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Decorated war hero fights for justice
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60 khaps threaten to gherao MLAs
Sexual Harassment
Teacher booked on rape
charge
Officer alleges victimisation for blowing whistle on CO
3 substations in Rohtak by May-end
Stamp duty relief for coop societies
South-west corridor on anvil
Traffic blocked over youth’s murder
Show results, Bhukkal tells teachers
Two found dead
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CM: Fourth India Reserve Battalion sanctioned
Bhondsi (Gurgaon), April 25 This was stated by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda while speaking at the passing-out parade function of the fifth batch of the Haryana Armed Police at Police Recruitment Training Centre here today. As many as 726 recruits today joined their ranks as constables in the Haryana police. Five of them, who excelled in various fields during the training, were honoured by the Chief Minister. Constable Parveen Kumar stood first in the training while constable Anil Kumar stood first in computers. Both of them were given trophies, laptops and first-class certificate of merit. Constable Vikas Kumar and constable Rajesh stood second and third, respectively, in the training, while constable Sunil Kumar was adjudged the best in command. Each of them got a digital camera, a trophy and a first-class certificate. Today’s parade, comprising eight companies, was led by constable Sunil Kumar. The new recruits were administered an oath to work with patriotism, honesty and impartiality. The Chief Minister maintained that allocation of Rs 300 crore was under consideration for the construction of new police lines in Mewat and Palwal districts, besides expediting the police housing schemes in the NCR districts of Haryana. Hooda disclosed that as part of preparations for the Commonwealth Games, the central government would spend Rs 23 crore on the modernisation of the police force in Gurgaon and Faridabad. The Chief Minister also announced a 10-day vacation for the new recruits. Haryana Minister of State for Home Gopal Kanda, Minister of State for Agriculture and Cooperatives Sukhbir Kataria, Haryana DGP Ranjeev Dalal, HPCC president Phool Chand Mullana, working president Kuldeep Sharma, CPS Dharambir Singh, ADGP SN Vashist, IG of RTC Bhondsi Sheel Madhur, Gurgaon Divisional Commissioner TK Sharma, Police Commissioner SS Deswal and Deputy Commissioner Rajender Kataria were also present. |
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Decorated war hero fights for justice
Chandigarh, April 25 The former Army officer has been shooting off communications and meeting the powers that be for registration of case against IPS officer Manjit Singh Ahlawat and others to get “justice” for his 34-year-old son Manish Jain, “having suffered heavily due to mental and physical cruelties and stress inflicted upon him by the Jind Police” breathed his last on February 20, 2006. A case of criminal breach of trust, subjecting a married woman to cruelty, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy was registered against Manish and his family at Jind on September 18, 2003, even though they were putting up in Baroda. After the matter reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Bench in November 2006 rule “From the facts and circumstances of the case, it cannot be said any part of cause of action in this case had arisen within the jurisdiction of Jind”. Accepting the petition, the High Court had noted: “Moreover, Manish Jain has already died. Petitioners are residents of Baroda. Continuing the process at Jind is an abuse of the process of court…. Accused-petitioners shall stand discharged in the FIR number 388, registered at the police station city, Jind”. Armed with the orders, Jain filed complaints before the authorities concerned. The inquiries that ensued indicted SI--cum-investigating officer Virender Singh; inspector Azad Singh, now DSP Rajinder Singh, and then DSP Sahab Ram Nehra. The then district attorney, Dalel Singh, was also held at fault for not performing his duty properly. Referring to Manjit Singh Ahlawat, a confidential communication from the state DG of police to the Under Secretary, Lokayukta, says: “As per the inquiry report, no specific lapse can be attributed to the then SP, Jind. However, he should have expressed closer supervision”. Another report by Hisar range IG of police, dated March 25, 2009, says the case FIR number 388 was found false and lapses committed by the officers…. As per the records, the then SP, Jind, had not verified the investigation of the case….” Jain has now approached Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Referring to the Rathore case, he has sought permission to prosecute the police officials. “It’s another battle in which I am going to emerge victorious,” says a determined Jain. |
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Khaps not in step with times: Social activists
Karnal, April 25 Jat Maha Sabha leaders strongly supported the institution of khap, claiming that it was not only an institution of the Jat community but comprised 36 “biradaris”. But social activists dubbed the khaps as these worked “against the spirit of law and the Constitution”. The buying of brides from states like Bihar and Assam also came into focus during the deliberations. Defending the social role of the khap panchayats, president of the Jat Maha Panchayat, OP Mann, sought to absolve the khaps of the charge of inciting “honour killings”. He said thec social laws had been enacted to bring harmony and strengthen tradition. He said the decision of the judiciary to allow “live in relationships,” could not be acceptable as it was not in consonance with the moral code of society. Mann refuted the charge that the khap panchayats were pronouncing capital punishment. “I can say it on oath that none of the khaps has ever pronounced any verdict to “kill” a person for marriage within the gotra. In fact, it was the fear of humiliation and embarrassment that drove families to kill their sons and daughter if they chose to marry in the same gotra or village,” he claimed. Admitting that the functioning of khaps was not without faults, Mann said that Jats had taken a pledge to stop female foeticide and be more flexible. A the same time he warned that another Manoj-Babli episode could be repeated if gotra marriages were not stopped. Dr Ranbir singh from the PGI, Rohtak said forbidding marriage in the same gotra, same village and adjoining villages was an outdated practice. The khaps chose to keep mum on cases of rape, murder, atrocities on Dalits and women and only concentrated on the issue of inter-caste marriages. Noted journalist Dhiresh Saini held that the claim of khaps being multi-caste bodies was wrong and questioned why the khaps did not speak up for the Dalits in Mirchpur whose houses were set ablaze. On courts recognising live-in relationships, he said this would protect women from being exploited as keeps. Advocate Sarita Singh questioned the structure of khaps and suggested 50 per cent reservation for women to ensure their participation in decision-making. Debunking the suggestion for amending the Hindu Married Act to stop marriages within the same gotra, she said the khaps should instead press for a separate “Jat Marriage Act.” In her concluding remarks, Suman Manjari, SP, Haryana Police Academy, Madhuban, put asked whether the diktats of Khap also applied to Jat families who had moved to the cities. |
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60 khaps threaten to gherao MLAs
Jind, April 25 It was decided to hold a meeting of all khaps in the state and those in the neighboring states on May 2 at Pai village in Kaithal district. This was the third
meeting of khaps in the past about three weeks and since the court verdict in the Manoj-Babli murder case. Chairing the meeting, the head of the Mor khap, Mewa Singh, said there was a need for changing the provisions of the marriage Act which, he said, had been creating
problems. He said the government should enact a law to ban inter-gotra and inter-village marriages as these were against social practices. Hence, these could not be allowed. He said the matter would be discussed at the next meeting to be held at Pai and the khaps would exert pressure on the government and MPs and MLAs so that the problem could be resolved. The mahapanchayat resolved to gherao elected representatives if they did not back their demand. |
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Sexual Harassment
Sirsa, April 25 The committee, comprising its convener Shamsher Singh Jang Bahadur, proctor of the university, Deepti Dharmani, member secretary, Monika Verma and Nivedita, all university teachers, Shefali, medical officer, and Kumud Bansal, general secretary of an NGO, the Nirjharni Nari Sahyog Samiti, started the meeting at about 10 am and continued till 4 pm. The committee members grilled the complainant, the two teachers accused of sexual harassment, Virender Singh Chauhan, chairperson of the department, Sumer Singh, a clerk, and a girl student of the department, who was reportedly present in the room when a teacher allegedly made remarks hinging on sexual harassment on April 6. The entry to the administrative block of the university was closed after the entry of these persons in the morning and no one was allowed in during the meeting. No mobile phone was allowed inside the administrative block and the entire proceedings of quizzing were videographed. The committee, according to sources, called the complainant first and devoted more than an hour grilling her. The complainant, according to the sources, was asked to narrate the sequence of events on the day the alleged incident occurred and the course of action adopted by her thereafter. Chauhan, too, spent about an hour with the committee members and he was asked about the steps taken by him after getting the complaint from the victim. Chauhan, according to the sources, was also asked whether any internal strife existed between him and one of the accused teachers. The sources said the complainant as well as Chauhan was asked as to how the media came to know about the case. The committee quizzed both teachers separately on the sequence of events on April 6, when the incident is alleged to have occurred. The committee’s convener, Jang Bahadur, declined to reveal the outcome of the meeting or divulge the details of the interface with the persons associated with the probe when contacted by The Tribune. He said the committee would take some more days to complete its findings band submit its report. |
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Sirsa: A schoolteacher has been booked for raping his student at Shahpur Begu village in this district last evening. A case under Sections 354, 451 and 376-B of the IPC has been registered against him on the complaint of the victim’s father.
The victim’s father had lodged a missing report with the police on April 21 alleging that his two minor daughters had disappeared from their house a day earlier. The girls were found in Hisar the next day. The elder of the two told their parents that Amit Kumar Ahlawat, a teacher of her school, had allegedly raped her. The accused, who hails from Kheri Sadh village in Rohtak district, allegedly called the girl to his room in the village and raped her on March 19. He provided her a mobile to remain in touch with her and eloped with the two girls on April 20. The girl’s medical examination confirmed rape.
— TNS
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Officer alleges victimisation for blowing whistle on CO
Chandigarh, April 25 Consequently, he wants a major general posted at the Headquarters Western Command, who is the CO’s next superior officer in the chain of command, to be de-barred from writing his confidential report. In his petition, scheduled to come up for hearing before the Armed Forces Tribunal tomorrow, Lt Col BS Goraya has maintained that such a report will lack objectivity in assessment due to the circumstances of the case. The major general also oversees the functioning of the operational logistics branch at the command headquarters, under whose aegis the battalion comes. The petition contends that the court of inquiry ordered against the CO on his complaint, made under Para 317 of Army Regulations, is taking unduly long time to be finalised. The lieutenant colonel was due to be considered for promotion this month, but his name was withdrawn from the selection board’s panel list. Following his complaint, he was removed from his post as second-in-command and attached to Headquarters, Western Command, on staff duties. Allegations levelled against his CO by Lt Col Goraya include cognizable criminal and economic offences in violation of the Central Sales Tax Act, abetment to inter-state smuggling of wrist watches by civilian persons, employment of combatants in illegal trade violation of financial regulations and Army Orders and misappropriation of officers mess fund. A staff court of inquiry was ordered by the Western Command in May 2009 to investigate his complaint, but according to the petition, its findings are still unknown. In these circumstances, a gap from September 2008 to May 2009 came in his confidential report profile and for the want of a Non- initiation report (NIR), his case was withdrawn from No.3 Selection Board in December 2009 even though he had duly forwarded statement of case for the necessary NIR. |
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3 substations in Rohtak by May-end
Rohtak, April 25 According to nigam authorities, the UHBVN and the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam(HVPN) have prepared and launched a comprehensive plan to strengthen the distribution and transmission system in the district. There are plans to construct a 400 KV substation at Kabulpur, a 220 KV sub-station at IMT, Rohtak, 132 KV substations at Sunarian, Gandhra, Ismaila and Chiri villages and 33 KV sub-stations at Chhara village and Line Par Sampla to ensure smooth supply of quality power with better voltage. Besides, the capacity of 33 KV sub-station, Hassangarh, Rohad, Lakhan Majra, Madina, Model Town and Sector-6 will be augmented to meet the growing load requirement. Also in the pipeline is the installation of 300 distribution transformers in the district during the current financial year to streamline distribution network. There is a proposal to replace existing transformers with higher capacity distribution transformers at 350 locations to overcome the problem of low voltage. The nigam has started work on 11 KV lines to provide independent transformers to farmers under “Apna Transformer Yojna”. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 27 crore, which includes conversion of low-tension lines to high-voltage distribution system and installation of transformers for agricultural tubewells. The nigam has already energised 35 new 11 KV feeders in rural areas so as to give quality power to tubewells and a three-phase supply to rural domestic consumers. Under the central government’s Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojna(RGGVY) as many as 3,904 new connections to those living below the poverty line (BPL) have been released. |
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Forum fights to save Buddhist structures
Yamunanagar, April 25 The Yamunanagar-based forum has been campaigning to draw the attention of the authorities concerned towards the need for protecting monuments in the state, including Buddh Vihar in Adi Badri, a Buddha stupa at Chaneti in Yamunanagar, the Kurukshetra stupa, a monastery in Kurukshetra, a Buddha stupa in Assandh and a stupa and monastery at Agroha in Hisar. In a communication to the Buddhist Forum, Rinpoche said, “I am happy to pledge my support to the Buddhist Forum in its drive to save Buddhist structures in Haryana. By preserving the stupas and other Buddhist structures, they are making an effort to keep alive a legacy and draw inspiration from it to understand what Buddha had taught to the mankind. It is their sincere endeavour to bring peace and harmony in our society and in
the world.” Expressing concern over lack of care of monuments, Rinpoche has written to MP OT Lepcha to assist the forum in its work. Speaking to The Tribune, the president of the Buddist Forum, Sidhartha, said they had taken up the matter with Rinpoche and the latter had written back to them. The forum felt a need to involve Rinpoche so that it could get support to achieve its objective of protecting monuments. Other prominent persons who had extended support to the campaign included former CBI Director Joginder Singh and former
Governor of Nagaland Om Prakash Sharma. “The forum had launched a signature campaign on March 12, 2009, highlighting the need for protecting historical monuments related to the Buddha in Haryana. After getting a good response from the people, the forum submitted a memorandum to the President in New Delhi on December 30 last in this regard,” he said. “On December 31, the forum received a communication from the President’s office that the memorandum had been forwarded to the Ministry of Culture. The forum wrote to the ASI many times, but to no avail. |
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Stamp duty relief for coop societies
Chandigarh, April 25 “ It is clarified that when a flat is transferred to a member of the group housing society, the member has to pay stamp duty on the execution of conveyance deed on the allotment price of land with respect to his share only.This does not include the cost of construction”, a government notification states. Hailing the decision, president of the Haryana Group Housing Federation BK Sanghi is hopeful that this will lessen the burden of heavy stamp duty on the allottees and go a long way in promoting the cooperative housing movement. “This decision will benefit retired persons, widows and economically weaker sections as they will not have to pay hefty stamp duty-both on land and the construction cost,” says SL Bhatia, president of the Faridabad Societies Welfare Association. However, RS Choudhary, president of the Alkananda Cooperative Group Housing Society, Gurgaon, feels the decision is “irrelevant and illogical” as this will promote “double taxation”. Claiming that a substantial number of society members have already executed the conveyance deed by paying a hefty stamp duty, Chaudhary wonders whether the Haryana government will refund the “excess” stamp duty already paid by thousands of cooperative society members so far. |
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South-west corridor on anvil
Narnaul, April 25 Hooda said a sum of Rs 1,038.93 crore had been incurred in Mahendragarh district during the previous five years on providing water, electricity, health and education to the people.He said the government had approved a central university at Mahendragarh, defence university at Gurgaon and Sainik School at Rewari. Hooda said workers were the backbone of the party and urged them to make the Congress stronger. Referring to the merger of of HJC MLAs in the party, he said Rao Narender belonged to an old Congress family and it was a homecoming for him. He said the joining of the Congress by the erstwhile HJC MLAs had brought stability to the government. HPCC president Phool Chand Mullana, working president Kuldeep Sharma and Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal were among those who addressed the meeting. |
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Traffic blocked over youth’s murder
Jhajjar, April 25 The police has registered a case against Sunil, alias Petha, and Deepak, alias Bhinda, residents of Lova Khurd village, on the complaint of brother of the deceased Hari Prakash. Inderjeet went out for a stroll yesterday, but did not return home. Though his kin searched for him, they failed to trace him. Some villagers spotted the body of Inderjeet lying in a pool of blood in the fields of Noona Majra village and informed the police today. The police has sent the body to the Civil Hospital for a postmortem after taking stock of the situation. The body bore multiple injury marks. When the police failed to arrest the accused after several hours despite registration of a criminal case against them, the irked villagers blocked traffic on the highway. The protesters lifted the blockade following assurance by the Bahadurgarh DSP that the accused would be nabbed soon. |
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Show results, Bhukkal tells teachers
Jhajjar, April 25 Interacting with the representatives of the Haryana Masters Association here today, she urged the teachers to take a pledge to create a better educational atmosphere in the state besides bringing good results in the examinations. “I will be highly pleased if the teachers submit their demands along with outstanding results. The efforts of both the central and the state governments for bringing qualitative educational reforms can yield positive results only if the teaching community dedicatedly and wholeheartedly works in this direction,” the minister maintained. Bhukkal said as the new academic session had just begun, teachers should forget their interest and inspire maximum number of children to join schools. “All their justifiable demands are under the consideration of the government. In such circumstances, they should avoid degrading themselves by restoring to protests and dharnas,” she said. |
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Two found dead
Sonepat, April 25 On the complaint of Roop’s brother Pawan, a murder case has been registered against Sonu and Naveen of Garhi Taga village, who were released on bail in March. They had allegedly demanded extortion of Rs 10 lakh from the principal of a school in Teha Bari on September 14, 2009. In the complaint, it is alleged that Pawan played a key role in the arrest of the alleged accused. Earlier, on March 24 the accused had allegedly opened fire on Pawan and also threatened him with dire consequences. |
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