Sirsa, April 21
The issue of sexual harassment of a student of the Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) Department of Chaudhary Devi Lal University allegedly by her two teachers has caught the attention of the district authorities.

The two teachers have been summoned by the protection officer under the Domestic Violence Act to appear before her on April 23 and explain their position in the case.

Taking cognisance of reports published in newspapers, including The Tribune, Deputy Commissioner Yudhbir Singh Khyalia today asked the protection officer to submit a report in this regard.

Sunita, an assistant sub-inspector in the office of the protection officer, met the victim and recorded her statement. The two teachers have been asked to explain their conduct before the protection officer in the office of the SP, Sirsa, on April 23.

Khyalia said action under the law would be taken against the teachers if anything incriminating was made out against them after getting the allegations in the application legally examined. The two-member committee of the JMC Department comprising lecturers Brahm Lata and Ravinder Kumar, meanwhile, is yet to submit its report to Registrar RK Sehgal.

Sehgal, in the meantime, has constituted another committee of three senior teachers to probe the matter.

“A high-powered committee comprising Prof Sultan Singh, Dean, Academic Affairs, Prof Shamsher Singh, Dean, Physical Education, and Deepti Dharmani, an Associate Professor in the English Department, has been constituted after consultation with Vice-Chancellor KS Khokhar,” said Sehgal.

The high-powered committee would look into the matter in light of the preliminary investigation carried out by the committee of the JMC Department, he added.

Sehgal claimed that over 70 students of the university had given him in writing that the issue was being blown out of proportion by certain vested interests in the department by leaking information to the media. Sehgal maintained that these students had termed the allegations of the complainant as “baseless”.

The victim, in her complaint given on April 6, had alleged that the teacher she had chosen as guide for her dissertation had been delaying the finalisation of the questionnaire for her research work for long without any valid reason.

When she went to his office on April 6, another teacher sitting with him told her that she would have to “fulfil the desires of her guide” if she wanted her work to be completed.

The other teacher went to the extent of warning her that she would have to complete her studies next year when she expressed her disapproval at his conduct. She alleged that her guide observed silence during this conversation indicating his unspoken support to the words uttered by the other teacher. Both teachers, however, had denied the allegations. 

New Delhi, April 21
Haryana’s nearly two hours of pleading in the Supreme Court seeking permission for using the 109-km Hansi-Butana Canal for taking water from the Bhakra mainline (BML) to the arid southern parts of the state went in vain today following strong objections raised by Punjab and Rajasthan.

Senior counsel Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Haryana, suggested that the state be allowed to use the canal during the ongoing summer months or at least on a trial basis for a month, pending disposal of Punjab’s main suit filed in 2007 against the Hansi-Butana project.

A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, however, orally observed that the canal was not like machinery which required trial runs and since water was the lifeline and a highly sensitive issue it was not advisable to provide any interim relief to any state.

The Bench, which included Justices Deepak Verma and BS Chauhan, passed an order asking Punjab and Rajasthan to file their affidavits in three weeks. Haryana would have to file its response within a week after this.

The Registrar’s court would be open during the summer vacation to enable the contending states to complete the process of evidence. The matter would be listed on July 16 for issue of further directions and if everything goes smooth arguments would be completed in August.

Appearing for Rajasthan, senior counsel KK Venugopal said allowing the use of the Hansi-Butana Canal involved puncturing of the BML at a higher point and if the final court verdict was against Haryana, this puncture would have be closed and this would involve stopping the water flow in the BML for “weeks and months” when Rajasthan, being located at the end of the downstream, would not get even a drop of water.

This would create “mayhem and riots” in the affected parts of the desert state.

Senior counsel Rajiv Dhawan, arguing for Punjab, contended that having stalled Punjab’s proposal for constructing Sri Dasmesh Canal to draw water from BML for Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala districts, Haryana could no way go ahead with using the Rs 392 crore Hansi-Butana canal project unilaterally.

On August 17, 2007, the apex court passed an interim injunction restraining Haryana from rupturing the BML after hearing Punjab’s original suit. Haryana subsequently filed an interlocutory application (IA) seeking vacation of the injunction, pending disposal of the suit.

Punjab and Rajasthan, however, today agreed in the court that they were not insisting on rejection of the IA as the court was expediting the main suit.

The apex court ruling is no good news for the state which is parched. Water supply from the Bhakra dam is down to nearly half of what was available last year, the rotational supply is being released every 32 days against 16 days, seven of the 21 districts are grappling with water woes.

The chronic trouble spots are Mahendragarh, Narnaul, Rewari , Jhajjar, parts of Rohtak, Jind and Hansi in Hisar, all comprising the southern belt.

To make matters worse, the state is plagued by power cuts which disrupt supply as well, leading to protests. Complaints have begun to poure in from Meham, Loharu, Jhajjar and Mahendragarh.

The towns of Hisar, Sirsa and pockets of Kaithal, Ambala and Kurukshetra are also facing water scarcity. 

Chandigarh, April 21
Haryana today carried out a mini administrative reshuffle involving 26 IAS officers and an HCS officer. Today’s reshuffle comes three weeks after a similar exercise last month.

Vijai Vardhan, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary (FCPS), Printing & Stationery Department, has been given the additional charge of FCPS, Archaeology and Museums.

PK Das, State Project Director, Haryana Prathmic Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad and Project Director, Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), has been posted Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission and Commissioner, Food and Drugs Authority, in place of Anand Mohan Sharan. The latter has been posted as Additional Resident Commissioner, Haryana Bhawan, New Delhi, and Director and Special Secretary, Rural Development, relieving Shrikant Walgad. Avtar Singh, Chief Administrator, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, will also work as Director and Special Secretary, Agriculture, and MD, Haryana Seeds Development Corporation, during the training period of Ashok Kumar Yadav. Anil Kumar, Director and Special Secretary, Secondary Education, has been posted as Commissioner, Hisar Division, in place of Balbir Singh Malik, who goes as Commissioner, Ambala Division, vice Mohinder Kumar, who is new Secretary to Governor. Arun Kumar, Transport Commissioner and Adviser and Special Secretary, Civil Aviation, is MD, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam, vice Vijayendra Kumar, who goes as Joint Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management, in place of SK Goyal, who becomes Administrator, Command Area Development Authority, in place of Mohammad Shayin and Special Secretary, Health, relieving HS Malik.

Krishan Kumar, Director and Special Secretary, Employment and Public Health, has been posted as MD, Haryana Warehousing Corporation, in place of Ashok Khemka who goes as Director and Special Secretary, Secondary Education.

Sant Kumar, Director and Special Secretary, Primary Education, has been posted as Director, Industrial Training and Vocational Education, vice Pankaj Yadav and Director, Science and Technology during the training period of Sandeep Garg and Director and Special Secretary, Women and Child Development, during the training period of MP Bansal. AK Singh, Secretary to Governor, has been posted Transport Commissioner and Adviser and Special Secretary, Civil Aviation. Subhash Chandra, Joint Secretary Home-II Department and Joint Commissioner, Gurdwara Elections, has been given the additional charge of Joint Secretary, Home-I Department, during the training period of Shrikant Walgad. Ramesh Krishan, Director, and Joint Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment, has been posted as Joint Secretary, Cooperation, in place of Ashok Sangwan; MD, Haryana Land Reclamation and Development Corporation during the training of Pushp Raj Singh; and MD, Haryana Women Development Corporation, during the training of Sandeep Garg.

Sangwan will be the new DC, Yamunanagar, and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Yamunanagar. Surjeet Singh, Administrator, HUDA, Panchkula, will look after the post of Administrator, HUDA (HQ), Panchkula, during the training of RP Gupta.

OP Sheoran, Joint Secretary, Housing, DC, Hisar, and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Hisar, has been appointed Joint Secretary, Housing, and DC, Palwal, relieving CR Rana.

Pankaj Yadav, Director, Industrial Training and Vocational Education, goes as Director and Joint Secretary, Primary Education. Mohammad Shayin, Director, Environment and Administrator, Command Area Development Authority, is Director, Environment, and Director and Joint Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment.

Amit Agrawal, DC, Yamunanagar and Commissioner, MC, Yamunanagar, will be DC, Hisar, and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Hisar. Wazeer Singh Goyat, has been appointed Deputy Secretary, Public Health.

Chandigarh, April 21
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered a judicial probe into the alleged round-the-clock locking of prisoners in Sonepat district jail.

The directions were issued by the High Court on the administrative side and following the visit of Justice Ranjit Singh to the Sonepat jail. Justice Ranjit Singh is the administrative judge of the Sonepat sessions division and was on an inspection of the area when the matter was brought to his notice.

Each sessions division is under the supervision of an administrative judge who ensures not just the streamlining of the judicial process in the district courts, but also satisfies himself that human rights are not violated.

Available information suggests a convict contacted Justice Ranjit Singh during his inspection of Sonepat jail on March 19.

He told the administrative judge that “the prisoners were being detained in the barracks for almost 24 hours”.

He also told the judge they were not allowed to move out following followed the death of an inmate. Elaborating, he told the judge that the death had triggered a hunger strike.

Not the one to leave things half way, Justice Ranjit Singh made clear his intentions of visiting the barracks. When taken there, he found some of the prisoners were indeed there. The fact was confirmed by some of the prisoners. The Jail Superintendent, on the other hand, vehemently refuted the allegations.

Justice Ranjit Singh took note of another complaint. The Judge observed: “Another report on the use of criminal force against one of the prisoners was also made; and also about some treatment to the prisoners, which may not pass the test of decency, like checking them or not allowing them to wear shoes etc, while leaving the jail for attending courts.

“In order to determine the truthfulness of allegations made, I thought it appropriate to direct inquiry by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sonepat, to find if any prisoner is being detained in violation of the Prison Rules by putting them in a condition which may be intolerable.

“Let the requisite inquiry be conducted and report submitted for further directions, if required”. 

Chandigarh, April 21
Just over four years after a boxer of national repute, Sonu Chahal of Madanheri village, was shown to have committed suicide, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Pronouncing the orders in an open court, Justice Gurdev Singh asked the premier investigating agency to complete the probe as expeditiously as possible, preferably within six months of receiving the order’s copy. A detailed judgment was not yet available.

Chahal was said to have ended his life on March 12, 2006, by hanging himself from a fan at his hostel room. The 20-year-old boxer from Madanheri village was training and residing at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel at Bhiwani.

He had participated in several national and international competitions during the previous few years.

His father, Charan Singh Chahal, was seeking a CBI inquiry into the murder. He had raised suspicion against three persons, including Jagdish Singh, who was given a clean chit by the police.

In a report filed before the high court in 2006, the Superintendent of Police concerned had claimed Sonu committed suicide under the influence of liquor, as he was depressed.

But the petitioner had, on the other hand, alleged that he had named the local SHO also as an accused, but his name was not mentioned in the FIR deliberately to shield the culprits. In the petition, he alleged the local police was colluding with the culprits to protect them. 

Rewari, April 21
Irked with the erratic power supply as well as acute shortage of drinking water, residents of Jharoda village locked the power substation in the village, near Kosli, today.

Meanwhile, residents of Guraora village blocked traffic on the Rohtak-Rewari highway, 27 km from here, today.

Residents of Jharoda rued that inadequate power supply had made their life 
miserable.

After about one and a half hour, they unlocked the substation at the intervention of DHBVN AGM Kitab Singh Khokhar, naib tehsildar Rajender Singh and Kosli police station SHO Kailash Narain.

Admitting that the overall paucity of power had disrupted the supply schedule, Khokhar hoped that the situation would ease in the coming few days.

Enraged residents of Guraora complained that they had been getting a meagre two-hour power supply daily, which had not only caused considerable inconvenience, but had also disrupted the drinking water supply.

They lamented that their repeated requests made to the authorities concerned for an improvement in the situation had also remained unheeded.

The blockade, which lasted for over six hours, was lifted at the persuasion of the DHBVN AGM Ranjan Rao, who assured that the needful would be done after consulting senior officials of the DHBVN. 

Yamunanagar, April 21
The traffic on National Highway 73 today remained stranded for an hour following a protest by Haryana Roadways employees against the beating up of a roadways driver here today. The driver was allegedly beaten up by five persons when the bus was on the way to Kurukshetra from Yamunanagar.

Police sources said the incident took place when the bus, parked in the Yamunanagar bus stand, was about to leave for Kurukshetra. Heated arguments took place between driver Ram Parshad and an unknown passenger over some dispute. Later, the passenger was asked to leave the bus.

However, when the bus was on its way to Kurukshetra, it was stopped by the passenger, who parked his motorcycle on the road along with other youths on motorcycles.

They allegedly beat up the bus driver and also broke one of the windows of the bus. Irked with the attack, roadways employees blocked the road. Later, the police has registered a case against five unknown persons under Sections 186, 332, 353, 323 and 506 of the IPC.

Karnal, April 21
Ornaments and valuables worth lakhs were stolen from Sai Baba Mandir in Sector 6, here, last night. The valuables included the “mukut” of Sai Baba, other accessories and cash worth Rs 1.5 lakh.

The priests of the temple said they were awake till 2 am and found the “golaks” (cash box) missing when they woke up at 5 am. More than seven locks were broken and the police was immediately informed.

The police has registered a case and the FSL team also visited the spot.

The vice-president and founder member of the temple said due to the ongoing cases of theft in the city, they had started opening the golaks in 10 days and the golaks were to be opened on coming Saturday. 

Jind, April 21
Several persons, including two women, were injured, some of them seriously, after firing was opened in a group clash at Darholi village in the district today.

The clash reportedly took place between two groups over the use of a chaupal. The injured have been admitted to hospital. The police has registered a case. However, no arrest has been made so far.

The incident took place when some villagers objected to the closure of the main gate of Balmiki chaupal at the village, located about 20 km from here. An argument took place between the two groups following which villagers, armed with sticks and bricks, allegedly starting assaulting each other. Persons from both sides also used stones in the assault.

According to Om Prakash, sarpanch of the village, the two groups had an old enmity over various issues, including the use of the chaupal, and the closure of the main gate of the chaupal by one group enraged the other, following which the violent clash took place.

The situation turned ugly when a local resident brought a licensed gun from his house and allegedly opened fire on the other side. This resulted in gunshot injuries to six persons - Ramesh, Rajesh, Dharambir, Subhash, Balwan and Balinder. Four others - Amar Lal, Pooja, Bartho Devi and Mukesh - got injured when they were hit by bullet pellets.

The police later recovered a gun, a revolver and some live cartridges from the site. The injured were taken to a hospital.

The police is probing the matter.

Sirsa, April 21
The police today arrested two more persons in connection with a criminal case registered against INLD activists on a complaint of Gobind Kanda, younger brother of Haryana minister Gopal Kanda.

A police spokesperson said today that Vijay Kumar, a resident of Begu village, and Raj Grover of Rania Gate area were arrested today in connection with the FIR lodged on April 3. “They were produced before a local court and sent to judicial custody,” the spokesperson added.

Earlier, the police had arrested Sanjay Saini, Satnam Singh and Takhwinder Singh in this connection. — TNS