Hisar, May 18
Teachers of universities of Haryana today decided to continue their ongoing stir in support of their demand for issuance of a notification of their new pay scales exactly on the same lines as the notification issued by the UGC and the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.

This decision was taken at a meeting of the Federation of Haryana Universities Teachers Associations held here today. Representative of teachers from MDU, Rohtak; BPS Mahila Vishwavidlaya, Khanpur Kalan, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Chaudhry Devi Lal University, Sirsa; Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal; YMCA University of Science and Technology, Faridabad and Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology attended the meeting. Somvir Rathee and Sandeep Rana, president and general secretary, respectively, of FEDHUTA, said representatives of the association met Higher Education Commissioner SS Parshad on May 14 to discuss the deviations in the notification of the Haryana Government from the UGC and MHRD notifications.

Although there was agreement on certain points but many important issues like advanced increments for higher qualifications on an actual basis and not notionally from January 1, 2006, pay fixation of directly recruited readers and professors appointed after this date, clarification regarding teachers’ eligibility for promotion remained unresolved.

They said that the age of superannuation of teachers in neighbouring states had been enhanced from 60 to 65 years. Moreover, Haryana had increased the age of retirement for Vice-Chancellors, Pro-Vice Chancellors and teaching and non-teaching employees of Medical University, Rohtak, but the same facility was being denied to university and college teachers. They said such discrimination was arbitrary and uncalled for.

Ellenabad, May 18
Peeved at the failure of the district police to find any clue to the double murder of a woman and her granddaughter here on May 5, local residents observed a complete bandh today and demanded a CBI probe into the case.

All shops and business establishments remained closed as the shopkeepers kept their business suspended of their own volition.

Former MLA Bhagi Ram, local INLD president Abhey Singh Khod, former municipal chief and Congress leader Kamlesh Sharma, councillor Jagdish Saini and several other prominent persons of the area marched through the main bazaars of the town, making an appeal for support.

Later, a meeting of the sangharsh samiti, set up on this issue, met in the evening to chalk out the future strategy for its agitation.

Bhagi Ram alleged that the police had failed to identify the culprits and it had rather been torturing the family members of the victims out of frustration.

“We have decided to start a dharna at Panchmukhi Chowk in the town from tomorrow to press for our demand and we will take a decision on more drastic steps if the government fails to take cognisance of our anger,” said Dr Vinod Godara, president of the urban unit of the INLD and member of the samiti.

Meanwhile, INLD MLA from Ellenabad Abhey Singh Chautala today warned of an agitation throughout the district in case the police failed to bring the guilty to book.

Nilokheri (Karnal), May 18
The polytechnic staff continued their strike by boycotting the exam duties as the joint action committee (JAC) announced to continue the stir in spite of repression, Parminder Mann, president of the Polytechnic Lecturers Welfare Association, said.

He alleged the government had failed to conduct the examinations smoothly due to the strike. Alleging that the government was resorting to repressive measures, he said staff and students were lathi-charged in Sirsa and Ambala on May 16. Over 130 staff members, including 30 women, were arrested all over the state. The arrested women staff members were released after 10.30 pm while the male ones were released on bail at 11.50 pm. Moreover, the police had implicated the staff members in false cases.

JAC members alleged that FIR was registered against six girl students when they were supporting their teachers at Government Polytechnic for Women, Sirsa, and students there were forcibly made to sit in the exam by the police.

While there was no examination in Government Polytechnic, Narwana, for the third consecutive day, 12 staff members of CR Polytechnic were arrested today in Rohtak and false FIRs lodged against them.

A JAC delegation met Labour and Employment Minister Mahender Partap Singh and discussed the release of revised AICTE scales. The JAC members claimed that the minister had assured them that the relevant notification would be issued after June 10 after the completion of the examinations and requested the union to suspend the agitation but the JAC was firm on its stand that the notification should be issued first.

Sonepat, May 18
Sunita (45) of Giwana village and her married daughter Manisha (21) were axed to death allegedly by Sunita’s brother-in-law Dalbir of the same village in their house here yesterday.

Dalbir, after committing the crime, surrendered himself before the police. A murder case has been registered against him. Manisha was married in Mahendipur village and had a one-year-old son. She had come to meet her mother here.

In another incident, Yogesh (32) of Chhapra was found murdered in the fields near Dhanana water channel late last night allegedly by his nephew Vijender. The body bore bullet injury marks. The police also recovered a mobile phone and a love letter from the pocket of the deceased.

Karnal, May 18
Residents of Pir Badholi village in the Gharaunda area of Karnal today held a team of power nigam employees hostage at gunpoint when it was raiding the village to detect power theft.

The villagers also snatched cameras, mobile phones and cash from the employees, including a junior engineer, and tore the papers, in which they had noted the details of houses, where power theft was detected.

The employees, who were freed after half an hour, reported the matter to the SDO.

Junior Engineer MM Khan said the team had gone to the village following complaints of large-scale power theft there.

During the raid, a number of villagers were found indulging in power theft.

The employees took the photographs and completed the paperwork for taking necessary action.

Meanwhile, villagers, armed with lathis and guns, held them hostage and tied them with a tree. They also pelted their vehicle with stones. 

Chandigarh, May 18
The special CBI court of Ritu Tagore today issued fresh summons against Justice Nirmal Yadav, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in connection with the judge-bribery case in which she is one of the accused.

The fresh notice was served as the earlier notice seeking her personal appearance had not been served. The case has now been adjourned till July 9.

Justice Yadav did not appear in the court today while all other four accused were present. Justice Yadav had moved the High Court challenging the charge sheet filed in the case by the CBI earlier this month.

The earlier notice seeking Justice Yadav’s appearance could not be served at her Gurgaon residence.

On April 6, the CBI had submitted 126-page documentary evidence in the case against her and four others on charges of corruption.

The case had rocked the Punjab and Haryana High Court after Rs 15 lakh was wrongly delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, another judge of the High Court, in Chandigarh on August 13, 2008, following which she reported the matter to the Chandigarh police. The money was said to have been wrongly delivered and was actually meant for Justice Nirmal Yadav, the CBI said in the charge sheet. 

Sirsa, May 18
A 25-year-old woman was murdered allegedly by her father-in-law and two brothers-in-law at Mangalia village in this district last night for “protecting family honour”.

The alleged killers escaped from the house after perpetrating the crime. The matter came to light in the morning when a neighbour came to the house.

The victim has been identified as Rekha. Her father, Peelu Ram, a resident of Matdadu village in this district, has said in his complaint to the police that the accused suspected that his daughter was indulging in infidelity.

He said the accused used to level such allegations in the past too, and had beaten her up several times.

The victim’s husband, Radhey Sham, who eked out a living by digging tubewells, was away to some other village when the crime took place.

The killers used a sword, a wooden log and a lathi to silence the victim.

The victim was sleeping when the killers attacked her past 11 in the night, said a police spokesperson.

The police had registered a case under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC and had launched a hunt for the killers, he said. 

Panipat, May 18
The district police has nabbed one of the state’s most wanted criminals, who was facing a number of murder charges in three districts and had even been declared a proclaimed offender.

District police chief Pankaj Nain said the police had been looking for Naveen, alias Bittu, since April 20 last year after he was booked for having killed Joginder Singh of Madina village.

Naveen had killed Joginder as the latter was a prime witness in a murder case in which Rakesh and Bhala Ram were co-accused. The duo had met him in Sonepat jail two years back and offered him money to kill Joginder. On being released from the jail he shot Joginder Singh dead .

While the police had managed to arrest three of his accomplices in the crime-- Neeraj, alias Nika, Hari Om and Lok Raj-- Naveen continued to elude the police. Later, he was declared a proclaimed offender .

Naveen was also wanted by the Sonepat police in connection with two cases of murder and in a similar case in Rohtak. Nain said the accused was arrested from Sanoli road and the police seized a revolver and two cartridges from him.