Chandigarh, November 9
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered strict action against Haryana Agriculture Produce Marketing Board (HAPMB) officers indicted for financial and other irregularities in a probe by a retired District Judge.

The directions came on a petition filed by Anand Parkash and another petitioner in public interest, alleging that two board officers — Engineer-in-Chief Prem Singh and Superintendent Engineer Amar Singh — were using a foul and illegal method.

They were not releasing detailed notice, inviting tenders, with sufficient time for the aspirants; and in the process they were “managing to award the tenders to their own favourite bidders”.

During the petition’s pendency, the board decided to have an inquiry conducted through retired District and Sessions Judge RP Bhasin. As the case came up for resumed hearing, counsel for Haryana told the court that the Judge had completed the inquiry.

Producing the 1200-page inquiry report in the court, counsel told the Bench that “various irregularities, financial or otherwise, were found to have been committed by certain persons”. It was also stated at the Bar that the report would now be put up before the competent authority for further action.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain asserted: “Needless to mention that once the officers involved are found to have committed irregularities, which are of serious nature, it becomes the duty of the competent authority to take strict action on that basis, and that too without any further delay.

“We call upon the competent authority to initiate appropriate action in the matter in accordance with law. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of with these directions”. The Bench made it clear that the action taken report shall be filed before the court within three weeks.

Chandigarh, November 9
Four years after Dera Sacha Sauda chief had a narrow escape in an attack on his convoy, the Punjab and Haryana High Court grants bail to four convicts in the case after suspending their sentence.

The bail to Dharminder Singh, Hoshiar Singh, Jaswant Singh and Gurinder Singh was granted by the Division Bench of Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rameshwar Singh Malik.

Seeking the suspension of sentence, their counsel Vijay Kumar Jindal had contended that the four were not the prime accused in the case and the only allegation against them was that they helped the main accused. Jindal had added even the trial court, while holding them guilty, had noted down that there was scope for their integration in the main stream after giving them a chance to reform

A high-intensity truck-tyre bomb was used in the February 2008 for carrying out the attack. The prosecution had claimed that an explosives-packed tyre was hurled at the motorcade of Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at Butana in Haryana's Karnal district while he was returning after a court appearance in Ambala.

Eleven people, including six security men, were injured when one of the vehicles burst into flames. The Dera chief, otherwise, enjoys Z-plus security in the wake of the widespread violence against him and his sect by members of the Sikh community, which followed his dressing up as the 10th Sikh guru.

Taking cognisance of the incident, the Haryana Police had registered an FIR for attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and other offences under Section 307 and 120-B of the IPC. The accused in the case were also booked under the provisions of the Explosive Substances Act.

New Delhi, November 9
A local court today extended the judicial custody of former Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda and Aruna Chadha, a manager with MDLR group, till November 21 in the Geetika Sharma suicide case.

An aide of former minister had submitted an application to become a prosecution witness in the Geetika Sharma suicide case. However, the court today adjourned the hearing on the application to November 17.

The application to become an approver or prosecution witness was submitted in the court by Kanda's aide, Chanshivroop, on October 31. The hearing in the matter was then deferred for today.

On November 7, Chanshivroop had recorded his statement as a witness under Section 164 (recording of confessions and statements) of the CrPC. Based on his statement, the court will decide on November 17, if he should be made an approver in the Geetika’s suicide case.

Chanshivroop had allegedly visited Dubai, when Geetika was working there with Emirates Airlines, according to the police. He had told the company’s officials that she had secured her earlier job with Murli Dhar Lakh Ram (MDLR) on forged documents.

The police further claimed that he had sent fake emails to Geetika, informing her about her extradition proceedings to Dubai in a case of fraud that was registered against her there. It was a move to pressurise her into joining MDLR again. 

Chandigarh, November 9
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) to consider the application filed by Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka for residential plots in Palwal and Bahadurgarh under the category of plots for serving government employees.

The government will now hold dummy draws for Khemka so that his claim can be considered under the government service category for allotment of plots.

The directions came less than a month after two estate officers landed themselves in contempt loop after allegedly denying the senior IAS officer his right to apply for a plot under the service quota.

Following an advertisement issued by HUDA in 2010 for plots, Khemka had applied for plots under the serving government employee quota at three places - Faridabad, Palwal and Bahadurgarh.

Though Khemka’s application was considered in Faridabad under the said quota, the same application was considered in the general category at Palwal and Bahadurgarh by the HUDA officials.

The then Administrator, in an affidavit before the high court, had claimed that Khemka had applied under the general category and that his petition was bereft of merit. After Khemka's counsel contested the same, the high court summoned the original record. On October 7, it was conceded by HUDA counsel that Khemka had applied under the government quota. The high court had then issued show-cause contempt notices to the two.

Fatehabad, November 9
After remaining away from school for more than a month, the 13-year-old rape victim as well as her two sisters aged 12 and 11, finally attended their new school in Nagal village today.

The victim’s father took his three daughters, who were allegedly shown the door by a government school at Khai village after the victim’s rape by a sexagenarian became known to the school authorities, to a government school in Nagal village for their admission yesterday.

The government school at Khai, where the victim studied with her two younger sisters, had allegedly summoned the victim’s father in the presence of the sarpanch on October 6 and told him to take his daughters somewhere else as it would have an adverse effect on other girls.

Later, district education officer Manju Gupta, who had exonerated the school in her probe, had arranged the admission of the three girls in a government school at Bora on October 17.

However, the motherless girls did not attend that school.

In the meantime, their father, who alleged that he was under pressure to leave the village, came under depression and was hospitalised thrice.

He alleged that the authorities had betrayed him twice -- first by asking his daughters to leave a school and then by admitting them to a school he had opposed as his daughters were not safe in that village.

Once out of the hospital, the victim’s father left the village with his three daughters and started living with a relative in Nagal village.

Sushila Sharma, chairperson of the Haryana State Commission for Women, who had visited the victim’s house on November 3, had found the house locked.

“I am satisfied that my daughters will be safer in their new school,” said the father. 

Karnal, November 9
Lodged in jail for criminal acts of parents, 12 children in the age group of 1-6 years, would now be enrolled in the school and provided formal education like other children.

In the first ever such initiative in the country, Doon International School and the Karnal jail have joined hands to bring about reformation and transformation of jail inmates through child education.

These children are confined to the four walls of the jail as their mothers are undergoing imprisonment for various offences and have no access to education.

But now these children would be admitted to the school, imparted formal education and also issued migration certificates in case they want to migrate to some other place.

Principal of Doon International School Kuljinder Mohan Singh Batth said the initiative has been taken under the Right to Education Act which provides for free elementary education to all children up to the age of 14 years.

The school would provide education, books, clothing and other necessary things free of cost to the students. Special capsules for bridge courses have been designed by teachers to bring these students in the mainstream and keep them abreast with the regular syllabus.

“As these students cannot come to school, the teachers would visit the jail everyday to teach them and formal examination would be conducted for them in the jail itself,” he added.

The students would be a part of the school from the next session commencing in March, 2013.

A test would be conducted to ensure that the children are admitted in the appropriate class.

All 12 students would be admitted to lower KG, KG and first standard.

Jailor Sher Singh said, “We have the facility of play school and creche in the jail but this new initiative would provide an opportunity to these children to join the mainstream of formal education and brighten their future prospects.”

It would bring about a transformation in their parents as the children would give them wider exposure and a chance to interact with the outer world, which is essential for their overall development.

Chandigarh, November 9
The Haryana bureaucracy is getting top heavy with the each passing day. With the promotion of seven IAS officers of the 1987 batch as the financial commissioner-cum-principal secretaries (FCPS), the number of the financial commissioners in Haryana has gone up to 31-- perhaps one of the highest in this part of the country.

Sources said the officers, who had been promoted were Devender Singh, TC Gupta, Amit Jha, SN Roy, Avtar Singh, Rajiv Arora and Jyoti Arora. It was in the last week of August that the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC), headed by the Chief Secretary PK Chaudhery, had cleared the promotion of seven officers of the 1987 batch to the next higher administrative grade.However, it took nearly two and a half months for the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to clear their files.

The state government already has 10 additional chief secretaries (ACS). They are officers up to the 1982 batch of the IAS. The decision to elevate these officers to the post of the ACS was seen by various quarters as keeping the senior babus in good humour and ending stagnation at the top echelons of the state administration by the ‘officer-friendly’ Hooda government.

Sources said with the elevation of these officers to the next grade, the posts held by these officers would get replacements. Since two of the major departments held by these officers --TC Gupta as Director-General, Town and Country Planning Department, and Rajiv Arora as Managing Director, Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructural Development Corporation (HSIIDC), have been in the news for wrong reasons recently, the government would post “handpicked” officers to man these departments.

Bureaucratic shuffle on cards Though an official spokesman claimed that these officers would be remain on their posts till further orders, sources said the government would go in for a major administrative reshuffle post Divali.

While the promoted officers would be accommodated in new departments, the departments held by them would be allocated to other officers, particularly those who have held plum posts for the past several years. Besides, five officers, recently promoted from the HCS to the IAS, will also be accommodated in the forthcoming administrative reshuffle, the sources added.

Gurgaon, November 9
After their two-day fast, sacked Maruti workers now have decided to gherao Haryana Industries Minister’s house in Kaithal on November 12 and not to celebrate Divali this year.

The protesting workers demanded reinstatement of over 500 workers who were sacked following the July 18 violence at the Maruti’s Manesar plant and a thorough inquiry into the matter.

Irked over the fact that neither the state authorities nor the management listen to their grievances, the workers now decided to lay siege to the house of Haryana Industries Minister Randeep Surjewala in Kaithal on November 12.

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) leader Jai Bhagwan said, “Workers and their families will not celebrate Divali this year.”

“Why should we celebrate Divali when our lives have been darkened by autocratic and indifferent attitude of the management and the government. Nobody is ready to listen to our woes but we will not give up,” said Imaan Khan, a member of the newly constituted provisional committee.

“We want the government to conduct proper inquiry into matter rather than going by what the company says and give us our jobs back as we were not involved in the alleged murder of HR manager,” he added.

Sirsa, November 9
Lawyers in the local district courts today suspended work for two days after a direction from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to vacate the litigants’ hall they have been occupying for years.

A meeting of the District Bar Association was held here today to discuss the situation arising after the High Court?s direction.

Terming the action as unsympathetic without giving them any notice, the lawyers decided to strike work against the directions for two days.

Raja Ram, a former sarpanch of Nathusari Chopta village,had filed a petition in the High Court accusing Sirsa lawyers of having encroached upon the hall meant for litigants.— TNS

Kurukshetra, November 9
Kurukshetra University won the team championships in artistic gymnastics (men) and rhythmic gymnastics (women) in the All-India Inter-University Gymnastics Championship 2012-13 held here.

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, won the team championship in artistic gymnastics (women).

The results were declared today, the concluding day of the five-day championship.

While Viddut of Kurukshetra University was declared the all-round best gymnast in individual performance in artistic gymnastics for men, Nidhi of Kurukshetra University was declared the all-round best gymnast in individual performance in rhythmic gymnastics for women.

Meenakshi of Punjabi University, Patiala, was declared the winner in individual best performer in artistic gymnastics (women).

The chief guest at the closing ceremony, Lt-Gen Dr DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, gave away prizes of various events of gymnastics and mulkhamb competitions to the winners.

Sandhu said Kurukshetra University has one of the best infrastructures in sports in the country and has produced a number of international and national players and Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyana Chand awardees. 

Sonepat, November 9
Kishor, a migrant labourer was killed while four others were injured seriously when they were attacked with sharp-edged weapons by nearly six youths outside a room in the fields of farmer Jagdish of Bhatgaon village last night.

The injured, who were brought to Civil Hospital here by the police, were referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak.

After recording the statements of the injured, a case of murder and attempt to murder has been registered at the local Sadar police station against unidentified persons.

Around 14 labourers from Muzaffarpur district in Bihar had come to the village about a month ago for harvesting paddy crop and were put up in a room constructed in the fields of Jagdish.

The victims were mercilessly attacked around 11pm. Their blood strained clothes and shoes were found lying outside the room.

Sub-Inspector Dalbir Singh said after receiving information, the police reached the spot and brought the injured to Civil Hospital, a case of murder and attempt to murder had been registered and the alleged accused would be arrested soon.