressive farmers, the fruit sellers and commission agents first buy raw fruits from growers at cheap rates in the markets and then treat them with “calcium carbide or ethereal” in godowns. They observe that the fruit whole sellers and commission agents have been playing with the health of consumers and plants.

They are encouraging even fruit growers to resort to harmful ethereal sprays on apples while they are still raw and ask them to pluck them before the ripening season, they say.

The Food and Health Department has failed to book the erring commission agents and fruit whole sellers who treat the stored fruits like mangoes and bananas with ethereal sprays. They then sell them as and when they get higher price from the retailers.

Balbir Chajta, a progressive farmer from Jubbal said that the ethereal spray is used on fruits to achieve colour and to ripen them fast but such fruits perish faster. “The spray harms apple trees as its leaves turn pale and yellow, premature leaf fall and in turn affect the plant growth, he observed.

On the other hand scientists caution growers against using ethereal sprays in orchards.

The ethereal sprays induces ripening and colour in fruit, but it harms the plants and affects the fruit set for the next year, says Dr Kamal Thakur, a senior scientist at the Department of Post-harvest Technology, Dr YS Parmar University Nauni.

Dr UP Joshi, head, Postharvest Technology, says that they advise farmers not to apply ethereal sprays on fruits while they are on trees. “The use of calcium carbide is banned as it is toxic and it has carcinogenic effects on health of humans”, the scientists warned.

Thakur says that ethereal spray has a waiting period of 10- 15 days. But fruit growers pluck fruit earlier and send them to markets to fetch higher price, he observed.

Though commission agents claim that only certain ambitious sellers use these banned chemicals, but they avoid them as ethereal is expensive and do not affect the fruit when it is applied on them.

Shimla, August 1
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said the Centre had failed to protect the interest of the state as injustice had been meted out to it in doling out financial assistance and other incentives.

Talking to mediapersons here today, he said the government would adopt a resolution during the ensuing monsoon session urging the Centre to give special financial assistance to it in view of the drought and loss caused to crops and fruits.

“It is unfortunate that the Centre while ignoring the claims of peaceful states like Himachal and Uttrakhand has provided special financial assistance to terrorism-affected states or those who exert pressure,” he regretted.

He said instead of seeking extension of the special industrial package, the state would now urge the Centre to give special incentives to attract investment in information technology, bio-technology, pharmaceutical industry, textiles and food-processing industry.

He said since the special industrial package, if extended would be only till 2013, not too many companies would want to make investment to avail the incentives only for three years.

“The Congress regime failed to create infrastructure and industry friendly environment, which resulted in greater investment pouring into Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir than Himachal,” he lamented.

Shimla, August 1
The HP State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has upheld the order of the Consumer Forum, Una, whereby, the forum directed the Life Insurance Corporation to pay Rs 50,000 with interest to Ms Parvati Bhandari of Una.

The commission headed by Justice Arun Kumar Goel (retd) passed this order on an appeal filed by the insurance company challenging the above said order on the ground that contract of insurance is based on utmost good faith and bona fide. Therefore, before obtaining the insurance policy, the life assured is supposed to give true and correct facts in the proposal form particularly in relation to his state of health.

In the instant case when the deceased-life assured submitted the proposal form, he withheld the material facts regarding his state of health, as he was then suffering from diabetes mellitus. This was a fact, which ought to have been disclosed in the proposal form. Therefore this is a case of intentional suppression of material fact and constitutes fraud within the meaning of Section 45 of the Insurance Act, 1938.

Kullu, August 1
Rahul Gandhi, MP, reached here today on a private visit with one of his friends Rajeev and headed by road for Leh via Manali-Rohtang Pass in a private vehicle.

Wearing a black shirt and blue trousers, he did not care for the SPG and obliged many people by posing for photographs at the Kullu-Manali airport.

Rahul drove through the 13050-foot high Rohtang Pass and had lunch at a roadside Dhaba at Khokhsar.

Later, the two left for Darcha today and might stay overnight there and leave for Leh through 16000-foot high Baralacha Pass on Sunday. — OC