Rohtak, May 10
The manager and caretaker of ‘Apna Ghar’, a shelter home run by the Bharat Vikash Sangh, an NGO, here was remanded in four-day police custody by a local court this morning. 

She was produced in the court after her arrest around midnight last night following a raid by a four-member team of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). 

The raid was carried out after reports of alleged child abuse, immoral trafficking and labour bonding at the centre which has around 130 inmates, mostly girls, up to the age of 18 years.

The arrest of the accused, identified as Mrs Jaswanti(47), followed the surprise visit by the NCPCR team from around 9 pm to 1.45 am this morning. The visit followed a complaint of missing of three minor girls from this home a few days back. 

While the functioning of the shelter home at the Shri Nagar locality here has been handed over to the district administration, two officials from the commission have been placed here for further investigation and collection of details.

A case under Sections 354, 376, 342, 109, 323 and 506 of the IPC, 3,4,5 of the Immoral Trafficking Act and Section 16 of the Labour Bonding Act has been registered against the manager. 

Investigating officials claimed that charges of sexual abuse, MTP and selling of a girl inmate were also levelled. While a majority of the girl inmates have alleged torture at the home, they have claimed that they were beaten up if they resisted. 

Medical examination of all female inmates above the age of 14 years has been ordered. Dr Dinesh Laroyia and Mr Vinod Kumar Tikoo, members of the commisson, told The Tribune that inmates have levelled allegations of beating, stripping and sexual abuse by those running the centre. 

They said the raid was carried out after reports that three minor girls who were brought here last year had fled a couple of days back. The commission has directed the district officials to take over the management of the home and register a case against those responsible for the maltreatment of the inmates.

The accused had been awarded the state-level Stree Shakti award and the district-level prize for excellent work at the last Independence Day function here. The accounts of the shelter, which receives grants from both the state and union governments, have been sealed. The SDM has been asked to prepare a detailed report and profile of the inmates lodged here.

The police arrested two more persons, both kin of the main accused Jaswanti, this evening in connection with the alleged child abuse and torture of inmates of the shelter this evening. The number of persons arrested has gone up to three. The accused have been identified as Simi and and her husband Jai Bhagwan. While Simi is the daughter of Jaswanti, Jai Bhagwan is her son-in-law. 

Panipat, May 10
Despite a majority of state bureaucrats having given their consent for making their property details public, the State Information Commission still holding back the information sought under the RTI Act, on the grounds that a similar case was pending in the high court and only after its verdict could the commission reveal the details.

However, 36 bureaucrats holding senior positions in the state government have already consented to make their property details public. As per the information secured by RTI activist P.P. Kapoor, only 33 bureaucrats have objected to sharing details of their properties.

In the consent letter handed over to the State Information Commission (SIC), senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who is posted as director-general of social justice and empowerment, stated that “honest public servants have nothing to fear if the property details are made public.”

He also suggested that any property owned but not declared by a public servant should be fortified. This, he said, “would help in a substantial reduction of corruption in society.”

Meanwhile, the wait for the details for property assets possessed by state bureaucrats after joining service continues to get longer. It was on December 16, 2009 that Kapoor had put up a petition before the Haryana State Information Commission (HSIC), after he was denied information by the SPIO attached with the office of the Chief Secretary to the Government of Haryana related to the property details owned by all the IAS, IPS, tehsildars, assistant tehsildars, HPS and HCS officers posted in the state at the time of their joining the duty and at the end of 2009.

Early last year, the department of personnel and training of the union government had passed an order directing all IAS officers to submit their annual property returns by April 4, each year, which was uploaded on the official website of the department for public scrutiny.

In November 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had decided to make public the assets and liabilities of his ministerial colleagues on the website of the Prime Minister's Office.

The Central Information commission (CIC) had on August 28, last year, pronounced a verdict in which it had stated that the property details of the bureaucrats could be made public as these were not confidential.

Upset over delay in getting information, Kapoor is planning to move a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking directions to the SIC for release of the required information. 

Chandigarh, May 10
The Haryana Government has banned the purchase of luxury items, especially airconditioners, carpets, costly furniture, crockery by officers. It has also banned domestic air travel in business class for any category of officers. Purchase of new cars and vehicles except for replacement has also been banned. Instructions to this effect have been sent to all heads of departments.

The Finance Department has also directed the heads of departments to effect a mandatory 5 per cent cut in non-plan expenditure on domestic and foreign travel expenses, publications, professional services, advertising and publicity, office expenses, POL except for security related requirements and other administrative expenses. A ban has also been imposed on upgradation of new posts. The creation of new posts would be allowed only under exceptional circumstances by the Finance Department. Posts lying vacant for more than two years would be filled only after approval of the department. — TNS

Chandigarh, May 10 
Slamming the Haryana government for failing to protect innocent children at shelter homes, the INLD said today the Congress government was working against the interests of women in the state and even issuing “talibani” orders on dress codes.

Addressing a press conference here, secretary-general of the INLD and MLA, Ajay Singh Chautala, said the exploitation of girls at the shelter homes had come as a shocker. “What could be worse than the fact that the shelter home in Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s own constituency was running a racket and exploiting children,” he claimed.

Condemning the government of being anti-women, Chautala said the recent orders of a “decent dress code” and a ban on jeans and t-shirts reeked of a “talibanised” mindset and very narrow thinking. 

“The government claims to be going out of the way to watch women’s interests but these orders expose its hollow claims. It professes to favour 50 per cent reservation for women but will not let them dress up the way they want to,” he asserted. 

Quoting other instances, Chautala said that the government disallowed recruitment of women who were pregnant for 12-weeks and more, as teachers. They had to withdraw these orders subsequently after protests erupted all over the state, he claimed.

On all these issues and the complete lack of law and order in the state, the power situation among others, an INLD delegation led by party chief and leader of opposition Om Prakash Chautala will meet Haryana Governor and submit a memorandum against the government on May 12. 

Chandigarh, May 10
HUDA has modified and finalised the policy for grant of extension in time for construction on institutional sites and grant of extension fee. 

A spokesman of HUDA said the institutional sites had been categorised as sites allotted to social and charitable trusts, religious and philanthropic institutions and trusts. The sites allotted to institutions and organisations other than these include educational institutions, sites allotted in exclusive institutional sectors of HUDA and sites allotted to government departments and organisations. 

As per the existing policy for sites for social, charitable trusts, religious institutions, philanthropic institutions and trusts, the constructions were required to be completed within a period of two years from the date of offer of possession. An extension of three years was permissible for completing construction on such institutional sites on payment of extension fee. — TNS

Chandigarh, May 10
The Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation has come to the rescue of a Rohtak-based computer science student, whose name was struck off from the rolls due to non-payment of fees.

Set up in 1995 for the protection of the environment and to take up other social and legal causes, the foundation is financially supporting Sahil Dhal, who could pay fees only for the first semester.

The foundation’s board of trustees consists of former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice S.S. Sodhi, senior advocate M.L. Sarin, Y. Saboo, Jagesh Khaitan, Sushil Goenka and Anupam Kher.

As a petition filed by Dhal on the issue came up for hearing, the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed advocate Nitin Sarin has already been appointed as amicus curiae in the case.

The Bench of Acting Chief Justice M.M. Kumar and Justice Alok Singh added: “A benevolent solution was found by this court to rescue the petitioner from financial predicament.

“Sarin Foundation came forward to bear the burden of fee in respect of Sahil Dhal, who was admitted in computer science engineering branch of Matu Ram Institute of Engineering and Management, Rohtak, in the year 2009.

“His name was struck off from the rolls of the institute on account of non-payment of fees as he had paid the fees for the first semester only. On the willingness shown by the Sarin Foundation to give financial support to the petitioner, a schedule of payment by Matu Ram Institute of Engineering and Management, Rohtak, was handed over to M.L. Sarin.”

The Bench added: “Already fee for second, third and fourth semester stands paid. A demand draft for a sum of Rs 33,000 to pay the fee of Rs 32,716 in respect of the fifth semester has been handed over to Anurag Goyal, counsel for the Matu Ram Institute.

“Nitin Sarin, counsel representing the Sarin Foundation, has stated that rest of the three instalments shall also be paid as per the schedule. He has further stated that it would serve the object of the Foundation, if the Matu Ram Institute may keep on sending the report in respect of Sahil Dhal that he has been attending the classes and has not abandoned the course in between”.

Disposing of the petition, the Bench asserted: “The writ petition is disposed of by recording the undertaking given on behalf of Sarin Foundation that sixth, seventh and eighth instalment, as per the schedule, shall be paid in respect of Sahil Dhal and Matu Ram Institute shall keep on submitting the report to the Sarin Foundation with regard to the attendance of Sahil Dhal in the college so as to ensure that the object of the foundation is achieved.” 

Faridabad, May 10
The police last evening rescued six girls and five boys allegedly kept in detention in a house at Surya Vihar Colony of Sehatpur village, near here, by two men of their native state Jharkhand.

The victims were rescued after a raid was conducted by a police team on the house.

ACP Sarai Khawaja, Dharshan Lal Mallik, who headed the operation, said the accused - Deepak Kumar and Sunil Kumar - of Jharkhand were nabbed from the house.

He said the accused ensared boys and girls, especially from Jharkhand, with a promise to get them jobs. They kept them in detention till they were supplied as domestic helps and other kinds of labour in various parts of the country.

They ran this racket under the banner of a fictitious placement agency and s ome more persons are alleged to be involved in the racket, Mallik added.

The victims were produced before Faridabad SDM Yashpal Yadav as some of the victims were suspected to be minors. The boys were sent to Bal Bhawan and females to a shelter house here, the police said.

The police said the victims would undergo a medical examination to ascertain their age. The police got to know of the detentions last evening when one of the victims escaped and informed the police.

Mallik said the accused were running the racket for the past six years from Delhi. A few months ago, they had shifted to Faridabad.