Ambala, April 4
Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare today appealed to Arvind Kejriwal to end his protest and get on with his struggle against corruption in the bureaucratic and political system.

Addressing a rally at Gandhi Ground in Ambala, Hazare said it was not advisable to sacrifice life to raise the voice against corruption.

He said energy should instead be used to mobiles mass opinion against reluctance of the government in taking measures to end corruption.

He claimed that it had come to his notice that some top politicians had tried to get the anti-corruption activist killed by hiring contract killers for Rs 30 lakh, but the killers had refused to do so.

Emphasising on the need to secure public support, Hazare said the system needed to be changed for which people should elect 'worthy' politicians to the Lok Sabha and discard the 'corrupt'.

He called upon the masses not to trade votes for short-term gains and instead consider the prospect of national interest while voting. He reiterated his stand of participating in active politics to achieve his goals.

Addressing the gathering, former Army chief Gen VK Singh said the aim of the ‘jantantra yatra’ was to spread awareness among the masses and generate support for getting rid of corruption.

Residents of Ambala and Yamunanagar accorded a warm welcome to Hazare and his team. A number of religious and social organisations, ex-servicemen and traders turned up to express solidarity with him.

Hazare and his team later organised a road show at Saha and held a public meeting at the Mullana grain market before addressing a public gathering in Yamunanagar.

Karnal, April 4
In yet another incident that has sullied the image of the Haryana Police, an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) was arrested on the charge of molesting a woman while she was getting down from a bus here last night.

A case was registered under Sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force against woman with intent to outrage modesty) and 510 (misconduct in public by drunk person) of the Indian Penal Code against Virender Singh. He was produced in court today and remanded in six-day judicial custody.

Accompanied by her husband, the victim, a resident of Adarsh Nagar in Karnal, was returning from New Delhi. The man in khaki, who was allegedly in an inebriated condition, molested her and tried to outrage her modesty while she was disembarking from a bus.

She gathered courage, reportedly slapped the ASI and lodged a complaint against him at the police station. The incident cast a shadow over the functioning of the police and raised a question mark over tall claims of the force to start a helpline and take effective steps to check crime and atrocities against women.

"When policemen who are supposed to be our protectors are involved in such heinous acts, how will the police instil confidence among women that they are safe and secure?” asked some senior citizens who said such incidents were common, especially after sunset.

Fatehabad, April 4
Less than two months after he molested a 17-year-old student at a government school in Gorakhpur village of Fatehabad, a schoolteacher has been awarded imprisonment for five years by a local court.

Additional District and Sessions Judge LN Jindal, who heads a special court for trial of crimes against women in Fatehabad, today sentenced schoolteacher Subhash Chander to five-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 for molesting a class-IX student on February 12.

The accused had told the girl to bring a rose sapling from his motorcycle at a room in the school. When she went inside, he followed and molested her.

When she protested, he threatened to kill her if she told anyone of the incident. She left the school immediately and went to her house.

She could not tell anyone about the incident as her mother had gone to her paternal village. She narrated the incident to her mother when she returned home on February 14.

The family had then approached the police. After her father lodged a complaint with the police, the teacher started pressuring the family through village elders.

At one stage, the victim’s father had given in when the elders advised him to withdraw the complaint as the teacher was ready to express regret.

When the panchayat was about to settle the issue, the girl barged in and told the village elders that they did not have any right to decide on the case.

“This teacher outraged my modesty and I want the law to decide his fate,” she had told the panchayat firmly. She had threatened to commit suicide if a criminal case was not registered.

The police booked the teacher under Sections 354 (assault to outrage modesty of woman) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act on February 16.

The teacher was arrested the same day.

While the girl’s firmness had brought the teacher to court, the speedy trial helped her get justice in less than two months.

Gurgaon, April 4
Anil Kumar Singh, a high-profile city businessman, was arrested today on the charge of raping his daughter for the past two years.

A Class XII student at a Sushant Lok-based school, the girl reportedly confided in her principal as her father allegedly planned to forcibily take her to Dubai today.

The principal asked her to approach the police. The girl managed to sneak out in the evening and reached a police station with the help of her principal and filed a complaint.

Even her mother, who is a housewife, was unaware of her plight and got to know about it only when the police landed at their home.

“The accused is a resident of plush Golf Course area where he has rented a penthouse. He is into import and export business. He was planning to run away when we managed to nab him,” said the police.

The girl says that she was scared to say anything for the past two years but her father wanted to take her abroad forever and that is what broke her down,” said Gaurav Phogat, Station House Officer, Sushant Lok police station.

The girl was taken to the civil hospital for medical examination.

Chandigarh, April 4
It would soon be possible to register online complaints regarding the violation of the Pre-conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC and PNDT) Act. The complaints can also be registered through toll- free number 102 of the Health Department.

This was decided at the State Supervisory Board meeting held under chairmanship of Health Minister Rao Narender Singh today.

The minister said that a provision was being made on the NRHM website www.nrhmharyana.org for filing online complaints in which the complainant’s name would not be revealed. A cash prize of Rs 20,000 would be given to those providing correct information about unauthorised activities concerning the implementation of the Act. An incentive of Rs 1.60 lakh had so far been given to such informers in five districts.

Hisar, April 4
Afghanistan will set up two agricultural universities at Kabul and Kandahar, said Dr Mohammad Yaqoub Hotak, Director (Human Resource & Capacity Development) in the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, here today.

Dr Hotak was leading a three-member delegation to Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University (CCSHAU).

The delegation was here to know about Afghan
students studying in Indian agricultural universities, to understand their problems and university experiences apart from assessing other measures to make the India-Afghanistan Fellowship Programme more effective.

During a meeting with Vice-Chancellor KS Khokhar, Dr Hotak said agriculture education was currently being imparted at the school and college levels which was not enough.

He said the objective of sending Afghan students for higher studies in other countries was to build capacity for teaching and research in Afghanistan.

The delegation also discussed with the Vice-Chancellor several points related with education and fellowship.

Jhajjar, April 4
A medicine trader identified as Vijender Gandhi of Dujana village was killed in a road accident near Guda village on the Jhajjar-Rohtak road last night. He was returning home from Jhajjar when his motorcycle was hit by a heavy vehicle.

The police sent the body to the civil hospital. A case of negligent driving has been registered. — OC

Hisar, April 4
The police has arrested six persons for impersonation and cheating in the senior secondary examination of the National Institute of Open Schooling in a local school.

Three of the six youths were to appear in the exam while the other three were found sitting in the examination centre in their place.

Khuda Baksh and two others were sitting in the examination centre in place of Pramod, Kapil and Deepak.

The impersonators were caught when their pictures were compared with the photographes pasted on their roll number slips.

Chandigarh, April 4
Navraj Sandhu, Principal Secretary (Health), has laid emphasis on providing the best treatment in emergency cases, especially during the first golden hour after the accident, to save precious lives.

She was speaking after inaugurating a one-day state-level workshop on "Accident, emergency and trauma" today.This workshop was a part of the series of such workshops being organised by the department.

NK Arora, Director-General, Health Services, Haryana, said 7,04,384 patients were treated in the Accident and Emergency Department during the financial year 2011-12. About 10,000 cases, excluding accident cases, are referred annually from periphery to district hospitals.

Dr Angel Rajan Singh from the AIIMS), New Delhi; Dr Parivalan, Head, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sundram Medical Foundation, Chennai; and Dr Pankaj, PGIMER, Chandigarh, trained doctors in handling trauma and emergency cases.

Sirsa, April 4
The police arrested 13 persons last evening on the charge of booking 'satta' amounts on the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The police recovered Rs 39,000 and some liquid crystal display screens from them. The police had received a tipoff that some persons at a house on the gaushala road were involved in 'satta' in the garb of online games.

A police party led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Sultan Singh raided the place. Some youths managed to give the police the slip.