Chandigarh, August 4
The Haryana BJP today organized protests in various parts of the state against the leasing out of panchayat land at Ulhawas village to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust. BJP activists burnt effigies of Prime Minister Manohan Singh and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to lodge their protest against the “shady allotment” while demanding the latter’s resignation.

Rewari: Activists led by district president Laxman Singh Yadav held a demonstration in protest against the allotment of panchayati land to the trust “at the alleged behest of” the Chief Minister. Shouting slogans against the Chief Minister for his role in the “deal”, they demanded his resignation and also burnt his effigy at Dharuhera Chowk.

Faridabad: BJP workers led by state unit president Krishanpal Gurjar burnt effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The BJP leaders said that the Congress leaders could not follow double standards on the land policy. Citing the case of BSYedurappa, who had to step down from the post of Chief Minister in Karnataka in a similar situation, the BJP demanded that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda should also go in this case

Sirsa: BJP activists burnt effigies of the Congress government in Haryana. Party leaders, including former minister Ganeshi Lal, state unit vice-president Jagdish Chopra, state BJP Mahila Morcha president Renu Sharma and Gurdev Singh Rahi, district president of the party, assembled at Subhash Chowk and held a demonstration. Demanding a CBI inquiry into the gifting away of prime land to the trust by the Hooda government, Ganeshi Lal said the people had now come to know as to why Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were all praise for the land acquisition policy of the Haryana government.

Gurgaon, August 4
Ulhawas sarpanch Azad Singh, former sarpanch Surender Prakash and Sohna block committee chairperson and Ulhawas resident Rajwati issued a joint statement here today on the leasing out of Ulhawas village shamlat land on July 10, 2009, to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust.

They pointed out that before being leased out to the trust, the said chunk of land fetched just Rs 600 per acre per year while the village panchayat was now getting Rs 3 lakh per acre per year, which amounted to Rs 15 lakh per year.

"More importantly, the eye hospital proposed to be established here would benefit the residents of the village as well as nearby areas," they said, adding that the issue was being politicised by some vested interests. — TNS

Rohtak, August 4
The controversy over the alleged irregularities in land acquisition and the allotment of land to the Rajiv Gandhi Trust at Gurgaon seems to have taken political overtones as the ruling party has sought details of the allotment of public land to the Devi Lal Trust during the Chautala regime.

The Haryana Pradesh Congress Committe (HPCC) has written a letter to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, asking for information about the land given or leased out to the Devi Lal Trust by the then ruling INLD government in the state.

According to an HPCC spokesman, this information has been sought in view of the charges of irregularities levelled by INLD leaders and their demand for resignation of the Chief Minister over the allotment of land to the Rajiv Gandhi Trust.

Stating that it was the right of the common man to know how much of public land was given to the Devi Lal Trust during the INLD regime and how justified was their allegation against the Hooda government on this issue now.

Claiming that large tracts of land was transferred to the Devi Lal Trust between July, 1999, and March, 2005, there was hardly any district in Haryana where land was not been given to this body at a very nominal rate. He said the government ought to make public “how much land” was allotted to this trust and on what conditions.

Alleging misuse of such land he said the INLD leaders had no moral right to condemn the leasing of some land at Gurgaon to a charitable trust.

Hisar, August 4
Unruly scenes were witnessed at a meeting of Congress workers here today in the presence of VK Hari Parsad, party general secretary in charge of Haryana, and Haryana Congress chief Phool Chand Mullana.

Trouble began when Surender Pal, a Congress activist from Uchana, declared from the stage that if the party had to give the ticket for the Hisar Lok Sabha byelection to a woman, it should be given to Prem Lata, wife of Rajya Sabha member Birender Singh. He went on to add that if the party was looking for a youth, Birender Singh’s son, Bijendra Singh, an IAS officer, should be given the ticket.

This infuriated workers owning allegiance to various factions in the party. The rivals opposed the proposals, leading to unruly scenes.

Ultimately, Prasad took the stage and warned party workers that he would ensure that the name of the ticket aspirant whose supporters raised slogans in his favour was not included in the panel. He said even though he did not have the power to allot the ticket, he could certainly ensure that a particular candidate was not considered.

Prasad added Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and HPCC chief Mullana would submit a panel of names to the high command which would then decide the candidate. This seemed to have the right effect and order was restored.

Earlier, addressing party men Mullana said the party had not invited applications for the ticket and the nominee would be decided by the high command. He asked workers to forget their differences and begun preparations for the byelection unitedly.

Kaithal, August 4
Hundreds of men and women from Badsikri Kalan village of this district blocked traffic on the national highway for six hours today in protest against the death of a Dalit in the Civil Hospital here last night. Some of the protestors also blocked the Kaithal- Kurukshetra railway track for some time. The protestors were demanding registration of a murder case against those involved in attacking the deceased, compensation of Rs 20 lakh and employment to a member of the Dalit youth’s family and suspension of the Kalayat SHO for his failure to take action against the guilty.

Keeping in view the prevailing tension, a heavy police force was rushed to the dharna site. Police officials tried to persuade the protesters to lift the blockade biu in vain. The blockade was lifted only around 3 pm when Deputy Commissioner Amneet P Kumar and SP Simardeep Singh reached the spot and assured the protesters that their grievances would be looked into.

According to sources, Rula Ram (35), a Dalit running a small shop in Badsikri Kalan village in this district, was allegedly beaten by some persons reportedly working for some liquor contractors on August 2 night. The victim was taken to the Community Health Centre, Kalayat, and later referred to the Civil Hospital, Kaithal . The Kalayat police has registered a case under section 148/ 149, 323, 452 and 506, IPC . The youth succumbed to his injuries in the local Civil Hospital late last night.

As the news of his death reached his native village, hundreds of villagers, including women, first reached the hospital and later squatted on the national highway, disrupting vehicular traffic. Traffic on the Kaithal -Ambala , Kaithal-Karnal , Kaithal-Hisar and Jind routes had to be diverted.

Jhajjar, August 4
Taking a serious view of yesterday’s Jhajjar killing incident, DGP Ranjeev Singh Dalal today not only visited the crime spot in Dulhera village here but also held a meeting with top officials of the Delhi Police at the Goraiya Tourist Complex in Bahadurgarh.

The meeting was called to chalk out a joint plan not only to check the inter-state crime but also to nab those state-based criminals who had been taking shelter in Delhi for evading police arrest. BS Sandhu, ADGP (law and order), Patram Singh, Jhajjar SP, and police officials from Jhajjar and Rohtak were also present at the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Dalal exhorted Delhi police officials to coordinate with the Haryana Police so that the criminals could be arrested soon. He said: “Inter-state criminal activities cannot be curbed till then the information about crime and criminals will not be shared at a initial stage by the police of both states. Hence, joint teams of the states are required not only to conduct the raids to nab the criminals but also to interrogate the accused involved in inter-state crimes.”

Various decisions like sharing criminals’ information especially released from jail, verification of information sheets on a priority basis and holding of regular meetings at various levels were also taken at the meeting. Modes operandi of criminals and difficulties being faced at border belts were also discussed, sources said.

Later, interacting with mediapersons, the DGP informed that eight youths had been booked in connection with the case and many of them had also a criminal history in Delhi apart from Haryana. Those booked were identified as Sandeep, Kartar, Harish, Gyander, Veerpal, Rajesh and Mukesh, all hailing from Mandhothi village and Pradeep of Khairmaan village. They were booked on a complaint of Bijender of Mandhothi.

“Some vital clues have been found during the preliminary investigations hence simultaneous raids are being carried out to ascertain the whereabouts of the accused. Rewards will also be given to those who will provide information about the accused,” said Dalal.

Meanwhile, kin of the deceased also met the DGP and demanded arrest of the accused at the earliest. The DGP assured them that the accused would be nabbed soon.

Karnal, August 4
Arshdeep Hanzara(14) from Karnal has earned the distinction and honour of becoming the Mayor of Laptong Township in Philipsberg district of USA for “one day”.

A student of class IX Arshdeep is the first Indian to achieve this feat. The $83 million developmental budget of Lapptong Township was passed following his approval. He earned this honour by standing first in a competition in which 800 students participated

A resident of Sector 13 here, Arshdeep left the city 11 years ago and went to New Jercy to join his father, Jasbir Singh.

Duglas Stenhard, Mayor of the council, invited Arsdeep to become the Mayor for a day and send his officers to him in the afternoon. He met the heads of different departments and acquainted himself with functioning of the council He also participated in the monthly meeting of the council which passed the budget.

Hisar, August 4
International wrestler Pooja Dhanda has accused a fellow wrestler, Balraj Singh, of threatening to kidnap and kill her.

According to a complaint made to the police by her father Ajmer Singh, Balraj allegedly threatened Pooja on her cellphone.

Pooja has alleged that on her return from Romania after participating in the World Junior Championship on Sunday, Balraj called her up and misbehaved with her, her father, mother and brother.

Both Pooja and Balraj were summoned to the police station. They have been asked to appear tomorrow again. However, the police is yet to register a case.

On the other hand, Balraj told the police that he had called Pooja to ask her to desist from misbehaving with his friend, who practices wrestling with Pooja at the local stadium.

He alleged that Pooja’s brother abused him and, therefore, he too retaliated.

He added that he had offered apologies to Pooja’s family at the police station and denied threatening her.

Chandigarh, August 4
A 20-week pregnant Yamunanagar girl is well within her rights to raise a family. The ossification test has revealed she is not a minor after all; and her father was not right when he claimed she was just 13.

As the dispute came up for hearing this afternoon, the ossification report was placed before the Bench of Justice TPS Mann. The report asserted the girl was around 17-year-old.

The development is significant as her dreams of raising a family could have been shattered had she been a minor, as her relationship with her husband Ehsan would have come under a cloud.

Appearing before the Bench, the girl also made it clear that her home was with her husband. After going through the report and recording her statement, Justice Mann allowed her to go with Ehsan.

She along with her husband had agreed to go in for an ossification test to prove she was not a minor in order to demonstrate the legitimacy of her pregnancy.

Her father had all along been claiming she was just 13-year-old when “abducted”. Her husband, on the other hand, was insisting she was 18-year-old and a major.

As the habeas corpus petition filed by her father had come up for hearing before Justice Mann, the father said the girl was born on December 25, 1998. Contesting the claim, Ehsan said she was born on March 2, 1993. He added that they tied the knot on March 22 this year.

Taking cognizance of the controversy, Justice Mann had asserted: “It will be appropriate to determine the exact date of birth of the girl”.

Sirsa, August 4
Residents observed a complete bandh in Ellenabad town of this district this morning after some armed miscreants, who allegedly used to collect “hafta” from vendors, gunned down a fruit vendor and injured two others last night.

The miscreants allegedly fired from three illicit .315 pistols after Sunil refused to give them fruits free of cost. Two customers also sustained bullet injuries in the process. The police has arrested two persons in this connection.

Sunil was selling fruits on his rehri near Tibbi bus stand of Ellenabad last night when some youths came on motorcycles and purchased some fruits. The youths got enraged when Sunil demanded money and started beating him up.

Some other vendors came to Sunil’s rescue and a quarrel ensued. The youths came againand started firing on the vendors.

Sunil and two customers, Asgar Ali and Mushtaq, who sustained bullet injuries, were rushed to the local General Hospital, where Sunil succumbed to his injuries. Sunil was the only breadwinner in his family.

The victim’s brother, Arun, alleged that the miscreants used to collect “hafta” from vendors Three of the accused had been freed recently from jail where they were lodged in a case of murder.

SP Vivek Sharma said the police had arrested two persons, including main accused Daljit Singh, who allegedly killed Sunil.

Panipat, August 4
The state, which is already reeling under long power cuts due to the shortage of power, is set to face even longer power outages as one unit each at Khedar and Panipat had to be shut down due to a leakage in the boiler tube.

The 600 MW unit at Khedar and the 110 MW unit at Panipat were shut down resulting in up to 7 to 8 hour power cuts in the major cities of the state.

Sources in the Power Utilities Department said the power demand had touched more than 1,440 lakh units and despite clubbing the power received from all the sources (inside and outside the state), the utilities were short of 53 lakh units a day.

The evening peak load demand had also crossed the 6,300 MW mark and there was a shortage of 411 MW. As of today, the thermal units of the state produced 595 lakh units and the state was overdrawing 45 lakh units from the northern grid to tide over the crisis.

The sources said even with the banking arrangements in place, the state was still falling short to meet the power demands due to the unfavorable climatic conditions and the ongoing paddy season, during which more electricity was required by the farmers.

Naraingarh (Ambala), August 4
Vishwamitra, president of the Ambala District Screening Plant Association, at a meeting held here yesterday criticised the state government for its dual policy towards mining in the state, which had made hundreds of screening plants ineffective.

“Our businesses are closing down. Not only the miners are losing their jobs, but also those involved in the other areas of the business will be affected, including rickshaw-pullers and cart-pullers,” he said.

According to sources, for the past 15 months, the owners of the screening plants are not paying instalments against the loans procured from banks for the purchase of machinery, JCBs and vehicles for transportation of stones.

Vishwamitra said the banks had now started threatening screening plant owners for the recovery of loans.

He said there were a few districts, which were exempted from the mining ban in the state, adding that the worst-affected districts included Ambala, Yamunanagar and Panchkula.

He said as a result of the ban on mining, as per the directions of the HC, a large number of people in the construction business had been affected due to the rising prices of sand and stone.

Holding the government had not submitted its report so far as demanded by the court, which had affected hundreds of screening plants in the area. He said nearly 40 screening plants at Narainagrh had to shut down, rendering a large number of youth unemployed.

Sonepat, August 4
Residents of Bhatgaon village today protested in front of the main gate of the 33-KV substation against the erratic power supply in the village. They also locked the outer gate of the substation and asked bijli nigam officers to redress their grievances.

The residents said they were promised sufficient power supply for domestic and agriculture purposes. However, supply in the village was erratic with low voltage, unscheduled power cuts and repeated faults in the transformers and supply lines.

The villagers ended their protest on assurance of the nigam authorities at Sonepat, with a warning that if power supply was not streamlined, they would again lock the substation.