Karnal, May 12
All is not well with the functioning of Nari Niketan here. A 17-year-old inmate reportedly escaped from the state-run women’s home on Monday afternoon.

Information on her disappearance was given by the home superintendent, Rajni Pasracha, who also lodged a complaint with the Civil Lines police station. She said a frail-looking Manisha, daughter of Bhogi Ram of Hardwar, had escaped from the home at around 2 pm. She was brought here from Kurukshetra on September 9, 2009.

Nari Niketan officials had no explanation as to how the girl had been able to flee without being noticed and refused to talk to mediapersons. Around two years back, inmates of the Nari Niketan had gone on the rampage, alleging maltreatment at the hands of ther authorities.

Later, a team of the Human Rights Commission had visited the institution.The police have launched a manhunt for the girl and her photograph has been released to enlist public help. The local administration, when contacted, said it he had no information about the incident.

Local NGOs have expressed concern over the incident and urged the administration to take steps to streamline the functioning of the women’s home and ensure that it proved to be a reformatory for misdirected girls.

Faridabad, May 12
Congress men here continue to dither on the issue of lending support to nominees for election to the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad on May 20.

A meeting of a committee constituted by the Congress to identify candidates for each of the 35 wards ended without a decision yesterday. It had met last Satuday too, but was unable to finalise a list of candidates. The matter was left for further deliberations.

The committee will meet for the third time on May 15 to finalise names.

Giving details of the meeting, the president of the District(Faridabad) Congress Committee ,B Ojha, said a panel of names in each of the wards had been prepared.

A sub-committee had been constituted and assigned the task of determining the winnability quotient of the candidates short-listed. Based on its report, the party would finalise candidate in each of the wards.

The Congress has decided not to contest the municipal elections on its party symbol. It will, instead, back a candidate in each of the wards. At least six persons loyal to the Congress have filed nominations and the party will have to officially back one candidate in each ward.

Meanwhile, the state leadership of the Congress has intervened to force brothers of party legislatorsSharda Rathore and Anand Kaushik, who had filed nominations from Ward No. 4, to withdraw their names.

The ward falls in the Ballabgarh assembly constituency and is represented by Sharda Rathore, who is also Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Haryana.

But Anand Kaushik’s brother also decided to throw the hat in the ring. This led to a piquant situation with supporters of both gearing up for a showdown on the streets.

The two MLAs allegedly had heated exchanges on the issue at the first meeting of the committee assigned the task of finalising the name of candidates to be backed by the party.

The minister from the district had to intervene to restore order. At today’s meeting, party MP from Faridabad Avtaar Bhadana, Sharda Rathore and former minister AC Chaudhary were not seen. Senior Congress leaders, sitting and former legislastors and ministers are member of the committee.

Sirsa, May 12
Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh today sought to clear the controversy surrounding the INLD’s memorandum to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday. The ministry had yesterday issued a clarification that the INLD delegation led by former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala did not raise the khap issue before Chidambaram, after news in this regard were published in a section of the press.

Tarlochan Singh, who made it to the Rajya Sabha with INLD support, said the delegation met the Home Minister solely to give a memorandum for the removal of Haryana Home Minister Gopal Kanda.

“I had sought appointment with Chidambaram as the party wanted to bring Kanda’s conduct during the Sirsa bandh to his notice and the party gave a memorandum to the Home Minister on this issue alone,” the MP said. The party gave Chidambaram evidence to prove that Kanda behaved in a manner unbecoming of a minister during the bandh.

He said, adding that when the delegation of the INLD legislators and senior leaders was returning, some mediapersons asked Chautala to give comments on Congress MP Naveen Jindal’s reported support to the khap panchayats. Chautala then told mediapersons that the INLD always believed that the khap panchayats’ stand on the same-gotra marriage was based on century-old traditions and his party was in favour of amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act to incorporate a clause to ban such marriages.

“Chautala also clarified to the mediapersons that his party was against violence in this regard and wanted that those guilty of killings should be booked and tried under normal criminal laws, the MP said.

“However, some mediapersons confused the two issues and reported in such a manner that it gave an impression that Chautala and his partymen had met Chidambaram on the issue of khap panchayats,” Tarlochan Singh added. 

Gurgaon, May 12
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s marked change of stance on the role and functioning of khap panchayats clearly shows the veteran leader has been forced him to bow before the wishes of his superiors at the Centre.

During the run-up to the last assembly elections last October, Hooda had defended the khap panchayats, stating that these were “part of state’s traditions and values”.

Call it politics of compulsion or compulsion of politics, Hooda has now gone on record saying that these bodies do not have legal sanctity and his government would not allow these to take the law into their own hands.

“Khap panchayats don’t have any legal sanctity. They are like an informal social organisation.... As far as the Haryana government is concerned, if somebody does anything good for social cause, we welcome that, but nobody will be allowed to take the law into their own hands,” Hooda said while talking to mediapersons in New Delhi yesterday.

The Mirchpur violence and now the khap controversy seems to have put Hooda on the back foot.

It seems that he has now decided to please his political bosses at the risk of weakening his mass base in Haryana.

With former Haryana Chief Minister and Indian National Lok Dal chief Om Prakash Chautala having supported the demand of the khap panchayats, Hooda’s ambition of establishing himself as the Jat leader in the state, which appeared well within his reach till recently, now seems to have become elusive.

Few months ago

Khap panchayats are part of state’s traditions and values 

Now

Khap panchayats don’t have any legal sanctity. They are like an informal social organisation.... As far as the Haryana government is concerned, if somebody does anything good for social cause, we welcome that, but none will be allowed to take the law into their own hands

Fatehabad, May 12
Candidates contesting the municipal poll in the Ratia Municipal Committee and the Fatehabad and Tohana municipal councils falling under Fatehabad district will have to submit their expenditure statement within one month of the May 20 poll.

District Election Officer CG Rajini Kaanthan yesterday asked the candidates contesting the poll to prepare their poll expenditure statements on a regular basis and submit a report in the prescribed format within one month of the poll.

The candidates contesting the Ratia Municipal Committee poll can spend a maximum of Rs 35,000 on their campaigning, while those contesting the poll for the Tohana and Fatehabad municipal councils can spend up to Rs 50,000.

“No hoardings, cutouts, banners, wall writings, welcome gates or advertisements in newspapers are permissible without prior permission,” said the orders issued by Kaanthan. — TNS

Nilokheri, May 12
Taking immediate cognisance of reports that Government Polytechnic at Nilokheri had become a hub of crime and hunting ground for “outside” elements, a police party led by Rajesh Sharma, DSP, Indri, made surprise raids at the hostels yesterday night.

As expected, the hostels were empty as most of the students had gone on vacation and the recent arrest of four youth - Neeraj, Jitender, Pawan and Sandeep - at a naka near PNB and recovery of one 12 bore gun and four live cartages, one 350 bore rifle and five live catridges, a 32 bore pistol on May 7 last had forced the “anti-social elements” to go into hiding.

Sharma said one of the reason for violent clashes was bitter rivalry between Yadav and Jats, which had vitiated the academic atmosphere.

The Tribune had carried a story about the spurt in criminal activities including murders, suicides, frequent intrusions of anti-social elements and drugs in Nilokheri with the polytechnic emerging as a hub of crime.

The staff of the polytechnic had also complained that the atmosphere had been spoiled due to unchecked intrusions of outsiders and shortage of hostel accommodation.

The shortage of staff was also cited as one of the reasons of lack of control on students but enmity due to love affairs and caste rivalries had contributed largely to increase in crime and suicides.

Students, their wards and teachers have welcomed the initiative of the police and said the situation would had been under control if such steps were taken earlier and deterrent action was taken by the police and polytechnic authorities. 

Chandigarh, May 12
Six months after Sonepat advocate SP Tyagi was accused of making contemptuous utterances, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed framing of charges against him.

Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Jaswant Singh asserted: “The present contempt petition has been initiated on the basis of a reference dated September 14, 2009, received from Yashika Yadav, civil judge (junior division)-cum-judicial magistrate (first class), Sonepat, through District and Sessions Judge, Sonepat, pointing out certain utterances on behalf of the respondent as contemptuous.

“Reference is also made to an order passed in another petition, wherein another criminal contempt against the respondent was dropped as the matter was patched up between the court and the respondent herein.

“The respondent made a mention to a note recorded by the administrative judge of Sonepat sessions division on March 31, wherein a reference was made to a meeting called in the chambers of the District and Sessions Judge.

“It is mentioned therein that the Bar has disapproved the conduct of the advocate and he was apologetic and readily agreed not to press his complaint.”

The Bench observed: “A detailed reply has been filed on April 20, wherein the respondent has controverted the averments made in the reference and denied the incident as projected. The Bench ruled: “The note recorded by the administrative judge of Sonepat sessions division is to the effect that the respondent is apologetic. However, the respondent has not shown such apologetic conduct during the course of hearing. The respondent is liable to be charged for committing criminal contempt.

Chandigarh, May 12
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that an employee, appointed on compassionate grounds, cannot be asked to quit due to subsequent change in policy for such appointments.

The ruling by Justice K Kannan came on a petition filed by Chand, an employee of the Panipat municipal council. In his petition against the council and other respondents, he had challenged the order terminating his services on November 13 last.

He was favoured with an appointment on August 1, 2006, on compassionate grounds after his father, on whom he was dependent, died in harness.

The relevant rules relating to compassionate appointment in 2005 provided for appointment, or a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh.

The state provided him with, “instead of financial compensation, an appointment itself”. The Judge ruled: “There has been a change in the policy of compassionate appointment subsequently in 2006, where no dependent could claim compassionate appointment, but his relief would stay restricted only to a financial assistance.

“This change in policy was taken as the basis to serve the petitioner a show-cause notice on November 6, 2009, as to why the petitioner’s service shall not be terminated. The petitioner replied stating since the appointment was made subsequent to his father’s death on September 13, 2005, the compassionate appointment policy that was extant, namely the 2005 policy, alone would be applicable…. The state rejected his reply and terminated him from service. It is this order of termination which is put in challenge before this court,” he ruled.

Ambala, May 12
Two persons were killed and five injured in a fire that broke out at 12.30 pm in a distillery at Badhauli village, 15 km from here, today.

Four spirit tanks having a capacity of 6 lakh litres in NV Distilleries, Badhauli, caught fire due to a short circuit and exploded, destroying a large portion of the building and killing two men at work on the premises.

The explosion was so violent that fragments of the boiler and portions of the building were thrown a distance of several feet. The distillery was in full operation at the time of incident.

As many as 25 fire tenders called from Yamunanagar, Ambala, Derabassi, Kalpi, Nahan, Jagadhri and Chandigarh were used to douse the fire.

The fire fighters had a tough time in controlling the blaze. The fire was brought under control by 6 pm.

Sources said the incident took place when 50 workers were working at the spot and several hundred workers at other places in the factory.

After the alarm was raised, all workers left the factory premises. However, six workers strained in the fire. Two of them succumbed to their injuries on the spot while the other five, who received burn injuries, were rushed to the hospital.

K Sapan, vice-president of NV Distillery, said the exact cause of fire had not been established as yet. However, it seems that it might have happened due to short circuit, he added.