Chandigarh, February 16
Getting egg on its face for the spurt in atrocities on the Dalits, the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government has proposed to set up the State Commission for Scheduled Castes.

The constitution of the commission, which would provide an exclusive grievance redress system for the SCs, is seen as an attempt by the government to blunt the criticism from different quarters about the government’s poor record in investigating crime against the community ahead of the 2014 parliamentary and assembly elections, sourcs told The Tribune here today.

Quoting official documents, a senior state functionary said, “The commission is being set up to investigate, examine and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the SCs under the Constitution.” Besides, “it would evaluate the working of such safeguards and monitor the implementation of laws and measures concerning the Scheduled Castes and initiate action for legal and administrative reforms to improve the socio-economic and educational status of the community,” he added.

The demand for the SC Commission had been gaining ground for the past several years as atrocities on the Dalit community had brought outrage and shame for the state at the national level. A Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which visited Haryana against the backdrop of rape cases against Dalit women last year, had recommended the setting up of the commission with adequate representation to women as a mechanism for the redress of grievances.

In its report, the committee noted that the “dignity and morale of the SCs in the state are completely eroded due to high-handedness of the dominant caste.”

“The frequency at which atrocities are perpetrated against the Scheduled Castes by the dominant caste shook the conscience of the nation and the general perception is that Haryana is deeply entrenched in caste system and laws of khap panchayats,” the report said. 

Chandigarh, February 16
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) state president Ashok Arora today said the Delhi High Court had so far not denied bail to Om Prakash Chautala.

Arora said in response to the bail application and that of suspension of sentence, the high court had given a notice to the CBI as required under the procedure.

Accordingly, a notice had been served upon the CBI and the matter would come up before the court on 4 April for consideration and necessary orders.

He said unintentionally, a false and misleading impression had been created that the high court had rejected the application seeking bail and suspension of the sentence.

Arora also expressed the faith of the party in the judicial process and was confident that justice would finally prevail and Chauatala would be a free man very soon.

Meanwhile, the party re-orgnised its state Kisan Cell and appointed former MLA Puran Singh Dabra appointed as its state president.

Hisar, February 16
A teenaged girl was allegedly kidnapped from Rajguru Market in the town and raped by two youths.

The youths, Jaibir and Jasbir alias Rana, both from the Bhattu area of Fatehabad, beat up the girl and threatened her of dire consequences if she told the incident to anyone. The incident took place on February 14 but the victim lodged a complaint last night.

The 18-year-old victim alleged that she had gone to Rajguru Market for shopping, when the youths forced her into their car.

She alleged that when she tried to raise an alarm, the accused thrashed her and threatened to shoot her.

She alleged that the accused took her to a room at Nathusari Chopta in Sirsa, where they raped her.

Kadarpur (Gurgaon), February 16
As many as 167 CRPF officers of two batches passed out of the CRPF Academy in a colourful ceremony here today. These include 76 officers of 43 (B) batch of Directly Appointed Gazetted Officers (DAGOs) and 91 officers of the 10th batch of Directly Enlisted Gazetted Officers (DEGOs). These include nine women officers.

The CRPF Director-General, Pranay Sahay, was the chief guest on the occasion and took the salute. He congratulated the trainee officers.

“Nothing can be more satisfying than seeing young officers full of determination, confidence and enthusiasm to serve the nation,” he remarked.

Sahay maintained that at present, Left-wing extremism (LWE) was the biggest threat to the nation’s integrity. “These young officers are the future leaders of the force and shoulder a big responsibility. I expect them to set high personal examples of dedication and commitment,” he maintained. Earlier, HR Singh, Director, CRPF Academy, Kadarpur, welcomed the guests.

The trophies for the Best All-Rounder Trainee were bagged by M Gin Khan Mang and Ganesh Pratap Singh of the 43rd batch of DAGOs and 10th batch of DEGOs, respectively. DAGO Gufran Ahmed DEGO Ajit Kumar bagged the trophies for the Best Trainee in indoor and outdoor subjects, respectively.

Sirsa/Fatehabad, February 16
In the ongoing war of words over the CBI Court’s verdict sentencing former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and his MLA son Ajay Singh Chautala, the Indian National Lok Dal and the Congress have launched offensives against each other.

While Karan Singh Chautala, son of Ellenabad MLA Abhey Singh Chautala, addressed a series of meetings in Sirsa villages under the INLD’s “Pol Kholo Abhiyan” (exposure campaign), Chief Parliamentary Secretary Prahlad Singh Gillankhera addressed meetings in Fatehabad villagers denouncing the INLD allegations on the Congress on this issue.

Addressing meetings at Peerkhera, Kussar, Khaja Khera, Kharian, Darewala, Jodhpuria and other villages, Karan alleged that his grandfather and uncle had been “framed” by the CBI for exposing “misdeeds” of the Congress.

He alleged that a number of scams had come to light during the present Congress regime, while the INLD leaders had been jailed though “there was no allegation of bribe” in the JBT recruitment.

Addressing a meeting at Dhangar village in Fatehabad this afternoon, Gillankhera alleged that the INLD leaders had been spreading canards ever since the father-son duo had been sentenced in the JBT scam.

“Initially, the Congress did not react to their conviction except for welcoming the verdict. But now, when they (INLD leaders) have started spreading lies, we have been forced to react and expose them,” the Chief Parliamentary Secretary said.

He said Chautala was himself in power when the CBI registered a case on the directions of the Supreme Court and the NDA, supported by the INLD, was in power at the Centre when the central agency investigated the matter. Gillankhera said the INLD leaders had been punished by their own “misdeeds” and their conviction had reposed people’s faith in the judicial system, as it had shown that all were equal in the eyes of law.

Faridabad, February 16
Overnight showers in Faridabad since last evening have brought problems for the residents as water has been clogged the thoroughfares . But the rain has done something good for the farmers.

The trend will continue, at least till tomorrow, due to a possible wet weather condition.

The downpour last night, followed by intense spells of drizzle today, caused accumulation of stormwater in several pockets of the city. They include Dabua Colony, Jawahar Colony, Parvatia Colony, Nangla Enclave, NIT, parts of HUDA Sectors 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, and 29, Neelam-Bata road, Adarsh Nagar and the Ballabhgarh bus stand.

While several crossings on the NH-2 were waterlogged, chowks of Ajraunda and Sohana were affected the most. The problem is attributed to the lack outlet of stormwater in the city.

Rattan Lal of Dabua Colony lamented: “The residents have resigned themselves to accumulation of water on roads at even small amount of rains.” On the other hand the timely rains have made the farming community gung-ho. Ram Singh, a farmer of Malerna village, termed them “propitious” for the standing wheat and mustard crops. “They raise hopes of a good harvest of the crops this season”, he said.

Faridabad Deputy Director, Agriculture, Karam Chand, however, cautions that the rains will have an adverse impact on vegetable crops. More than 2,000 hectare are under vegetable farming in this district, he added.