Rohtak, July 18
“The ruling Congress was in a strong position and it will register a comfortable win in the coming byelection for the Hisar parliamentary seat in the state. The announcement of the party candidate for the seat will be made after the declaration of the byelection dates by the Election Commission.”

This was stated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, here today. The seat had fallen vacant following the death of a former Chief Minister and the sitting MP from Hisar, Bhajan Lal, last month.

Addressing party workers at the local rest house, Hooda said a meeting of the Coordination Committee of the party would be held soon to discuss the issues regarding the byelection.

He reiterated that the land acquisition policy of the Haryana Government had been the best in the country. It was also being demanded on the same pattern by farmers of the neighbouring states.

Regarding slow work on the development of the SEZs in Haryana, he said the work on these projects had got a bit delayed due to recession that hit the country and parts of the world recently.

He offered to quit politics if anyone proved that his government had transferred or sold even a single inch of land to the builders in the state during his tenure.

Hooda said the builders in the state had bought land from the owners at market rates and there was no involvement of his government in the activity.

About the allegations of irregularities in the distribution of old-age pension, he said all beneficiaries would be given their due with interest in case of any delay on the part of the state.

A nodal officer had been appointed to supervise the work.

Chandigarh, July 18
Indicating that the special investigation team probing the custodial death of a Hisar resident was indulging in operation cover-up, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has not only ordered a high-level judicial probe but also directed the payment of interim compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the victim’s wife.

Dalbir Singh was picked up by the police allegedly in a “drunken state” on September 16, 2008.

As his condition was “not good”, he was taken to the Hisar Civil Hospital before being referred to the PGI, Rohtak, where he eventually died on May 25, 2009.

Acting on wife Kalo Devi’s petition for Rs 10 lakh compensation, Justice K. Kannan asserted: “The SIT report bristles with several inconsistencies and I am of the view that it is not a fair finding on facts brought through records.”

“I am of the view that the case deserves a much more serious probe for a precious life has been lost . I direct the District Judge, Hisar, to examine all records and gather evidence and submit his report before this court.

In view of my prima facie finding that the death was not natural, I also direct interim compensation of Rs 2 lakh to be paid by the state to the petitioner”.

The SIT, comprising a deputy superintendent of police and other officials, had earlier suggested that the victim, in a drunken state, sustained head injuries after her fell from a train; and “it was not advisable to continue with the investigations any further”.

Justice Kannan asserted: “Significantly, at the time when the petitioner’s husband was produced before the magistrate subsequent to his arrest, he had not recorded any injuries on his person….

“The absence of reference to the petitioner’s husband in an injured state by the magistrate gives a lie to the version that the now-deceased could have fallen from the train either on September 15, 2008, or September 16, 2008, when he was arrested and taken into custody….”

Justice Kannan also noticed that a “brazen attempt was made at securing a different type of opinion from a doctor by the SIT”. The case will now come up on December 1.

Panchkula, July 18
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) here today informed the special NIA court that they would soon file a supplementary charge sheet in connection with the Samjhauta blasts case.

NIA officials sought time from the court to file a supplementary charge sheet.

Meanwhile, Swami Aseemanand, key accused in the case, once again claimed that he was not involved in the blasts. Outside the court complex, Swami Aseemanand said he was being falsely implicated in the case and the statement, which he had made earlier, was made under pressure by the NIA and the CBI.

Now, the court has fixed August 17 as the next date of hearing. The NIA on June 20 had filed a charge sheet against Swami Aseemanand, Sunil Joshi (now dead), Lokesh Sharma, Sandeep Dange, alias Parmanand, Ramchandra Kalsangra, alias Ramji, alias Vishnu Patel (still absconding) in connection with the Samjhauta blasts before the special NIA court, Panchkula.

Sixtyeight people were killed when bombs were set off in two coaches of the Samjhauta Express around midnight on February 18, 2007, at Diwana near Panipat. Only 38 victims could be identified and most of them were Pakistani nationals on their return journey to Lahore. 

New Delhi, July 18
The Haryana Government today assured the Supreme Court that it was giving adequate protection to all witnesses who deposed against the accused in the anti-Dalit violence that took place in Mirchpur on April 21, 2010.

Additional Advocate-General Manjit Singh Dalal told a Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and HL Dattu that the state government had so far spent Rs 11.37 crore to ensure the safety of the witnesses.

As many as 40 gunmen had been assigned to provide protection to 17/18 witnesses who appeared in the trial court at Rohini in the city, the AAG said. The Bench had shifted the trial from Hisar to Delhi as the relatives and other supporters of the accused were creating problems for the smooth conduct of the trial in Haryana.

Counsel for the PIL petitioner in the case complained about the threat being faced by the Dalits in Mirchpur village. The pleadings remained inconclusive as the case came up for hearing towards the fag end of the normal working hours. The Bench fixed the next hearing for August 16.

Fatehabad, July 18
The district authorities today initiated criminal and civil action against a villager for taking government benefits on the basis of a fake Scheduled Castes certificate.

The Deputy Commissioner, Ashok Meena, has asked the SDM to take back land allotted to the accused, Darshan Lal, a resident of Ahlisadar village and has recommended registration of a criminal case against him.

The Deputy Commissioner has also asked the SDM to inquire the complicity of government officials, if any, in making the fake certificate and register criminal cases against them, too.

Meena as the Additional Deputy Commissioner of the district had conducted an inquiry after a villager lodged a complaint with the authorities.

He found during his inquiry that Darshan Lal had shifted to Ahlisadar village from Bihar and then managed to get an SC certificate from here without any documents of his caste status from Bihar.

When asked about his antecedents, he told the authorities that he did not have any knowledge of his parentage.

Meena said according to the rules, the SC certificate in Haryana could have been issued only after submission of such certificate issued by the other state -- Bihar in Darshan Lal’s case.

Interestingly, no record was found in the local District Welfare Office as the authorities keep the records for a given number of years only. 

Gurgaon, July 18
A senior faculty member at Pt Bhagwat Dayal Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, who has been appointed as the director of Medical College for Women at Khanpur Kalan in Sonepat, continues to work at both places simultaneously in violation of norms laid down by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The MCI prohibits medical faculty members from working at more than one medical colleges simultaneously.

On May 10, May 31 and June 1 this year, the MCI authorities had issued show-cause notices to those medical colleges as well as faculty members where cases of simultaneous working of faculty at two colleges were found.

On June 13, the MCI Secretary issued urgent notice, asking the colleges and faculty members that had not furnished their replies to do so within two days.

Yet, Dr RC Siwach, a senior professor at the PGIMS, who also heads a unit of the orthopaedic surgery department at the institute, continues to serve at two institutions.

He has been appointed (by deputation) as Director of Khanpur Medical College and has joined there though he is yet to be relieved by his parent institution.

Asked for comments, Prof SS Sangwan, Vice-Chancellor of Pt Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, said the terms and conditions regarding the deputation/appointment of Dr Siwach were yet to be finalised by the state authorities. “The terms and conditions are expected soon and we will take appropriate action thereafter,” he maintained.

Other top officials of the health university either pleaded ignorance or stated that further action in this regard could be taken only after they received the terms and conditions of the deputation/appointment.

The authorities, however, failed to explain how could the state government give the final verdict/guidelines in a matter which is not under its jurisdiction but in the purview of the MCI.

Kurukshetra July 18
To check vehicles thefts in Kurukshetra district, the police has launched a special campaign of locking vehicles parked at unauthorised places with a specially designed lock.

According to Parul Kush Jain, district police chief, the police is determined to check vehicles thefts. She said the habit of unauthorised parking was responsible for higher thefts. “The two-wheelers, including motorcycles and scooters, have been found stolen mostly from unauthorised sites of parking,”she added.

Jain said special locks had been designed for vehicles parked at unauthorised places the keys of which would be with a police employee.

However, a vehicle driver would be able to get his vehicle unlocked only after contacting the number mentioned on a warning plate fixed with the lock. The vehicle driver will be penalised as per rules for parking at an unauthorised site, she added.

She also called upon people to cooperate by parking their vehicles only at authorised parking slots. 

Kurukshetra, July 18
“Media has a huge impact on society in the present times. As media moulds public opinion, it has to be authentic and responsible.” A journalist should not forget his responsibility in the race to become the first one to break news.

This was stated by Lt-Gen (Dr) DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, who was speaking as the chief guest at the valedictory function of the three-day orientation programme for Working Journalists, organised by the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Technology (IMCMT), Kurukshetra University. He also gave away certificates to 52 participating journalists who attended the programme.

Dr Sandhu said that a mediaperson should present a balanced and objective perspective and try to be fair to everybody. He should not write to just grab the eyeballs of the public.

In his valedictory address, Shiv Raman Gaur, Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Director, Public Relations, Haryana, said in the media-driven society of present time, mediapersons had a great responsibility.

Hari Mohan Sharma, Chief News Editor of the Dainik Bhaskar at Panipat, said in his keynote address that media had to work in a manner so that its reputation as a tool of social change remained intact. There was a need to study the behavioural patterns of mediapersons so that measures could be taken to reduce their stress. He also stressed upon the need to differentiate between what was good and bad before sending news to the Press. 

Sonepat, July 18
Representatives of land owners of 10 villages -- Pipli, Prahladpur, Sohati, Rampur, Kundal, Nizampur Khurd, Firozpur Bangar, Gopalpur, Saidpur and Barona-- under Kharkhoda tehsil today urged Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to expedite land acquisition for setting up the proposed Industrial Model Township (IMT).

They handed over a memorandum, addressed to the Chief Minister, to Deputy Commisioner Pankaj Aggarwal in this connection.

They urged the Chief Minister to notify section 9 of the Land Acquisition Act so that the farmers could get compensation and other benefits under the land acquisition policy.

It is worth mentioning here that farmers of some villages have been sitting in dharna for the past five months in protest against land acquisition for the IMT. 

Sonepat, July 18
About 3,000 patients were examined and 400 spectacles were distributed at a free medical camp organised by Chaupal, a voluntary organisation, at Baiyanpur village, on its fifth foundation day yesterday.

Dr Rajinder Singh Tonk, a renowned cardiologist, and a team of doctors from Delhi examined patients at the camp. Besides urine, stool and blood tests, ultrasound and ECG examination was done free of cost.

Randhir Singh Saroha, a former Sikkim Governor and former MP, who inaugurated the camp, appreciated Chaupal for giving free treatment to the needy.