Chandigarh, August 20
With Haryana receiving the lowest rainfall this season in the past 10 years, the state government is pinning hopes on the Central Government for the drought relief package.

Though the state government is not much hopeful about the Rs 4,052 crore drought package sought by it during the visit of Union Ministers Sharad Pawar and Jairam Ramesh to Chandigarh recently, yet it is still banking on the Centre for bonus to farmers on paddy and other crops to mitigate their sufferings to a certain extent, sources said here today.

While pleading the case for the special economic package in view of the “drought-like” situation in the state, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has urged the Central Government to declare a bonus of Rs 200 on paddy and Rs 100 per quintal on other crops in view of the affect of deficient rainfall on the standing crops.

A Union Minister while announcing an interim relief of Rs 230 crore for the augmentation of drinking water supply and watershed management had assured the Haryana Government that a decision on the state’s demands would be taken in New Delhi in due course of time.

A senior officer said the overall rainfall deficiency in the state was pegged at over 70 per cent in this season, the worst in the past 10 years. In 2009, which was considered to be one of the worst drought years in the state’s recent history, only two districts-Bhiwani with 60 per deficit rainfall (as against 54 per cent in 2012) and Sirsa with 90 per cent (as against 71 per cent this year)-were the worst affected as compared to this year.

This time, the district-wise rainfall deficiency varies from 33 per cent in Gurgaon to 93 per cent in Kaithal. In fact, the total cropped area is about 22.76 lakh hectares as against the target of 29.76 lakh hectares, leaving about 7 lakh hectares as the area still to be sown.

Officials said insufficient rainfall had directly affected the Kharif sowing. As against a target of 6 lakh hectares, only 2.15 lakh hectares (35%) could be covered under bajra, a major crop of the state. Similarly, jawar could be sown on an area of 0.60 lakh hectares against a target of 0.80 lakh hectares. The percentage of area covered under other crops was cotton (87%), paddy (82%), maize (47%), summer moong (60%), pulses (38%), oilseeds (40%) and guar (60%).

Chandigarh, August 20
The Punjab and Haryana High Court erred in its judgment of answers.

Just about three months after the results of preliminary examinations for Haryana Superior Judicial Services were declared, the high court has found errors in the answer keys, rectified the mistakes, and declared revised results.

Chandigarh, August 20
To ensure that the mining operations in Haryana are carried out in a scientific and systematic manner, the state government has invited technical proposals from international and national level companies and agencies interested in undertaking mining of minor minerals in the districts of Mohindergarh, Dadri sub-division of Bhiwani and Rewari.

While stating this today, an official spokesman said the document containing details of the proposal could be downloaded from the website www.haryana.gov.in and hard copies could be obtained from the Chandigarh office of the Director, Mines and Geology, Haryana. He said a pre-proposal conference would be held on August 29 in the board room of the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Panchkula, to clarify doubts of all the interested parties.

Any modifications or clarifications emerging from the pre-proposal conference would be notified on the website on September 5. He said technical proposals could be submitted latest by 3 pm on September 19 in the office of the Director, Mines and Geology. He said the agencies would be shortlisted on the basis of their past track record in terms of experience in scientific and systematic mining, qualified manpower on their rolls to handle the operations, machinery and equipment, financial and technical capacity, among other parameters.

Hisar, August 20
The local Haryana Space Application Centre (HASRSAC) is developing Haryana spatial data infrastructure (HSDI) to provide satellite data and thematic maps to user government departments for planning and monitoring of various programmes and projects.

A HARSAC spokesman said here today that with the use of HSDI, the department concerned would be able to access all available information from HARSAC resources. The project was supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, with a grant of Rs 2.03 crore.

He said HARSAC had been working on various projects like ground water prospects mapping for Haryana, space-based information system for decentralised planning (SIS-DP), demarcation of unauthorised colonies, mapping and management of waterlogging in central Haryana, preparation of police station jurisdiction atlas of Haryana and the national urban information system (NUIS).

He said that two Centres of Excellence were being set up in the state which included a “DNA testing and diagnostics facility for research and application in Haryana at the Centre for Plant Biotechnology (CPB) here and a renewable energy test centre at Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology (DCRUST), Murthal.

He said that the CPB had developed micro-propagation protocol for commercial multiplication of brahmi, sugarcane,sarpgandha, mehandi, chrysanthemum, aloe vera, banana, stevia and bamboo.

Presently, five research projects were in progress at this centre. Also, the centre had been providing training to tstudents of various institutes in plant tissue culture and biotechnology, he added. 

New Delhi, August 20
There is no trace of minor siblings — Deepak and Anjana — who left their Faridabad residence for tuition 44 days ago .

Their hapless father, Bans Bahadur Loni, has been doing rounds of the local police station for more than a month now, pleading with the authorities to lodge an FIR as mandated in such cases by the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently. Loni has had no luck.

“All I got from the local thana was a daily diary report. Hardly any effort was made to trace my children. I don’t know where to go. My boy is just 11-year-old and my daughter nine. Their mother died long ago,” Loni, a poor watchman at a Faridabad residential complex told The Tribune today.

As for the Faridabad police, it continues to display brazen contempt for law, as laid down on July 25 by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Referring to the landmark 2002 judgment of the Supreme Court in a related matter, the HC bench observed that every single case involving a missing child should be treated as a “cognizable offence” in which an FIR should be registered immediately. The HC ordered the Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh police to comply with immediate effect.

Inquiries have revealed that in Haryana, the advisory to this effect was never even sent to SPs.

As many as 3237 children went missing from Haryana since 2009 as per Home Ministry data. Out of these, 1517 are still untraced. Strangely, out of the untraced children, 899 are boys and 618 girls, pointing to the possibilities of use of boys in organ trade rackets.

Haryana, in fact, makes up for almost half (43.3 pc) of all 7,460 children who went missing from six northern states — Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, J&K, Himachal — in the last three years.

“This is because the state police lacks the will to treat such cases with the urgency they deserve. Haryana is in utter contempt of the law,” said child rights advocate Ravi Kant, who petitioned Haryana DGP last week in respect of the Faridabad case.

He has not heard back nor has an FIR been lodged. The children remain missing since July 9. “We are preparing to file a contempt petition in this matter,” Kant said.

NS Virk, Joint Commissioner Police, Faridabad, was not available for comments. It is learnt that he ordered the SHO concerned in Faridabad’s Sector 21 area to register a case. But action has not been taken yet.

Sonepat, August 19
With the arrest of Jitender of Kasandi village, the Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the district police claimed to have busted a gang involved in issuing fake arms licences prepared from Deemapur in Nagaland to people in Sonepat, Panipat, Rohtak and Delhi areas.

The SIT also seized two arms licences issued in his name, 15 licences issued in the name of others, a revolver, a pistol, 30 cartridges and a car from his possession.

He was produced in a court today and the court remanded him to six-day police custody for further investigation and to nab the other members of the gang.

A police spokesman said after receiving information about the movement of Jitender, a trap was laid near the Hanumaan Mandir here on Gohana Road last evening by the SIT led by Inspector Kaptan Singh to nab him red-handed.

From the preliminary investigations, it was found that the issuing authority of thesearm licences was the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Deemapur. But the ADC’s signatures on these seized arm licences differed from one licence to other and moreover, date of issuing the licence had not been written on the licences.

During interrogation, the alleged accused confessed to the involvement of one Sirazuddin of Nagaland in issuing these fake arm licences.

A police team has also been sent to Nagaland for further investigation in the case registered against Jitender under various sections of the IPC and Arms Act.

Sonepat, August 20
The police has booked 14 persons in the case of selling a piece of land to a firm on the basis of fake documents last year. The accused include Naib Tehsildar, Deepak Raj, Girdawar Chet Ram, Patwari Vinay Kumar, Nambardar Surender and 10 others. The accused were booked on the basis of a complaint filed by a farmer Mahabir of Pritampura village.

The other accused in the case are Manoj Khaitan, Subhash Chand Gupta, Suraj Prakash, Vipin Gupta, Anil Mittal, Vinay Kumar, Brahm Prakash and Yogesh Kumar-all residents of Delhi, Sukhbir of Bazipur Saboli and Mahesh Kumar Gupta of Sonepat.

In a complaint to the SSP, Arun Singh, the complainant, Mahabir of Pritampura, stated that he and his uncle Suraj Bhan owned a piece of land in Akbarpur Barota village. But the land was transferred in the name of some residents of Delhi on the basis of fake documents as well as fake signatures, he alleged. Mahabir came to know about the deal when the representatives of the buyer company reached his fields to take possession of the land.

The SSP has asked DSP Balbir Singh to probe the complaint. A case was registered after the preliminary investigations. No arrests have been made so far.

Shahabad (Kurukshetra), August 20
The police has registered a rape case against Dr Sanjay Sharma, a BJP leader from Ambala, for sexually exploiting a woman and taking a bribe from her.

In a complaint to the police, the victim, a resident of Sector 13, Kurukshetra, accused Sharma of sexually exploiting her and allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 3.2 lakh on the pretext of getting a government job for her.

“Sharma’s assistant told me that he can get me a government job through his political connections. I came in contact with Sharma and gave him Rs 3.2 lakh for the job. Failing to find me a job, he gave my money back,” she said.

She said Sharma had taken her to Chandigarh and while coming back to Kurukshetra, he stopped his car at a lonely place near Shahbad and sexually exploited her.

Investigating officer Rajpal Dhanda said a case under Section 376 (rape), 420 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) had been
registered against Sharma. His house at Mathedi Shekhain village was found locked when a police team went to arrest him, he said.

The case has been registered against Sharma, his wife, Vandana Sharma, for supporting him in crime, and his assistant Rajpal.

While refuting the charges, Sharma said it was a political conspiracy to defame him.

Gurgaon, August 20
A criminal carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head for his arrest was beaten to death by a mob at Saidpur village near here, while his brother was admitted to a Delhi hospital in a critical condition, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Harischand, 45, a resident of Mandothi village in Jhajjar district. He was wanted in more than a dozen cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion.

His brother, Sanjeev, who also carries a reward of Rs.1 lakh, was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.

Two other persons accompanying the criminals have been identified as Ajit Singh and Kamlesh.

Three country-made pistols, over a dozen cartridges, media and police identity cards and VVIP car parking stickers were recovered from the Santro car of the criminals.

The incident took place when villagers stopped the car for checking during what they called the community night watch. The criminals opened fire at villagers in which two persons were injured, said a police officer.

Rewari, August 20
Usha Devi ( 27) received over 60 burns when she was allegedly set on fire after sprinkling kerosene by her in-laws in a Jhajjar Road Colony here on the intervening night of August 18 and 19.

she was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi, with severe burns.

She was unable to make a statement to the police till the filing of this report.

On the complaint by her father, Tara Chand, a resident of nearby Dhamlawas village, the police has booked her husband Krishan Kumar, father-in-law Prithvi Singh, mother-in-law Krishna Devi and brother-in-law Raj Kumar.

Tara Chand alleged that owing to their failure to meet her in-laws’ demand for more dowry, her in-laws set her on fire.

Usha, who got married to Krishan in February, 2010, bore him a son, who is now 11-month old.

Karnal, August 20
After the body of Pushpa, 28, was found from Avardhan Canal at Satondi village, the family members of the deceased have alleged that she was murdered for dowry. The police has booked five members of the in-laws family and three accused have been arrested so far.

Pushpa got married to Praveen seven years ago. Her in-laws tortured her for dowry from the beginning of her marriage, they alleged.

Jaipal, uncle of the deceased, alleged that she was tortured for dowry and the matter was also taken up in the panchayat to reach a compromise in the past. “We gave Rs 70,000 to the in-laws to fulfill their demand but the torture continued resulting in her murder,” he said. The Sarpanch was also involved in the gruesome act, he alleged. The police has registered a case against five persons, including her husband Praveen, father-in-law Suresh, mother-in-law Ramkaran, brother-in-law Sukhbir and his wife Rani on the basis of the complaint of Pushpa’s relatives. The husband, father-in-law and brother-in- law of the deceased have been arrested. The body was beyond recognition and was sent to the PGI, Rohtak, for the post-mortem examination. — TNS

Hisar, August 20
More than 50 residents have been booked for staging a protest and blocking traffic against dysfunctional sewerage in their area.

Residents of the Sabji Mandi area blocked traffic for several hours on Saturday after their complaints about dysfunctional sewerage fell on deaf ears. The police yesterday booked several residents of the area for participating in the protest.

Meanwhile, undeterred by the police action, residents of the Mill Gate area blocked traffic and staged an angry protest for 90 minutes in protest against power cuts and low voltage. They relented after the SDO of the area assured them that the problem would be resolved soon. Earlier, attempts by the police to disperse them failed.