Sirsa, September 26
The INLD today accused the authorities involved in the election process in the Sirsa assembly seat of working under the directions of the ruling party and alleged that an incomplete nomination form of Haryana minister LD Arora was got filled in from his house last night well after the time limit of the filing of nominations had passed.

Both Arora as well as returning officer J Ganeshan have vehemently denied the allegation even as the INLD has decided to raise the issue before the Election Commission.

“LD Arora had deliberately not signed on the affidavit attached to his nomination papers so that his daughter Sunita Setia, whom he nominated as his covering candidate, could contest the poll. However, an official of the Additional Deputy Commissioner office was sent to Arora’s residence last night by the authorities on the directions of a senior state-level leader, who was informed of the matter by some local Congress leaders,” alleged Abhey Singh Chautala, a former MLA, while addressing mediapersons here today.

He said his party was not concerned whether Arora contests the forthcoming poll or allows his daughter, but the manner in which the authorities have acted as functionaries of the Congress was unacceptable to the party and added that the party would make a formal complaint to the Election Commission.

He alleged that the issue was raised by his party workers before the returning officer, but he failed to provide any satisfactory answer to their concerns.

Arora, however, charged Abhey Singh with stooping too low and accused him of making “false and baseless allegations.”

J Ganeshan, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Sirsa, and returning officer of the Sirsa assembly seat, maintained that some agents of the INLD had raised this issue at the time of scrutiny but they were shown the footage of the videography done at the time when Arora filed his nominations and he was clearly seen signing his nominations at that time.

Chandigarh, September 26
Peeved at the “raw deal” given to the Sikhs of Haryana in the matter of selection of candidates by all major parties, the All-India Shiromani Akali Dal (AISAD) has decided to “adopt” Independent Sikh candidates in the fray this election.

The working committee of the AISAD will finalise its list of adopted candidates at its working committee meeting to be held after the withdrawal of nominations on September 28. The organisation has decided to fund the election campaign and lend all possible help for the lucky ones who make it to their final list.

“We are a 20 lakh-strong community in the state holding sway in 25 districts. However, in the lists of candidates announced by the five major parties, only 15 Sikh candidates have been given the ticket. The Congress has given the ticket to only two candidates while the INLD has fielded four candidates. We are unhappy at being ignored, which is why we have decided against outright support to any party,” said AISAD president Jaswant Singh Mann.

Maintaining that parties had used the Sikhs only as “political fodder” without giving them due representation, Mann said they had approached various parties to field Sikh candidates from among their own workers.

“The parties did not pay heed to our suggestions. In fact, the SAD could not get an honourable political concession for the Sikhs even from its alliance partner, the INLD. The time has come for us to assert and make our presence felt. We will do so by adopting Sikh candidates who don’t belong to any party,” Mann said.

Rohtak, September 26
Congress nominee from Rohtak, advocate Bharat Bhushan Batra, today got a shot in the arm when 21 of the 31 municipal councillors (MCs) and District Bar Association, Rohtak, announced to extend their support to him in the Assembly elections slated for October 13. After this development, Batra not only expressed gratitude to the MCs and advocates for their support but also assured them of giving due respect. Earlier, the MCs organised a meeting at the Kalinga Hotel here to choose a suitable candidate.

In another meeting of the District Bar Association held at the Ch Ranbir Singh Hooda memorial Hall on the premises of district court here, Lokender Phoghat, president of the association, announced extending of the association’s support to Batra as well.

Batra said: “My colleagues have always supported me whenever I required help from their side. I have succeeded in getting the present position in the state politics just following their co-operation”.

Yamunanagar, September 26
The Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) lost one seat even without contesting the elections as nomination of the party’s candidate from Jagadhri Om Kumar was cancelled by the returningofficer here today.

Om Kumar’s nomination was cancelled on the ground that he had submitted nomination papers without signatures.

Returning officer HC Jain said all candidates were called and after scrutiny of the documents, it was found that HJC candidate Om Kumar had submitted papers without signatures and as a result they cancelled his nomination.

Gurgaon, September 26
It seems like a scene straight out of a Bollywood flick enacted in the posh Palam Vihar locality of the city late last night. A group of armed miscreants barged into the house of Anup Chaturvedi, a general manager with Maruti Suzuki, and demanded cash and other valuables. The family panicked; but somebody managed to inform the police; and cops poured in.

However, before the cops arrived on the scene, two or three of the miscreants took away some cash and valuables in Chaturvedis' car. Chaturvedi himself somehow managed to sneak out of his house and told ACP Rajesh Duggal about the situation. The other family members were held hostage by two.

Meanwhile, DCP (Crime) Anil Dhawan as well as the police commandos also reached the scene. The police personnel not only got the family members rescued, but also shot two of the miscreants.

"The miscreants were shot by the police personnel in self defence during an attempt to nab them," Police Commissioner SS Deswal told a press conference, adding that the search for the absconding ones was on.

Not only it seems like a Bollywood flick with a happy ending, but it also has some glaring chinks as well. For instance, the weapons seized by the police include a 9 mm pistol and a country-made one. The police claims that the miscreants also had a knife.

How did just two persons armed with just two pistols kept such a large number of police personnel hooked for so long? Secondly, according to Chaturvedi, the police personnel first rescued his family members and then shot the miscreants. How did the policemen bring out the family members being held hostage by two armed persons. And even if they somehow managed to do so, what necessitated the “encounter” thereafter?

The DCP (Crime) and the ACP who was present at the "encounter" site were conspicuous by their absence at the press conference. The police commissioner was also unable to disclose the exact number of rounds fired or the number of personnel deployed at the time of the encounter.

The whole episode also puts a question-mark over the efficacy security arrangements in the high-class locality. It was just a matter of a chance that a police Gypsy deployed for a Durga Puja function nearby reached the scene of crime well in time; the situation could have taken an ugly turn otherwise.

Meanwhile, according to police sources, the miscreants abandoned the Chaturvedis' car in Palam Vihar and decamped with the cash and valuables. According to the police, their investigations had revealed that the miscreants spoke in a dialect which indicated that they were natives of Bihar or UP.

The bodies of the slain miscreants were sent for autopsy, but they had not been identified till the time of filing this report.

Panipat, September 26
The Delhi High Court has turned down the plea of the district police to proceed against a Metropolitan Magistrate posted at the Tis Hazari court complex, who had been booked under various sections of the law after he, along with three others, was arrested from a house in Samalkha while they were allegedly found indulging in immoral activities.

The development came to light after social activist PP Kapoor sought information from the Delhi High Court under the RTI Act as to what action had been taken against the judge.

The public information officer (PIO) of the high court stated that a letter was received from the Panipat district police on August 27, the day a case was registered against the Magistrate, and the next day Inspector Sat Pal had moved an application seeking permission to arrest the judge as he had been booked under Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Immoral Trafficking (Protection) Act of 1956.

However, the Administrative and General Supervision Committee of the court in a meeting held on August 31 considered the request of the Inspector and decided to decline permission to arrest the Magistrate. The committee instead decided to call for an explanation from the Magistrate, which the PIO stated was under consideration of the court.

The Magistrate had been rounded up by the district police after he was caught enjoying the hospitality of a call girl in a small rented room in Samalkha along with two other persons.

Even as the police had arrested Subhash Duhan, son of Jeet Ram and a resident of Sonepat, along with Shamsher Singh, son of Surat Singh and a resident of Bhiwani, and a call girl, the magistrate was let off in view of the privileges enjoyed by him.

Later, Subhash Duhan, Shamsher and the girl were produced before a local court, which sent them in a 14-day judicial custody and later they were granted bail.