Fatehabad, August 3
Tension gripped Bosti village of this district today after members of the Bishnoi and Dalit communities clashed over a piece of panchayat land late last evening and again this morning.

At least eight injured persons were shifted to government hospitals. A heavy police posse has been deployed in the village and the IG, Hisar Range, AK Dhull, the DC, OP Sheoran, and the SP, JS Lamba, are in the village to defuse the situation. “The situation is under control and both parties have been warned against any change in the status of the panchayat land,” said the DC.

He said the matter would be resolved later through dialogue involving members of both communities.

Lamba said the police had recorded the statements of both parties for registration of criminal cases.

Trouble began when some members of the Bishnoi community erected a fence on a grazing ground belonging to the village panchayat to include it in the property of the temple belonging to the community. Some Dalit youths objected to this. An altercation ensued and the Bishnois allegedly opened fire, injuring three Sandeep, Anil and Krishan. All three received splinter injuries.

Later, Dalit families allegedly attacked a milk dairy owned by a Bishnoi, Vinod. a police team led by a DSP reached the village late last night and called a meeting of the two communities this morning.

While the meeting was on, one Chandra Prakash, husband of a Dalit panch, was brutally beaten up by Bishnois in the presence of the police. Enraged, the Dalits present at the meeting rushed towards the Bishnoi temple, damaged a motorbike parked there and pelted stones. The Bishnois claimed that their 18 members had been injured but the SMO of the General Hospital in Tohana, Joginder Singh, said four members of the community had been hospitalised.

Gurgaon, August 3
All 24 youths of Baghnaki and other villages in the district, who were killed in a road mishap in Uttarkashi on Sunday, were cremated at their native villages today. These youths had gone to bring kanwar from Gomukh, but were killed as their canter fell into a ditch near Uttarkashi.

The funeral pyres of 20 of these youths were lit amidst heartrending scenes at Baghnaki, their native village. A former sarpanch of the village, Ganga Bishan (62), also died today, supposedly due to the deep shock resulting from the massive tragedy that struck the village. He was also cremated along with the youths.

Earlier, the bodies of the youths reached Gurgaon around 10 am. Manesar tehsildar KS Dhaka along with some police officials, who had gone to bring the bodies back, accompanied the vehicle carrying the bodies.

While 20 bodies were sent to Baghnaki, the other four were sent to the native villages of the deceased youths in ambulances.

The bodies of Baghnaki youths were taken to Government Senior Secondary School of the village, where thousands of people had gathered to pay tributes to the departed souls. The deceased youths were in the age group of 17 to 25 years.

The relatives and fellow villagers of the deceased bid tearful adieu to the departed souls as their mortal remains were consigned to the flames.

On behalf of the state government, Minister for Finance, Forest and Environment Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Sohna MLA Dharamvir and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rao Daan Singh attended the cremation and consoled the bereaved families.

The deceased who did not belong to Baghnaki village have been identified as Rakesh, Parmod, Dharambir (driver) and Gobind (cleaner). The rest 20 youths belonged to Baghnaki village and they include Varun, Manoj, Anil, Pawan, Subhash, Jaipal, Anil, Harish, Sachin, Monu, alias Ramparkash, Kuldeep, Sunil, Gajender, Satish, Kapil, Kuldeep, Jagmal, Vinod, Jitender and Madan. 

Panipat, August 3
A team of senior officials of the National Investigating Agency (NIA), which was recently handed over the investigations into the 2007 Samjhauta blasts, has started the probe.

The team comprising DSP-rank officials visited the site where two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) ripped across two bogies of the Samjhauta express train near the Diwana railway station in the district killing 68 persons on February 18, 2007.

Though the officials refused to interact with mediapersons, it was revealed that the team collected certain documents, including the statements recorded by the local police and the government railway protection force (GRPF). The team also interacted with a number of villagers from Siwha and Diwana and sought detailed explanations as to what really had happened on the fateful night. It also held meetings with the officials of the district police and the GRPF personnel to discuss the clues that have so far been revealed in the case.

During the past three years, the GRP had questioned a large number of persons in various parts of the country, but have failed to get any vital leads that could have helped in cracking the case.

Initial investigations had revealed that bombs were set off in two carriages just after the train passed Diwana railway station, near here. As many as 68 persons, mostly Pakistanis, were killed and a large number of them got injured in the incident. The victims also included some Indian civilians and Indian military personnel, who were guarding the train.

During the preliminary investigations, the police had concluded that the bombings were the handiwork of at least four persons. The police had also released sketches of two suspects, who the security forces had said had left the train just 15 minutes before the explosions.

The state police had arrested two persons from Indore, who allegedly sold the suitcases used in the bombings. However, no charges were pressed against them. The police had also interrogated a 25-year-old man, who was arrested in Amritsar, after he jumped off a moving train under suspicious circumstances. The GRP had brought to city one of the top SIMI operatives in the country, Abdul Razzaq, who was believed to have helped in carrying out the blasts. He was brought here on production warrants from Indore.

The name of Pakistani national Asif Kasmani had also cropped up during the investigations in the case when the US had approached the UN to get Pakistani national Asif Kasmani declared an international terrorist for his involvement in the Samjhauta blasts.

The GRP had been looking into the alleged involvement of Colonel Purohit in these blasts. However, the investigations into the blasts had so far not produced anything conclusive.

The NIA will probe the entire conspiracy behind the incident, including the alleged links of Hindu extremist elements with the blasts. It will also look whether the conspirators in Samjhauta blasts had any connection with blasts that took place at Ajmer, Mecca Masjid and Malegaon earlier. 

Chandigarh, August 3
They strutted into the Congress fold with much aplomb and bailed out the Congress struggling to cobble together a majority.

The “merger” of the five Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) MLAs was more than the Congress party could have asked for.

That, however, was 10 months back. Today, these “heroes” who saved the day for the Congress to ensure it reached the halfway mark in a 90-member House, are struggling to save their seat in the House.

In less than a fortnight on August 16, the five MLAs, Rao Narender Singh from Narnaul, Satpal Sanghwan from Dadri, Venod Bhyana from Hansi, Dharam Singh Chhokker from Samalkha and Zile Ram Chochra from Assandh, will get one last chance to file their reply to petitions seeking their disqualification from the House filed by HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi.

In a separate petition filed by the INLD seeking similar action, Speaker, Harmohinder Singh Chatha yesterday fixed August 30 as the last date for filing a reply.

The hearing on the two petitions has to be held separately since these were filed separately. Sources said once the replies of the five MLAs come in, the petitioners will be given the option of replying to the same which will be followed by examining of witnesses, evidence and arguments before a decision is taken. The Congress government retained power in the state after the assembly election in October last year but with 40 seats inits kitty. The HJC legislators changed the fortunes of the Congress overnight by “merging” their breakaway group with the party, taking the Congress share in the House to 45 seats.

Karnal, August 3
Finally, the Kalpana Chawla Memorial Medical College project in Karnal is all set to take off. Work on the project will commence by the end of this month, financial Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary, Health, Rajan Gupta, said today. Gupta, who was here to review the progress of the project, said the necessary formalities for execution of works had been completed. He said no building in the Police Lines and Civil Hospital complex, where the mega project was coming up, would be dismantled.

He also said that all existing buildings would be put to use. The medical college would become functional within two years and the first batch of 50 MBBS students would be admitted for the 2012-13 session.

The medical college would have a 300-bed capacity in the first phase.

The college with 150 medicos on rolls would be fully functional by the start of the academic session 2015-2016 and in order to obtain recognition from Medical Council of India, classes would be held in the four buildings of the Police Lines, Gupta said.

He said the existing buildings of the Civil Hospital would continue to be in use for providing medical and emergency heath services to the people.

Setting up a medical college after the name of city girl Kalpana Chawla had become an emotional issue for local residents who waged a long-drawn struggle to get the demand accepted.

Panipat, August 3
The state government has embarked upon an ambitious project to restore the greenbelt along the NH-1, which had got destroyed while paving way for the six-laning of the National Highway, which is currently underway. Under the new project, the Forest Department will encourage farmers to plant two rows of trees on their land along the highway. In return, farmers will be able to axe these trees every three years for monetary gains.

District forest officer Vasvi Tyagi said the state government was quite keen on maintaining a healthy environment in the region and was concerned about the reduced green cover along the NH-1. She said the Forest Department had been asked to identify vacant lands along the highway where trees could be planted to restore the greenbelt. Though the department had been able to spot some government land along the highway, at certain places there was no vacant space available along the NH1 for planting trees. Therefore, the department was asked to exhort farmers to dedicate some portion of their land for planting two rows of trees.

The forest officials said the department had mooted to plant over 40,000 trees in the district during the current financial year, for which a detailed plan had been prepared. She said the project was already underway in several parts of the district along the NH1- and more than 9,000 trees had already been planted.

Tyagi said the department would plant these trees with the prior consent of farmers. The farmer on whose land the trees would be planted would be entrusted with the responsibility of maintenance of these trees.

Farmers would decide what sort of trees they would want on their land, seeds of which would be provided by the department.

She said every year the department would set a target to plant trees along the NH-1, which would not only help in increasing the green cover in the state, but would also benefit the farmers, who would become a part of this project. Rajbir Singh, a resident of Karhans village, where the project has already been implemented, said the new project had been welcomed by farmers in the area. Sajjan Kumar of Siwah village said the project would not only help in protecting the environment, but would also help them bag some extra cash every three years.

Jhajjar, August 3
Deepender Singh Hooda, Member of Parliament (MP) from Rohtak, said, “The existence of human beings depends upon trees and any further abrasion in the environment may cost dearly to our future generations.”

He addressed a gathering after inaugurating “Plant Trees-Save Future” campaign by planting a sapling in the campus of Government Senior Secondary School at Beri town here recently. Each person must not only plant at least one sapling, but also ensure its survival so as to save the future of our next generation, the MP said. Notably, a target of planting 10 lakh saplings has been set under the campaign.

The MP said youth and schoolchildren should be actively included in the campaign. He also gave his written message for the schoolchildren on this occasion. In his message, he said the campaign of planting saplings was a beginning of a continuous process.

The children must plant a maximum number of saplings and also make sure their survival by providing them with fertiliser and water on time. If the students take keen interest in this campaign, it will not remain restricted only to the Rohtak parliamentary constituency, but will also spread in the whole state and ultimately become the mass campaign of the country, maintained the MP.

He urged people to be environment-friendly, which would ensure bright future for future generations. Referring to the various schemes of the state and the Central governments to promote forestation, the MP said free saplings were provided to people. With the active cooperation of people, the target of planting 10 lakh tree saplings during the campaign would be surpassed, he hoped. 

Jhajjar, August 3
The district health authorities have decided to start evening OPDs at general hospitals in Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh towns from August 5 on the lines of government hospitals in New Delhi.

The decision aims at providing medical services to patients in the evening hours and would help check the rush in morning OPDs. Experts on general medicine and orthopaedics will be available at the Jhajjar Civil Hospital, while specialists on eye diseases, paediatrics, general medicine and orthopaedics will be available at Bahadurgarh. The Jhajjar Civil Surgeon, Dr Bharat Singh Bishnoi, said, “While the morning OPDs will function as usual from 9 am to 2 pm, the evening OPDs will be run between 3 pm and 8 pm with general routine check-up facilities. Medicines prescribed by doctors will be given to patients free of cost at the hospitals.”

He said Jhajjar would become the third district in the state to have the facility. Evening OPDs are already being run in Rohtak and Panchkula.

“Efforts are being made to motivate other specialist doctors to attend evening OPDs. Services of private doctors will also be hired for the purpose if they wish to join the hospital on a part-time bases,” the Civil Surgeon said. 

Chandigarh, August 3
As part of the ongoing judicial reforms aimed at reducing pendency in lower courts, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has appointed three special judicial magistrates in Haryana to try petty criminal cases.

KK Gupta, former HCS officer, has been appointed special judicial magistrate at Kurukshetra; former District Revenue Officer Prithi Singh will be special judicial magistrate, Kaithal, and former Joint Excise and Taxation Commissioner SK Kalra will be special judicial magistrate at Jagadhri.

Their tenure will be for one year, said sources.

Jind, August 3
The All-India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti spearheading the demand for reservation for Jats in central government jobs, has announced it will cordon off the national capital beginning September 13 to protest the holding of Commonwealth Games if the government fails to accept their demand by then.

The samiti held a meeting at the local Jat Dharamshala here today under Yashpal Malik, national president of the body, who said the government remained indifferent to their demand.

He blamed vested political interests for it. Malik said activists of the samiti would ensure that from September 13 all supplies, including eatables, to Delhi were stopped till the games were over.

The community would stage protests and demonstrations against the games.

All entry points to Delhi would be sealed.

The meeting announced various committees and sub-committees for the purpose

Hisar, August 3
A gang of robbers struck again at Kheri Chopta village last night, snatching a sum of Rs 1.21 lakh from a petrol station attendant. This is the second time in a month that the station has been targeted by criminals.

Two youths came to the filling station late in the night. They put a pistol on his forehead and took him to the office, where they forced him to hand them over the cash kept in an almirah.

They then escaped towards Jind. The police, on being informed, barricaded all routes but failed to catch them. Four days earlier two petrol stations were targeted in a similar fashion. There has been a spate of such incidents in the past few weeks.

Following the Barwala incident, oil dealers had met the SP, who had advised them to install CCTV cameras.

The dealers had then decided to keep the stations in remote areas closed from 10 pm to 6 am. 

Sirsa, August 3
Chaudhary Devi Lal University here is facing an “admission crisis” this year as a large number of seats have been left unfilled after the university completed its admission process.

Now, the university has sought fresh applications to fill the vacant seats. Sources in the university said the admission crisis faced by the university this year was unprecedented and the worst in its short history of seven years.

“The faculty of life sciences is among the worst hit, where 28 of the 40 seats are vacant in the MSc course in the Department of Energy and Environmental Sciences. Similarly, the departments of Biotechnology and Food Science & Technology have 15 and 20 seats of 40 each unfilled in their MSc courses,” said a senior teacher of the university.

In the Journalism and Mass Communication Department, 29 of the 60 seats are lying vacant in the MA course, while in the Bachelor of Mass Communication, the university has not yet been able to fill half of the 40 seats.

Thirteen seats have been lying vacant in the five-year integrated law course, where the university has 60 seats.

In the five-year integrated course of MSc in mathematics, the university has been able to fill 16 of the 30 seats, while 14 are still vacant.

The university today sought fresh applications for MSc, economics (five-year integrated course), MBA (five-year integrated course), MCom, MA (public administration) and MA (education), though in some cases the university has increased its intake.

Efforts to contact Vice-Chancellor ML Ranga proved futile. The university has now invited fresh applications for these courses till August 10 and asked the applicants to appear for counselling in the respective departments on August 11. They have been asked to deposit their fees by August 12, according to a notification by the university.