Chandigarh,October 5
Credit it to public outcry or the state government’s good intentions, the Hooda Government is getting serious about protecting whistleblowers and RTI activists in Haryana, who have long been at the receiving end , by amending its policy of providing security to them.

In the new policy, the government has taken care of “vendetta cases” against whistleblowers and RTI activists by vested interests by creating an institutional mechanism to protect them. Besides, the scope of the policy has been widened by including complainants and witnesses in serious cases in the category of whistleblowers.

“A special cell will be created for processing the requests for security and for monitoring the investigation of cases registered against whistleblowers/RTI activists/complainants/ witnesses in serious cases due to malice, repression and without reasonable cause,” a notification issued by Samir Mathur, Additional Chief Secretary(Home), said.

Meanwhile, a one week time-limit has been fixed for district-level committees (DLC) comprising the District Magistrate, Superintendent of police and the district attorney to complete the process for providing security to whistleblowers/RTI activists. Even in the case of denial of security by the DLC, a copy of the application along with the threat assessment report would be sent to the state-level committee (SLC) comprising the Principal Secretary(Home), Advocate-General and the DGP. The SLC would have powers to overrule the DLC.

While the DLC would send the proposal for approval of security cover to whistleblowers/RTI activists for ratification to the SLC within three days of providing security, the SLC would decide on it within a week, the notification added.

The Haryana Government and its functionaries have been on the back foot for allegedly harassing certain whistleblowers/RTI activists. The most-prominent case making the headlines was concerning Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, who blew the lid off alleged scams in the state Forest Department. However, he was recently chargesheeted by the government for his alleged acts of omission and commission.

The Punjab and Haryana governments had come out with a policy for providing security to whisteblowers/ RTI activists on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on public interest litigation (PIL).

Faridabad, October 5
The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF), in response to the state government’s query on the extra financial burden in the eventuality of services of its nearly 1,000 daily wage workers was regularised, has said it would bear the burden from its own resources.

The development has brought cheer to the employees of not only the municipal employees but also their counterparts in other departments.

According to many, the development is pregnant with state-wide ramifications.

The administrative officer of the MCF, SS Arora, confirmed the development.

Ram Niwas, Prinicipal Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department, Haryana, had sought information from MCF Commissioner D Suresh on the number of daily wage employees eligible for regularisaton, details of their service tenures, and the extra financial burden, should they be regularised.

D Suresh in his reply, a couple of days ago, informed that of the 1,036 employees, 45 had either died or not reported for work. Hence, the services of 991 were to be regularised.

He apprised the government that there would be an additional expenditure of Rs 62,14,964 per month and that the municipal corporation was in a position to bear the burden.

Information provided by Suresh to the government, shows the daily wage earners in question had put in services ranging from 17-30 years.

Rohtak, October 5
Members of the Sarva Karamchari Sangh, Haryana, the leading state government employees federation, staged a demonstration here today in protest against the move of the union government to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 49 per cent in the insurance and pension sectors in the country. It submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister, seeking its withdrawal.

Describing the Bill to open these sectors for the FDI as the move to deform the economy, the spokesperson of the sangh claimed that a wrong picture was being presented before the people as such a move would only result in weakening the national economy as the multi-national companies investing here would be depriving the nation of huge amount of funds in the form of their profits, while the beneficiaries of such schemes would be at the receiving end.

Subhash Lamba, leader of the sangh, said Bill of the Pension Fund Development Regulatory Body presented by the government was anti-employees as it would divert the funds to the share market.

The sangh would take part in the proposed gherao of Parliament by the All-India State Government Employees Federation of December 20 if the Bill was not withdrawn. 

Sirsa, October 5
The blood bank run by the Health Department of Haryana in the Sirsa General Hospital has been functioning in contravention of rules for the past nine years. It has been operating despite the suspension of its licence three years ago.

After a series of warnings by the Food and Drug Administration, Haryana, the licensing authority for blood banks in the state, the civil surgeon, Dr Dayanand, ordered its closure yesterday.

The blood bank does not have several machines necessary for its functioning and the blood bank authorities had been collecting and packing blood under conditions that are risky to the lives of patients.

Instead of using a bio-mixer, the authorities in the Sirsa General Hospital blood bank shake the blood collected from donors with hands.

Instead of using a sealer, they tie the blood-filled bag manually.

As if these were not enough, a functionary of the blood bank has made one room of the bank as his permanent residence.

A perusal of records reveals that the FDA, Haryana, had found several shortcomings in the blood bank and issued a show-cause notice on July 1, 2003, asking the health authorities as to why their licence should not be cancelled.

However, the health department ignored the letter and the State Drug Controller again inspected the blood bank on July 9, 2004 and November 8, 2005 and issued show-cause notices dated August 11, 2004 and March 9, 2006, respectively.

The State Drug Controller (SDC), Haryana, reminded the health authorities (read civil surgeon, Sirsa) about the serious lapses found during these inspections and asked him to send his reply after compliance.

Officials from the drug control department conducted another inspection on May 15, 2007 and sent a similar show-cause notice to the health authorities on August 7, 2008.

On April 11, 2009, a special team comprising assistant state drug controller (headquarters) GL Singal (at present, joint commissioner, FDA, Haryana), LC Mittal and Rajinder Herna, both senior drug control officers conducted a surprise inspection and found that the shortcomings their department had been pointing out had not been removed.

In his letter dated June 15, 2009, the then State Drug Controller RM Sharma suspended the licence of the Sirsa blood bank under Rule 122 (O) of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940.

The drug authorities told the health department to close the blood bank immediately and informed them that the licence would be cancelled if they still failed to comply with the requirements under the law.

However, the health authorities did not stop operations, nor did they care to comply with the directions of the licensing authority.

Karnal, October 5
The BJP-HJC combine will launch a statewide agitation from Rohtak on October 12 to protest against the spurt in rape cases, corruption and price rise in Haryana and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail.

The Rohtak rally will be addressed by senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh. A women’s conference will also be held the same day, Haryana BJP president Krishan Pal Gurjar said after a meeting of the BJP-HJC alliance here today.

Gurjar said that the spurt in rape incidents had not only brought a bad name to the state but also put a question mark on the safety and security of women.

Leader of the Haryana BJP legislative party Anil Viz alleged that some people holding positions in the government were also involved in heinous crimes and the police and the administration were “handicapped” in dealing with such criminals.

Meanwhile, the coordination committee of BJP-HVC has also decided that HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi and Krishan Pal Gurjar would tour five villages each in eight Assembly constituencies daily from October 8 to 16 and expose the acts of “omission and commission” of the government.

BJP leader Ram Vilas Sharma said the alliance would oppose FDI in retail and submit a memorandum to the Governor on the deteriorating law and order situation and hold demonstrations across the state against price rise from October 11 to 21.

Gurgaon, October 5
The Haryana government has decided to set up cardiac care units (CCUs) in four districts under the Centre’s National Non-Communicable Disease Programme, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda saod at the inaugural session of the Eighth Asian Interventional Cardiovascular Therapeutics Conference here today. He said while a CCU was functional in Mewat, the other three would be set up in Kurukshetra, Ambala and Yamunanagar districts.

He said a healthcare model aimed at spreading awareness about heart disorders among the rural masses was also being considered in consultation with noted cardiac surgeon Naresh Trehan.

Sirsa, October 5
A ruckus was witnessed in Maharaja Agarsen Senior Secondary School here today when 11 staff members of the institution, who were unceremoniously removed from services by its new management, ransacked the room of the president of the management.

The management has lodged a complaint with the police in this regard.

Rajinder Ganeriwala, who was elected president of the management committee on September 26, showed the door to 11 staff members -- two teachers and nine non-teaching staffers-- on September 28.

In protest, principal Shalini Verma decided to put in her papers and served 30 days’ notice to the management on September 29.

Today, when the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) was carrying out its awareness programme in the school, the sacked staffers ransacked the president’s office, raising slogans against him.

Both the management and the staffers have lodged complaints with the police.

The management has also named the principal in its complaint.

On the other hand, Shalini Verma has given an application to the DLSA, alleging that she was being unnecessarily dragged in the controversy and has sought help from it.

“I resigned from the post because I did not find the attitude of the management as well as the atmosphere in the institution conducive to the functioning of an educational institution. However, I am being unnecessarily being drawn into this row,” she alleged.

Ganeriwala maintained that the school was overstaffed and, hence, the management had to take this decision.

He alleged that the sacked staffers had carried out their attack in a planned manner.

Sonepat, October 5
District and Sessions Judge Kuldeep Jain today sentenced Manjeet (27) of Saragthal, accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl, to life imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

A 10-year-old girl of Diwana village in Panipat district had come to her maternal uncle’s home at Saragthal village. On June 7, 2010, she went missing while playing with other children.

During search operation, her footwear were seen lying near a village temple and almost at the same time, Manjeet was seen escaping from the nearby chaupal. But he was overpowered by the villagers and on his information, the girl’s body was found lying in the chaupal.

Manjeet was handed over to the police and after victim’s medical examination, it was confirmed that she was raped and murdered.

Meanwhile, Dharambir of Jatwara village and his wife, Mukesh, were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Additional and District Sessions Judge, Pramod Goyal, after holding them accused in the murder of Raj Singh of the same village on September 28,2010.

Raj Singh’s son, Vikram, had lodged a complaint that his father had some altercation with the family members of the convicted persons after he asked them for shifting the water pipeline touching the walls of his house.

Later, Raj Singh was allegedly attacked with sharp-edged weapons by Dharambir, Mukesh and their other family members.

Jhajjar, October 5
Three labourers, including a woman, were killed when they were run over by New Delhi-Ludhiana Shatabdi Express near the Parnala railway crossing on the Delhi-Rohtak track in Bahadurgarh town today. Two others suffered serious injuries in the mishap.

The deceased have been identified as Gopal Paswan and Monju Bibi, both residents of Bihar, and Radheshyam of West Bangal. The injured have been admitted to the Civil Hospital, Bahadurgarh, where their condition is stated to be critical. All victims had been residing in Chhotu Ram Nagar in Bahadurgarh.

The incident took place around 8 am when the five were crossing the railway track to go to their factories. They failed to see the approaching train. Gopla, Monju and Radheshyam reportedly died on the spot while Subhash and another labourer were injured.

People rushed the injured to Civil Hospital in Bahadurgarh. The Government Railway Police (GRP) also reached the spot . The bodies were handed over to their kin after a postmortem examination this evening .

“As Chhotu Ram Nagar is located adjacent to the railway track, most of its residents prefer to cross the track as a shortcut to reach Bahadurgarh said a GRP official.

It is pertinent to mention here that three schoolchildren of Chhotu Ram Nagar were also crushed by an express train a few months ago. They were also crossing the railway track to go to their school when they were run over by the train.

Rohtak, October 5
A bus conductor of Haryana Roadways was thrashed at the local General Bus Stand this morning by relatives of a girl whom he was allegedly stalking.

While the accused was let off after he offered an apology, the authorities concerned removed him from the route in response to the complaint lodged against him.

Commotion ensued over an alleged molestation attempt after the girl’s family members accompanied her in the bus by which she travelled from her village(Morkheri) to the Government College for Women, here.

She identified the accused -- the conductor of a bus that plies between Rohtak and Sampla-- and her relatives beat him up. They told the police, which arrived soon after, that the accused used to harass the girl, a student of BA-I at the local government college, by making calls to her.

The conductor, aged 25, had allegedly left his mobile number in the girl’s bag recently while she was travelling in the bus. The girl, who had no inkling as to whose number it was, made a call and found that it was a man interested in befriending her.

“Though the girl did not exhibit any interest, the accused kept making calls to her landline number. The relatives had to intervene to teach him a lesson,” claimed a family member.

The accused tried to justify the calls, saying that he was trying to help the girl in case she was facing any problem while travelling to the college and back.

The authorities should start special buses for women on the main routes in the district as a large number of girls travel daily to Rohtak and nearby towns, said a spokesperson of the All-India Democratic Women Association. He claimed that several cases of molestation took place in buses, but they were hardly reported.

Jhajjar, October 5
A 20-year-old youth was allegedly gunned down by four assailants near the bus stand at Noona Majra village under Bahadurgarh suddivision last evening.

The deceased has been identified as Sachin, alias Monu, of the same village.

An old enmity is stated to be the cause behind the killing. The Bahadurgarh Sadar police has started investigation after registering a case of murder against four youths- Ravinder, Naveen, Mohit and Sanjay- of the same village on the complaint of the victim’s father Bhagat Singh in this regard.

Bhagat Singh said the accused opened several rounds of fire upon Sachin from close range when he was standing alone near the bus stand of the village. The accused then fled under the cover of darkness.

Sachin’s relatives, on getting information, rushed to the spot and found him lying in a pool of blood. They irushed him to a private hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead.

“A personal enmity between the deceased and the assailants has been established during the preliminary investigation,” said Jhajjar superintendent of police Anil Dhawan. He said raids were being conducting at possible hideouts of the accused.

Police sources said Sachin had a brawl with Ravinder over some petty issue several days ago. Though a compromise was later reached at between the two at the village panchayat, Ravinder was nursing a grudge against Sachin. 

Sirsa, October 5
Cracking the whip on bootleggers, the police last night arrested about 100 persons at Fatehabad and Sirsa during raids on dhabas and roadside eateries, where drunkards sit for booze in the evening.

The police registered 37 cases in Fatehabad and arrested more than 50 persons for consuming liquor at public places.

The exercise was simultaneously carried out in Ratia, Jakhal, Tohana, Bhuna, Bhattu and other parts of the district.

Vikas Dhankhar, SP, said the offensive was launched on the directions of Ranjiv Dalal, DGP, in view of the recent rape incidents.

The police launched an offensive against bootleggers and gamblers In Sirsa too and arrested more than 30 persons in one night.