Kalanwali (Sirsa), January 10
A Haryana State Cooperative Supplies and Marketing Federation (HAFED) team led by Karnail Singh Lathar, Additional General Manager (Systems), Panchkula, arrived here today for verification of stocks at the HAFED storehouse in the town.

On January 3, the police had impounded a truck carrying 523 wheat bags bearing the HAFED mark.

Members of the team verified the wheat bags stacked in the storehouse and the empty sacks lying with the HAFED authorities here.

Talking to The Tribune, Lathar said it was a time-consuming task as the storehouse was spread over 25 acres. More than 12 officials of the HAFED were involved in the exercise. He said 8 lakh bags of wheat were stacked in the storehouse “almost half of these under sheds and the rest in the open.”

He said he would be able to reach a conclusion by tomorrow evening.

The police had intercepted the truck on a tipoff that unscrupulous officials of the storehouse were siphoning off wheat bags for sale in the open market.

The HAFED authorities had washed their hands of the issue, claiming that their stocks were in order and the bags in the impounded truck did not belong to the agency. The police, meanwhile, has unloaded the truck and kept the wheat bags in the police station.

An FIR under Sections 420, 409 and 120-B has been registered.

The driver of the impounded truck is yet to be arrested. . He had fled ,abandoning the vehicle, when signalled to halt by the police.

Karnal, January 10
A girl-child born on a moving train has been named Mamata Banerjee, after the Railway Minister.

The girl was delivered on board the Barauni Express train between Kurukshetra and Karnal on Saturday, with a handful of women travelling on coach S-9 volunteering to help in the delivery of the child in the absence of any medical aid on board.

"We have decided to name the child Mamta Banerjee since she was born on the moving train. We are very happy at her birth," Dayanand, father-in-law of Aarti, who was travelling with her on the train, said today. Railway police officials here said Aarti went into labouras the train crossed the town of Kurukshetra. Railway police officials flashed a message to the next station, Karnal, where an ambulance was kept ready to attend to the medical emergency.

However, the child was delivered on board the train itself with the help of women co-passengers. The mother and the infant were then taken in an ambulance to the Karnal Civil Hospital."The mother and child are doing well," said Kiran Bala, a medical attendant at the hospital.

The newborn is Aarti’s third daughter. — IANS

Chandigarh, January 10
The state of Haryana has asked Deputy Commissioners to reimburse loans taken from Red Cross societies for meeting out government expenses, including telephone and electricity bills.

The assertion came during the resumed hearing of a petition filed in public interest by a non-governmental organisation, Resurgence India, for a CBI probe and prosecution of IAS officers allegedly misusing Red Cross funds to the tune of crores.

As the case came up, Undersecretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Ishwar Singh Chauhan told the court that the decision for instructing the DCs to reimburse the amounts was taken at a meeting held on December 12 last.

It was held under the chairmanship of the state Chief Secretary to discuss the interim report by an inquiry committee, comprising Justice AL Bahri and Justice RK Nehru.

The committee on the working of Red Cross societies was constituted by the High Court in March 2009. The High Court heard the state Revenue Department on December 29 and issued instructions to all Deputy Commissioners-cum-presidents of Red Cross societies that the Red Cross society funds should not be used to meet expenses for their camp offices in the future.

The officer added that according to the comments of the state branch of the Indian Red Cross Society, Haryana, Red Cross societies are not getting grant-in-aid for the establishment of the staff, and there is no other source of income to meet the expenditure on projects and the day-to-day functioning of district Red Cross societies.

In view of this, the only source of income is the Haryana Registration Information System project, which, if taken out of its purview, would cause a financial crisis. After hearing the arguments, the Bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Augustine George Masih directed Chandigarh to file its action taken report on the issue.

The Union of India has also been asked to make clear its stand within four weeks. Directions have also been issued to counsel for the petitioner APS Shergill to indicate his response on the subject and inquiry report. Punjab has already submitted its action taken report earlier to the high court.

Chandigarh, January 10
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that leniency cannot be shown towards an employee found guilty during departmental proceedings of accepting bribe, though he may have been acquitted in a criminal case.

The ruling came on a petition by Sardara Ram against the state of Haryana. He was seeking the setting-aside of an order dismissing him from service dated February 9, 2008.

Justice Ranjit Singh asserted that the petitioner was “no more under stigma of conviction for an offence of bribe”, but the issue “under consideration is whether he can be shown any leniency”.

Elaborating, Justice Ranjit Singh said: “The petitioner was found guilty of the allegation made against him in the departmental proceedings for accepting bribe. The allegation proved is for such an offence, which would not call for any leniency.

“Bribe is a menace and is required to be curbed with heavy hand. No case for interference in the quantum of punishment, thus, is made out. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed”.

Going into the background of the case, Justice Ranjit Singh observed: “An FIR was lodged against the petitioner while he was serving as an ASI on July 10, 2007, under the Prevention of Corruption Act. For the same allegation, the petitioner was charge-sheeted and an inquiry was conducted against him.

“It is alleged that the petitioner was caught red-handed while accepting Rs 5,000, which was also recovered from him by the raiding party. The inquiry officer found the charges proved against the petitioner and submitted an inquiry report on December 3, 2007…. On the basis of findings by the inquiry officer, the petitioner was dismissed from service.

“The trial of the petitioner continued simultaneously. On April 2, 2009, the petitioner was acquitted of the criminal charge by giving him benefit of doubt”. Justice Ranjit Singh added: “How the corruption has eaten the very foundation of society will not need any emphasis. The petitioner was caught red-handed while accepting bribe. The offences under the Act can certainly be termed as such offences, which are involving moral turpitude”. 

Chandigarh, January 10
The Gurgaon-Manesar-Bawal region in the state has been identified as an auto hub by the Government of India and the state government has taken several initiatives to give a further boost to this sector.

Industries Minister Mahender Partap Singh said the state would continue to accord priority to the sector in the allotment of developed industrial land for the existing manufacturers to meet their expansion requirements as well as new entrepreneurs.

He said the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation had earlier allotted eight acres of land to the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) at the IMT, Manesar, for setting up an automotive testing laboratory, which was being run by the National Automotive Testing, Research and Development Infrastructure Project (NATRIP).

Another site measuring 46 acres has been allotted at concessional rates at the Industrial Model Township, Manesar. The foundation stone for the facility was laid in June last year. The availability of testing and research and development facility at this centre would facilitate further development of auto and auto components industry in the state.

It was proposed to create a railway siding facility at the IMT, Manesar, for smooth transportation of manufactured goods from out of the IMT area for export and across various destinations in the country.

The automobile manufacturing sector constituted Haryana’s primary strength and the presence of Maruti-Suzuki, Hero-Honda, Honda Motors and Escorts had led to the development of a large number of ancillaries in the sector.

A number of auto and auto component units have already set up base in this hub. Maruti-Suzuki had rolled out its one-millionth car in a year, he added.

The minister said Maruti-Suzuki was developing its testing track and research and development facility at the IMT, Rohtak. Haryana-based units were suppliers to most of these manufacturers, the minister added. 

Sirsa, January 10
Followers of Dera Sacha Sauda today held a demonstration and blocked the Barnala road outside the court complex here for the third day during the court appearance of dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Earlier, the dera followers had held protests on Friday and Saturday, when their chief was in the court for his appearance in connection with criminal cases pending against him.

Apparently, peeved at the trial of criminal cases against the dera chief on a daily basis by the CBI court at Ambala, the dera followers raised slogans against the government and the CBI.

The CBI court has been hearing the cases against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on a daily basis since January 5 and the next date of hearing has been fixed for Wednesday now because of tomorrow’s holiday on account of the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

The dera followers started assembling on the Barnala road outside the court complex much before the arrival of the dera chief at around 1.40 pm.

The followers, a large majority of them women, raised slogans against the government and tried to enter the court complex, where the dera chief presented himself before the CBI court through videoconferencing, by breaking police barricades.

The police had a tough time controlling the irate mob and had to divert the traffic through other routes.

The followers left for their homes after the cavalcade of the dera chief left the court complex at 3.20 pm.

Meanwhile, District Magistrate CG Rajini Kaanthan today promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. An official spokesperson said the orders had been issued in view of the ongoing demonstrations by the dera followers near the court complex.

The DC clarified that these orders would be applicable for Sirsa town and not the entire district.

Sirsa, January 10
The Indian National Lok Dal today resented the registration of criminal cases against their workers, allegedly at the behest of Gobind Kanda, younger brother of Haryana minister Gopal Kanda.

Led by former minister Subhash Goyal, the INLD workers today met SP Satinder Kumar Gupta and showed resentment at the registration of criminal case against eight office-bearers of the INLD and the INSO, the student wing of the party.

The police had booked the INLD and INSO activists - Yogesh Sharma, Raja Kaswan, Ram Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Manoj Kochar, Ravi Malik, Vikas Malik and Ashish Kundu - under Sections 323, 324, 148, 149, 342 and 307 of the IPC on the complaint of Krishan Kumar.

The memorandum said Krishan Kumar was the driver of the Kanda family and Surat Singh Saini, whom the police has shown as eyewitness, was the same person whom the Kandas had shown their witness in a case of brawl the minister had with INLD workers on April 3, 2010.

The party has demanded a thorough probe into the incident and sought annulment of the FIR.

Gobind Kanda, while admitting the fact that Krishan Kumar was his driver, alleged that the accused, who, he alleged, had been forcibly occupying a house in Parkhanwali Gali, had mercilessly beaten up his driver on January 5.

Kanda said his driver was passing through the street when the accused stopped the vehicle and beat up Krishan Kumar by taking him inside the house.

Earlier, Manohar Lal Jain, a confidant of Kanda, had accused Padam Jain, district president of the INLD, of forcibly occupying the house through INSO workers.

He alleged that the owner of the house had died 10 years ago and Jain had been using his influence for illegal possession of the house.

Kaithal, January 10
Transport Minister Om Prakash Jain, while presiding over the monthly meeting of the grievances committee here today, directed the SP, Kaithal, to initiate action against a constable, Veer Bhan, posted at the Pundri police station, following a complaint lodged by a woman, Rekha, of Teontha village in this district. The woman, who appeared before the minister with tears in her eyes, alleged that the constable entered their house and misbehaved with her under the influence of liquor.

SP Simardeep Singh Singh said the matter had been entrusted to the SP, Crime, Madhuban, for inquiry and appropriate action would be taken against the erring cop.

The minister directed officials of the Excise and Taxation Department to take stern action against those selling liquor illegally at Nagal and Gogh villages. Villagers Surjit and Jai Singh had told the minister that a number of persons assembled at a palce where liquor was being sold with impunity, which created problems for passersby, especially women.

Jaswant Singh, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar, complained to the minister that he had applied for financial assistance for the marriage of his daughter under the “Kanyadan scheme” last year but he was yet to receive any monetary help from the government. Jain asked Social Welfare Department officials to take immediate action in this matter and provide monetary help to the complainant. 

Sonepat, January 10
A number of shopkeepers staged a demonstration at Geeta Bhawan Chowk here today in protest against the move of the administration to seal commercial complexes in the town for want of proper sanction of building plans and over four-fold increase in development charges.

Raising slogans against the state government, they also burnt an effigy of the Urban Local Bodies Minister. Later, they marched through the main roads of the town and submitted a memorandum, addressed to the Governor, to DDPO DS Dhankhar, demanding withdrawal of increase in development charges.

Municipal councillor Vimal Kishor said the government had increased the development charges by over four times and it had hit the business community very hard.

“It is very difficult to pay Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000 per square yards as development charges,” he added.

He said as many as 106 commercial buildings in the town had been identified for sealing by the administration and the owners of these building had been asked to deposit the development charges and take approval of the building plan.

“Most of these buildings were constructed many years ago and no action was taken at that time to stop the construction,” he said, adding that after receiving notices of penalty, the owners of these buildings urged the Municipal Council authorities to inform them about the penalty amount to be paid, but there was no communication from the authorities concerned.

Executive Officer of the Council Arvind Bisnoi said the proposed sealing action had been deferred for the time being as a number of shopkeepers and building owners submitted their papers in the council’s office today and hoped that other shopkeepers would also submit their papers of building plans to avoid sealing.

He, however, maintained that the sealing of unauthorised buildings would continue if the owners did not obtain a proper sanction from the council.

Rewari, January 10
Amit Swami, spokesperson for WWE Khali and an international bodybuilding promoter, today said that categorising serial “Bigg Boss” as a ‘reality show’ was not correct. It was more or less a pre-planned show, he claimed.

Swami said even as the voting lines were on, he had received a call from a Mumbai-based journalist, who told him that no matter what, Shweta Tiwari had already been selected the winner of the show. Consequently, he tried to contact a senior official of the show to seek a clarification, but got no response. This strengthened his belief that there was something ‘wrong’.He said Khali’s fans throughout the country had voted in favour of their icon till the last moment and were dismayed with the final result. Swami said he was now of the firm opinion that famous personalities like Khali should not participate in such “pre-planned” 

Rewari, January 10
Following a directive issued by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the investigation into the Rakesh Yadav murder case, elder son of District Bar Association chief Raghuvir Singh Yadav, has now been handed over to the crime branch of the police.

The Chief Minister issued the directive after a delegation of the District Bar Association met him in this regard in New Delhi yesterday.Rakesh was shot dead by three miscreants near Dharuhera on the night of December 31. The failure of the district police to trace the culprits even 10 days after the crime has angered people, especially lawyers.

Sirsa: A man was found hanging from a tree in Rajpura Sahni village here on Monday The deceased has been identified as Ram Kumar. He had come here to invite his in-laws for the marriage of his brother. The family members removed the body from the tree. Meanwhile, some villagers informed the police.

SHO of the Nathusari Chopta police station said it was a case of suicide