Shimla, December 29
Besides filling the two vacant berths in the Cabinet, about half-a-dozen Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPSs) and Parliamentary Secretaries (PSs) are likely to be inducted to accommodate newly elected Congress legislators.

It has been reliably learnt that the two ministers likely to be inducted are Anil Sharma from Mandi and Karan Singh from Kullu. They will be sworn in either early next week or after the Assembly session in Dharamsala, which will conclude on January 11 next.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who returned from New Delhi today, gave indications that the two vacant posts in his Cabinet would be filled shortly. He also confirmed that some more legislators would be appointed as CPSs and PSs.

“The ministers have been appointed as per the list approved by All-India Congress Committee chief Sonia Gandhi and the portfolios given keeping in mind their ability and preferences,” he remarked.

He said it was wrong to conclude that there was dissatisfaction among the ministers over the issue of portfolio allocation. He added that with the final decision on portfolios, all ministers should be satisfied.

Commenting on the composition of the Cabinet, he said the Cabinet was a perfect blend of experience and youth. “Young legislators are being groomed to take on the responsibility in the near future,” he said.

He hinted that he would relinquish the post of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief shortly so that someone else could be given the responsibility of taking care of the party organisation.

Portfolios announced

The notification on the portfolios of the newly inducted ministers was issued today. The Chief Minister retained Finance, General Administration, Home, Planning, Personnel and all portfolios not given to anyone else.

Portfolios of other ministers Vidya Stokes: Irrigation and Public Health, Horticulture, Information Technology Kaul Singh Thakur: Health and Family Welfare, Revenue, Law and Legal Remembrances Department GS Bali: Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Transport, Technical Education and Vocational and Industrial Training Departments Sujan Singh Pathania: Multi-purpose Projects and Power, Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Agriculture Thakur Singh Bharmouri: Forests, Fisheries Mukesh Agnihotri: Industries, Labour and Employment, Parliamentary Affairs, Information and Public Relations Department Sudhir Sharma: Urban Development, Town and Country Planning Department Prakash Chaudhary: Excise and Taxation, Printing and Stationery Department Dhani Ram Shandil: Social Justice and Empowerment, Sainik Welfare Department

Shimla, December 29
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has condoled the death of the 23-year-old paramedical student, who was gang-raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16.

The girl, who was initially admitted to Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, was shifted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on December 26, where she breathed her last early this morning.

In his condolence message, Virbhadra said stringent laws should be enacted to prevent crime against women and their honour should be protected at every cost, adding that miscreants committing such crimes should be brought to the book.

Kangra, December 29
Former Industries Minister Kishen Kapoor, who is a staunch supporter of former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, today criticised the state BJP leadership for indulging in a blame game and making Shanta Kumar responsible for party’s defeat in the Assembly poll and warned that any such step to divide the BJP would be confronted with might.

Kapoor, who was looking disturbed, was addressing the first press conference after the recent defeat of the party in the Assembly poll at Dharamsala today.

He said why Kangra district, which was discriminated against by the BJP government earlier, was now being targeted under the pretext of wrong distribution of the party ticket.

He said Shanta was being blamed for wrong distribution of the party ticket by those who had just joined the party.

Kapoor charged that some party leaders were making attempts to divide the party in the state.

He said it was because of the serious efforts of Shanta that the party was spread even to the remotest part of the state and now he was being blamed for the party debacle.

Kapoor said when out of the five seats the BJP lost two in Hamirpur, the home district of the former Chief Minister, why should he be not blamed for the defeat.

He said in Una, the home district of the state BJP chief, party lost three out of the five seats.

In Kullu district, the former party chief was defeated and party lost three seats out of the four and in Shimla district, the party lost seven out of the eight seats and the situation in other districts was no way better, then why the party targeting Kangra district and single out Shanta for this defeat, Kapoor said, adding that the responsibility of the defeat should be shared by those who enjoyed power and who led the party in the state.

He added that rival candidates were put in the fray to defeat party candidates, which he described as “unethical”. These were the reasons for the party defeat in the poll and not the ticket distribution.

Mandi, December 29
The Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau has unearthed a Rs 75-lakh sprinkler and water tank subsidy racket in Lahaul-Spiti district. The alleged embezzlement took place from 2007 to 2009.

It has arrested two officials with the Agriculture Department, two beneficiaries and a chowkidar-cum-technical assistant of the Nagchala-based private sprinkler company involved in the scam.

It has launched a manhunt to nab the sixth main accused, Prashant Shukla, who worked with Herbal Irrigation Private Limited at Nagchala in Mandi during this period. He had left the company, revealed Vigilance officials.

Vigilance yesterday arrested Hitesh Kumar, chowkidar-cum-technical assistant. The special court in Kullu sent him to judicial remand till January 7.

Vigilance had earlier arrested Lahaul-Spiti District Agricultural Officer Yoginderpal, Additional Executive Engineer (Agriculture) Naraindas, who retired in 2010, and beneficiaries Ramlal of Tozing and Sonam of Yache village.

They were booked under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and Section 13/2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The subsidy and government fund embezzlement racket was over Rs 75 lakh, said officials.

The investigation revealed that the accused prepared forged documents of Namgyal of Yache, who died in 1999, and Saje Ram of Tozing, who died in 2002, to corner 50 per cent of the subsidy the government gave for water sprinklers and water tanks for irrigation.

As many as 331 water sprinklers worth Rs 44.96 lakh were procured from the Nagchala company from 2007 to 2009 under the District Agriculture Department.

A total of 24 water tanks worth 19.11 lakh were shown to have been constructed by procuring fake bills and using substandard material, the probe revealed.

Vigilance officials said two sets with 20 sprinklers each were allegedly procured on the basis of forged documents of the dead persons. The racket could run into several lakhs as the probe in other cases was on, said the investigating officer.

Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) Virender Sharma said, “Vigilance registered the case on August 9 last year. We have arrested five persons so far and the hunt for the company manager is on. A further probe in the case is on.”

Kangra, December 29
The district authorities inspected the Vidhan Sabha premises at Tapovan yesterday. Deputy Commissioner KR Bharti directed the authorities to take effective steps in a time-bound manner so that there was no problem in the upcoming winter session.

He was accompanied by district police chief DS Thakur, ADC Ashish Singmar and ADM DK Rattan. Bharti directed the PWD authorities to repair the Dharamsala-Tapovan road in a time-bound manner so that there was no problem in the plying of vehicles.

The IPH authorities were directed to take effective steps for a regular and sufficient water supply to McLeodganj, Dharamsala and the Vidhan Sabha premises at Tapovan. Bharti directed the HPSEBL authorities to take steps for the maintenance of power supply lines so that there was uninterrupted power supply.

He chaired a meeting of officers posted at the Vidhan Sabha and discussed board and lodging arrangements for legislators, senior officers and mediapersons. He said parking for VVIPs and senior officers would be available on the Vidhan Sabha premises and for others at Jorabar Singh Stadium in Sidhbari.

DS Thakur said 700 police personnel would be deputed for the four-day Vidhan Sabha session and Dharamsala was divided into five sectors. He said arrangements were made for uninterrupted traffic flow between Dharamsala and Tapovan on the four days. He said effective policing arrangements were made for the maintenance of law and order and the regulation of visitor traffic.

Hamirpur, December 29
Hamipur district, after remaining the power centre for five years during the previous regime, has lost that status. Being the home district of PK Dhumal, it had got a lot of political importance and many activities had been organised.

This time, only one Congress candidate has been elected from it. The Badsar legislator is a first-timer and a political lightweight.

In the previous government, Education Minister ID Dhiman, the Bhoranj legislator, had represented Hamipur district along with the Chief Minister.

Two Congress candidates who could have held important posts in the new government lost this time. Former Nadaun legislator Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was one of the probables in the Cabinet, but he lost. The defeat of All-India Mahila Congress president Anita Verma disappointed the people. 

Shimla, December 29
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the final decision on the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the irregularities committed during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime would be taken keeping in mind the volume of cases coming to the notice of the government.

Talking to mediapersons after his return from New Delhi, he said a decision on setting up an SIT was yet to be taken. Before assuming office, he had said an SIT would be set up to probe in a time-bound manner the acts of omission and commission of the PK Dhumal regime during its five-year rule.

In reply to a query on the stand his regime would adopt on some controversial eco-tourism projects allotted by the BJP regime, he said the government would go strictly go by merit. “We are not here to find fault, but if it is found that projects have been given to people who know nothing about tourism or that they are using those for other purposes, we will take action,” he remarked.

Responding to questions about the fate of the pending Jakhu aerial ropeway project in the town, he said he was in favour of the project taking off. “I am in favour of granting permission to the project after examining the case as it is almost nearing completion, except for the installation of gondolas,” he said. He added that if the project had to be stalled at all, it should have been done at the initial stages.

He stressed that road construction would be the top priority of his government. “I am holding charge of the Public Works Department. We will ensure that priority is accorded to the completion of all World Bank-funded projects, including the Theog-Hatkoti-Jubbal road, execution of which was awarded to a Chinese company,” he stated.

Nurpur, December 29
The Jawali Judicial Magistrate, First Class, yesterday remanded five members of Sunita Devi’s husband’s family to 14-day judicial custody. She was married to Dev Raj of Jikli Sihal in 2005 and had three children.

A case of dowry death and abetment to suicide was registered at the Fatehpur police station three days back after she reportedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance at her in-laws’ house.

Parkash Chand of Doog village, her father, had reported that Dev Raj, his elder brother Baldev Singh and sister-in-law Santosh and his sister Sudesh and brother Des Raj had been torturing his daughter to bring more dowry.

Jawali Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjay Sharma confirmed that five members of the family were booked under Sections 498-A, 306 and 34 of the IPC.

Solan, December 29
With the police failing to trace the elusive Doon MLA Ramkumar Chaudhary, who is wanted in the Jyoti murder case by the Panchkula police, a lookout notice has been issued by the Director-General of Police alerting all superintendents of police across the state to trace him.

The notice was issued following requests by the Panchkula police that had been trying to trace the MLA since December 20 after issuance of non-bailable warrants against him by a Panchkula court.

Superintendent of Police, Baddi, S Arul said the special investigation team constituted by him last week was carrying out raids in various places that could be his probable hideouts but no success had been achieved in tracing him yet.

The MLA’s Sandholi-based residence wore a deserted look with none of the family members being available for comments and their mobile phones being switched off.

Residents of Doon while hesitating to comment openly about the MLA’s involvement in the case, termed it as an unfortunate incident that had tarnished the image of their constituency.

While his political detractors were already drawing conclusions of a re-poll, they were eagerly awaiting for his arrest.

He owned petrol pumps, brick-kilns and several commercial and residential properties in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area.

A perusal of the affidavit filed by Chaudhary before the Election Commission revealed that two criminal cases under Sections 341 and 143 of the Indian Penal Codehave been registered against him in 2010 and 2011 for wrongful restrain and being a member of unlawful Assembly, which involved protest against the ruling government when in the Opposition.

Lajja Ram, father of Chaudhary and a former four-time MLA, is suffering from paralysis that has impaired his ability to speak.

Lajja Ram in his heydays was an influential politician who held considerable clout in the constituency.

He was elected on four occasions from Doon and had lost the 2007 Vidhan Sabha poll to the BJP.

The family has been virtually controlling the local municipal committee ever since its inception with either Chaudhary’s elder brother Madan Chaudhary or his sister-in-law heading the committee.

Madan is the present Chairman of the local Municipal Committee.

Hamirpur, December 29
Private engineering colleges in the state remained in the news throughout the year for one reason or the other while Himachal Pradesh Technical University (HPTU) made efforts to regulate functioning of these colleges.

The declaration of the first semester results of students pursuing B Tech courses in these colleges and poor performance drew the attention of the HPTU and parents of students.

There are also colleges where a majority of students failed to clear their exams.

Concerned at the poor showing by first semester students in most of these colleges, the HPTU authorities asked managements of the colleges to improve infrastructure and appoint regular teaching faculties, besides taking other steps.

The HPTU also redesigned and brought changes in certain basic science courses to help students as a large number of the students failed to clear these subjects in B Tech courses.

At the beginning of the new session a poor response for B Tech courses again attracted the attention as only 3,000 prospectuses were bought by students taking new admissions.

During the first counseling, for about 6,000 B Tech seats available in the engineering colleges of the state about 1,700 students took admissions and after the second round of counselling about half the seats were filled, which had left the colleges managements worried.

The HPTU took several steps to improve the quality of education in private engineering colleges and organised workshops for the teaching faculty of these institutions.

The HPTU also sent inspection teams to different colleges to evaluate facilities being provided there.

It also cancelled the affiliation of MG Engineering College, Badu, located in Mandi district over the unsatisfactory reports of inspection teams and complaints of students.

The HPTU also introduced a new paper in ‘human values and professional ethics’, which had been made compulsory for all students pursuing B Tech, MBA and pharmacy courses in engineering colleges and other institutes during the year.