Dharamsala, March 29
Jamphel Yeshi, a 26-year-old Tibetan who died yesterday after setting himself afire in Delhi, will be given “martyr’s treatment” by Tibetan exiles living in Dharamsala.

Yeshi’s body was to reach Dharamsala late in the evening. However, due to a delay en route, those carrying his body stopped at Una. Sources said he would be cremated tomorrow morning.

Since morning, the Tibetan exiles had started making preparations for receiving Yeshi’s body. Young Tibetans mounted flags on their two-wheelers and four-wheelers, and left for Kangra from where Yeshi’s body was to be brought in a procession.

A large number of vehicles carrying Tibetans flags caused traffic problems near the tunnel on the Kangra-Ranital road. However, the Tibetans dispersed late in the evening after receiving news that the body would not be revieved today. The Tibetans raised slogans against China.

Around 30 Tibetans, most of them monks and nuns, have committed self-immolation in Tibet. But this is the first self-immolation by a Tibetan exile in India. Earlier, a Tibetan had tried to commit self-immolation in Delhi, but the attempt was foiled.

Yeshi tried to commit self-immolation on March 27 and sustained 95 per cent burn injuries. He died yesterday at 7.30 am in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi. The self-immolation by a Tibetan exile came a day before the arrival of Chinese president Hu Jintao in Delhi. The Chinese president was in Delhi to participate in the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) summit that is aimed at increasing economic cooperation between these countries.

The sources said the body was being brought to Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, as the Delhi police did not allow Tibetans to hold any kind of protest on the arrival of the Chinese president. The entire protest activity was shifted by the Tibetan exiles to Dharamsala.

China has already hardened its stance against the Tibetans after the incidents of self-immolation. Instead of relenting, it has tried to resist the movement with an iron hand by initiating a policy to take control of Tibetan monasteries that have been at the centre stage of all Tibetan protests. China has already initiated a move to post government officials in Tibetan monasteries.

Self-Immolation
Since morning, Tibetan exiles had started making preparations for receiving Yeshi’s body. Young Tibetans mounted flags on their two-wheelers and four-wheelers, and left for Kangra from where Yeshi’s body was to be brought in a procession. However, the Tibetans dispersed late in the evening after receiving the news that the body would not be revieved on Thursday

Shimla, March 29
The issue of approving flat water rates for the entire town today rocked the Municipal Corporation (MC), forcing Mayor Madhu Sood to adjourn the House twice as councillors did not allow her to take up the listed business.

The issue of enforcing flat rates for water for the entire town led to heated arguments between both Congress and BJP councillors. Both raised slogans against each other, leading to complete pandemonium, with Mayor Madhu Sood adjourning the House. Efforts to take up proceedings did not succeed as the councillors remained adamant on their stand.

The BJP councillors sought explanation from the Mayor on the issue of flat water rates so that people got relief from paying charges on the base of average bills. On the other hand, Congress and CPM councillors demanded that flat rates for the entire town be enforced only after all structures in the three merged areas were regularised.

The BJP councillors raised slogans demanding flat rates for the entire town. They asked why one lakh people in the town should suffer because of the 30,000 people residing in the merged areas. At present people of the merged areas are being provided water at commercial rates and those residing in the town at domestic rates.

Shimla, March 29
Asserting that there was no loss to the state exchequer in the purchase of shoes by the Police Department, Chief Minister PK Dhumal today told the Vidhan Sabha that the government was not averse to an inquiry into technical infirmities or procedural lapses, if any.

Replying to the debate on a cut motion pertaining to the Police Department, he said after the second quotation, the rate was reduced by Rs 60 and the government saved Rs 5 lakh in all as a result. Further, the increase in the number of suppliers ensured better quality of product and there were no complaints.

Referring to the charge of Congress MLA Mukesh Agnihotri that the Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) had written on the file that prima facie a case was made out and that the DGP had rejected the proposal for setting up a purchase committee, Dhumal said any technical infirmities or procedural irregularity could be looked into. He said the ADGP was not the final authority and, moreover, there could be other issues like clash of seniority between senior officers.

He denied that the government was victimising Congress leaders and implicating them in false cases. He asked Congress leaders to provide details of specific cases and not make generalised allegations. The fact was that the previous Congress government had resorted to a lathicharge on BJP MLAs and workers while they were staging a peaceful protest on the Ridge to mark the anniversary of Emergency. Not only that, all leaders, including him, were booked and they had to make appearance in court for five years.

Earlier, Mukesh Agnihotri alleged that the law and order machinery had collapsed in the Santokhgarh area and the “emergence of local gangs” had converted villages like Singa into a virtual Bihar, where even ruling party supporters were not safe.

Sundernagar, March 29
The seven-day state-level Nalwar Fair, the biggest cattle fair of North India, concluded here yesterday. Jai Ram Thakur, Panchayati Raj Minister, was the chief guest on the occasion.

As per tradition, the minister led a colourful procession from the PWD Rest House to the Nagaun khad where he witnessed the wrestling bouts (Chhinj). Later he addressed a gathering at Jawahar Park and gave away prizes to winners of different categories.

He said cattle fairs reflected the hill culture of the state. The government was committed to protecting these fairs and had earmarked Rs 224.20 crore for animal husbandry in the coming financial year.

Roop Singh Thakur, MLA, Sundernagar, welcomed the chief guest and said the Nalwar Fair was the biggest cattle fair in North India and more than 500 years old. He said this year the trade of bullocks touched Rs 4 crore.

As per tradition, in the past two days of the fair wrestling bouts (Chhinj) were organised and wrestlers of national and international fame could be seen taking part. Chhinj is organised in a natural stadium as on all sides thousands of spectators witness the event while sitting on slopes.

Although the Mela Committee did not spend much on this event, it remained the most popular feature of the fair.

Shimla, March 29
Even as there is no conformation on who will be the next Chief Secretary with Rajwant Sandhu retiring by the end of the month, Harinder Hira may emerge as her successor, along with the appointment of an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) who will finally take over from her on April 30.

With Hira, a 1976 batch officer having only a month left since she is due to retire on April 30, the government could issue a notification appointing her successor as the OSD. With the race for the top post narrowing down to Ashok Thakur, currently on central deputation and Sudipto Roy, Additional Chief Secretary (Forest), there is talk that Roy could find favour with the government.

Roy, a 1978 batch officer, is the senior-most officer after Hira currently serving in the state. The government is likely to appoint Hira as the Chief Secretary and Roy as the OSD, making her the third successive woman officer to occupy the top post of Chief Secretary, after Asha Swaroop and Rajwant Sandhu.

Incidentally, Sandhu, too, had been appointed as the OSD, a month before she took over as the Chief Secretary. However, this arrangement had to be made due to administrative changes at the Centre where she was occupying the post of Secretary. It was after Swaroop’s retirement that she took over the administrative reins of the state.

With Hira’s elavation as the Chief Secretary, there could be some administrative changes as the senior-most officer is likely to be made the Additional Chief Secretary. However, it remains to be seen whether the person to be made the OSD will be allowed to hold the post of Additional Chief Secretary.

S Vijay Kumar, Secretary, Rural Development at the Centre, and S Behuria, head of the National Disaster Management Authority, are the senior-most IAS officers as of now. All three, including Hira, are of the same 1976 batch.

With Hira retiring on April 30, the race for the top post is now mainly between Thakur and Roy. Thakur, a 1977 batch officer, who is currently heading the Industrial Policy Promotion Agency at the Centre, has already conveyed his willingness to return to his home state provided he is offered the post of Chief Secretary. He had conveyed his willingness through a letter to the Chief Secretary in mid-February.

Though the scales seem to be tilting in favour of Roy, it is still uncertain as to who will finally succeed Hira as Chief Secretary. Thakur is due to retire in 2014 and Roy, a year later.

Kangra, March 29
Among the 40 archaeological sites in this hill state, four ASI sites, the Buddhist Monastery at Tabo, the Rock-cut temples at Masroor, the Kangra Fort here and the Hidimba Devi Temple at Manali, will be included as World Heritage sites. This will help this state to come on a bigger canvas of world heritage tourism.

This was stated by TR Sharma, Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Shimla Circle, on the inaugural day of the two-day function of the year-long celebrations of the 150th year of the establishment of the ASI at the famous Kangra Fort here today.

He said during the current celebration year 27 programmes would be held in all the 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh to create an awareness among common people regarding the preservation and beautification of sites of valuable cultural heritage. He stressed that efforts should be made to pass on these cultural heritage sites to the next generation.

Earlier, Chander Kumar, former MP, inaugurated the function by lighting a lamp. He said it was on December 20, 1861, that the then government took over the responsibility of archaeological monuments in India and this day marked the 150th year anniversary of that event.

He said this historic institution had made an outstanding contribution to revealing our country’s rich historical and cultural heritage and protecting it for posterity.

He further added that the ASI had, over the years, developed high capabilities in the exploration, excavation, conservation, environmental upgradation, research and publication. He said archaeology today, more than ever before, was expanding its frontiers, both in terms of its philosophy and methodology.

He said to boost tourism and bring tourists nearer to cultural roots, three tourism circuits were planned when the Congress was in power in HP. However, the present government pushed that into a dustbin, he alleged. Cultural programmes was part of the programme.

Surender Kaku, former MLA, was the guest of honour on the occasion. An exhibition of the great monuments of this state was also set up. 

Shimla, March 29
The HP High Court has directed the Director-General of Police (DGP) to constitute a special team for tracing accused persons in various cases of sexual assault on minor children in the state.

The court passed this order on a petition filed by a two-year-old girl’s mother from Jhandutta, Bilaspur. Disposing of the petition, the court said the police should take prompt action to book the accused at the earliest in such cases, so that the required signal of deterrence reaches society.

The girl’s mother had alleged inaction on part of the police despite the incident of sexual assault on the two-year-old girl by a close relative having taken place on October 7 last year. The matter came up before the court on December 1 last year. Thereafter, the court had passed an order for effective investigation, including changing of the investigating officer. Pursuant to such orders, a team was constituted under the Additional Superintendent of Police, Bilaspur. The accused was arrested on March 8 and he is in judicial custody. A challan is being filed in the case.

The court observed that had it not intervened in the case at an appropriate stage, the investigating officer, to whom the investigation was initially entrusted, would have submitted an “untraced report”, as seen from the progress of the investigation conducted by him.

Shimla, March 29
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today appealed to people to observe Earth Hour by launching a signature campaign from his official residence here today.

He appealed to people to observe Earth Hour on a call given by the WWF by switching off their lights on March 31 from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm. “This will help in the global movement of bringing about a positive change in the public attitude towards environment,” he said.

The Chief Minister said such campaigns should not be limited to ritual celebrations, but constant endeavours were required to sensitise masses about the importance of environment protection. He said a number of threats were emerging on the environmental front which could be slowed down only with the disciplining of daily habits of individuals.

The state-level function is being organised by the WWF in collaboration with the State Council for Science Technology and Environment. 

Chamba, March 29
The district unit of the Himachal Pradesh Government College Teachers Association is up in arms over the recent decision of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) of closing down the evaluation centre here.

Members of the association today staged a dharna on the premises of the local Government Postgraduate College and threatened to boycott their official duties in the ongoing annual examinations if the decision was not reversed and the evaluation centre not restored by the March 31 deadline.

Later, talking to mediapersons here, association president Shiv Dyal Sharma and secretary Vidya Sagar revealed that after a long wait and determined discussions at various levels, the evaluation centre was allocated to the college keeping in mind that this was a district headquarters college and the only college in the whole district.

The association leaders further said the HPU had set up its evaluation centre at this college last year so that the staff of government colleges located at Chamba, Chowari, Salooni, Tissa, Pangi and Bharmour far-flung places, besides private colleges, could conduct evaluation work of answer-sheets at Chamba and at the same time other college activities were not hampered.

Nurpur, March 29
A local court on Tuesday convicted three persons, including two foreigners, for allegedly duping former pradhan of the Minjgrah gram panchayat Balak Ram Pathak of Rs 20.15 lakh in a cyber crime case. The court has awarded three years’ imprisonment and fined Kalyan Mishra of Mirjapur in Uttar Pradesh and Isokeffi Babi and Obi Kigseje Chinaru from Nigeria.

A victim of cyber crime, Pathak had submitted his complaint to the Director-General of Police in 2009 alleging that he was “trapped” by the accused. Jorge Johnson had informed the victim through a forged e-mail ID that he had won an Australian “e-mail lottery” to the tune of four lakh British pounds sterling. He was asked to deposit money “against the charges of legal fees and other expenses”. He deposited Rs 20.15 lakh in various bank account numbers given by the accused through SMS.

The local additional district attorney said the Nurpur police had lodged an FIR on April 10, 2009. The then SP, Kangra, Atul Fulzele, had personally taken interest in this case and had succeeded in arresting the accused from Mumbai. Ibraham Khan, the fourth accused in the case, was declared a proclaimed offender by the court.

Chandigarh, March 29
The Comptroller and Auditor General has said there was an acute shortage of medical professionals in government medical colleges. In its audit report (civil) for the year ending March 2011, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said 36 per cent posts of medical professionals lies unfilled.

Also, the report said despite announcements by the government, hospital buildings had failed to come up at Fatehgarh Sahib and Nangal. A super-specialty hospital was announced by former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh in December 2004 at Peerjain in Fatehgarh Sahib. However, it was yet to be completed.

The CAG noted that Amarinder proposed the setting up of a hospital in Nangal at a public meeting, following which the construction work was entrusted to the Health Systems Corporation. It said a tender of Rs 5.48 crore was awarded, but only Rs 1 crore was released, which led to the stoppage of work on the project in September 2007.

It said the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) was directed to hire a consultant to assess the feasibility of the project on public private partnership mode. It said the consultant declared the project non-feasible in May 2005.

Thereafter, an alternative proposal was put up in May 2005 to construct a secondary level mother and child specialty hospital. The report noted that Rs 2.50 crore was released for the project in November 2006 even though the total cost was pegged at Rs 6.78 crore. As no more money was released, the project lies incomplete.

It held that neither seats for graduates and postgraduate courses were adequate nor were the super-specialty courses that were on offer.

The report said despite being premier tertiary care hospitals of the state, no trauma care centre existed in any of the medical colleges in Patiala, Amritsar or Faridkot. It said due to this, trauma patients had to seek medical treatment at distant places.

The CAG report also noted that equipment costing Rs 3.92 crore required for specialised health care was lying unutilised for want of required infrastructure, accessories and qualified staff. This included an X-ray machine, pneumatic drill, ICU ventilator and two anesthesia machines supplied to the civil hospital at Pathankot and one ICU ventilator to the trauma centre at Amritsar. These machines remained idle from a period ranging from 12 to 25 months (June 2011) for want of skilled staff to operate them.

It said other shortcomings included inability to acquire a mammography unit at Patiala for the last 11 years while the cobalt therapy unit at Amritsar could not be utilised despite installation. 

Chandigarh, March 29
Over 1,600 acres of land acquired by the Punjab Housing and Urban Development Department for various projects in Mohali resulted in a loss of over Rs 43 crore to the state exchequer.

Pointing out the anomaly in the land acquisition proceedings in 2010 and 2011 by the Land Acquisition Collector, the Comptroller and Auditor General, in its annual audit report, pointed out that no responsibility had been fixed by the authority concerned.

A major anomaly was noticed in the 386 acres of land acquired for Aerocity road connecting Sector 66-A with the Zirakpur-Patiala national highway. As per the land acquisition policy, declaration under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act has to be issued within four months of the declaration of the section 4, failing which the acquisition proceedings would lapse.

In addition to the market value of land, an amount calculated at a rate of 12 per cent annum on such market value has to be paid from the date of publication to the date of taking possession of the land. But for acquiring land for the 200-ft wide road, the compensation was announced after a delay ranging from two months to six months, resulting in excess payment of Rs 22.03 crore.

Similarly, for acquiring 357 acres of land, the Housing and Urban Development Department, through its agency Greater Mohali Area Development Authority, paid an excess amount of Rs 21.78 crore to the landowners. 

Patiala, March 29
Almost 12 years after the alleged murder of Harpreet Kaur alias Rosy, daughter of former SGPC president and present Cabinet Minister Bibi Jagir Kaur, the judgment in the case would be pronounced by the Court of Special Judge (CBI cases), Balbir Singh on Friday (March 30).

Apart from Bibi Jagir Kaur, other accused in the case include Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi, Paramjit Singh Raipur, Nishan, Harminder Singh and Satya. One accused Sanjeev had died during the course of trial.

It was intervening night of April 20 and 21 in 2000 when en route from Phagwara to Ludhiana's Christian Medical College and Hospital, Bibi’s teenage daughter Harpreet Kaur (19) had died under mysterious circumstances. Citing that there was “no foul play” and Harpreet’s death was natural due to fever, vomiting and severe dehydration, Harpreet’s post-mortem was not conducted and she was cremated in a hurried manner on April 21 at the Bibi’s home village Begowal (Kapurthala).

A few days after Harpreet’s death, Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Begowal claimed that he was Harpreet’s husband and father of the Harpreet’s stillborn child. On April 27, 2000 Kamaljit approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. On June 9, 2000, the HC directed the CBI to conduct an inquiry into the matter. During the course of investigations, Kamaljit produced videotape images of his engagement ceremony with Harpreet. After conducting a probe, on October 3, 2000, the CBI registered an FIR under various sections of IPC against Bibi Jagir Kaur and six others.

On October 4 and 5, 2000, the CBI arrested Phagwara-based relatives Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi (close to Bibi Jagir Kaur) and Paramjit Singh Raipur, on charges of forcing Harpreet Kaur to have an abortion against her will, conspiring to murder the young woman and destruction of evidence besides some other sections of the IPC. The couple's driver Harminder Singh and their domestic helpers Satya and Sanjeev were also arrested on similar charges. During the investigations, Sub-Inspector Nishan Singh, who was on the personal security of Jagir Kaur, when the incident happened, was also booked by the CBI.

Though the CBI had filed the chargesheet against Bibi Jagir Kaur, accusing her of murdering her pregnant daughter Harpreet and six other accused in the last week of January 2001, but the case trial continued for eleven years. During the trial, more than hundred witnesses were cross-examined and about ten witnesses died during the trial. 

Chandigarh, March 29
Ferozepur City legislator Parminder Singh today said the PCC chief must be replaced by a leader "who is rooted to the ground and who can lead the party from the front".

In a statement here, he said the new PCC president should be accessible to the people and workers. He said this was necessary to confront the ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

The MLA said the Punjab Congress was in a peculiar situation. It was not that the people had ditched the party but the other way round. "The people wanted change but we failed them by being complacent". Parminder said now senior leaders were keeping away from the Vidhan Sabha and had failed to learn lessons from the defeat.