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Phone tapping issue
Jyoti murder case
Week-long international Mahashivratri fair ends
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Nalwaadi fair begins with fanfare
VIPs resort to shortcut to grab chairs on stage
Delhi resident gets RI for buying land in Kasauli on fake papers
3 held for trying to dupe jobless youth
Online drug licensing system soon
Dharamsala to host police games from today
Freedom fighter dies at 96
HC issues notice to govt on alternative Tatapani-Shakra road
Jaundice, typhoid cases on the rise
Campaign to curb monkey menace begins
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Phone tapping issue
Shimla, March 17 A high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy was held here yesterday to deliberate on the issue. The meeting, which was attended by the Principal Secretary, Home, and Secretary, Law, discussed the issue so that no scope was left for violations at the level of the CID, the Home Department or at the end of service providers. It was decided to study the system being followed by Punjab and Haryana and adopt it in case it was more effective. The officials felt that there would be strict adherence to the system of filling up a pro forma with the signature of the police official seeking interception. Besides, the signature of the service provider, who would be asked to intercept a particular telephone number, would also be taken. Another important aspect is to have an effective monitoring system so as to ensure that the surveillance of a phone is not being done after the period for which it has been allowed is over. Monitoring will be undertaken from time to time to make certain that the recorded conversations are being destroyed within the stipulated time as per the Indian Telegraph Act. Though there is a provision to hold a review meeting of the committee headed by the Chief Secretary every two months, this, too, has not been adhered to religiously in the past. Phone tapping during the previous BJP regime has brought to the fore many lacunae, which will be plugged henceforth, so that the privacy of an individual is not intruded in violation of norms. It is only on grounds like threat to national security, internal security, smuggling and trafficking of narcotics, which can be made the basis for intercepting the telephone of an individual. Forensic experts have prepared the list of intercepted numbers from the call details found in the hard disc of the computers of the CID as well as the Vigilance and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Vigilance Bureau has now been entrusted the task of holding a probe, which is likely to be completed within the next two months. Precautionary Measures
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Jyoti murder case
The hair samples of Chaudhary were sent to the Central Forensic State Laboratory (CFSL), Madhuban, a few days after his arrest. The police had expected that it was only the hair that could actually nail Chaudhary in the court. Since the samples have not matched with those of Chaudhary, the possibility of hair strands matching with those of Paramjit has gone high, since it was only the latter who was sitting at the rear seat with Chaudhary and Jyoti. “We have received the CFSL report of Chaudhary and it clearly mentioned ‘mismatch’ of the hair samples. We are awaiting the reports of other accused,” said a police official requesting anonymity. “It is not the last resort. We have other important proofs like his handwriting, which matched with the one written on the abortion papers of Jyoti and the transactions made in Jyoti’s bank account and other clues, which can prove Chaudhary guilty,” the official added. During investigations, Chaudhary had said the girl was forcing him to continue with the relations following which he had to kill her with the help of his aides. The girl underwent an abortion at a nursing home in Sector 20, Chandigarh, and the abortion papers revealed that Chaudhary had mentioned his name as Ramesh Kumar. |
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Week-long international Mahashivratri fair ends
Mandi, March 17 She said the rich tradition witnessed during these festivals should be preserved for posterity. “These enable us to keep a balance between spiritual and material world and promote the feeling of brotherhood,” she said. The Governor lauded the “Dev-milan” tradition of deities, a unique feature of Shivratri, which is found only in the state. “This reflects the profound faith of the people in deities they worship,” she added. She said culture and heritage shaped values, beliefs, and aspirations, besides defining their national identity. “We should be aware of our culture and traditions. It is our responsibility to keep them alive for our coming generations so that they can take pride in their glorious past,” she said. She paid obeisance at Raj Madhav and Bhootnath temples before she participated in the concluding ‘Jaleb’ of ‘devis’ and ‘devtas’. Devesh Kumar, DC-cum-president of the mela committee, said 178 deities participated in the fair, which ended successfully. Those who were present on the occasion included Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma, Excise and Taxation Minister Prakash Chaudhary and Vice-Chancellor, HP University, Prof ADN
Bajpai. |
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Nalwaadi fair begins with fanfare
Bilaspur, March 17 This was stated by Ram Lal Thakur, Chairman of the State Planning Development and 20-Point Implementation Committee, after inaugurating a seven-day Nalwaadi fair here today. “Such fairs help in our economic well being and also develop our agriculture and allied fields through providing latest information and technical advancement,” he said. Ram Lal said he would take up the matter of the construction of the Berry Dadollan bridge with the Chief Minister and ensure that it should be constructed at the earliest. He appreciated the Chief Minister for presenting a “farmer-oriented” Budget. He claimed that the all-mela sub committees were constituted purely on a merit basis. Earlier, a few BJP leaders had alleged that the fair had been turned into an all-Congress party affair. They had alleged that all the BJP leaders had been removed from its sub committees and it was being used as a forum by the party for its propaganda. Local MLA Bamber Thakur and mela committee Chairman-cum-Deputy Commissioner Ajay Sharma also addressed the function, while former MLAs Biru Ram Kishore and Tilak Raj Sharma were present on the occasion. Wrestling bouts from March 20
A four-day annual Nalwaadi Mela Wrestling Bouts will begin here from March 20 to 23 and wrestlers from states, including Punjab and Haryana, have been invited to participate in the contest. This was stated by Nalwaadi Mela Committee Chairman-cum-DC Ajay Sharma while addressing the inauguration function of the fair at the Luhnu ground here today. |
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VIPs resort to shortcut to grab chairs on stage
Mandi, March 17 “We have seen traditional Ganpati festival in Maharashtra and Rath Yatra in Puri. The VIPs get the back seat and devotees never break tradition,” said “devlus” and “kardars”, who accompanied the concluding Jaleb of Rajmadhav, the presiding lord of Shivratri. “But we have been noticing that here the VIPs, whether they are from the BJP or the Congress, mostly desert the Jaleb near the Paddal Stadium and rush to grab chairs on the stage,” they said. Governor Urmila Singh, chief guest of the concluding ceremony of the week-long Mahashivratri fair, performed all the traditional pujas at Raj Madhav and Bhootnath Temple. Those who accompanied the Governor included Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma, Excise and Taxation Minister Parkash Chaudhary, president of the Shivratri Mela Committee and Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Devesh Kumar. As a tradition, they followed the Rajmadhav Jaleb led by the procession of the deities from Bhootnath temple to the Paddal Maidan. But as soon as the Jaleb hit the highway, near the Paddal stadium, a few VIPs and local ministers left the procession mid way and rushed to the stage and grabbed chairs. The Jaleb did not follow the ‘parikrama’ route due to this, said the ‘kardars’. “We left the deities at their traditional place and wrestled though the crowd to reach the venue of the ceremony,” they said. Shivpaul Sharma, president, Sarvdevta Committee of Kardars, said,
“Raj Madhav Jaleb completes the round at the Paddal Maidan”. Mandi DC Devesh Kumar said the crowd was huge and the Governor had to leave early for Dharamsala, adding that the traditional Raj Madhav Jaleb was
performed like it was performed in the past. |
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Delhi resident gets RI for buying land in Kasauli on fake papers
Solan, March 17 The case has once again exposed how brisk sale and purchase of property in Kasauli tehsil is a flourishing trade where even field officials of the Revenue Department act as facilitators. Vam Dev of Punjabi Bagh in New Delhi had procured a fake agriculturist certificate and on the basis of it purchased land in various parts of Kasauli tehsil in 2006. Vam, being a non-Himachali, had earlier sought permission from the state government under Section 118, HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, to buy land, but before he could be granted this permission, he managed to procure a fake agriculturist certificate and bought land, including 1.3 bigha at Dihari village and 3.8 bigha at Kano village. He got the land deals under khasra No. 216, 217, 224 and 347 registered in April 2005. For the registration of the sale deed he received permission from the state government for buying land and this landed him in trouble. His conspiracy was unearthed when the tehsildar of Kasauli received an anonymous complaint regarding the use of a fake Himachali agriculturist certificate. An inquiry was conducted later by the police and it established his guilt. A case was registered by the police in this matter under Sections 420, 471, 467, 468 and 120-B, IPC, against him and patwari Bhagat Ram who had supposedly helped Vam Dev. Bhagat Ram’s role, however, failed to be established and he was acquitted in this case. The case was argued by public prosecutor Yash Pal who managed to prove the guilt of Vam Dev leading to his conviction. |
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3 held for trying to dupe jobless youth
Hamirpur, March 17 The advertisement appearing in a few leading newspapers had mentioned even pay scales for the posts. When people tried to contact the NGO by calling on the telephone numbers mentioned in the newspapers, none of the calls were taken by the advertisers. One fact which deepened the suspicion was that the advertisers were collecting Rs 500 from each applicant as an entry fee at the time of filling up the forms before appearing for the interview, which was nowhere mentioned in the advertisement appearing in the newspapers. Seeing this, people approached Jagat Ram, SP, Hamirpur. More than 5,000 youth had reached the venue of the interview today, but the police took the organisers of the interviews for interrogation and later, arrested three persons under Section 420 of the IPC. Those arrested are Ajeet from New Delhi, Abhishek from Varanasi and Chandan from Patna. The SP said, “The organisers of the interview did not have clear answers to our queries and we have acted to save thousands of unemployed youth from falling prey to unscrupulous people under the garb of providing employment”. |
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House collapse: Victims urge CM to initiate action
Mandi, March 17 The victims met the Chief Minister here on the sidelines of the Mahashivratri fair. They rued that their lives were at risk as the adjoining building had been damaged in the house collapse last week. Retired Block Development Officer Surinder Gupta and his wife said they had vacated the house as it was unsafe. The ceiling of the house was unsafe, said Vir Singh
Chauhan, a Congress leader from Seraj. Residents alleged that liquor and beer were dumped even on the fourth floor of the building. The police had not invoked the Public Safety Act even though the house collapse had endangered traffic on the highway and pedestrians on the two public paths blocked by the debris which was yet to cleared, the residents said. They claimed that the Excise Department and the police were shielding Shruti and Company which was renamed Copia Beverages Limited after an alleged murder on its premises about three years ago. They claimed that the structure was built of ‘hollow cement blocks’ and the Excise Department did not get a safety certificate from the municipal council (MC) for the
godown. MC vice-president Gagan Kashyap said nobody had taken permission of the council for the
godown, be it the police, the Excise Department or the owner. Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner Rakesh Bhartiya said the company had recovered 1,263 cases of beer from the debris so far. “Gate passes are in the debris, but we have unconfirmed information that there were about 12,724 cases of beer and 5,776 quarters of Indian made foreign liquor,” he added. He said they had submitted godown maps to the police. “The company has sought permission for a l-2-3
godown, but they are not aware of the building being illegal,” he said. Copia caretaker Archana Tiyagi refuted the charge. “We are assessing the loss,” she said. SP RS Negi said they had registered a FIR under Sections 336 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code as the Excise Department had given a clean chit to the company while the police probe was on. |
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Online drug licensing system soon
Solan, March 17 Director, Drug Control Administration, Ashok Sharma said a workshop had already been conducted for officials to make them aware of the procedures of this online licensing system and another workshop would be conducted soon to ensure the smooth compliance of this system. He said once introduced, the system would facilitate both the industry and the retailers. He said a proposal seeking funds from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had also been forwarded. Under the 12th Five-Year Plan, Rs 3,200 crore has been earmarked for strengthening the Drug Regulatory and Control Mechanism in various states where the states will have to bear 40 per cent cost. Of this, Rs 10 crore has been specially earmarked for the construction, expansion and upgradation of drugs control offices. The state government has now applied for liberal assistance under this scheme and since the state has the maximum number of pharmaceutical units, officials expect to receive adequate grant under this scheme. The Chief Minister’s Budget speech, however, had no mention of funds allocated for this online transition though funds worth about Rs 1 crore had already been sanctioned for this scheme earlier. There are nearly 700 pharmaceutical units in the state and about 5,500 sale premises which will benefit from the online licensing system. |
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Dharamsala to host police games from today
Dharamsala, March 17 Volleyball cluster includes four games, volleyball, handball, basketball and kabaddi. Inspector General of Police (IG), Northern Range, Rakesh Aggarwal said 103 teams of 32 police organisations, including various state police, CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF RPF and SSB, were participating in the four categories of games. “As many as 1,497 sportspersons, including national and international players, Arjun awardees, 131 officials and 80 to 90 referees and umpires, are arriving in Dharamsala for the games,” Aggrawal said. Aggarwal said 30 teams were participating in volleyball, 26 in basketball, 21 in handball and 26 in kabaddi. As many as 158 matches would be held during the event. He said the games were being held under the All-India Police Sports Control Board and rules and regulations of the National Federation of these four games would be complied within the event. Governor Urmila Singh would inaugurate the games, while the closing ceremony and prize distribution function would be presided over by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the IG said. Cultural activities would also be organised during the event, while Himachal Dham would be prepared on the occasion of Bada Khana on March 21. |
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Freedom fighter dies at 96
Bilaspur, March 17 Mathiaya Ram took an active part in the Praja Mandal movement, along with his brother Daulat Ram, founder of Praja Mandal, in these hills with former minister late Pt Padam Dev. He went to jail several times during the rule of last raja of Bilaspur, Anand Chand, before Independence. He was given a state funeral at his native village which was largely attended. Tehsildar Munshi Ram represented the HP government and Additional Superintendent of Police Vinod Sharma presented floral tributes during the last rites. A contingent of police reversed arms and sounded the Last Post after firing several rounds in the air as a mark of respect to the departed freedom fighter. The bereaved family was also given Rs 5,000 for the last rites by the government. Former MLA Babu Ram Gauttam, zila parishad member Babu Ram Thakur, Narender Sankhyayan, Swatantra Sankhyayan, Ravinder Sankhyayan, former gram panchayat representatives and a dozen other people were present on the occasion. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rajesh Dharmani, local MLA Bambar Thakur, BJP MLA Randhir Sharma and political leaders both of the Congress and the BJP condoled the death of Mathiya Ram.
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HC issues notice to govt on alternative Tatapani-Shakra road
Shimla, March 17 The HC acted on a petition filed by Rachna Sharma, pradhan of the Shakra panchayat, Karsog tehsil, Mandi district. She had alleged that the state had failed to take timely action for the construction of the road. It was further stated in the petition that around 1.3 km of the road was likely to be submerged in the Kol Dam reservoir in September or October this year. The petitioner had alleged that the PWD was sleeping over the matter even though the National Thermal Power Corporation had deposited the estimated cost of Rs 63.43 lakh for the realignment of the road way in 2006. The petitioner had also alleged that the road was to be completed within three months, but had not even been started in seven years. The petitioner had stated that around 3,500 persons would be affected as the only motorable road connecting the village was likely to be submerged in the Kol Dam reservoir.
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Jaundice, typhoid cases on the rise
Bilaspur, March 17 Reports said two patients, one each with typhoid and jaundice, had been admitted to the hospital while others were getting treatment at home. A team of doctors and paramedical staff has already toured Kutheda and adjoining villages of Bhel, Bagot, Bekal, Dharwada, Buhana, Talwaada, Bamm and Baah and advised people to use boiled water or chlorine tablets and keep their surroundings neat and clean. The team, led by Dr TS Chandel, Block Medical Officer, Ghumarwin, has provided medicines and chlorine tablets to villagers to ensure that the diseases do not spread further.
— OC
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Campaign to curb monkey menace begins
Bilaspur, March 17 The villages being covered in the campaign include Jaswaani, Chandoh, Nihari, Kasaru, Bharadi, Bhapraal, Lehadi Sarel, Dangaar, Salahon, Lanjhata, Jaroda, Khaswin, Gatwaad, Gohar and Lalwaan.
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Panchkula, March
17