Fatehabad, May 15
Notwithstanding the official claims of improvement in the healthcare services in Haryana, the on-ground situation continues to be abysmal.

A differently abled woman, who had delivered a premature baby under a tree, failed to get medical help for herself and the baby in two district hospitals and a community health centre due to “insensitivity of doctors”.

Even, no private hospital was ready to provide any medical assistance to the child, despite efforts by villagers, who brought them here, as the woman was in an unhygienic condition and in rags.

A Good Samaritan, Sukhpal Singh, sarpanch of Lehrian village, who took the woman and her baby to the hospitals on Friday, had the real taste of how the health authorities perform their duties in Haryana.

The woman strayed into Lehrian village and delivered a baby under a tree on Thursday night.

Villagers intimated the sarpanch, who after getting the baby cleaned up from a woman, decided to take them to a hospital.

“I called up the ambulance service from Bhuna and Fatehabad as I was told that the state government had started free-of-cost ambulance service for the poor. When no ambulance came for three hours, I took them to the community health centre (CHC), Bhuna, in a private vehicle. However, no doctor wanted to touch the woman or her baby and told me to take them to Fatehabad,” Sukhpal Singh complained.

The woman, sitting on the floor, waited for over three hours in the CHC as her benefactor tried to persuade the doctors to treat them.

“My request to provide ambulance for the mother and the baby was bluntly turned down by a doctor,” he added. He again brought them to the general hospital in Fatehabad in a private hospital, where again no doctor was willing to touch the patients and told Sukhpal Singh to shift them to Hisar as they did not have a pediatrician.

The woman sat on a bench with her baby for over two hours as Sukhpal Singh went from one cabin to the other to seek admission for them in the hospital.

“I even went to two private pediatricians in the town, but none was willing to keep them in their hospitals,” he added. He said the hospital authorities were kind enough to provide ambulance for shifting them to Hisar. However, the person, who accompanied the woman to Hisar, later said she could not get treatment at Hisar even and was shifted to Rohtak.

Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj, senior medical officer, general hospital, Fatehabad, who also holds the charge of civil surgeon, said the woman did not need any treatment, but the baby needed admission in a nursery due to premature birth.

“We do not have nursery facilities in Bhuna. Although, we do have nursery in Fatehabad, the pediatrician was not available yesterday,” Dr Kamboj said.

The Health authorities in Hisar hospital could not be contacted despite efforts.

Sirsa, May 15
The Executive Council of Chaudhary Devi Lal University today suspended Sewa Singh Bajwa, an Assistant Professor of the Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) Department, for the alleged sexual harassment of a student.

A press note issued by the university said the council had also decided to chargesheet Bajwa and another teacher, Amit Sangwan, who was also an accused in this case.

The council has also decided to chargesheet Virender Singh Chauhan, chairperson of the JMC Department, for “inordinate” delay in reporting the matter to the university authorities and has also constituted a committee to look into the functioning of his department as well as the media centre-cum-community radio station run by the department.

The committee includes Prof Sultan Singh, Prof Shamsher Singh and Ravinder Pal Ahlawat, an Associate Professor.

The council has also constituted an advisory committee comprising Prof Sultan Singh, Prof Suresh Gahlawat and Dr Dilbag Singh to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

The council has also decided to send its report to the SP for police action, if needed. Vice-Chancellor BS Malik presided over the meeting.

In her complaint, the victim had alleged that Amit Sangwan, whom 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 him on April 6, Sewa Singh Bajwa, who was sitting with him, told her that she would have to “fulfil the desires of her guide”, if she wanted her work to be completed.

Bajwa allegedly 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 Sangwan observed silence and kept smirking during this conversation indicating his unspoken support to Bajwa’s remarks.

The university authorities had got the matter probed from the woman complaints committee.

In a separate inquiry ordered by the district authorities, the protection officer under the Domestic Violence Act had also probed the matter. The university authorities had placed both these items on the agenda of today’s meeting.

Karnal, May 15
Mehar Banerjee, president of Saarthi, an NGO, has urged the President of India to appoint him as hangman for hanging dreaded terrorists Afzal Guru and Azmal Kasab, and Surinder Koli of the Nithari killing case, who have been awarded the death sentence.

In a memorandum to the President, Banerjee reiterated that terrorists and anti-social elements were eating the country like termites and if even after conviction such “pests” continued to “breathe on my motherland, it will be a great insult to all those martyrs who sacrificed their lives for us”.

“They lived and died for us and as a sensitive Indian and teacher, it is my strong conviction that each one of us must take a pledge to defend and serve the nation,” he said.

Banerjee, who wanted to be an Army officer and cleared the written test six times, feels that pulling the rope to hang these criminals will “satiate my desire to serve the Army and fulfil my cherished dream to some extent”.

Mehar Banerjee’s NGO has launched a number of campaigns during the past seven years for creating awareness about AIDS, female foeticide, environment, sanitation and other social issues.

Yamunanagar, May 15
Hearing the plight of a poor widow, who struggled for over five years to get compensation under the Devi Rakshak Yojna, the district consumer forum yesterday directed the state of Haryana through the Deputy Commissioner, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and the Social Welfare Officer to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh along with interest to Sonia Arora of Jagadhri.

Sonia had approached the consumer court pleading that her husband Sachin Arora died in a road accident on October 6, 2004. Thereafter, she applied for compensation under the Devi Rakshak Jan Suraksha Bima Yojna launched by the state government with the District Social Welfare Officer and the SDM-cum-Nodal Officer, Jagadhri.

She rued that despite the fact that she had completed all formalities, the officials concerned first delayed the matter on one pretext or the other and later refused to pay her the compensation under the yojna.

She further stated that her husband was the only breadwinner of the family. The state government was liable to pay compensation to the complainant on account of her husband’s death.

Passing the order, president of the district consumer disputes redressal forum Dina Nath Arora and member Dr VK Sharma said: “From the perusal of death certificate, it is clear that the husband of the complainant died in a road accident on October 6, 2004.”

“The state government has launched a scheme - Devi Rakshak Jan Suraksha Bima Yojna - and has negotiated with New India Assurance Company for releasing the claim of Rs 1 lakh, who dies in road accident. When the complainant’s husband died, neither the National Insurance Company nor National Insurance Assurance had any agreement with the state government for releasing the payment of Rs 1 lakh to the family of the deceased,” the forum said in its order.

“We direct Haryana to pay the compensation of Rs 1 lakh under the yojna with 9 per cent interest per annum after three months of the death of Sachin Arora till its realisation. This order be complied within 30 days from the date of preparation of copy,” the order said.

Chandigarh, May 15
Haryana State Election Commissioner Dharamvir today announced the election programme for the fourth panchayat general elections in 13 districts of Haryana that will be held in two phases - June 6 and 12.

Addressing a press conference here, Dharamvir said elections would be held in Ambala, Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Faridabad, Jind, Jhajjar, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Mahendragarh at Narnaul, Sirsa, Sonepat, Mewat at Nuh and Palwal districts.

He said as many as 63,98,342 voters of 13 districts would exercise their right of franchise to elect 244 members of zila parishads, 1,792 members of panchayat samitis, 38,596 panches and 3,971 sarpanches.

The interested candidate could file their nominations on May 22 and 24 and the date of scrutiny would be May 25. He said the counting for elections to panches and sarpanches would be held immediately after the close of the poll and for panchayat samiti and zila parishad on June 14.

The election of the seats of sarpanches would be conducted by the use of EVMs. The nomination can be made from May 22 to 24, excluding Sunday, while the date by which information would be furnished by the candidate that he or she was not suffering from any disqualification in the format prescribed, to the Returning Officer (Panchayat) had been fixed as May 25.

Nomination papers would be scrutinised on May 25 and the date of withdrawal would be May 27.

He said in the first phase, elections would be held at Saha, Barara, Shahzadpur blocks of Ambala, Bhiwani, Bawani Khera, Badhra, Dadri-1, Behal of Bhiwani, Ratia, Tohana, Jakhal of Fatehabad, Jind, Safidon, Narwana of Jind, Matenhail, Sahlawas, Beri of Jhajjar, Guhla, Siwan, Kaithal of Kaithal, Thanesar, Pehowa of Kurukshetra, Mahendragarh, Kanina of Mahendragarh at Narnaul, Dabwali, Baragudha, Odhan, Sirsa of Sirsa, Ganaur, Gohana, Mundlana, Kathura of Sonepat, Nagina, Punhana, Ferozpur Jhirka of Mewat at Nuh, Hodel, Hathin of Palwal and Faridabad, Ballabhgarh of Faridabad.

In the second phase, the elections would be held at Ambala-I, Ambala-II, Naraingarh of Ambala, Loharu, Kairu, Tosham, Dadri-II, Siwani of Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Bhattu Kalan, Bhuna of Fatehabad, Pilukhera, Alewa, Julana, Uchana of Jind, Jhajjar, Bahadurgarh of Jhajjar, Pundri, Rajound, Kalayat of Kaithal, Babain, Shahbad, Ladwa of Kurukshetra, Nangal Chaudhary, Ateli, Narnaul of Mahendragarh at Narnaul, Ellenabad, Rania, Nathusari Chopta of Sirsa, Sonepat, Rai, Kharkhoda of Sonepat, Taoru, Nuh of Mewat at Nuh and Hassanpur and Palwal blocks of Palwal.

He said a control room had been set up at the office of the State Election Commission. The telephone number of the control room is 2585904 and fax number is 2584810. 

Gurgaon, May 15
The Gurgaon police has busted an interstate gang of criminals allegedly involved in about 22 cases of robbery, vehicle-theft and snatching. Five members of the gang were today produced before a local court, which remanded them in police custody for two days.

This was stated by Gurgaon Police Commissioner Surjeet Singh Deswal at a press conference organised at his office here today.

Deswal, who was flanked by Joint Commissioner of Police Alok Mittal and DCP (Crime) Anil Kumar Dhawan, said the police had arrested five members of the gang - Narender Singh of Begumpur Khatola village, Satender Kumar, alias Kale, of Islampur, Vijender, alias Sonu, of Dhankot, Vijender Singh of Kherki Majra and Nauratan, alias Kapil, of Vidya Nagar, Bhiwani.

He said: “All arrested youths are in their 20s and had been involved in 22 criminal cases pertaining to Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.

“Vijender Singh is on bail in a rape case, while Narender is on bail in a case of theft of vehicles,” he said, adding that search was on for the other members of the gang.

A country-made revolver, a pistol, two iron rods, a torch and a motorcycle have been seized from their possession.

AMBALA: The Special Task Force of the Ambala range has arrested an interstate gangster Arjun Lal and two of his accomplices from Kurukshetra late yesterday evening. Arjun hails from Hoshiarpur and at present he was residing in Rohtak.

The STF team nabbed the gangsters on a tip off. The other arrested members of the gang are Satish, alias Fouji, and Vishal.

KK Sidhu, IG, Ambala range, while talking to mediapersons said today that three pistols, 40 cartridges, 5 cars and a few number plates bearing fake registration numbers were also recovered from their possession. He said the gangsters were found involved in around 200 thefts in Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Kaithal, Karnal, Panipat, Solan, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Sangrur and Mohali.

He said Arjun had been operating the gang from Rohtak these days, adding that he had also visited Singapore and Malaysia.