Sirsa, April 2
The authorities have made elaborate arrangements for Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s visit here tomorrow, even as the INLD today claimed that shops in the district would remain closed on Saturday in protest against the visit.

“We have made foolproof arrangements in view of the INLD’s call for a bandh tomorrow. No forcible closure of shops will be permitted and anti-social elements who try to coerce shopkeepers to close their shops will be dealt with sternly,” warned SP Satinder Kumar Gupta.

“We have 10 additional police companies at our disposal besides the jawans of the district police. There will be enough deployment to meet any challenge,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abhey Singh Chautala, INLD legislator from Ellenabad,claimed that all shops and business establishments in Sirsa, Ellenabad, Rania and Dabwali towns of the district would remain close tomorrow.

He claimed that people were so angry with the Hooda government that shopkeepers in remote villages would also participate in the bandh tomorrow.

Abhey Singh, talking to mediapersons at the Barnala Road residence of his brother Ajay Singh Chautala, claimed that the Hooda government had been discriminating against Sirsa district in the matter of power, water, employment and development projects.

He alleged that people from several villages had been purchasing water for domestic use and the village ponds meant for the cattle had dried up.

Gopal Kanda, Haryana minister who represents Sirsa in the assembly, said Hooda would be given a rousing reception at Sirsa tomorrow.

“The visit will open the doors to development with the Chief Minister dedicating projects worth Rs 50 croreto the people,” Kanda maintained.

“Those, who did nothing for Sirsa are now shedding crocodile tears when the government is providing impetus to development activities,” he alleged and claimed that INLD’s bandh call would prove a fiasco.

Hooda will inaugurate a 33-KV power substation at Panihari and inaugurate a state-of-the-art library as well as a shopping complex at Chaudhary Devi Lal University here tomorrow.

He will stay the night in Sirsa and leave for Hisar the following day.

Chandigarh, April 2
While sentencing the convicts in the Manoj-Babli murder case on March 30, Additional Sessions Judge, Karnal, Vani Gopal Sharma, made significant comments and observations about the “honour killings” and the psychology of those who commit such crimes.

She said the convicts were having a “sick psychology and deserved compassion rather than annoyance of the court.”

After hearing counsel for the prosecution and the defense on the quantum of sentence, the judge observed that the matter pertained to the medieval ages when such “honour killings” were made on the drop of the hat and “it was the tradition, which seemed to have been inherited and handed down generation after generation to the communities.”

Sharma said in her view the convicts had no doubt committed a brutal murder…and “these are the people who had been administered these taboos in their blood since their childhood and it is very difficult for them to change their mindset.”

The judge observed that it was indeed painful that the older generation had already handed down its archaic and shameful inheritance with a vengeance to the younger one.

Indicating towards the convicts, she regretted that these were the persons who carried so called tradition of their community on their week shoulders and refused to let “any positive change in their society.”

“They emphatically resist any influence which may create a dent in their supremacy as a caste and superiority as a gender against a girl of their own family, who dares to choose her own spouse.” Society as a whole, Sharma regretted, seemed to have fed their week and impressionable psyche, which instead of abating the vice, had aggravated it manifold in its stature and had acquired scaring degrees, which culminated in killing at whim their own kin.

The judge said to the court, they seemed to be themselves victims rather than the perpetrators of the offence. “They need counselling, spiritual guidance and, perhaps, moral cleansing, to say the least.”

The court also observed that to stop such kind of killings, society as a whole needed to change. “The court hopes that during the period they serve their sentence, the convicts shall recline, think and condemn over their role in the entire occurrence, consequences of their act and the benefit they reaped from their act.”

Chandigarh, April 2
The Punjab and Haryana High Court, for the first time, has defined “malice” and “malicious prosecution” in legal terms.

While malice in common parlance denotes “ill will”, legally speaking it is “wrongful act done intentionally”. Justice Ranjit Singh has also ruled: “Judicial proceedings held for wrongful or improper motive without cause to sustain it will amount to malicious proceedings”.

The explanation came on an appeal filed by Haryana’s former minister Phool Chand Mullana against a government school head master. Describing himself as honest, the head master had claimed his services were placed under suspension, he was charge sheeted, and an FIR was registered “which action was malafide and led to his mental, physical and financial torture”.

Taking up the matter, Justice Ranjit Singh: “The Appellate Court considered the aspect of malice and malice in law and so also of malicious prosecution and malicious abuse while concluding that the appellants were responsible in this regard.

“No submission as such was made before this Court to challenge the same, yet this may need a brief mention to see if the present one could be a case of malice or malicious prosecution or not.

Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “Let us understand what malice and malicious in law means. Malice in common acceptation means ill will against a person, but in legal sense it means wrongful act done intentionally without just cause or excuse. The word malice seldom has any meaning except a misleading one.”

“It refers not to intention, but to motive; and in all legal inquiries, intention, as distinguished from motive, is the important matter. Where any person wilfully does an act injurious to another without lawful excuse, he does it maliciously.”

“Malice in its legal sense does not necessarily signify ill will towards a particular individual, but denotes that condition of mind which is manifested by the intentional doing of a wrongful act without just cause or excuse. Therefore, the law implies malice where one deliberately injures another in an unlawful manner. Malice in the legal acceptance of the word is not confined to personal spite against individual, but consists in conscious violation of law to the prejudice of another.” Summing up the discussion while dismissing the appeal, Justice Ranjit Singh ruled: “Malice can also mean wanton and wilful doing of an act with awareness of likelihood that harm may result. Malicious act, thus, is wrongful act intentionally done without cause or excuse.”

Faridabad, April 2
The police does not rule out the possibility of court insiders in the arson and vandalism on the premises of the district courts here on Wednesday night.

Talking to TNS today, Faridabad Police Commissioner PK Aggarwal said an FIR had been registered in the case and investigation was on. The DCP, Central, had been asked to probe the incident as well as alleged lapses on the part of the police. No arrest has been made so far.

According to him, a police guard as well as private guards were on duty at the time of the incident. However, all of them say they did not see anyone committing the violence. It could be a case of some disgruntled personnel of the court who may have indulged in the arson and vandalism.

Asked about the alleged negligence on the part of the police in preventing the crime, he said the DCP had been asked to look into the matter and ascertain the details of the security arrangements provided for the judicial complex and the possible lapse.

More than 50 flower pots were found damaged and windowpanes of two chambers of judges on the fifth floor of the judicial complex had been smashed by the miscreants. Besides, the recently installed RO system on the fifth floor of the building was damaged. Efforts were also made to set on fire themaster generator set room. About two quintals of wood lying on the premises was set afire.

The police is still not sure whether one or more persons were involved in the vandalism.

Faridabad, April 2
The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad today demolished seven sprawling farmhouses set up illegally on the Surajkund road.

One of the farmhouses reportedly belonged to former minister of Haryana, Kartar Bhadana, who is the brother of sitting Congress MP from Faridabad Avtar Singh Bhadana.

All farmhouses were located on “shamlat deh” land of Ananagpur village, the native place of Kartar Bhadana.

The demolition operation was led by the Joint Commissioner of the NIT Zone of the municipal corporation, GL Yadav. The demolition squad was accompanied by about 100 police personnel. The operation passed off peacefully.

A Junior Engineer of the corporation, Sumer Singh, involved in today’s operation, said the demolition was carried out following a “speaking order” from the Joint Commissioner.

About 10 JCBs were used in the operation, which lasted three hours.

According to an MC official, among the farmhouses demolished were “Lotus”, ”Dawar”, “Intazaar” and “Kartar”.

One of the farmhouses was being used as an “ahata”, a place where liquor is consumed.

The farmhouses were set up on forest land along the Arvalli Hills.

Kurukshetra, April 2
Dr Goyal, former chairman of the Hindi department, Kurukshetra University, and UGC fellow emeritus, in a letter to the state government has sought a high-level committee of eminent scholars to assess and review the functioning of all four Sahitya Academies.

Dr Goyal has averred that in response to queries under the RTI Act, it had been revealed that no qualification, tenure, age limit or procedure had been prescribed for appointment to key posts of these academies. The present secretary of the Urdu Academy had crossed the age of 90 and has been on the post for over 23 years, the director of the Sanskrit Academy was aged 76 and that of the Panjabi Academy 70.

Dr Goyal has said in the letter that it was owing to his efforts that the Languages Department, riddled with controversies, was disbanded and the Haryana Sahitya Academy set up in its place in 1979. He was one of the four founding members of that academy, which had a fixed agenda, policies and programmes.

Dr Goyal now feels that it is high time that the functioning, policies and programmes of the academies are reviewed and redefined. He has pointed out that awards given by these academies have not always been on merit. Several deserving scholars were being ignored.

Dr Goyal, who had also remained chairman, Board of School Education Haryana, has suggested that the maximum age limit of all key functionaries of these academies be fixed at 65 and the tenure should not exceed three years.

He has also suggested that only eminent litterateurs be nominated as non-official members and their tenure should also be of three years. No member should be nominated for more than two terms.

This, he feels, will check the growth of vested interests, curb favouritism and bring fairness and transparency in the functioning of these academies.

Dr Goyal has also sought that the committee so constituted should look into the efforts made by the Haryana Sahitya Academy in propagating Hindi and its use in administrative work, especially since the state of Haryana had been formed on linguistic basis.

Yamunanagar, April 2
Adolescent girls in the district will soon be having an easy access to sanitary napkin pads, which will be provided for just Re 1 to them.

In a first of its kind scheme launched in the state, the district administration has decided to install sanitary napkins vends in all the schools and colleges in the district which will provide sanitary napkin pads for Re 1 to each girl.

The scheme will help the girls to get rid of unsafe methods. The scheme is significant as adolescent girls and also women do not consider it viable to use sanitary napkins in rural areas. So they use rags and pieces of gunny bags and always remain prone to a number of health-related problems.

This scheme for schools and colleges was planned after the success of sanitary napkin schemes which was launched last year in rural areas of the district. Sanitary napkins are already bing made by self-help groups of the BPL families in the district. These napkins are being provided at a lesser price than those made by multinational companies.

Besides providing training for making sanitary napkins to the women of BPL families at newly built E-Disha centre, as many as 200 women for 20 self-help groups have been trained for procurement, production, distribution and sale of sanitary napkins.

All the latest different machines for the manufacturing of the sanitary napkins has also made available to self-help groups in the E-Disha centre, Additional Deputy Commissioner Narender Singsaid.

He added in order to provide sanitary napkins to women in the rural areas, the panchayats had been asked to buy napkins worth Rs 10,000 each year from self-help groups and then supply these free of cost to the women.

This way the self-help groups will earn a fixed amount of Rs 5 lakh from panchayts.

Besides, the self-help groups have also been involved for spreading awareness among rural girls and women about the use of same sanitary napkins, he added.

Sonepat, April 2
Families with small land holdings find it difficult to sustain themselves only on traditional crops. Therefore, they should also focus on subsidiary occupations, which can be monetarily beneficial.

This was stated by the Vice-Chancellor of Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, HS Chahal, while inaugurating a two-day honey festival here today.

Stressing the need for crop diversification, Chahal pointed out: “It is an opportune time for farmers with small land holdings to adopt other subsidiary occupations like floriculture, bee-keeping, etc., which are not dependent on land holdings,” he added.

The managing director of Haryana Agro Industries Corporation, OP Langyan, said since bee-keepers did not get remunerative prices of the honey in the market, the HAIC would be setting up a honey processing plant at the research and development centre, Murthal, within three months.

He highlighted the importance of bee-keeping and claimed that because of the process of pollination by bees, the production of vegetable and fruit could increase up to 35 to 40 per cent.

Besides this, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram varsity has proposed to sign a memorandum of understanding with HAIC to work jointly for the promotion of research and academic works.

Dr JS Gulia, joint director, Agriculture Department, and MP Singh, general manager, HAIC, also spoke on the occasion.

Fatehabad, April 2
Visitors to the local mini-secretariat were taken aback, when they were informed that three “terrorists” had sneaked inside the secretariat building and “taken city magistrate Roshan Lal hostage”

The “terrorists”, the onlookers were informed, were demanding release of four prisoners. Soon, the police swung into action and the commandos surrounded the building.

The SP, Jagwant Singh Lamba, deputed his deputy Chander Singh to head the operations.

The commandos surrounded the city magistrate’s office on the first floor and soon “rescued” the magistrate, “killing two terrorists and arresting the third.”

Later, addressing mediapersons in the office of the deputy commissioner, CG Rajini Kaanthan, SP, said it was a mock exercise aimed at keeping the police ina state of preparedness for any such eventuality.

Sonepat, April 2
Several demands regarding the welfare of the Punjabi community, including employment and due representation to the community in the party as well as the government, will be placed before Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda who will be the chief guest at the Punjabi Sammelan to be held at Hisar on April 4.

Former MLA Devraj Dewan, talking to mediapersons here today, was all praise for the Chief Minister for initiating steps for the welfare of the Punjabi community.

President of the Sanatan Dharm Sabha Dr OP Pruthi said it was laudable that the Chief Minister had not only given representation to Punjabis in the Rajya Sabha, but had also accorded second language status to Punjabi. Claiming that the sammelan would be a grand success, the leaders claimed that the large turnout would prove that the Punjabi community stood united.

Other prominent Punjabi leaders, including municipal councillor Madan Lal Tuteja, Narender Jham, MD Batra, Dr Mool Chand Dabra, Prem Bhutani, Vimal Kishor and Darshan Lal were present at the press conference.

Chandigarh, April 2
The Haryana Government will give interest-free wheat loan of Rs 7,000 to Group C and D employees. For this purpose, a sum of Rs 60 crore has been earmarked in the Budget for the current financial year.

Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav said here today that the loan would be recovered in 10 equal monthly installments well before the close of the current financial year.

It would be given to permanent and temporary regular employees only. In case where both husband and wife were employed, the loan amount would be allowed to one of them.

Meanwhile, about 19,525 tonnes of wheat arrived on the first day of the rabi season in various mandis yesterday. A spokesman of the Haryana Food and Supplies said here today that the entire wheat was procured by government agencies. He said 7,920 tonnes of wheat was procured by the department, 10,965 tonnes by the Food Corporation of India.

Palwal district was leading in the state with the arrival of 17,765 tonnes of wheat followed by Mewat with 1,365 tonnes. At least 250 tonnes had arrived in Gurgaon district, 76 tonnes in Rewari, 68 Sonepat and a mere two tonnes in Yamunanagar.

Chandigarh, April 2
The Haryana government has chalked out an ambitious scheme to construct 500 new lined watercourses and rehabilitation and remodelling of more than 500 new minors and distributaries in the state during the current financial year.

Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav said the Haryana government was committed to providing equitable water in the state and for this purpose a number of schemes had been envisaged in the state. He said the BML Hansi-Butana Multi Purpose Canal had been constructed at a cost of Rs 392 crore. He further said 70-km-long NCR water supply channel for carrying drinking water supply to Gurgaon, Manesar, Bahadurgarh, Sampla and Badli was being constructed and it would be completed by June-end at a cost of Rs 322 crore.

Yadav maintained that Kaushalya Dam was also being constructed on the Ghaggar river in Panchkula district and it would be completed at a cost of Rs 180 crore. He further said carrier-lined channel for the supply of drinking water to Delhi and the second phase of the Shahabad-Dadupur Nalvi project would also be completed in the near future as the first phase of the same had already been completed.

Gurgaon, April 2
The concessionaire of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, DSC Ltd, hiked the toll rates after it got approval from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) today.

As per the record available with the concessionaire, there has been an approximate 25 per cent hike in the density of vehicles crossing the three toll plazas on this 27.5-km stretch since April 1, 2009. According to the concession agreement, the NHAI gets 50 per cent of the toll collected on vehicles once it crosses the 1.5 lakh mark. — TNS