Chandigarh, December 17
Upset over the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) verdict of restoring former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore’s pension, crusaders of the Ruchika case- Anand Prakash and his wife Madhu Prakash, have decided to challenge the verdict.

On this issue, Ruchika’s friends and family members also held a candlelight march in Sector 17 here today.

Anand said the news had come as a shock to him and his family members. He added that they were consulting their advocates and if the law permits them, they would definitely challenge the CAT’s order.

Terming it a failure of the system, Anand’s wife and complainant in the Ruchika Molestation Case, said, if required, she would meet the officials of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and request them to challenge the CAT’s order of restoring Rathore’s pension.

Last week, the Chandigarh Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had allowed Rathore’s petition for resumption of his pension. It was withheld by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after his conviction and later Rathore had challenged the orders.

The order passed by the Bench comprising Justice SD Anand and Member Khushi Ram reads, “In the light of the foregoing discussion, we are of the considered view that the competent authority could not have validly directed the withholding of pension on permanent basis.”

“On the view obtained, we have no hesitation in allowing the petition and directing the invalidation of the impugned order. The applicant shall be entitled to whatever consequential relief may be available to him with the invalidation of the impugned order.”

Rathore, in his petition, had stated that a departmental inquiry against him was dropped in 1994 after investigations.

He had pleaded for the pension saying whatever allegations of misconduct were there, they were as president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Haryana, not as an IPS officer. He was demanding pension as an IPS officer.

Rathore had stated in the petition that the pension withholding order, which was passed on June 23, 2010, was in violation of the principles of natural justice as well since opportunity of personal hearing was not provided to the applicant.

Samalkha (Panipat), December 17
Three persons were burnt to death when the car in which they were travelling caught fire on the NH-1 after it hit the fuel tank of a canter. Another youth accompanying them, who was saved from the flames, died due to grievous injuries sustained by him in the accident.

The deceased were going to their native Banat village near Shamli in Uttar Pradesh from Delhi airport when the incident occurred. According to eyewitnesses, the red coloured Tata Indigo car dashed into the fuel tank of a canter loaded with bricks. As the diesel spilt over the bonnet of the car, it caught fire.

According to the police, victims Tariq Hassan, Vijay and Jia khan had gone to Delhi airport to receive their friend Vishal alias Bunty, who owns a steel business in Mumbai and was returning to his home. The three were first going to visit Vishal’s in-laws in Raja Kheri village of Panipat district, after which they were to leave for Banat.

It is learnt that the impact of the accident was such that the central locking system of the car failed, trapping the four inside the car as it caught fire. Both Vijay and Jia Khan sitting in front immediately got engulfed in the flames, while Vishal and Tariq, who were sitting on the rear seats tried their best to break open the windows but failed. Some of the passersby rushed to their rescue and managed to pull out Tariq of the burning car. But as they moved to help the others, the flames engulfed the whole car making it impossible for them to save the rest.

Tariq was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.

The eyewitnesses said the car (HR 15A 3113) kept moving after catching fire and took some time to come to a complete halt.

Samalkha SHO Vishal Kumar said a case had been registered against the driver of the canter, who had fled from the scene after the incident. He said the police had impounded the canter (HR 55 M 5272) and efforts were on to trace the owner and driver of the vehicle.

The bodies of the victims were later shifted to the mortuary of the Civil Hospital at the district headquarters for post-mortem examination.

Chandigarh, December 17
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has put the Haryana Government on notice for lack of development in the Shivalik region falling in three districts of Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar.

Acting on a petition, alleging step-motherly treatment to the sub-mountainous and one of the most backward areas of the state, filed by Vijay Bansal, president of the Shivalik Vikas Manch, Pinjore, the High Court issued a notice to the Haryana Government for February 17.

Alleging that development works have come to a standstill in the Shivalik area, the petition stated that no meeting of the Shivalik Development Board (SDB) had been held for the past over three years. Besides, in a clearly “anti-democratic” act, not a single member has been nominated from general public to the board in the past 11years.

With the board,which is headed by the Haryana Chief Minister, failing to meet in the past three years, a large number of villages have been without the road network, irrigation facilities and other development work.

The petition claimed that at a meeting of the board on August 19, 2008, it was decided to spend more on watershed management and schemes related to the bridges, roads, water supply and sanitation in the Public Works Department since the major problem of the foothills was soil erosion and water-run-off. However, no work has been initiated in this regard so far.

Even in the financial year 2010-11, out of sanctioned amount of Rs 9 crore, the Shivalik Development Agency (SDA) received only Rs 4.05 crore. Out of that only Rs 2.10 crore was utilised.

It added that repeated representations to the Chief Minister and the Ambala MP regarding lack of development in the Shivalik area had fallen on deaf years.

Headed by Haryana Chief Minister, the SDB was constituted in 1993 for implementing development works in the far-flung areas of the three districts.

The SDA, headed by the Ambala Commissioner, was also formed as the implementation wing to facilitate focused development of the region.

Fatehabad, December 17
With the number of Hepatitis-C cases assuming alarming proportions in Ratia block of the district, the health authorities have made an elaborate plan of mopping and screening of the entire area by the experts from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak.

Civil Surgeon Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj said today that the Director-General of Health Services, Haryana, Dr Narbir Singh, had conveyed to him that 20 teams of experts and laboratory technicians from the PGIMS would arrive in Ratia on January 23.

Before this, the health department would send 20 laboratory technicians to the PGIMS on December 23 for a special training on testing cases of Hepatitis-C.

“The teams would conduct Rapid Test on over 10,000 people between the age of 18 to 60 years during their mopping and screening operations,” said Dr VK Jain, Senior Medical Officer of the Community Health Centre, Ratia.

In cases any member of the household was found infected from Hepatitis-C, all members of the house, irrespective of their age, would be tested for the disease, he said.

Nearly 270 cases of Hepatitis-C have been detected in Ratia and the surrounding areas with many of these concentrated in a particular area of the town.

Dr Jain clarified that all the cases were old and no new case had been detected recently. The health authorities admit that the number might be much higher, but it, they said, would be clear only after the mopping and screening drive.

Local residents allege that several deaths have also occurred due to the disease during the last three years, though the health authorities deny this fact.

Residents, who have been alleging a display of lackadaisical attitude by the health authorities in this regard, had brought the matter to the notice of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda during visit to Ratia in connection with the November 30 bypoll.

The civil surgeon said Dr Narbir Singh summoned the local health authorities to Panchkula for a meeting on the issue on Thursday and the programme of mopping and screening of the area was chalked out there.

Meanwhile, the civil surgeon today convened a meeting of local doctors and directed them to use disposable syringes and needles only in their clinics. He warned that legal action would be initiated against the violators.

Chandigarh, December 17
Haryana Urban Local Bodies Minister Gopal Kanda said yesterday that the survey of all unregularised colonies would be completed by February 15, 2012.

He said it would be a New Year gift from Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

In the first phase, about 400 colonies of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ambala, Rohtak, Yamunanagar and Bahadurgarh had been regularised. The department had received about 3,000 applications and it was considering about 1200 applications. He said that the colonies with 50 per cent of constructed houses were being considered for regularisation. The department had got biometric survey done through satellite.

In reply to a query regarding the house tax, Kanda said the government was not imposing house tax to generate any revenue. It was our compulsion as it was mandatory for funding by the Union government. Only nominal house tax would be imposed as it was in the interest of the state as Rs 250 crore grant-in-aid was pending for Faridabad only and every year Rs 50 crore was not being released as the state did not impose house tax.

In fact, the people would be benefited as the tax would be nominal and no tax was proposed to be charged for houses below 100 square yards and only Rs 200 had been proposed for houses above 100 square yard and below 250 square yards.

Chandigarh, December 17
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the Haryana police to register a case against a Karnal resident for illegally running a society that issued marriage certificates.

The directions by Justice Alok Singh came on a petition filed by a couple, Pooja Chauhan and Sanjay Kumar, against the State of Haryana and other respondents.

In their petition, the petitioners sought directions to the respondents to protect their lives and liberty.

The directions for registration of case came after Sanjay Kumar told the court that Rakesh Kumar Chahal, a resident of Daha Jagir village in Madhuban (Karnal),had assured him that he would get the petitioners’ marriage registered.

The petitioners said Chahal had told them that he was authorised to issue a marriage certificate as the society run by him was registered.

Justice Alok Singh said: “As per the status report forwarded by Bhupinder Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kurukshetra, no society in the name of the Human Welfare Gram Udhyog Society exists.

Both the petitioners are present before me and they state that they are major and they want to live together as husband and wife.

Both of them have stated that it seems Chahal was providing fictitious certificates.”

Justice Alok directed a respondent “to lodge an FIR against Rakesh Kumar Chahal and the alleged society and take appropriate action”.

For the couple, the ending of the legal proceedings brought a happy beginning. “Since petitioners are major and want to live together peacefully as husband and wife, therefore, the respondent is directed to take necessary steps ensuring safety of the petitioners,” the judge said while disposing of the petition.

Chandigarh, December 17
Haryana does not seem to do anything about its falling sex ratio. That explains why the number of girls born per 1,000 boys has slipped below the Census recording of 830 per 1,000 to 828 per 1,000 according to the data compiled by the Health Department up to the month of September this year.

A study of the compilation reveals that though the year began on a better note with January registering a sex ratio of 839 per 1,000 at birth, the number of girls in the age group of zero to six years dipped considerably by mid-year with July registering a sex ratio of only 825 per 1,000.

Sources said immediately after the census report was out in April this year, the government, alarmed at the “poor” numbers, set up district monitoring committees to show it meant business.

However, gradually, as the hullabaloo around the sex ratio died down, the issue, too, became relegated to the background. So far, in most districts, all the Deputy Commissioners have been able to manage is to hold a couple of meetings with the other members with no substantial outcome or action plan to tackle the falling number of girls.

According to the information available with the Health Department, six districts have a sex ratio less than 800, Kurukshetra being the worst performer at 735 per 1,000.

While Mahendergarh has a sex ratio of 749, Rewari is third at 760. Sonepat and Kaithal are placed at 779 and 790 per 1,000.

Sources in the Health Department, however, maintain that by the year-end the situation is likely to improve because the trend of falling ratio reversed after July. From 839 per 1,000 in January, it came down to 834 in April and went further down to 829 and 827 per 1,000 in May and June. After coming down to 825 per 1,000 in July, it went up to 828 in August and moved up by one more point in September.

However, this “movement” in sex ratio, sources point out, is essentially because the government not only is clueless about the direction it wants to take but has no plan in place to run a sustained campaign, resulting in the poor numbers.

Over the last six years, the sex ratio has gone up to fall down again and the Department as also the government has failed to evolve a plan to deal with this. Against a sex ratio of 819 per 1,000 in 2001 for the zero to six years category, the sex ratio at birth climbed up to 860 in 2007 only to slip back to 853 in 2009 and fall down to 838 in 2010.

Kaithal, December 17
A team of the CIA, Kaithal, conducted a raid on a house in Padla village of the district last evening and rescued a 20-year-old girl belonging to Punjab who had been illegally kept there.

The police claimed that an attempt was being made to sell the girl but the police action foiled the attempt of the accused.

The police has arrested three men and a woman in this connection. The victim has been sent to Nari Niketan, Karnal, and all four accused have been sent to judicial custody by a local court today.

SP Simardeep Singh said here today that a CIA team, headed by Satya Van, Sub Inspector, while patrolling near Padla canal village got information that Amrit, a resident of Padla, and his accomplices have forcibly kept a girl in their house. The girl, in her statement to the police, said she was married to a Pathankot boy in 2007.

She came in contact with Jasbir Kaur of Banarsi village of Khanauri tehsil in Punjab, who brought her to Hanuman Vatika, Kaithal, about 20 days ago. The woman connived with Rajinder alias Bhola, Prema and Amrit of Padla and sent her with Sanjay of Jundla.

The accused have been booked under Sections 370, 342 and 120 B of the IPC. Efforts were on to arrest the remaining accused, the SP added.

Sirsa, December 17
The District Town Planner has issued a notice to Gobind Kanda, younger brother of the Haryana Minister for Home and Urban Local Bodies Gopal Kanda, for alleged contravention of the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act 1963.

The notice has been given with regard to the new palatial house built by the Kanda brothers near the Tara Baba Kutiya on the Sirsa-Ellenabad road.

The notice, bearing memo number 31155 DTP (S) dated December 15, 2011, was pasted outside the house of the minister today.

The notice also charges Kanda with having laid out a means of access to the Sirsa-Ellenabad road in contravention of conditions imposed by the Act and not applying for the regularisation of his “unauthorised building” within 30 meters restricted belt of the scheduled road as per the government’s policy.

District Town Planner Arvinder Dhull did not respond to calls made on his mobile, while an official in his office maintained that it was a routine exercise.

Gobind Kanda, when contacted, said he had all the necessary permissions for the construction and access to road of his house.

He said such notices have been issued to many others on the Sirsa-Ellenabad road asking them to regularise their constructions as per the government policy.

Chandigarh, December 17
The Haryana Government has decided to declare schools located near sports stadia at block level as Sports Schools, establish Kisan Model Schools and has already set up Arohi Schools in 10 districts of the state.

While disclosing this here today, Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal said with a view to hunting sports talent and groom promising sportspersons from an early age, the Haryana Government has taken a significant decision to declare the schools near block level stadia as Sports Schools. The block level stadia are being constructed in 185 villages in the state under Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyaan (PYKKA) scheme.

She said the concept to declare these schools as Sports Schools was to ensure maximum utilisation of sports stadia and it also envisaged provision of concentrating all the SPAT scholarship holders at these schools.

The minister said other children showing special inclination and talent for sports would be shifted to these schools.

Bhukkal said similarly, it had also been decided to establish Kisan Model Schools at a cost of Rs 102.35 crore in all districts in the state so as to provide qualitative education to each and every child. Earlier, it was proposed to set up one Kisan Model School in six districts namely Mahendergarh, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Jind, Jhajjar and Rohtak. She clarified that these schools in all districts would be established in the financial year 2012-13.

The minister said it had also been decided to strengthen 213 existing Government Senior Secondary Schools having more than 100 students in the 10th and 12th classes by providing necessary funds and these would be developed as Model Sanskriti Schools.