Shimla, March 3
With the Centre increasing petrol and diesel prices, bus fare hike is very much on the cards in the state. The government may also revive special road tax on rural bus routes which was waived to encourage private operators.

An indication to this was given by Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal here today, who said that the state road transport corporation was already incurring heavy losses due to non-revision of bus fares and the latest hike in diesel prices would only worsen its financial health. The corporation had already accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 518 crore. The Delhi government had increased bus fares by 50 per cent in one go and the neighbouring Punjab had also revised fares. The government was giving grants to the corporation for paying the salaries every month.

He also pointed out that the decision of the government to exempt rural routes from special road tax had not yielded the desired results. The private operators had not shown much interest in plying services on these routes. The incentive had not helped the state corporation which had been plying buses on these routes.

Dhumal expressed unhappiness over the recommendation of the 13th finance commission and said that the increase in devolution was only 50 per cent for the state as compared to the overall increase of 126 per cent. The most worrying aspect was that the revenue deficit grant had been decreased from over Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 7888 crore.

He also termed the railway budget as a big let down and said that the fact that the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh rail line had been placed in the list of 114 socially desirable routes was a clear indication that the Centre was not serious about construction of this strategic link. China had built rail line right up to Lhasa and six more lines were being laid close to Indian border. A network of highways had also been built along the border but the Centre was not taking similar measures on this side. Not a penny had been spent on the Bhanupali-Bilaspur link over the past two years and only 36 km of track had been laid in the state over the past 63 years.

Dharamsala, March 3
The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE) has decided to engage ex-servicemen to check copying at sensitive examination centres in the state.

While talking to mediapersons here today, chairman of the board CL Gupta said the board examinations for classes VIII, X, XI and XII were going to start from March 5. In 1,690 examination centres established across the state, 4,71,184 students would be appearing for their annual examinations.

From the data available with the board, 205 stations have been declared as sensitive. To check copying at these sensitive centres the board has engaged 216 ex-servicemen. The results of employing ex-servicemen at some of the examination centres last year had given encouraging results, the chairman said.

He further said to check copying 164 flying squads have been formed. Out of these 51 flying squads would be headed by principals, 52 by SDMs of the respective areas, 44 by deputy directors of the Education Department and 17 by board officials.

School principals would also be liable in case mass copying was detected at their institutions. The principals would also act at coordinators for the examinations. Earlier, they were allowed to delegate their powers to the vice-principals. However, this time they are not being allowed to delegate their powers as coordinators of the examination centres to any other person.

Gupta also said some examination centres have also been formed in private schools. However, warning had been issued to respective authorities of private schools that in case mass copying was detected the schools could be blacklisted for formation of examination centres in future. As earlier carrying of mobile phones inside the examination centres had also been banned.

Una, March 3
Two residents of Tarn Taran and one of Amritsar were killed and 50 injured when the truck (HR-62-597) in which they were travelling overturned on the Baba Vadbagh Singh-Amb road today.

According to sources, the truck was full of pilgrims who had come to pay obeisance at Baba Vadbagh Singh. They were returning when the driver of the vehicle lost control and it overturned on a sharp turn.

The deceased include 16-month infant Vishal Singh and Rekha, both residents of the Kadhur Sahib area of Tarn Taran district of Punjab, and Balwinder Singh, resident of Amritsar district. All deceased died on the spot.

Besides, 50 passengers travelling on the truck were also injured. The locals were the first to reach on the spot and start rescue operations. Officials of the district administration transferred the injured to medical centres.

Una SP Santosh Patial said the injured were shifted to civil hospitals at Una and Amb. The condition of two injured was stated to be serious and they are being shifted to the PGI at Chandigarh.

The SP also said a case had been registered against the driver of the truck.

Though the HC has banned transportation of passengers in commercial vehicles, the practice has been going on in a blatant manner. The violations of order are rampant during the mela days at pilgrim sites. The police and administration authorities find it difficult to check the commercial vehicles during the mela days, as it would lead to traffic jams on main roads.

Police officials said the commercial vehicles like trucks carrying passengers have to be checked at the places from where they start. Since the trucks arrive here in large numbers and lakhs of people travel on them it is likely to create law and order problem at pilgrim sites. We have written many times to the police authorities in Punjab to check such vehicles. However, they have failed to do so, they alleged.

Shimla, March 3
Even as the forest department has failed to ascertain if it was sheer negligence or foul play, which resulted in two leopards being let loose from their cages in Tuti Kandi, the chowkidar on duty has been placed under suspension on the basis of the preliminary inquiry.

Though the Principal Chief Conservator Forest (PCCF), Vinay Tandon had said that inquiry would be completed within a day or two after the incident on February 27 but even now the detailed inquiry is yet to take place. While the staff at the Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre at Kufri where seven leopards and 11 brown bears are housed maintained that there was “foul play” behind the cage being left open, senior officials felt that it was a case of negligence.

However, on the basis of the preliminary inquiry conducted by the DFO, Zoo and Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, the chowkidar on duty has been placed under suspension. More heads are likely to roll after the detailed inquiry is complete within a day or two as action being taken against the animal attendant who fed the leopards on the afternoon of February 26 and possibly left the cage door unlocked cannot be ruled out.

“The inquiry is not yet complete but action will definitely be taken against those responsible for the cage of the leopards being left open,” said PCCF, Vinay Tandon. The promptness shown by the veterinary officer Dr Sandeep Ratan and other staff members in putting the animal back into confinement saved the situation from turning grave. Had the two leopards strayed into the inhabited area in the town, it would have been a different story. The detailed inquiry besides ascertaining the exact reasons for the cage being left open will also suggest some long-term measures, which will prevent a similar situation in future. The department has initiated the process of getting automatic locks installed in the cages which would get locked on its own once the animal attendant steps out after putting the food and cleaning the cage.

The task of fencing the entire area around the Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre is already underway but a large portion still remains to be done. With reports that no regular chowkidar has been appointed for the past five years at the Rescue Centre and it is the cleaner who has been performing the duty of maintaining vigil, the staff position might also be reviewed. Though no police case has been registered in this regard but the statements of the staff were recorded with the police recommending departmental action.

Shimla, March 3
Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh has questioned the motives of the state investigating agencies in adopting different standards of investigation in respect of audio CDs allegedly containing his voice and those having the voices of Chief Minister PK Dhumal and DGP DS Minhas.

In a statement here today, he said when he claimed that the CD was fabricated and a piece of cut and paste work, the Dhumal government decided to send it to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh, with specific question as to whether particular sentence extracted from the said CD was in his voice or not and the same was directed to be compared with voice samples from the Public Relations Department without asking for information whether the CD was genuine, unedited, untampered and not a work of cut and paste.

But when it came to the turnoff the CDs allegedly containing voices of Dhumal and Minhas, the pointed question being asked by the same investigating agency from the CFSL was whether the CD was genuine, unedited and not a work of cut and paste.

He said the important question that arises was that whether the investigating agencies were acting fairly or they were more interested in tailor-made answer from the CFSL. He had come to know from press reports that a senior police officer had camped at Chandigarh, for what purpose, it was anybody’s guess. The CFSL authorities had been quoted in the news report that no comparison of voice was sought by the investigating agency, unlike the earlier CD.

He said he would not comment much on the issue as the matter was pending with the high court and the investigating agency had to seek its permission before filing challan in the trial court.

He said the investigating agencies were expected to act fairly and without any hostile discrimination and pre-planned political agenda.

Kangra, March 3
The police said today that it had arrested a resident of Faridkot (Punjab) in connection with a fake currency racket following the arrest of two youths of Amritsar along with Rs 84,000 fake currency when on a tip-off it intercepted them at Gaggal on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway on February 25.

District police chief Atul Fulzele said Nirmal Singh, son of Datta Ram of Faridkot, had served in the BSF earlier and was arrested following the revelation made during interrogation of Surender Kumar and Kamaljeet, both residents of Amritsar, who were nabbed carrying 168 fake notes each of Rs 500 denomination.

The duo was arrested on the night of February 25 when a salesman of a liquor shop found out the currency to be fake and communicated the incident to the Gaggal police regarding the incident and even provided with the motorcycle number (PB02-A-1983).

The SSP said Nirmal Singh was interrogated but he provided misleading information. He said it seemed that Nirmal was a hard nut to crack and required to undergo a narco test.

He said the police suspected that Nirmal was the kingpin of the racket since he was serving in the BSF and might have developed contacts across the border.

Meanwhile, Nirmal Singh was remanded to the police custody for five days when he was produced before the court here yesterday. Nirmal was arrested from Faridkot in Punjab.

Bilaspur, March 3
Puran Chand (63), a resident of the Raura sector of the town, reportedly jumped off from the nearby Ali khud bridge on the outskirts of the town last evening. He died on the spot.

According to reports, a passerby saw the body of Puran Chand lying in the shallow water of the khud, which has virtually dried up and reported the matter to the police on phone and it took the possession of the body.

It was revealed that Puran Chand had been under depression. After carrying out a post-mortem examination at the regional hospital here, the body was handed over to his family. A case has been registered.