Sonepat, February 5
Standing crops of wheat, mustard and vegetables in large areas of three villages- Safiabad, Mimarpur and Pritam Pura - were reportedly damaged during the hailstorm that swept the region in the early hours today.

The farmers of these villages informed Deputy Commissioner (DC) Pankaj Aggarwal and demanded a survey of the damaged crops and payment of compensation to the affected farmers. The DC assured them that the patwaris would be asked to survey the damages.

The district was lashed by heavy rains today and normal life in the town was thrown out of gear due to waterlogging at different places in the town. The markets also presented a deserted look during the day.

The agriculture department said a rainfall of 70 mm was recorded in the Gannaur region, 57 mm in Kharkhoda, 48 mm in Sonepat and 26 mm in the Gohana area.

The two-day rains had brought cheer to the farmers who were of the opinion that there would be hardly any requirement of irrigating the wheat fields till maturing of the crop.

FARIDABAD: Last night’s 15-minute intense hailstorm past midnight in over 21 villages of Faridabad has affected standing crops of wheat, mustard, jowar, and vegetables.

The affected villages include Dhoj, Alampur, Sirohi, Silakhri, Manger, Kot, Fatehpur Tagga, Madalpur, Palwali, Badshahpur, Ekawli, Bhupani, Kirawali, Dadisa, Lalpur, Mahawatpur,Palli and Pakkal.

Faridabad Deputy Director, Agriculture, Karam Chand said the extent of damage to the crops was being assessed and premilinary reports suggested it to be high.

Karnal: Normal life was thrown out of gear in Karnal as overnight rains inundated low-lying areas, flooded roads and choked drains.

The town recorded 37 mm of rainfall till this afternoon, resulting in waterlogging of several low lying areas, including the Committee Chowk, Jundla Gate, Subash Gate, Bansu Gate, Chaman, Garden, Gandhi Nagar, Shanti Nagar, Anand Vihar, Hansi Road, Ram Nagarn and New Shivaji Colony and the situation was no better in HUDA sectors.

The traffic was affected and traffic jams were a common sight as roads and streets were submerged under rainwater and the local administration seemed helpless.

Chand Sarai, Indira Colony, Shayam Nagar, Sri Ram Colony, Khera Colony and Shiv Colony were also affected. Residents had a hard time pumping out water from their houses as a majority of the houses in these colonies are make-shift shelters or kutcha huts.

However, the rains have brought cheer to the farmers as the rains during this season are considered as manure for the wheat crop and brighten the prospects for a bumper crop.

Hisar, February 5
Finding it hard to get a bride due to the skewed gender ratio, a 35-year-old man procured a wife for Rs 90,000. However, the “wife” returned to her parental home in Patiala within four days of the “marriage” and lodged a complaint of rape against him there.

Upset, Raj Kumar, a resident of Ladwa in Hisar, committed suicide by consuming poison last night. Now, the police has booked his “wife” and other kin for abetment to suicide.

The victim’s brother, Dharam Pal, in a police complaint alleged that their family contacted Mamta, a resident of Ludhiana, for the marriage of his brother, Raj Kumar

Mamta allegedly promised to marry her niece, Pooja, alias Alka, of Patiala with Raj Kumar if they paid her Rs 90,000.

After they paid the money, Mamta and her sister Nisha married the latter’s daughter, Pooja, to his brother on January 16 in a temple at Sirsa. Pooja went to meet her mother on January 20 lodged an FIR against Raj Kumar in Patiala.

The FIR said Raj Kumar had allegedly drugged and raped her after marrying her when she was under intoxication.

Raj Kumar received calls from the Punjab police, which asked him to join investigations. Later, his “wife”, “mother-in-law” and Alka also called him and offered to settle the matter for Rs 5 lakh.

When the telephone calls started coming repeatedly, Raj Kumar consumed poison on Saturday. He was shifted to a private hospital in Hisar where he died last night. The police has booked Mamta, Pooja and Nisha. 

Chandigarh, February 5
In a poor reflection on the functioning of the Hooda government, especially law enforcement agencies, a vehicle gets stolen in Haryana every 30 minutes.

In fact, Haryana’s millennium city Gurgaon has the dubious distinction of getting a vehicle stolen every two hours. Nearly one-fourth (3,000) vehicle thefts of state’s total vehicle thefts (12,973) being reported from the district falling under the National Capital Region (NCR) in 2012, data collected by The Tribune indicated.

Throwing a challenge to the special anti-carjacking staff of the police, thieves seemed to have struck at will in Gurgaon with nearly 200 more auto thefts reported last year as compared to 2,800 auto thefts in 2011. While other districts in the NCR (except Faridabad), reported lesser number of auto thefts last year in a comparison to a year ago. Gurgaon accounted for a lion’s share of an increase in the number of vehicle thefts in 2012 as against 2011 (198 out of 417).

There was a slight increase in the number of vehicle thefts in Faridabad-up from 1,439 in 2011 to 1,495 in 2012. However, Karnal on the GT Road registered a significant jump in the auto thefts from 635 (2011) to 807 (2012).

Panipat, which reported 817 auto thefts in 2011, depicted a downward trend with 782 auto thefts followed by Hisar whose figures came down from 797 to 781 in the corresponding years.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s home district also reported a significant decline in the number of auto thefts from 613 in 2011 to 518 last year.

Mahendragarh with 158 auto thefts (266 in 2011), Kaithal with 217 thefts (201 in 2011), Fatehabad with 257 (202 in 2011), and Jhajjar with 298 auto thefts (277 in 2011) seemed to be the safest districts for the vehicle owners.

Commenting on unprecedented number of auto thefts in the NCR, specially Gurgaon, a senior police official blamed it on the involvement of inter-state gangs of thieves and petty criminals, who largely targeted two-wheelers. “The stolen vehicles, after modification are transferred to other states, including interiors of UP, Bihar and other states, where their registration is hardly checked,” he claimed.

With Gurgaon bursting at seam, there is a woeful shortage of the secure parking areas for the vehicles prompting the thieves to have a field day.

Hisar, February 5
Owners of grocery shops in Hisar are up in arms against the authorities for the alleged inordinate delay in the issuance of their licences under the Food Safety Act.

A meeting of the Kiryana Vyapar Mandal was held in the Hanuman Mandir near Nagori Gate here today under the leadership of Veer Bhan Bansal.

The traders alleged that their Forms A and B filled for the purpose of grant of licences made mandatory by the government recently were lying with the authorities for over six months.

However, the authorities have not yet issued their licences.

The traders have resolved that in case their licences were not issued within seven days, the Kiryana Vyapar Mandal would take a tough stand on this issue.

The traders said that no further application would be given to the authorities until licences to the old applicants were issued.

Under the new Food Safety Act, licences have become mandatory for the traders, who deal in food items.

Kaithal, February 5
The alleged rape of a Dalit girl of Kalayat town in Kaithal district on October 8, following which the SC/ ST Commission had sent a team to meet the victim, took a dramatic turn when during the trial of the case, the victim deviated from the statement given to the police and denied rape charges. She did not recognise the accused in the court.

The girl’s father too turned hostile in the court and did not support the prosecution.

Resultantly, the prosecution declared the complainant and the victim as hostile.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge R.S. Chaudhary then acquitted the accused and ordered his release from judicial custody.

Meanwhile, another accused, a minor, is facing trial in the local juvenile court and February 6 has been fixed for producing witness.

A team of MPs had also visited Kalayat and met the alleged victim and her family members.

On October 8, a Dalit minor girl’s father had lodged a complaint with the Kalayat police that his daughter who had gone to answer the call of nature in the wee hours was taken by two youths, raped and threatened with dire consequences if she reported this incident to anyone. The police had arrested both the accused.

The girl was medically examined which confirmed her rape. 

Karnal, February 5
Undeterred by inclement weather, hundreds of youths turned up at the Army recruitment rally here today. Even as the Army authorities suggested postponing the recruitment drive to February 14, most candidates turned down the suggestion.

As many as 2,670 youths participated in the recruitment rally on the first day of the recruitment for religious teachers and Sikhs (Mazhabi and Ramdhari) and Gorkhas.

Col U Mukherjee said that the recruitment was open till February 15. The number would swell for recruitment in the general category start tomorrow for Karnal, Panchkula and Chandigarh.

Recruitment for Ambala and Kaithal would be held on February 7 and 8, Yamuna Nagar and Kurukshetra on February 9. Recruitment for clerical staff would begin for Kurukshetra and Karnal on February 10, Ambala and Yamunagar on February 11, Kaithal, Panchkula and Chandigarh on February 12. Recruitment for technical staff would be held on February 13.

Chandigarh, February 5
A bunch of petitions seeking, among other things, day-to-day hearing in the Junior Basic Trained (JBT) teachers case failed to find favour with the Punjab and Haryana High Court today.

The High Court made it clear that the matter stood admitted and would come up for hearing on the fixed date. The applications came soon after the JBT teachers, selected by different 18 district-level selection committees against 3,206 posts in the State of Haryana, were put on notice by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Taking up a petition filed by Bashir Ahmed and other petitioners, the High Court has already issued notice to the State of Haryana and other respondents, including the JBT teachers, for May 2.

They have been asked to appear personally or through someone authorised by law. The High Court has made it clear that in case they do not appear, the cases will be heard and decided in their absence.

The development is significant as the notices come soon after a Delhi Court pronounced a 10-year sentence to Haryana’s former Chief Minister and the leader of the National Lok Dal (INLD) Om Prakash Chautala and his Son Ajay Singh Chautala.

The two, along with 53 others, were sentenced for their alleged involvement in the JBT teachers’ recruitment scam in which 3,206 JBT teachers were recruited illegally in the state in the year 2000.

Ambala, February 5
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today denied having any differences with Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Kumari Selja, who had recently wrote a letter to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi accusing him of ignoring development works in parts of her parliamentary constituency Ambala.

Speaking to mediapersons after presiding over the inaugural ceremony of the national conference on protection and management of the Wakf properties sponsored by the Union Ministry of Minorities, the chief minister said he was not even aware of that Kumari Selja had wrote any such letter to the UPA chairperson.

He said his government was committed for the overall development of the state and Kumari Selja, being a senior Union Minister, should also chip in and bring more developmental works in this part of the state.

It had recently been reported in these columns that the Union Minister had alleged extreme disparity in developmental works undertaken in Panchkula and Yamunanagar districts, which form a part of her parliamentary constituency.

In the reference to the conviction of the Chautalas, the Chief Minister said they should concentrate on taking the legal course rather than holding street protests as the court and not the electorate had decided the matter. 

Hisar, February 5
Haryana BJP chief Ram Bilas Sharma today cleared the air on the controversy kicked off by Leader of the party in the Assembly Anil Vij on an alliance clause with the HJC, which said that Kuldeep Bishnoi will have the first right to form the government if the alliance came to power.

Sharma, who was here today in connection with his statewide tour after his election as president of the BJP’s state unit, said there was no question of review in the terms of alliance finalised by senior central leaders of the party.

A clause of the alliance provide that the post of Chief Minister will remain with both parties for two-and-a-half years each.

The clause further provided that HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi would become the Chief Minister for the first two-and-a-half year term while the BJP would enjoy the subsequent term.

Vij stirred a controversy yesterday by advocating an amendment to the clause for providing the first term as Chief Minister to the BJP.

Earlier, addressing party workers, Sharma said the BJP had geared up to oust the “Italy India Company” from power at the centre in the coming parliamentary poll. 

Gurgaon, February 4
Gurgaon police today booked Sunil, alias Sunny, a resident of Badshapur village, and others for allegedly murdering a wrestler of the same village. Rakesh, alias Raaku, had been shot dead yesterday when he was returning from the Tau Devi Lal Stadium gymnasium.

The FIR was lodged on basis of suspicion voiced by Rakesh’s father Jagat Ram who claimed that Sunny was Rakesh’s sole enemy.

It may be noted that Sunny has a criminal record and is believed to be a member of the city’s D gang. Whle police booked Sunny and his unidentified accomplices but they suspect it to be work of Raaku’s business rivals.