Fatehabad, April 15
Faced with stiff opposition from a section of the farmers and some other groups, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has planned interaction programmes for educational and industrial institutions and other stakeholders in the Gorakhpur atomic power project.

Farmers have been sitting in dharna outside the mini secretariat ever since the government issued a notification for the acquisition of their land in July last year for setting up the nuclear plant at Gorakhpur

Activists of some other anti-nuclear energy groups have also stepped up their activities after the nuclear crisis in Fukushima (Japan).

The government has to issue another notification under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act within one year of the first notice.

“The purpose of this programme is to disseminate information on nuclear power and NPCIL. Experienced NPCIL experts have been deployed for presentations,” said Sanjay Gumasta, Chief Engineer-cum-project manager of the Gorakhpur project.

“NPCIL is a PSU specialising in design, construction, operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants in India. It is one of the very few nuclear utilities in the world with the competence and capability to undertake a wide range of activities in-house under one roof,” Gumasta told The Tribune.

Emphasizing the importance of nuclear plants in the country, Gumasta said the gap between demand and supply of power was substantial and over the next few decades, the growth of nuclear power was expected to be phenomenally high.

The NPCIL authorities have been meeting the heads of educational institutions, industry associations and other stakeholders in Fatehabad and Hisar districts to organise interaction programmes, where senior faculty members from the corporation would answer queries about the safety aspects of the nuclear plant. 

Karnal, April 15
A dispute over alleged forcible eviction of a shopkeeper from the local furniture market by the landlord took a violent turn today with supporters of the shopkeeper and the owner indulging in throwing of stones and bricks at each other. The disputed shop was also set on fire during the clash and the fire brigade had to be called in to extinguish the fire.

Tension prevailed in the market and more security was deployed to avoid any further violence.

Relatives and supporters of the shopkeeper, Gyan, had blocked the Hansi road yesterday for about an hour and the matter was resolved after the police intervened and assured that necessary action would be taken in the matter.

However, fresh trouble arose when the shopkeeper had an altercation with the supporters of the owner when he tried to open his shop. Soon, both groups came face to face and a violent clash ensued.

Kuljeet, wife of the owner, Mohinder, received burn injuries and was admitted to the trauma centre in the Civil Hospital while some relatives of the tenant also received injuries.

Hamid Akhtar, SP, reached the spot with a police force, which had to resort to a mild use of force to quell the mob.

The police has booked 20 persons in connection with the violence and has taken some persons into custody.

Gyan alleged that the owner threw out his belongings from the shop and locked it. Despite a complaint lodged by him, no action was taken, he alleged.

He said he was running his business from the shop for past 25 years and the owner had filed a case for eviction eight years ago, but it was withdrawn after they reached a comprise a few days ago.

However, the owner forcibly took possession of the shop and locked it.

The SP said the matter would be looked into and the guilty punished. 

Gurgaon, April 15
The Gurgaon district administration has sought help from the residents to stop new constructions in the restricted zone around the local ammunition depot. Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena said anyone could intimate the district administration about unauthorised constructions going on within the prohibited zone in a radius of 900 metres from the ammunition depot. “The information can be sent by post, e-mail or any other means of communication. The identity of the informer will be kept confidential,” the DC said after a meeting of district officials here yesterday.

Meena asked the officers concerned to be more vigilant to curb new constructions in the 900-metre area of the ammunition depot. He also directed them to disconnect the temporary power connections released for construction activities and seal and dismantle the borewells being operated in the houses under construction

Meena warned that if unauthorised construction was found during inspection, the officer in charge of the area would be held responsible. 

Hodal (Palwal), April 15
A large number of migrant labourers working in a brick-kiln at Likhi village, near here, have lodged a complaint with the police regarding exploitation at the hands of their employer. They have alleged that the police is siding with the owner of the brick-kiln and has not registered a case against him as yet.

About 100 labourers, all belonging to Chhattisgarh, went to the Hassanpur police station last evening and in a joint complaint alleged that the owner had not paid them their daily wages for the past fortnight. They said there was no drinking water facility for them at the site.

They alleged that the owner often misbehaved with women labourers. One of the labourers, Nandu, was beaten up and taken in a vehicle by the owner and four others to an unknown place last Thursday.

The SHO of the Hassanpur police station, Sukhvir Singh, said Nandu had been traced at the bus stand. According to him, the missing labourer had submitted in writing that he was going back to his native village of his own will.

The SHO said the labourers were trying to blackmail the owner. He said the labourers had taken advance money from the owner and they had been receiving money from him at regular intervals. He said investigation had revealed that there was no case of misbehaviour with the women labourers.

Manesar, April 15
Amity University, Haryana, will set up a medical college here shortly. Land has already been identified for constructing a hospital, a mandatory requirement for establishing a medical college, Prof (Dr) RC Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, told The Tribune on the university campus today.

Prof Sharma said originally Amity Business School had been started with 40 students in 1999, which had now grown into a full-fledged university spread over 110 acres, having a strength of nearly 700 and offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral courses in various branches of science, technology, biotechnology, commerce, management and journalism and mass communication.

“We are also going to launch more study programmes in nursing and paramedics, architecture, law, hospitality, foreign languages, fashion technology and fine arts etc,” he maintained.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor inaugurated “Ignition-2011”, the first technical fest jointly organised by Amity School of Engineering and Technology and Amity Institute of Biotechnology of the university .

Nearly 150 participants from various educational institutes participated in the fest, which focused on generating awareness about the latest discoveries and their underlying principles.

Dr Padmakali Banerjee, dean (academics) at the university, emphasized the significance of technology in daily life. Several corporate and industrial houses in the NCR extended support to the event. The fest concluded with a colourful cultural event presented by engineering students.

Meanwhile, a six-day military training camp organised by Amity Indian Military College for students of PG courses at the university also concluded today. Lt-Gen BK Bopanna (retd), director-general of the institute, laid stressed on the relevance of military training and other such regimes for all-around development of young students.

Col Ravinder Singh (retd), administrative officer, screened a short film on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the subsequent revenge taken by martyr Udham Singh.

Chandigarh, April 15
Haryana may be among the front-runner states in attracting investment in the industrial sector but its youth are not skilled enough to bag good jobs .

As the standard of technical education is not up to the mark, new industrial units, particularly those in the National Capital Region, are compelled to hire people from outside the state.

The state government has decided to set up a skill development mission during the current financial year to create a pool of skilled manpower. This would help the state contribute to achieving the national goal of creating 50 crore skilled manpower by 2022.

The government will also initiate some more measures to upgrade the skills of the state’s youth for employment in the private sector.

According to official sources, the Union Government has also agreed in principle to set up an Indian Institute of Information Technology in the state, which would go a long way in achieving this objective. Already 128 acres has been identified at Kilord village in Sonepat district to set up this institute. The government has also implemented the Pratibha Samman Samaroh scheme to promote technical education in the state. 

Sirsa, April 15
A local court today directed the police to provide protection to a married couple on a petition that they faced a threat from the bride’s, earlier a widow, kin.

The bridegroom, Hanuman Prasad, a resident of Balasar village in Nohar tehsil of Rajasthan, had met his bride, Sunita, a widow, at Sahawa town, where he used to go frequently for purchasing household items.

The two eloped on April 11 and married in a temple at Ali Mohammad village in Sirsa, where Hanuman Prasad had started agriculture activity on land taken on lease recently.

In their petition filed before a local court, the couple alleged that Sunita’s father-in-law and other members of his family were furious at their marriage and they could cause them physical harm.

Gurgaon, April 15
Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena has directed the officials concerned to issue show-cause notices to the property dealers operating in the district without valid licences. The property dealers have been given 15 days for getting themselves registered otherwise their offices will be sealed.

The orders came after a meeting of Gurgaon, Palwal, Mewat, Mahendragarh, Rewari and Faridabad deputy commissioners convened by Naresh Gulati, Finance Commissioner (Revenue), here today

Gulati emphasized on the registration of property dealers and asked the DCs to seal the offices of those dealers who do not get themselves registered with the government. — TNS

Narnaul, April 15
Suman, a resident of Thanwas village in Nangal Chaudhary block of the district, has been arrested on a charge of killing her ex-boyfriend, Suresh, of the same village. A hunt is on for another boyfriend of the woman, Rattan Singh, who is also suspected to be involved in the crime.

DSP Alok Kumar of the Paragpura area in Rajasthan said Suman had confessed to having killed her ex-boyfriend and a manhunt for the other accused was on.

Suman is married and has two children. However, she reportedly had an extra-marital affair with Suresh, who was a driver. A few months ago, their affair was exposed.

Following this, her husband shifted the family to Paragpura in Rajasthan. There, Suman reportedly had another extra-marital affair with Rattan Singh of Jatgaon village.

In the meanwhile, Suresh started visiting Suman again, which she did not like. But Suresh reportedly persisted. Earlier this month, Suman allegedly served him tea laced with some sedative. After Suresh fell unconscious, he was strangled to death. Suman took the body to a nearby village in Rajasthan and threw it into a well reportedly with the help of Rattan Singh and another person.

According to police sources, the accused smashed the face of the deceased and also tried to torch the body by putting a burning tyre around it before dumping it.

Hisar, April 15
A row has erupted over the arrest of 10 members of a backward class hailing from Bhagana village on a murder charge.

According to the villagers, Jat youth Kuldeep, his brother Inder Singh and his wife forcibly entered the house of Phul Kumar on April 7 and tried to molest his wife.

The family members of Phul Kumar caught hold of Kuldeep and manhandled him. He was seriously wounded and handed over to the police. When the policemen were taking him to a hospital, he died on the way. The police registered a case of murder against 12 persons. Ten of them have been arrested. Those booked for murder were: Mahavir Singh and his three sons, Ramphal, Gugan, Shiv Kumar, Kalu, Billu, Om Parkash, Rattan and Amar Lal.

On the other hand, the police also registered a case against Kuldeep, Inder Singh and his wife under Section 354, IPC. However, even after the death of Kuldeep, the police are yet to arrest Inder Singh and his wife.

Two elderly villagers have been sitting in dharna for the past five days in front of the office of the Inspector-General of Police here seeking the withdrawal of the murder charge and release of the arrested persons. They maintain that as Kuldeep had died in police custody, no case of murder could be made out against the villagers.

They are also demanding the arrest of Inder Singh and his wife against whom a case is pending. 

Hisar, April 15
Six hardcore criminals-- Sukhwinder, Surajbhan, Ravi , Sonu , Sunil and Pawan--undergoing trial in cases of murder and attempt to murder escaped from the police post at the local judicial complex today.

They had been brought to the complex from the local jail in connection with a court hearing. They were kept in a lock-up at the police post. In the afternoon, when the policemen were taking lunch, they managed to remove the iron grille with an iron rod and escaped.

It was not immediately known how they were able to lay their hands on the iron rod. Some reports suggested that an accomplice had provided them with the rod. However, the escape was clearly pre-planned.

Hanif Qureshi, SP, said police teams had been dispatched to nab the escapees. He said an inquiry had been ordered and stern action would be taken against the errant policemen.

Fatehabad, April 15
A six-year-old girl today allegedly tried to snatch a bag containing Rs 3.50 lakh from the cashier of a liquor contractor in the main branch of the State Bank of India here today.

However, when she was trying to escape with the bag, a vigilant guard nabbed her at the main entrance of the bank.

Ved Pal, the cashier of the contractor, said he was waiting for his turn in a queue outside the cash window, when the girl snatched his bag and tried to run away.

She later told the police that she hailed from Bhiwani and had come to Fatehabad with her mother. All attempts to know the identity of her mother or her whereabouts failed to yield results.

The police later freed her, but deputed two cops in mufti to follow her. The girl, according to police sources, walked to all corners of the town, forcing the cops to walk behind her.

The girl later boarded a bus at the local bus stand.

However, the cops following her did not allow her to leave the town and brought her back to the police post.

The cops are in a fix as to what to do of the girl, as they say, no case could be registered against her due to her age. — TNS

Gurgaon, April 15
The Gurgaon district administration has sought help from the residents to stop new constructions in the restricted zone around the local ammunition depot. 

Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena said “The information can be sent by post, e-mail or any other means of communication. The identity of the informer will be kept confidential,” the DC said after a meeting of district officials here yesterday.