Gurgaon, December 16
In order to ensure the safety and security of women working in the BPO sector, Haryana ADGP-cum-Gurgaon Police Commissioner SS Deswal has sent some guidelines to BPO companies, transporters and security agencies.

Deswal has directed the BPOs to keep a dedicated command centre or control room with an emergency telephone number operational round the clock at which the employees can call in case of any untoward incident.

As per the guidelines, a dedicated emergency cab should also be deployed round the clock, which can be used in case of an emergency. The company management should tell the transporter/security agency to ensure that the antecedents of all drivers/security guards have been verified.

The drivers and guards should have proper identity cards, the guidelines maintain, adding that the drivers should be asked to pick women employees from their doorstep and wait till they have safely entered their house.

“The security guards must accompany the women employees to their house in case the cab cannot reach their residence,” the Police Commissioner said and added that the transporter and the BPOs should ensure that the cabs do not have black films or tinted glasses.

The company should inform the employee about the vehicle number, name of the driver and security guard in the vehicle.

A team for conducting surprise check should also be constituted to ensure that security measures were being adhered to.

The guidelines maintain that in case of non-compliance, a clause of heavy fine should be there in the contract with the transporter and the security agencies.

They further state that the employer should maintain a complaint mechanism, including a complaint committee headed by a woman and comprising women members in equal strength.

Besides, the women employees should be employed only in batches, of not less than 10 or two-thirds of the total night shift’s strength.

A sticker bearing the name and telephone number(s) of the employer should be prominently displayed on the cabs. Asking the companies to maintain a database of all its employees, the Police Commissioner asserted that the police should have access to the database at any time. 

Bhiwani, December 16
A land dispute in Loharu has taken a political hue as the land belongs to a brother of a former MLA.

Dharmbir, a resident of Loharu, met the Scheduled Caste and Tribes Commission Chairman, Dr PL Punia yesterday, claiming ownership of a part of land owned by Om Prakash, ex-MLA Sombir Singh’s brother. Dharmbir Singh produced some papers before Dr Punia.

Some residents burnt an effigy of Sombir Singh, a son-in-law of the late Chief Minister Bansi Lal, yesterday. However, a group met Dr Punia in support of Om Prakash, showing him documents related to the land. They said 816 sq yard land, claimed by Dharmbir Singh as his, was registered in the name of Dilbhari, wife of Om Prakash, and had been purchased from Satynarain Gupta on October 19, 2005, on the basis of jamabandi.

Talking to The Tribune, Sombir Singh, said after buying the land, it was registered for 1 kanal 7 marlas on November 18, 2005. He alleged that Dharmbir Singh had fraudulently got 411 sq yards registered in his name in 2006.

He said his brother had raised a boundary wall around the land in 2005 and given a shop constructed on the land on rent while another shop was in possession of Dharmbir.

He alleged that Dharmbir got registered 411 sq yards in the name of his wife and took a loan of Rs 7.50 lakh from Punjab National Bank against the land registry.

When questioned by Om Prakash, Dharmbir filed a case for possession of the land in the Loharu court on December 3, 2010. The court appointed a local commission to inspect the land under dispute. On December 15, 2010, the court of Rajni Yadav rejected the application of Dharmbir and granted stay to Om Prakash on the sale of the land till a decision in the case.

Sombir Singh alleged that some political leaders wanted to tarnish his image and were using Dharmbir in their gameplan. 

Sirsa, December 16
The Communist Party of India, the Haryana Kisan Sangh and the Haryana Khet Mazdoor Sangh today organised a joint demonstration against the hike in petrol prices and on several other issues.

Activists of the three organisations reached the mini-secretariat in a procession and submitted a memorandum to the authorities.

The organisations, while condemning the hike in the prices of petrol, warned the government against any such decision on diesel.

Swaran Singh Virk, state committee member of the CPI, alleged that the UPA government at the Centre did not have any concern for the common people and the prices of petrol, which were already very dear, had been raised again.

Jai Chand Saharani, district secretary of the CPI, alleged that urea had become a scarce commodity at a time when farmers needed it the most.

The Left organisations also drew the attention of the authorities towards the plight of members of a poor family at Bachher village, who they alleged, had been thrown out of their house made on panchayat land.

Virk maintained that the family of Shokin Nath possessed the ration card, BPL card and electricity connection and yet the family had been thrown out of their house in an inhuman manner.

Chandigarh, December 16
Too many cooks spoil the broth and that's precisely what happened at the unveiling of the three-day cultural extravaganza at the fifth Pinjore Heritage Festival which begins at the Yadavindra Gardens tomorrow.

At a press conference, Tourism Minister OP Jain set the ball rolling by providing a quick rundown on the itinerary, announcing that the festival would be inaugurated by Union Minister of Tourism Selja. Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia would be the chief guest on the closing day, he said. He asked Managing Director SN Roy to furnish details of the entire programme.

While Roy was giving out details of the cultural evening, Dr SK Punia, cultural coordinator, butted in to explain the artistes’ claim to fame.

When asked if Haryana was thinking on the lines of Himachal Pradesh and considering an ambassador for “Brand Haryana”, the minister said the matter would be considered.

To a question as to why Haryana’s culture had been given a miss in the entire programme, Roy attempted an explanation but was interrupted by Punia once again.The latter explained that the gardens were reminiscent of the times of the Mughal emperors which was why the emphasis at the festival was on qawwalis and ghazals.

Feeling completely left out, the Principal Secretary, Tourism, Maha Singh, took this as an opportunity to explain that the officers were “missing” an important point. “We are having various cultural programmes but, yes, this is a good suggestion,” he said. All this while, Jain just sat back as all three officers spoke of different things at the same time.

The “show” went on as a competition in one-upmanship among the officers.

Later, a poster of the heritage festival was unveiled. Roy said Sufi legend Zila Khan would perform on day one and a qawwali contest between Ustad Yusuf Aazad and Baby Naaz would be held on day two, followed by Sham-e-Ghazal by Jaipur gharana Ustad Ahmed Hussain and Ustad Mohmmed Hussain.

Various contests including rangoli and painting, a crafts bazaar and a food court would be the highlights of the festival. 

Karnal/Kurukshetra, December 16
Rich tributes were paid to martyrs of the 1971 Indo-Pak war on Vijay Diwas today. Functions were held to remember the heroes of the 1971 war that led to formation of Bangladesh.

Saluting the martyrs for their sacrifices, Karnal DC Neelam Pradeep Kasni called for rooting out social evils like dowry, female foeticide and casteism. She also urged people to check environment pollution, especially noise pollution in cities.

Brig (Retd) NK Bhandari and Col DS Gupta gave an exhaustive account of the 1971 war. Earlier, the DC paid floral tributes to the martyrs at Shaheedi Smarak and honoured the war widows. In Kurukshetra, ADC Sumidha Kataria recalled the sacrifices made by the country’s brave soldiers.

She said 2,473 soldiers were killed and 6,661 injured in the war. She gave away sewing machines and shawls to the war widows.

Sonepat: Tributes were paid to 30 Army personnel from the district who sacrificed their lives during the 1971 Indo-Pak war at a Shaheedi Diwas function organised by the Zila Sainik Board in Shaheed Park here. A large number of ex-Army personnel from the district paid tributes to the martyrs.

Kaithal: A function was held at the local mini secretariat here in which tributes were paid to jawans and officials of the Army. BB Kaushik, ADC, presided over the function.

Chandigarh, December 16
The Haryana government has decided to set up Kisan Model Schools in five districts from the next academic session. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here today.

To begin with, the schools would be opened in Jind, Yamunanagar, Mahendragarh, Karnal and Jhajjar districts for quality education to students in rural areas. Children of farmers in villages would alone be eligible for admission to these schools. The schools would have secondary and senior secondary wings.

Admission to such schools would be from Class IX onwards. Also, a Teachers Training Institute with a hostel would be set up at Jhajjar where training would be provided to at least 100 teachers. 

Chandigarh, December 16
Eleven years after an advertisement appeared for filling 67 posts of the HCS (Executive Branch) and Allied Services, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked Delhi High Court’s former Chief Justice AP Shah to look into the allegations, including those of favouritism, corruption and nepotism.

Haryana’s former MLA Karan Singh Dalal, and two candidates, had initially brought the matter to the High Court’s notice through Haryana’s former Advocate-General Mohan Jain, now the Additional Solicitor-General of India in Delhi.

So far, the probe into the selections carried out in 2001, 2003 and 2004 has placed the examiners in the dock. The probe has found that “the examiners re-checked the answer sheets on their own, whereas there are no such rules”. The forensic report, too, has indicated irregularities in the checking of the answer sheets.

Taking up a bunch of petitions, including the one filed by Dalal in public interest, the Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ajay Tewari asserted: “We are of the view that the inquiry should be referred to a retired Judge, who would be entitled to take the assistance of any examination expert, for instance from a university or the UGC or any other body.

“Having given our anxious thought to the matter, we request Justice AP Shah, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, to go into the allegations, the inspection reports and the objections, and to give his considered opinion as to whether the allegations levelled in the writ petitions are made out regarding favoritism, nepotism and corruption…

“We request Justice Shah to submit his report on or before April 30, 2011. These petitions be listed before the Bench on May 4, 2011”.

Dealing with the issue of locus standi, the Bench in the detailed order asserted: “As regards the arguments that interference by courts in service matters by way of PILs is barred, suffice it is to state that we have before us also the petitions filed by unsuccessful candidates, at whose instance these writ petitions are definitely maintainable.

Faridabad, December 16
The police has registered a rape case against a Haryana Roadways conductor on the complaint of a native of Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.

The victim worked in a private firm and would often travel by bus from Ballabgarh to Dharamsala. She came in touch with the conductor who worked on the same route.

He wooed her, took her to Haridwar and married her.They stayed in a hotel in Haridwar. Later, the conductor arranged for a rented accommodation and vanished. He also refused to take the complainant’s phone calls.

The police has told the Haryana Roadways about the registration of the case against its employee, but is awaiting a response

Search parties are, meanwhile, looking for the conductor, said sources.