Dehradun, June 7
A CBI court in a 60-page judgment today acquitted Suryakant Dhasmana, vice-president of the Uttarakhand Congress, of the charges of killing Rajesh Rawat and injuring Ravinder Rawat and Rajiv Mohan in the Karanpur firing case. The trio was part of a mob that had attacked Dhasmana’s house on October 3 in 1994 in the aftermath of the infamous Rampur Tiraha episode case during the agitation for a separate state of Uttarakhand.

However, Pardeep Pant, Judge of the CBI court, sentenced four police personnel on Dhasmana’s security duty to various sentences. The policemen, namely Jaipal, Jasbir, Madan Singh and Jitender Kumar, were held guilty and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment each under Section 304 for culpable homicide and a penalty of Rs 10,000 each was imposed on them. In case the penalty was not paid, they would undergo imprisonment for six more months.

Besides, the accused were also convicted under Section 308 of causing grievous injuries to Ravinder Rawat and Rajiv Mohan and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. The Judge also imposed a penalty of Rs 5,000 each on them and in case of its non-payment ordered them to undergo another six months in jail. They were also held guilty under Section 201 for tampering with evidence and sentenced to two years in jail. The three sentences would run concurrently. Of the total penalty amount, Rs 20,000 would be given to the family of the deceased and Rs 10,000 each to the families of the two injured. The case dragged on for 18 years.

Convicted policemen in civvies. Tribune photos: Vinod Pundir

Elated over the judgment, Dhasmana said he was glad that he had been acquitted of a crime that he never committed. He added he fought the court battle for the last 18 years and had to approach the High Court thrice in 2008, 2010 and 2012 to implore it to expedite the case. However, on May 15 the High Court directed the CBI to wrap up the case within 30 days, owing to which the Judge delivered the judgment today.

Dhasmana said opposition parties and leaders of the statehood agitation had attacked him unreasonably. Even the Press had written against him with regard to the case but he never harboured any hard feeling against them and forgave them. The Congress leader added the truth had prevailed ultimately.

Razia Begh, Dhasmana’s counsel, said it was a clear case in their favour as a mob had first burnt Dhasmana’s office at Karanpur in Dehradun and then laid siege to his house and began pelting it with stones. Baljeet Singh, senior counsel for the leader, said nowhere in the case it could be proved that Dhasmana fired a shot from his pistol or any other pistol.

It was on October 3 in 1994 that infuriated at the Rampur Tiraha incident during the government of Samajwadi Party (SP) in the undivided Uttar Pradesh those struggling for a separate state of Uttarakhand first burnt down Dhasmana’s office in the Karanpur locality of Dehradun city and later pelted stones at his house. Dhasmana was a prominent SP leader at that time.

Begh said security personnel had fired into the air eight times to disperse the angry mob. However, on the ninth time a bullet fired by them hit a pillar, ricocheted and hit Rajesh Rawat, killing him. Ravinder Rawat and Rajiv Mohan were injured in the firing.

Dhasmana had filed an FIR against the mob while Harinder Rawat, an uncle of deceased Rajesh Rawat, too filed an FIR against the leader. Two final reports went in Dhasmana’s favour and then following a petition filed by the Uttarakhand Sangharsh Samiti, an NGO, in the Allahabad High Court in 1995 that the case was handed over to the CBI. The CBI then converted the charges filed under Section 302 by the local police into Sections 304, 308, 307, 334 and 201. The trial in the case went on till 2006 when the state government under a general order withdrew all cases pending against the leaders and participants of the statehood agitation, including Dhasmana’s case. But the case against Dhasmana still continued thereafter.

Dehradun, June 7
Forest fires continue to be a serious challenge for Uttarakhand. The state has already lost 30,000 hectares of forest in fires since the summer of 2001, thus causing a loss of Rs 65 lakh.

Fires have already damaged 2,000 hectares of forest in Uttarakhand this summer and with June still to go, the loss of green cover could increase in the days to come with the mercury level rising. The state witnessed the worst kind of forest fires in 2004 when nearly 5,000 hectares of forest perished causing a loss of Rs 13 lakh.

Another bad year for the Forest Department was 2009 when 4,115 hectares of forest were destroyed in fire. However, in subsequent years the incidents of forest fire reduced slightly due to frequent rain during the summer. While 1,610 hectares of forest were destroyed in fire in 2010, the loss came down to 231 hectares last year due to frequent rain, thus giving a big relief to the Forest Department. But 2012 seems to be yet another challenging year for the department as the number of fire incidents is rising. A total of 2,000 hectares of forest in Uttarakhand have been damaged in fire this summer, causing an estimated loss of Rs 1.72 lakh.

Interestingly, the state forest authorities have taken some measures to check fire incidents but the department looks more or less helpless. Besides directing various forest divisions to come up with fire management plans, 1,151 crew stations and 38 master crew stations have been set up to ensure prompt action in case of fire incidents. The department has also appointed nodal officers at every district to monitor the fire incidents.

Forest fire management committees headed by District Magistrates have also been constituted.

Chief Conservator of Forests KS Samant said the Uttarakhand Forest Department had been undertaking all possible measures to check fire incidents. He added the department also took villagers living in the proximity of forest areas into confidence through Mahila Mangal Dals, Yuva Mangal Dals and Van Suraksha Samitis so as to ensure their participation in extinguishing forest fires.

The department also uses the data provided by satellite imageries to ensure timely detection of fire. Further, the forest officials are also taking stern action against people responsible for igniting fires. However, a permanent solution to forest fires still seems to be a far cry.

Haridwar, June 7
Just a day after the Haridwar police solved a Rs 4-lakh robbery case that took place at BHEL, another robbery incident has come to light in the BHEL-Shivalik Nagar area today.

Two motorcycle-borne youths allegedly robbed one Dinesh Singh, a resident of Pauri Garhwal, of Rs 8.66 lakh when the latter was on his way to hand over the cash to the accounts manager of a Bahadrabad-based industrial firm for commercial transaction purpose this morning.

Dinesh had withdrawn the money from the BHEL branch of Punjab National Bank this morning only. When he, along with other two persons, was on his way to hand over the cash to the authorities of an industrial firm in Bahadrabad, two motorcycle-borne youths tried to divert his attention by seeking information about a local address. In the meantime, one of the accused who was riding the pillion allegedly attacked Dinesh and his associates and fled with the bag containing the money.

The victims immediately reported the matter to the police, following which SP Kiran Lal Shaw and other police officials reached the crime spot. In view of the second daylight robbery within a span of 72 hours, all entry and exit points to the city have been sealed and barricades have been installed. All vehicles are being checked and raids being carried out to arrest the accused.

SSP Arun Mohan Joshi said their special operation team had received some vital clues to the case and it would soon be solved.

However, he failed to answer a query on the rise in criminal activities in the district in the past few months.

He also agreed to the delay in the launch of a tenant verification drive and said the campaign would soon be launched on a large scale.

Haridwar, June 7
In view of reports of illegal quarrying going on unchecked in the region, the district administration has decided to conduct surprise raids, particularly late in the evening as the quarrying mafia usually operates under the cover of darkness.

The activities of the quarrying mafia have increased in the past few days as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Harbeer Singh, who was monitoring raids on illegal quarrying in the Ganga riverbeds and embankments, had been transferred.

Present SDM Uttam Singh Chauhan has said surprise raids would be carried out on a large scale, particularly during late evening hours when the quarrying mafia usually operated.

He added raids were being planned secretly so that only team members and police personnel accompanying them would know about the operation. Meanwhile, local people have resented the opening of more than 20 stone crushers that were seized by the administration last month for violation of laws.

Rana Ranbeer Singh, a social activist, alleged that in connivance with the administration, stone crusher owners and the quarrying mafia were carrying out illegal activities on a large scale though the crushers and their trolleys were impounded for a few days.

District Magistrate Sachin Kurwe said the offenders would be dealt with strictly.

Meanwhile, a protest under the patronage of the Samajik Sena continued in support of quarrying at Pahadi Bazaar in Kankhal. National spokesperson for the sena Acharya Roopendra questioned the ban on quarrying in Haridwar. He said quarrying was imperative for both natural and commercial reasons.

Acharya said scientists too had favoured quarrying to a certain degree in rivers and hence regulated quarrying should be allowed in the Ganga in Haridwar.

Haridwar, June 7
With a large number of crimes taking place in the district and the police having a tough time putting brakes on the incidents, local residents as well as political outfits have expressed their concern over the spiralling crime rate.

The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Progressive) took out a protest rally and sought stern measures from the police in this regard.

Central secretary of the labour cell of the UKD-P said that in past week, three big robberies had taken place in broad daylight. As many as six chain-snatching incidents had occurred in the centre of the city. “Haridwar is a world renowned pilgrim city, but now, it has also taken the mantle of Uttarakhand’s crime city as highest number of crimes takes place in the district.

"Despite repeated change of guard at the top of the district police, the rate of crime has not changed,” said Semwal who led the protest at Bhagat Singh Chowk.

Urging SSP Arun Mohan Joshi to take stringent steps to bring back the sense of security among the residents, Uday Ram assured full support of the public to the police in this endeavour.

While appreciating the recent successes of the district police, Lalit Mamgain, chief of the city's youth wing, said that the police administration needs to pull up its socks.

Mamgain blamed the holy baths and VIP movement, which keep many personnel of the police force engaged, for making crime easier to commit. "The force faces a shortage of personnel as most policemen are on mela or VIP duty," he said.

The UKD(P) urged Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to form a special mela force so that civil police could concentrate on its basic duty.

Former legislator Ambrish Kumar also expressed concern over the rising crime graph in Haridwar, terming it to be a serious matter due to the increase in population of the district, particularly the floating one.

Ambrish, founder of social forum Rashtriya Krantikari Manch, demanded a proper verification drive in the industrial units in SIDCUL as most persons involved in recent criminal cases have been related to the units there.

Housewives Sarita Purohit, Jyoti Devi, Sanjana Sharma, Poonam Jha, traders Sunil Gulati, Priyavrat Gupta, Sachin, Tarun, Vikki and students Kanika Marwah, Konika Arora also expressed concern over the rise in crime in the city.

Dehradun, June 7
School students from Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir visited the Indian Military Academy (IMA) here today as part of an education tour.

The touring group hailing from the Kandi bowl region of Kupwara district in the Kashmir valley comprised of 30 students and four teachers. They visited the IMA and witnessed activities there. “The visit to the academy has motivated the students to join the armed forces to serve the nation,” said Major Pankaj Kumar, who is guiding the tour.

The students also visited the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun. The tour also includes a visit to Mussoorie tomorrow.

The tour was flagged off from Kupwara on May 31. The children had earlier got an opportunity to meet President Pratibha Devisingh Patil at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. People appreciated the Headquarters 8 Sector Rashtriya Rifles for organising the tour.

Major Pankaj Kumar said the students had come out of the Valley for the first time and got an opportunity to visit places of interest in the National Capital, including India Gate, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Akshardham Temple, Raj Ghat and Shakti Sthal. Most of the students expressed desire to study at some higher education institution in New Delhi.

Dehradun, June 7
Benaras XI today won the Arun Singh Kathait Memorial Women’s Cricket Tournament by defeating Uttarakhand XI here today.

After winning the toss, the Benaras XI team asked its opponents to bat first. The Uttarakhand XI team scored 83 runs for nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

Opener Neelam was the top scorer with 27 runs while Sarita from Benaras XI took four wickets for only five runs.

Benaras XI scored 86 runs for the loss of four wickets to win the tournament by six wickets. Opener Sadhana scored 38 runs in 38 balls with the help of five boundaries to the fence. Shubhangi scored 28 runs. Vinod Kandari, president of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, gave away the prizes to the winners.