Jind, August 30
Despite three post-mortems having failed to conclude the reason leading to the death of a Dalit girl whose body was found near a canal on Sunday, the protesting villagers today insisted that it was a murder and demanded a CBI probe. They also want adequate compensation.

The representatives of the protesters had agreed to cremate the body, lying at the civil hospital, in the evening after a meeting with the local administration. But no one from either side could confirm when the body would be cremated although they claimed a compromise.

The JBT girl student’s body was found near the Hansi Branch canal on Sunday morning under suspicious circumstances.

The authorities, which claimed that the post mortem examination of the victim has failed to establish the allegations of rape, said the murder angle was being looked into.

SS Kapur, IG, Hisar Range, said the autopsy reports have ruled out rape charges, but added that the fact that the girl might have consumed or had been administered celphos tablet has been confirmed by the viscera examination.

He claimed that the police officials have assured the kin of a speedy and fair investigation into the matter and they have agreed to cremate the body. But some political elements were trying to cash in on the controversy and delaying its resolution.

Ruling out any use of force against the protesters, Kapur admitted that demand of arrest of accused allegedly involved in the ‘murder’, action against the cops responsible for the cane charge, a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a government job to a member of the bereaved family have surfaced during the talks.

On their part, protesters kept claiming that it was murder and the police would have to act to arrest the accused as the body bore injury marks.

Meanwhile, amidst the reports that some active members of the 21-member committee backing out in support of ending the stir, the authorities asked them to clear the civil hospital premises.

We have decided to remove the body from here and take it to the cremation ground as the authorities concerned have assured us of a free and fair probe into the matter and take punitive action against anyone found responsible for the death of the girl.
— Satyawan, a member of committee holding the stir

Chandigarh, August 30
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has assured Sikh farmers from Haryana that the government would soon find a legal wayout to ensure that no Sikh farmer is displaced from Kaithal and Kurukshetra districts.

Talking to a delegation that met him under the banner of the joint action committee headed by Harpal Singh, Hooda said a quick and amicable solution would be found.

The delegation was accompanied by former Punjab minister Prem Singh Chandumajra and later joined by SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar. The matter in Haryana was highlighted after Sikh farmers from Kutch in Gujarat raised a hue and cry over their displacement from their land after several decades of farming. The Haryana farmers, too, opposed the move of the government to get their land vacated after they had tilled it on lease for years.

Harpal Singh said there were over 30 villages in Kaithal and Kurukshetra districts were farmers had been asked to vacate the land after their lease came to an end. Though these farmers have lost the legal battle, the government had no moral right to displace them after several decades. Earlier, former Minorities Commission Chairman Tarlochan Singh had also raised the issue.

Haryana’s Finance Minister HS Chattha has also gone on record that the farmers would not be displaced. But the Haryana Government is yet to come out with a concrete rehabilitation policy or how it intends to deal with the situation. The matter had got highlighted when Tarlochan Singh in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requested the latter to save hundreds of farmers in Kaithal and Kurukshetra districts from displacement earlier this month.

There are about 3,500 Sikh families in the two Haryana districts who have been living there for the past 55 years. These farmers have been cultivating about 15,000 acres of land since 1952 when they were given this land on lease for 20 years. In 1973 the Haryana Government asked these farmers to vacate this land. The vacation notice was challenged in a local court and it slowly reached the Supreme Court recently where it was decided against the farmers. For nearly two years the lands have remained barren. About 100 families have also been asked to vacate their houses built on this land.

The issue has snow balled into a political controversy with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) that is in power in adjoining Punjab espousing the case of the Sikh farmers. The Congress has taken on the Gujarat Government for “displacing the Kutch Sikhs” while other political parties are now trying to corner the Congress on this issue in Haryana where the Congress is in power. 

Chandigarh, August 30
Nearly four months after he was moved to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) as the Additional Principal Secretary, the1984-batch IAS officer, SS Dhillon, was today named as the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister (PSCM).

Earlier, the state government accepted the resignation of the present PSCM, Chattar Singh, who is set to take up his new assignment as the member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

In fact, Dhillon's elevation to the coveted post was a foregone conclusion with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda moving him to the CMO on May 2, even as the names of three other senior officers -- KK Jalan(1982), YS Malik (1983) and KK Khandelwal(1985) were doing the rounds for the top post.

Dhillon, who has been Director-General and Principal Secretary, Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), the department which has been in the eye of a storm for alleged questionable land deals, including that of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, is considered close to Hooda. With the Opposition targeting the Chief Minister for his government's role in the controversial land deals, Dhillon could play a vital role in warding off criticism from the Opposition in the run-up to the parliamentary and state Assembly elections next year, official sources said.

Dhillon's elevation is seen as a smart move by Hooda to "restore" balance of power and checkmate other officers in the CMO.

Meanwhile, the Hooda government today gave extension in service to another bureaucrat. Samir Mathur, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Jails, Criminal Investigation and Administration of Justice Department, was given extension for three months till November 30. Earlier, Chief Secretary PK Chaudhery was given extension for six months till December 31, 2013, while Chattar Singh was on an extension till September 30.

Khandelwal, Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, was given the additional charge of Principal Secretary, Irrigation Department, a charge handled till recently by Dhillon.

Kaithal, August 30
A near-total bandh was observed by various trade and social organisations here today to protest against the murder of an 84-year-old woman yesterday. The victim's daughter-in-law,Pushpa, had been showing signs of recovery in the PGI, Chandigarh.

Most business establishments remained closed in response to a call given by various political and social organisations.

Many schools and colleges were also closed in view of the prevailing tension in the town. A mob gathered at Pehowa Chowk and held a demonstration, demanding immediate arrest of the assailants.

Meanwhile, Beero Devi was cremated this morning. The police is still cluesless about the identity of the culprits.

SP Kuldeep Singh Yadav said four police teams had been constituted to investigate the case. Sources said no articles were found missing from the house and the locks of almirahs and cupboards too were found intact.

Chandigarh, August 30
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today sought the investigation report on the basis of which charges were ordered to be framed against Justice Nirmal Yadav in the cash-for-judge scam.

Taking up the matter, Justice NK Sanghi also fixed August 31 as the next date of hearing.

In her petition, the former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has challenged the order claiming that the CBI special public prosecutor had conceded in his arguments that there was “no direct evidence in the present case with regard to the motive, reward and delivery of the alleged amount”.

She argued the trial court took note of all contentions raised by the prosecution but failed to record that fact conceded by the special public prosecutor. “Thus the entire approach of the Trial Court is illegal, erroneous and untenable in the eyes of law.”

She further contended that the impugned order dated July 31 had been passed without appreciating her contentions. “Neither the legal issues raised by the petitioner have been considered nor has the Judge considered the evidence on record, which contradicts the stand of the prosecution,” Justice Yadav said.

Chandigarh, August 30
The Punjab and Haryana High Court have minced no words to say that Haryana policemen, accused of corruption and absenteeism, have escaped dismissal from service even though they deserved it. Indicating adoption of a discriminatory policy, Justice Rajiv Narain Raina said a low-rank official was handed down “severest punishment of dismissal” from service for remaining absent from duty.

Exhibiting the humane side of law, Justice Raina also directed sympathetic re-examination of the matter after observing that the policeman’s widow was fighting for survival since his death more than a decade ago.

The directions came on a petition by Janki Devi through counsel Ram Bilas Gupta. He argued that the petitioner’s husband, a cook in the police department, was dismissed from service on June 15, 1999, after he remained absent without prior permission or leave.

Justice Raina observed the petitioner’s husband died in 2002 after putting in about 22 years of service. “The widow is before this court pleading for setting aside the dismissal order so that she is able to claim family pension for herself, including pensioners and retirement benefits, which would have accrued to her husband had he not been dismissed.”

He said, “Applying the test of proportionality on quantum of punishment, the court finds that the punishment order is far too harsh and disproportionate to the misconduct or the charges levelled. I say so because I have dealt with many police matters in the present Haryana service roster. In cases of rank corruption, graft and absence from duty, police officials/officers have escaped dismissal when they deserved it. But they got benefit of reduction in punishment as they went up the appellate and revision ladder.”

Quashing the impugned order of punishment and all consequential orders, Justice Raina has asked the Faridabad Deputy Commissioner of Police “to re-examine the matter sympathetically and choose any punishment lesser than the punishment of dismissal”.

Hisar, August 30
The Hisar police has taken the lid off a suspected job scam involving three persons who had allegedly lured around 60,000 jobless youth into applying for jobs and collected around Rs 2.20 crore from them as fee.

The police arrested three persons identified as Vinod Beniwal, Bharat Grover, and Manjit Kumar after registering a case of cheating and forgery under various sections of the IPC, the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act at the city police station and started investigation.

The accused had got a society registered from the District Registrar of Societies, Hisar, under the name All-India Organic Farmers' Society (AIOFS). Beniwal also established a charitable trust, Organic Farmers Organisation (OFO). The AIOFS had invited applications for 885 various posts including assistant agriculture officers (AAOs) by issuing advertisements in the newspapers on September 27 last year.

The preliminary inquiry report of the police, compiled today, revealed that the organisation registered as the AIOFS had falsely projected an image by claiming its association with government agencies NABARD and National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

The report stated that the organisation received 59,554 forms for job aspirants and collected Rs 2.20 crore as fee. The police had also learnt that the orgnaisation had another account in the Andhra bank branch and money had been transferred to 20-25 other accounts in other different banks. "If the money has been withdrawn for personal use, then it proves to be a case of cheating," the police said. The police said the names of various government agencies had been used without even consulting them.

The Hisar SSP, B Satish Balan, stated that an initial probe had established it to be a case of cheating and forgery. 

Chandigarh, August 30
The Haryana Principal Secretary, Health, Navraj Sandhu, has stressed the need for generating awareness among medical service providers about various laws pertaining to hospitals so as to provide satisfactory services.

Sandhu was speaking at the inauguration of a conference on ‘Laws pertaining to hospitals’ here today.

The objective of the conference was to focus on resolving problems concerning cases pertaining to laws on health and hospitals.

He said by inculcating information, service providers would effectively make available appropriate satisfactory services to the patients.

It was informed at the conference that over the recent few years, the health care and hospital functioning atmosphere had become better due to the enhanced level of public awareness. Under such circumstances, some situations challenge the administrative skills of the physicians, hospital administrators, chief executive officials and directors of the hospitals and health care institutions.

The Right to information Act, 2005, Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act, 1970, Delhi Fire Prevention and the Fire Safety Act, 1986, Consumer Protection Act,1986, Biomedical Waste Management and Handling Rules, 1998, were also discussed and deliberated in detail at the conference. 

Amadalpur (Yamunanagar), August 30
Even as the district health authorities undertook an extensive drive in the village to prevent the spread of diarrhoea which had gripped the local residents about five days back, the situation continued to remain grim here as one villager died while the condition of several others continued to be serious.

A special team of doctors continued to attend to the patients who kept on pouring in even on the fifth day after the diarrhoea outbreak in the village.

According to the doctors, nine patients were shifted to various hospitals today, while domiciliary hospitalisation and medication was provided to around 80 villagers.

Health authorities kept ambulances ready in the village to provide immediate transportation to the needy. A team of senior district officials, including ADC and senior officials of the public health department, visited the village to oversee the measures being put in place to tide over the crisis.

Announcements were made in the village asking the residents to use precautions like use of boiled water to prevent the spread of the disease. The team of the public health department took samples of the water being consumed by the people and sent these for chemical examination.

The report of the water samples is awaited. Besides, measures were also being initiated to ensure that there was no further contamination of the water. Village sarpanch Hukam Singh Rana said the authorities had remained unable to detect any contamination in the water source.

Efforts were on to find out from where contaminated water entered the pipelines which supply water to the village. Meanwhile, CMO Dr M R Passi said the situation was returning to normal and there was a sharp decline in the number of fresh cases. Those undergoing treatment were showing signs of improvement, he said. 

Hisar, August 30
The drug controller officer has detected a case of an unregistered medical practitioner practising. The Municipal Corporation has recommended to the Civil Surgeon to register a case against him.

The Drug Controller Officer (DCO) of the Food and Drug Administration Department had raided the premises of Mahender Kumar Juneja's clinic following a complaint on July 3. The medical practitioner, however, showed a certificate issued by the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Allahabad in 1993. The DCO maintained that the register of the Ayurvedic and Unani Chikitsa Pranali Board at Panchkula had found that the certificate was not recognised and thus the person to whom it had been issued was not eligible for medical practice.

The DCO, in its report submitted to the Civil Surgeon on August 28, recommended that a criminal case under Sections 420 and 336, IPC, and sections of the Indian Medical Council Act can be registered against the person. The complainant in the case, Naresh Khurana, demanded that despite these revelations, Juneja's clinic was still functional and he was still giving consultation to patients and prescribing medicines which was dangerous to people.

He demanded that the clinic be sealed with immediate effect.

Chandigarh August 30
The Haryana Sports and Youth Affairs Department has invited applications for the award of cash prizes to outstanding sportspersons on the basis of their achievements during the financial year 2012-13.

A spokesman of the department said all District Sports and Youth Affairs Officers had been asked to send the list of all medal-winning players at the international and national levels by October 15 with the application forms.

The department has also invited applications for scholarships under FAIR Play Scholarship for Scheduled Castes Scheme from sportspersons belonging to the Scheduled Castes. Sportspersons whose annual income is less than Rs 2 lakh are eligible for the award.

Chandigarh, August 30
The Haryana Women and Child Development Department will celebrate National Nutrition Week from September 1 to 7 across the state. The programme aims at creating awareness among people, especially among mothers and adolescent girls, regarding the problem of malnutrition, hygiene, deficiency of micronutrients like iron, Vitamin-A, zinc and iodine in food.

Renu Phulia, Director, Women and Child Development Department, said the theme selected by the Government of India this year was ‘Food security for healthy life’. He said malnutrition in women, girls and children could be reduced by creating awareness about proper nutrition, balanced diet and protein and calorie-rich food items.