H A R Y A N A   E D I T I O N

Notices issued to two managers
Sirsa, July 29
A blame game has begun between the district authorities and the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation over pinning responsibility for the loss of 1,70,000 bags of wheat costing Rs 11 crore in floods in a storehouse at Bani village in Sirsa, even as the corporation has served show-cause notices to its two managers.

Top forest officer gets jail for defamation
Chandigarh, July 29
A Bhiwani court today sentenced a senior officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) of the Haryana cadre to three months’ simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 for defaming a colleague.

Slapping foreigner costs cop dear
Chandigarh, July 29
Cine star Aamir Khan’s “atithi devo bhavah” message flashed every now and then on the small screen apparently failed to impress a Haryana cop. Without any reason, constable Sushil Kumar slapped a foreigner from Myanmar - an action he had to pay dearly for.

Manoj-Babli Case
Warrants against key witness
Karnal, July 29
Bailable warrants have been issued against Kuldeep, a key witness in the Manoj-Babli honour killing case, who had turned hostile during the trial, as he failed to appear in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Vani Gopal Sharma.

10 villages in dark ages
No power, no drinking water, no road
Yamunanagar, July 29
Ag ricultural land in 14 villages of Bilaspur, Chhachhrauli and Mustafabad continue to be submerged in floodwaters. It it will take at least two days for the waters to recede in the absence of any arrangement to drain out the water.

Likely, schools with sensory park
Chandigarh, July 29
If the Haryana School Education Department has its way, one government school in every district could soon have a sensory park of its own, especially landscaped to cater to children suffering from multiple disabilities.

KU under HC scanner over quota
Chandigarh, July 29
Kurukshetra University’s decision to include Haryana in all-India category for admission to five-year law course has come under the Punjab and Haryana High Court scanner.

Soon, colleges may be re-affiliated
Hisar, July 29
Guru Jambheshwar University (GJU) here is likely to be an affiliating university soon with the government proposing to affiliate colleges from Hisar, Bhiwani, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts to it in the near future.

Examiners held hostage by college authorities
Fatehabad, July 29
In a queer incident, two teachers of a local college, who went to a private college of education at Kharakheri village as examiners to conduct practicals, were allegedly held hostage by the college authorities.

‘Harassed’, cop commits suicide
Jind, July 29
A constable of the Haryana police, posted at the CIA police station in Sirsa district, committed suicide by taking poison at his home in Kharainti village in the district last night. He had been sent to Fatehabad in connection with some official work from where he came to his village yesterday.

3 kids killed in accident
Sonepat, July 29
Three children were killed and three others seriously injured when the car they were travelling in reportedly collided with a wheat husk-loaded tractor-trailer parked on the GT road near Murthal last night.

Officers shifted
Chandigarh, July 29
The government has issued transfer and posting orders of one IAS, three IPS and one HPS officer with immediate effect. Shashi Bala Gulati, awaiting posting orders, has been posted as Director-General, Technical Education, against a newly created post.

14 pc DA hike for pensioners
Chandigarh, July 29
The Haryana government will release another instalment of dearness relief to pensioners and family pensioners at the rate of 14 per cent with effect from January 1, 2010.

Notices issued to two managers
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

Sirsa, July 29
A blame game has begun between the district authorities and the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation over pinning responsibility for the loss of 1,70,000 bags of wheat costing Rs 11 crore in floods in a storehouse at Bani village in Sirsa, even as the corporation has served show-cause notices to its two managers.

Sources in the district authorities, pleading anonymity, said a patwari of the revenue department had warned corporation officials at Bani first on July 13 and again on July 14, on the possiblility of floods.

However, the corporation officials, the sources claimed, demanded this in writing, with the rider that the district authorities would be responsible for the transportation charges incurred to move the foodgrain to a safer place.

A senior officer of the revenue department called a manager of the corporation, asking him to lift the wheat bags. The authorities made a public announcement in Bani on July 14, asking people to evacuate, the sources maintained.

All villagers located in the vicinity of the corporation storehouse left with their belongings well in time before the floodwater reached the village on July 17, but for the corporation officials.

The officials panicked once the waters crossed Kariwala and began flowing towards Bani on July 16. By then it was too late.

Confirming the issuance of show-cause notices to district manager ML Verma, and manager RS Yadav, the Managing Director of the corporation, Krishan Kumar, said it was an error to blame his subordinates for the loss.

“Though the corporation has issued notices to its managers, the fact is none could have shifted 8,500 tonnes of wheat in two days. “Even if they had sufficient number of labourers and vehicles at their disposal, my officials could not have shifted more than 1,000 to 1,200 tonnes of wheat in two days,” he maintained.

The District Manager refuted allegations that the authorities had warned them of the floods in time.

He claimed that he received a warning on July 16 and started shifting of foodgrain and fortification of the storehouse thereafter. Verma claimed he was able to shift 216 tonnes of wheat in one day.

Bani village was inundated following a breach on the right bank of the Ghaggar river on July 14.

The wheat stocks there have been under 10ft of water.

“We had warned both the Haryana Warehouse Corporation as well as Confed.

“While the latter managed to shift its goods in time, the corporation did not do so,” CG Rajini Kaanthan, DC had alleged.

Krishan Kumar, had subsequently camped in Sirsa and refuted the allegations.

Like Punjab, Haryana has been stacking huge quantities of wheat and paddy on the plinths in the open.

In Ambala, as many as 500 bags of wheat were damaged in the FCI godown at Moonakpur.

Top forest officer gets jail for defamation
Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 29
A Bhiwani court today sentenced a senior officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) of the Haryana cadre to three months’ simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 for defaming a colleague.

Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Bhiwani, Hemant Yadav had held KL Manhas, Managing Director of the Haryana Forests Development Corporation, guilty under Section 500 (defamation), of the IPC, on July 27. The judge had fixed July 29 for pronouncement of quantum of punishment.

Kuldip Singh, advocate for Manhas, argued that since the accused was a Class-I officer and had never been convicted earlier, he was entitled to probation. On the other hand, RK Gugnani, advocate for the complainant, sought severe punishment for Manhas on the ground that since he was an educated person, he could not plead ignorance.

After hearing both sides, the judge held that the status of the accused could not be a factor while deciding the quantum of sentence. Moreover, he said, as an educated person the accused was well aware of the consequences of his act. Therefore, he could not be given the benefit of probation.

Manhas, who was present in the court when the judge announced the sentence, was later granted bail.

Sukhdev Bhatia, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bhiwani, who has since retired, had filed a complaint under Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC against Manhas, alleging that the latter had used derogatory language against him in various official letters, which were not confidential. These letters got circulated in his department, thus lowering his dignity in the eyes of his colleagues.

Manhas, however, denied the allegations. His counsel took the plea that the Bhiwani court had no jurisdiction to try the case.

Kuldip Singh also contended that the complaint against his client lacked government sanction because the letters written by Manhas were in his official capacity. Moreover, the present case was covered under exceptions II, VIII and IX of Section 499 of the IPC.

Witnesses produced by the complainant testified that Manhas had described Bhatia as “Mungphali Wala” in certain official communications. Citing various judgements of the superior courts, the judge turned down the objections of the defence as regard of jurisdiction and absence of government sanction.

Manhas was shifted from the post of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Haryana, early this year after a criminal case was registered against him in Panchkula.

Slapping foreigner costs cop dear
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 29
Cine star Aamir Khan’s “atithi devo bhavah” message flashed every now and then on the small screen apparently failed to impress a Haryana cop. Without any reason, constable Sushil Kumar slapped a foreigner from Myanmar - an action he had to pay dearly for.

His increment was stopped with cumulative effect, an order the Punjab and Haryana High Court has now upheld.

Taking up Sushil Kumar’s petition against the State of Haryana and other respondents, Justice Ranjit Singh observed: “The petitioner, who is a constable, was accused of slapping a foreigner, Maung Maung Kyi of Myanmar, without any reason.

“The petitioner was accompanying ASI Balbir Singh, when they both found a Qualis jeep trapped in an iron barricade fixed to prevent heavy vehicles’ entry. Five foreigners were standing, while the driver of the vehicle was unloading suitcases from the roof of the Qualis.

The petitioner at that stage is accused of having slapped the foreigner named above.

“On the basis of a complaint made by the ASI, the petitioner was proceeded against and ultimately penalised with the stoppage of one increment with cumulative effect. His appeal was rejected and hence has filed the present writ petition before this court.”

As the matter came up, counsel for the petitioner submitted that ASI Balbir Singh had, in fact, misbehaved with the foreigner and to save himself involved the petitioner in this case. The Judge observed: “The petitioner got an opportunity to prove his innocence before the inquiry officer. Merely because the complainant was not interested in pursuing the complaint would not be a reason to ignore the misconduct committed by the petitioner at a public place.”

Dismissing the petition, the Judge asserted: “The petitioner is a public servant and a police officer. He cannot be expected to behave in such a manner with a person, who in this case happens to be a foreigner. No case for interference on re-appreciation of evidence is made out. Otherwise, no infirmity in the inquiry is pointed out, which would call for interference.”

Manoj-Babli Case
Warrants against key witness
Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 29
Bailable warrants have been issued against Kuldeep, a key witness in the Manoj-Babli honour killing case, who had turned hostile during the trial, as he failed to appear in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Vani Gopal Sharma.

Kuldeep was the caretaker at a toll plaza and had seen the couple being violently bundled into a Scorpio on June 15, 2007, and later even verified the photos of Manoj and Babli shown by Manoj’s brother Narender.

The information given by him was corroborated by sufficient evidence during the investigations and the culprits were punished. However, Kuldeep’s role came under the scanner.

While pronouncing the judgment in the Manoj-Babli honour killing case on March 30, 2010, Vani Gopal Sharma awarded the death sentence to five convicts and life imprisonment to another and took strong notice of the “false” statement given by Kuldeep Singh in court.

The Additional Sessions Judge asked the police to proceed against Kuldeep for giving false evidence and he was directed to appear in the court on April 10 but he failed to do so. He was summoned twice to appear in the case and finally bailable warrants were issued against him.

The court asked the police to execute the bailable warrants and produce him in the court during the next hearing on August 16.

10 villages in dark ages
No power, no drinking water, no road
Kiran Deep
Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, July 29
Agricultural land in 14 villages of Bilaspur, Chhachhrauli and Mustafabad continue to be submerged in floodwaters. It it will take at least two days for the waters to recede in the absence of any arrangement to drain out the water.

The total number of affected villages has now risen to 78 with nine more villages in Jagadhri subdivision under water. At least 12 cases of diarrhoea were reported from the flood-affected villages in the district today.

The district administration says crops in 18,000 acres has suffered damage. Compensation to farmers would be given by August 15 after assessing the loss.

As many as 171 houses have been damaged in the floods. It will take at least a week before life is back on the track in the affected villagers if there is no more rainfall.

Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sangwan today visited Rajpur, Gorabani and Nagli-32 to inspect the damage there. He directed the officials to taken action against those found involved in illegal mining that had resulted in breaches and consequently the floods.

The DC announced a compensation of Rs 25,000 to those whose houses had collapsed in the floods, Rs 45,000 to each BPL family and Rs 50,000 to weach SC family. In all, five breaches occurred in seasonal rivulets on July 25. Irrigation officials said it will take at least a week to plug the breaches in the two seasonal rivulets of Som and Pathrala.

The 10 villages in the Bilaspur subdivision, including Gorawani and Nagli, are still facing a power blackout and shortage of safe drinking water. The damaged link roads in Bhamnauli and Udamgarh are yet to be repaired.

“The power and water supply will be restored in all affected villages from tomorrow. We have undertaken the maintenance of most of the damaged link roads. All the work will be completed by tomorrow,” the DC claimed.

Likely, schools with sensory park
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 29
If the Haryana School Education Department has its way, one government school in every district could soon have a sensory park of its own, especially landscaped to cater to children suffering from multiple disabilities.

Essentially an “imported” concept, the idea is to promote learning among children with disability through these inclusive parks which, unlike gardens offering visual appeal, are designed to stimulate all five senses. A self-contained area providing a wide range of sensory experiences, it is a valuable resource for a wide range of uses from education to recreation.

The department has prepared a proposal to submit to the Government of India under the latter’s Integrated Education for the Disabled (IED) scheme and is hopeful that this first-of-its-kind project will get the go-ahead. The first meeting is slated to be held in the first week of August.

Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, School Education, Surina Rajan said if approved, the entire funding for the project would be borne by the Central Government.

“The concept of inclusive parks helps develop cognitive understanding in children with disabilities by employing nature as a tool of learning. So, while learning can be made more enjoyable for children with disabilities by teaching them outside classrooms, these can similarly benefit other students as well,” she said.

If the project comes through, under the IED scheme one sensory park, designed to promote interactivity, will be set up in every district.

With an enriching overall landscape, these gardens include sites that are relatively diverse and easily accessible and designs where the whole ethos is to encourage users to explore, touch, pick and crush plants or interact with objects.

“To maximise the value of certain experiences, unusual design approaches may be required. Trees may be deliberately planted near to a path so that the bark can be felt rather than setting it back or slopes or other features could be provided to test or stretch mobility skills. There may be a deliberate policy to retain lower tree branches to enable children to balance and climb them and to prune shrubs and trees into interesting shapes,” the officer said while explaining the concept.

Historically, many sensory gardens were focused on people with visual impairment. However, over time, the concept has diversified to include everybody from a physically challenged person to those who are mentally challenged.

KU under HC scanner over quota

Chandigarh, July 29
Kurukshetra University’s decision to include Haryana in all-India category for admission to five-year law course has come under the Punjab and Haryana High Court scanner.

In a petition placed before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ajay Tewari, city-based Shiva Khurmi has sought directions for quashing “including Haryana”, as there is “separate 85 per cent reservation for bona fide residents of Haryana only”.

This inclusion was “illegal, arbitrary, malafide and discriminatory,” and “against the principles enshrined in the Constitution,” Khurmi added.

The Bench issued notice of motion to the university and other respondents for September 1. Shiva, going into the background, contended the last date for submission of admission forms for LLB (five-year) degree course was June 16.

In the entrance test held on June 25, the petitioner ranked 34 in the overall list and fourth in the all-India category. On July 19, he appeared for counselling, but was neither considered under the Haryana general category. — TNS

Soon, colleges may be re-affiliated

Hisar, July 29
Guru Jambheshwar University (GJU) here is likely to be an affiliating university soon with the government proposing to affiliate colleges from Hisar, Bhiwani, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts to it in the near future.

Vice-Chancellor ML Ranga said here yesterday that the proposal was under the consideration of the government. He said the issue was taken up at a meeting between Vice-Chancellors and senior government officials held recently.

He said these colleges would be affiliated from the “first-year classes” so that the students received their degrees from a single university after three years.

The VC said 70 more teachers were likely to be inducted into the faculty soon to take the number of teachers to 200. The university had 450 employees at present. He said the admission criteria for the MBA course would be changed suitably from the next year as the CAT system did not attract adequate number of students. He said the university proposed to issue a fresh admission notice to attract more students. — TNS

Examiners held hostage by college authorities
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

Fatehabad, July 29
In a queer incident, two teachers of a local college, who went to a private college of education at Kharakheri village as examiners to conduct practicals, were allegedly held hostage by the college authorities.

The college authorities allegedly wanted the examiners to give marks to their students as per their liking.

Mamata Chaudhary, Principal of the Mamohar Memorial College of Education, Fatehabad, whose teachers were held hostage, said a complaint had been lodged with the university.

She alleged that when two teachers of her college reached Het Ram College of Education, Kharakheri, for conducting practical examination, they were introduced with two more teachers, who the college authorities claimed, had been appointed by Kurukshetra University to conduct practical examination with them.

“However, when my teachers started writing scores of students, the college authorities at Kharakheri insisted on giving marks as per their wish,” she alleged, adding that when her teachers wanted to come back on her instructions, they were held as hostage.

Chaudhary alleged that later it was found that the two teachers present in the college were in fact imposters and they escaped as soon as the police came. The matter took a new turn, when the college authorities alleged before the police that the examiners had demanded money from their students to give better scores. However, Hawa Singh, manager of Kharakheri college said the issue had been resolved.

He said the college authorities had no issue with the examiners, but there was some dispute between students and the examiners.

YP Goswami, Controller of Examination of Kurukshetra University, confirmed that he had received a complaint from the examiners appointed by the university and their principal.

‘Harassed’, cop commits suicide
Tribune News Service

Jind, July 29
A constable of the Haryana police, posted at the CIA police station in Sirsa district, committed suicide by taking poison at his home in Kharainti village in the district last night. He had been sent to Fatehabad in connection with some official work from where he came to his village yesterday.

The cop, Ramesh Kumar, took celphos tablets after which he was taken to the PGIMS, Rohtak, where he died.

In his suicide note, he alleged that he he was being harassed by his seniors, including the in charge of the wing and a clerk in the office.

The suicide note, which does not bear either his signatures or date, states that he had got fed up with the harassment. Though no one has been booked so far in this connection, the police has started investigation into the case.

3 kids killed in accident
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, July 29
Three children were killed and three others seriously injured when the car they were travelling in reportedly collided with a wheat husk-loaded tractor-trailer parked on the GT road near Murthal last night.

The deceased have been identified as Golu (10), Nonu (6) and Rajji (13) of Rajpura in Patiala district of Punjab.

The injured - Ranjit Singh Khatri, his wife Satnam Kaur and his niece Noni - were brought to the Civil Hospital here, but the doctors referred them to the PGIMS, Rohtak.

The incident took place when Ranjit Singh with his wife Satnam Kaur, children Golu, Nonu and Noni and niece Rajji were on the way to Delhi from Rajpura.

Golu and Nonu died on the spot while Rajji succumbed to her injuries at the PGIMS, Rohtak.

Officers shifted

Chandigarh, July 29
The government has issued transfer and posting orders of one IAS, three IPS and one HPS officer with immediate effect. Shashi Bala Gulati, awaiting posting orders, has been posted as Director-General, Technical Education, against a newly created post.

Among the IPS officers, Balbir Singh has been posted as IGP, Crime-II, Panchkula, and Partap Singh Ranga as DIG, Regional Training Centre (RTC), Bhondsi, and Hemant Kalson as AIG/Welfare. HPS officer Devender Yadav has been posted as ASP, Ambala. — TNS

14 pc DA hike for pensioners

Chandigarh, July 29
The Haryana government will release another instalment of dearness relief to pensioners and family pensioners at the rate of 14 per cent with effect from January 1, 2010.

Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav said in a press note that with the grant of this additional instalment, the dearness relief of pensioners and family pensioners had increased from 73 to 87 per cent.

The total liability on account of this instalment of dearness relief would be Rs 128.80 crore from January 2010 to February 2011, he added. — PTI