Kurukshetra, September 4
The Kurukshetra Police today booked INLD Ellenabad MLA Abhey Chautala and 38 others for violence at the venue of election for the Kurukshetra Zila Parishad chairperson.

INLD and Congress workers came to blows outside the election venue, the Panchayat Bhawan here. Leaders of both parties got agitated when they were told that the poll had been deferred to September 6 as the returning officer had gone on leave. INLD workers started raising ant-government slogans and raised the pitch as soon as state INLD president Ashok Arora, Sher Singh Badshami, Abhey Chautala and others reached the venue.

Soon, Congress workers started raising pro-government slogans after the arrival of Shabad MLA Anil Dhantori, Kurukshetra District Congress president Jai Bhagwan Sharma and some other leaders and.

The situation turned tense and some INLD workers allegedly assaulted the Congress leaders. Jai Bhawan Sharma alleged that he himself heard Abhey Chautala instigate INLD workers to beat up Congressmen. He said that some INLD workers also tore his clothes.

Though police personnel were present at the spot, they did not intervene since INLD workers outnumbered them. Later, cases were registered against Abhey Chautala and 38 persons, including INLD leaders and workers, on the complaint of Congress leaders and they were booked under Section 120B, 506 and 323 of the IPC for conspiracy, criminal intimidation and causing hurt.

Kurukshetra SP Sultan Singh confirmed that Abhey Chautala and other INLD leaders had been booked. No arrests have been made so far.

Hisar, September 4
The result of the poll for president and vice-president of the Zila Parishad held here today proved to be a mixed bag for both the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal-led Sanjha Morcha. While the Congress bagged the post of president, the INLD-led combine managed to win the vice-president’s post.

Rajinder Sura of the Congress defeated Manju of the Sanjha Morcha by a margin of six votes. He bagged 17 of the 28 votes. Manju is originally from the INLD but was backed by members owing allegiance to other parties also.

On the other hand, Siddharth Godara won the post of vice-president securing 15 votes against 13 polled by Veermati of the Congress. Godara, too, is originally from the INLD.

The result is a setback for the Congress, which had the backing of 17 members in the 28-member House. The names of the Congress candidates were finalised by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Chandigarh yesterday.

The fact that the Congress bagged two votes less for the post of vice-president clearly means that two of its members voted in favour of Godara. 

Jhajjar, September 4
Acting on a tip-off, the district police impounded two trucks loaded with 24 head of cattle on the Jhajjar-Dadri-Toa road here late last night. However, the drivers of the trucks and their accomplices managed to give the police the slip under the cover of darkness.

The animals were allegedly being taken for slaughter in Uttar Pradesh. The police has sent the animals to a local gaushala after registering a case against the drivers of the trucks, who are yet to be identified. The condition of several animals is stated to be critical.

Ajmer Singh, SHO of the Jhajjar Sadar police station, said the police had got a tip-off that animals were being transported in two trucks on the Gurgaon road here.

“The police swung into action and chased the trucks. However, the drivers of the trucks and their accomplices managed to flee the spot after seeing the police,” said the SHO.

Meanwhile, the management of the gaushala has objected to the police act of sending all animals to the gaushala, stating that it was ill-equipped to handle these.

Gaje Singh, president of the gaushala, said there were five gaushalas in the district and the police should send animals to all of these, instead of just burdening one gaushala.

Jind, September 4
A 34-year-old woman of a Jind village killed her two children to elope with her husband’s cousin. The police has arrested the couple and recovered the bodies of the kids.

Kulwanti Devi alias Babli (34), the wife of Dharamvir of Julhera village, was having an affair with another resident of the same village, Ram Mehar (20). They felt that Kulwanti’s two children were a hurdle in their affair and decided to eliminate them, police sources said.

So, Kulwanti left home with her children — five-year-old Satnam and three-year-old Preeti — on August 31. She met Ram Mehar at the Narwana bus stand. From there, they took a bus toward Ambala but stopped at a gurdwara in Khanori village before reaching Ambala. The couple told the police that they had strangulated the children and buried the bodies at an open space near the Ambala railway station on September 1.

Later, they went to Chakuludana village in Kaithal district. However, some residents of the village got suspicious of the couple and informed Kulwanti’s parents at Naiwala village of Sangrur. They reached Chakuludana village and informed the police, which arrested the couple last night.

Kulwanti and Ram Mehar were produced in the local court today and remanded to police custody for three days. The police has registered a case of kidnapping and murder against the two on a complaint from the Sarpanch of Julhera village. The couple was today taken to Ambala to recover the children’s bodies, which were recovered from the fields behind a temple in Ambala City. The police said the postmortem of the bodies would be conducted at the PGI, Rohtak.

Ram Mehar is the cousin of Kulwanti’s husband and also related to her brother-in-law.

Karnal, September 4
In a unique gesture, teachers and students of Prakash Public School celebrated Teacher’s Day here today by contributing to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Leh cloudburst victims.

A skit was presented by tiny tots highlighting the need for inculcating humanism in our lives by helping victims of natural disasters. Director of the school OP Chaudhry handed over a cheque for Rs 15,000 collected by the students and the teachers to a representative of The Tribune.

A cultural programme focusing on contemporary issues was presented by students. Speakers at the function exhorted teachers to help students inculcate moral values and shape the destiny of the nation by making them better and responsible citizens.

Radhey Shyam Sharma, Principal, Government College, Karnal, who was the guest of honour on the occasion, highlighted the importance given to a teacher in the Indian culture and said teachers were respected by students and society.

Principal of the school Sumandeep Thakur thanked the students and the teachers for their humble contribution for the noble cause.

Hisar, September 4
The police today arrested 17 more accused in connection with the violence against Dalits in Mirchpur village, near here, in April.

Four of the accused - Pradeep, Sunil, Dalbir and Manjit - were produced before a magistrate, who remanded them in judicial custody.

Thirteen others, who were arrested late this evening, will be produced in a court tomorrow. They are Rajesh, Kuldeep, Manjit, Rakesh, Pappu, Sandeep, Sanjay, Satyavan, Sandeep, Shila, Naveen, Vinod and Nitin.

With this, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to 101. — TNS