Chandigarh, September 12
Trouble is brewing for Haryana MLAs OP Jain and Zile Ram Sharma once again. Accused of abetting a former sarpanch's suicide, the two were today asked by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to appear before the Panchkula special CBI court within a week. The direction came as the High Court dismissed their anticipatory bail petitions.

They had moved the High Court against the rejection of their anticipatory bail and issuance of non-bailable warrants by the special CBI court. Challenging the order, Sharma's counsel had contended that the accused had been cooperating with the CBI.The cooperation on their part was evident from the fact that the CBI could file a chargesheet in the matter without even arresting them. In any case, their arrest was not required in the case at this stage as the CBI had already filed the chargesheet in the matter.

The CBI had filed a chargesheet against three persons on August 8 in the case hovering around the death of Karam Singh, a former sarpanch of Kambopura village of Karnal. The CBI maintained in its chargesheet that it was a case of suicide and had accused Om Prakash Jain, Zile Ram Sharma and Jain's PA of abetment to suicide.

Jain was one of the seven independent MLAs, who helped the Congress in forming the government in Haryana in 2009. Sharma, on the other hand, was one of the five Haryana Janhit Congress MLAs who joined the Congress after the election results.

Hisar, September 12
Municipal Councillor Mahender Kumar Juneja was booked on the charges of fraudulently practising medicine, endangering the life of others here last night.

The police registered a case against Juneja on the complaint of district drug controller Rajnish Kumar Dhaliwal.

The drug controller conducted a raid on the clinic of Juneja on a complaint of local resident Naresh Khurana. Juneja showed a certificate issued by the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Allahabad, issued in 1993.

The drug controller sent the certificate for verification to the Registrar of the Ayurvedic and Unani Chikitsa Pranali Board at Panchkula which found that the certificate was not recognised and thus the person to whom it had been issued was not eligible for medical practice.

The drug controller recommended to the Civil Surgeon on August 28 that a criminal case could be registered against the person. The Civil Surgeon diverted the complaint to the police after which a case was registered.

Meanwhile, Civil Surgeon Dr Ashok Chaudhary had also lodged a complaint about 31 other quacks who are operating clinics in Hisar and other towns of the district for registering a case against them on the recommendation of the drug controller.

GL Singal, State Drug Controller-cum-Joint Commissioner, FDA, informed The Tribune that they had identified about 250 quacks across the state and forwarded complaints to the police for registering an FIR and take action against them. So far, FIRs have been registered in 50 cases and police action is awaited in remaining cases.

Chandigarh, September 12
The state government has issued the transfers and posting orders of four IPS and one HPS officers.

Sibash Kabiraj, SP, Commando, has been posted as SP, Yamunanagar, vice Y. Puran Kumar, who goes as SP, Kurukshetra, in place of Rakesh Arya. Arya has been appointed SP, Palwal, vice Jagat Singh.

Simrandeep Singh, SP, Mahendragarh(at Narnaul), becomes SP, Telecom and AIG/Administration. Jagat Singh, SP, Palwal, goes as SP, Mahendragarh (at Narnaul).

Chandigarh, September 12
HUDA and Haryana have received a rap for further allotting an already allotted plot in an alleged attempt to benefit an employee.

The censure by Justice Satish Kumar Mittal and Justice Mahavir S. Chauhan came on a petition filed by Teresa D’souza against Haryana and others respondents. She had paid a higher price for a preferential plot allotted to her by HUDA.

Her counsel argued that she was allowed to mortgage the plot to raise a loan for constructing a building after the entire price for the plot was also accepted and the building plan sanctioned.

Her allotment was cancelled vide memorandum dated May 2 without affording an opportunity of hearing after she had raised substantial construction. Her counsel added after allotment of the plot and acceptance of the entire amount, a right vested in her and it could not be taken away without allowing her an opportunity to present her claim. Her counsel also alleged that respondent Shyam Sunder Gupta was working as an accounts officer in HUDA, Gurgaon; and the memorandum dated May 2 was issued only to favour him.

Taking up the matter, the Bench observed: “It does not stand reason how the petitioner could be deprived of the preferential plot in spite of the fact that she had paid additional money and how a preferential plot could be given to Shyam Sunder Gupta and another respondent even though they did not apply for a preferential plot.”

“Not only that a preferential plot has been snatched from the petitioner but she is also expected to shell out more money to have an alternative plot of 355 square yards whereas the petitioner had applied for a 10 marla plot, which also cannot be allowed to happen as the petitioner cannot be blamed for the error committed by the respondents…. The impugned orders are liable to be set aside”.

Rewari, September 12
Some disruptive elements damaged hoardings and posters as well as blackened Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s portraits at Ambedkar Chowk, Maharana Pratap Chowk and various other places in the city last night.

The hoardings and posters had been put up by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the ex-servicemen’s rally which would be addressed by the party’s election campaign committee chief and Gujarat Chief Minister Narender Modi here on September 15.

Agitated over the incident, BJP activists led by district party president Satish Khola met Superintendent of Police (SP) Pankaj Nain today and lodged a strong protest.

While the police registered a case in this regard, the SP assured them that such elements would not be spared.

Blaming the ruling party for the act, state BJP spokesman Veer Kumar Yadav said they were feeling jittery due to the rising popularity of Narendra Modi.

Chandigarh, September 12
National spokesperson of the BJP Capt Abhimanyu said though former Army Chief VK Singh would be present at the September 15 Rewari rally to be addressed by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, he had no political affiliation with the party.

Speaking to mediapersons, Capt Abhimanyu said the rally would be a show of strength for the party in southern Haryana where a large number of ex-servicemen resided. Over 25 senior Army officers would attend the rally, he said.

“Narendra Modi will give party’s vision for the national security, as internal security has gone for a toss under the UPA’s nine-year rule,” he said.

He, however, downplayed the absence of senior party leaders, including Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, at the rally, saying that every leader could not be present at every rally.

Chandigarh, September 12
The Monsoon Session of the Vidhan Sabha has achieved one thing more clearly than all others — Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s clear signal, indicating “zero tolerance for corruption”.

The entire session spread across four sitting highlighted the wrongdoings by INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala and his family. Hitting back at the Opposition for raising the issue pertaining to corruption in the change of land use (CLU), the Congress continuously highlighted the "wrongdoings" by the Chautalas.

The expulsion of the entire Opposition made the task of the Congress easy to dominate headlines in the media. The INLD that ran a parallel session outside the Assembly could not maintain the tempo and many MLAs were absent on the last day of the session. The BJP legislators also marked their token protest that almost went unnoticed.

One thing that was clear from the tone and tenor of the Chief Minister was that he was not going to buckle under the pressure on the CLU issue done either with respect to the land owned by Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, or the CDs released by the INLD showing Congress MLAs asking for money for facilitating CLUs. He turned the tables on the INLD by getting a House Committee to table its report pertaining to the "misuse of government properties" by trusts run by the Chautala family.

The tirade against the Chautalas was spearheaded by Sampat Singh and Gopal Kanda, both were once close to the Chautalas. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Surjewala seconded the attack. The House flayed Abhay Chautala by bringing in a resolution asking him to step down as the Indian Olymic Association chief, failing which India will be debarred from participating in the Olympics as the International Olympic Association debars countries from participation whose office-bearers are facing criminal charges.

The House saw a couple of important Bills being passed on the last day for which the House sitting was extended by a day. These include the increase in salaries of all legislators. Other Significant Bills include extending the lease of Punjabi farmers whose 20-year lease on panchayat land had expired. By doing this Hooda told the farmers that he was their real sympathiser.

Several other important decisions were taken in the form of 20 Bills that were passed. These included the dissolution of the Improvement Trusts and granting more powers to the Municipal Corporations and Municipal Committees. It sent a positive signal that Haryana was marching ahead on the path of development, not just in the National Capital Region, but across the state. Something that Hooda needed so desperately with his own party leaders accusing him of "selected development" on the regional basis.

Sirsa, September 12
The police has booked two doctors, including a gynaecologist, for the death of a woman during her delivery allegedly due to their negligence. Relatives of the woman created a ruckus outside Janta Hospital, a charitable hospital, in Sirsa.

The police said a case under Section 304-A of the IPC had been registered against Dr Snigdha Khurana, a gynaecologist in the hospital, and Dr Azad Singh, who was called to the hospital by the former after the woman's condition deteriorated. The police said a case had been registered on the complaint of the victim's relatives.

They held a demonstration with the body of the victim and alleged that victim Gita, who underwent a surgery for the delivery in the hospital on Monday, died due to the doctors' negligence as her internal bleeding did not stop after the operation.

Dr Khurana, however, denied any negligence and said the woman had a history of two caesarian deliveries prior to that and had a low haemoglobin level of 8 gm.

Further, she had approached the hospital after completion of the nine-month term.

The doctor said she was operated after administering blood on her but aduring the surgery, it was found that her's was a case of placenta accreta, a severe obstetric complication involving an abnormally deep attachment of placenta, which was very rare.

She said after the woman developed bleeding due to her complication, she was given the best medical aid but she could not be saved.

Gurgaon, September 12
The health authorities and the corporate sector are running a multi-pronged campaign to check vector-borne seasonal diseases like dengue and malaria in the district.

At a meeting held under the chairmanship of Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi here today, Dr Pushpa Bishnoi, Civil Surgeon, said teams of the Health Department were visiting disease-prone pockets to guide people about prevention and cure.

“Streetplays are also being staged in the district to create awareness about different aspects of the diseases,” she said, adding that the private/corporate sector was also playing a proactive role in the campaign.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) has provided four customised Eeco vehicles, equipped with a public address system, to spread awareness about measures to prevent malaria and dengue. This initiative targets to cover villages and colonies in the district.

Dr Bishnoi said the public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives had started showing results as cases of malaria had dropped this year.

Chandigarh, September 12
The Haryana Health Foundation, a centre of excellence for communication at State Institute of Health and Family Welfare and a centralised call centre for referral transport, will be set up in the state.

The National Rural Health Mission and the National Urban Health Mission will be named as the National Health Mission.

These decisions have been taken at the meeting of the National Rural Health Mission held here today under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary PK Chaudhery.

Sirsa, September 12
Hundreds of schoolchildren today participated in an awareness rally organised by the authorities to make Sirsa a smoking free district in the state.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) J Ganesan flagged off the rally from Town Park and hundreds of children marched through streets and markets of the town with placards of slogans against smoking.

Prominent citizens, including Dr RS Sangwan, Jagdish Chopra, Surender Bhatia, Dr Ved Beniwal and Ramesh Mehta, and officers, including SDM Sant Lal Pachar, City Magistrate Prem Chand, Civil Surgeon Dr Surender Nain and Deputy Civil Surgeon Sheel Kaushik, were present on the occasion.

The Health Department had recently announced to make five districts of Haryana - Panchkula, Karnal, Sirsa, Rohtak and Kurukshetra - smoking free during the first phase of the Tobacco Control Programme.

The DC said gazzetted officers of all government departments had been given the authority to impose fine on violators and they had been provided with challan and receipt books to collect fines.

“All hotel and restaurant owners have been asked to make smoking zones and list of public places has been circulated among people,” the DC said.

Gurgaon, September 12
The Gurgaon police has arrested a 30-year-old driver for allegedly molesting a nine-year-old British national.

The accused had been a helper in the victim's household for over a year and would take her to a Delhi-based school from Sohna everyday.

The mother of the girl is in India on a work visa and has been living here with the family and working with a reputed educational institution in Gurgaon for many years. The victim studies in Class IV of a Delhi-based reputed school.

The driver has been booked under Section 354, IPC, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Kaithal, September 12
Randeep Singh Surjewala, PWD and Industries Minister, said here today new ITIs would be constructed at Kalayat and Guhla-Cheeka in the district where technical education would be provided to the Scheduled Caste students. The government had sanctioned Rs 3.50 crore for each project, he said.

He also inaugurated three newly constructed projects that had been completed at a cost of Rs 6.46 crore in the district.

He also laid the foundation stone of a 1.60-km road which would be constructed from the existing Ambala road bypass to the outer limit of Sector 21, HUDA, here. Rs 2.74 crore would be spent on this project.

Chandigarh, September 12
Claiming that the Land Acquisition Bill was a historical achievement, All India Congress Committee special representative Prem Chandra Misra said it would bring transparency in land dealings and ensured the farmers their “rightful” compensation and rehabilitation.

Addressing a press conference at the office of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) here today, Misra said the legislation was the outcome of two years of consistent efforts of the party.

“The Haryana Government already has a policy in place to protect the interests of the farmers. This legislation is an improvement on the existing policy. We arrived at the final legislation after taking feedback from farmers’ organisations, civil society associations, state governments and holding three all-party meetings,” he said.

Misra said contrary to the existing practice where the administration could decide the acquisition of land, the legislation now empowers the landowner to take such a decision besides laying down that in the rural areas, the latter would be entitled to a compensation worth four times the market value.

“Besides many other provisions which secure the interests of the landowners, the legislation provides that if the acquired land is sold to a third party within five years of acquisition, the original land owner will get 40 per cent of the increased price,” he said.

HPCCchief, Phool Chand Mullana, said the land acquisition Bill was a pro-farmer Congress initiative that would go a long way in protecting the interests of the landowners. “The government’s rehabilitation and resettlement policy was already protecting the farmers’ interests and became the basis for this legislation,” he claimed.

Kurukshetra, September 12
Hailing the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Haryana Amendment Bill, 2013, passed by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha yesterday, state Finance and Irrigation Minister Harmohinder Singh Chattha said the Bill would directly benefit about 5,000 families of 22 villages of Pehowa Assembly constituency.

Interacting with farmers here today, Chattha said besides Kurukshetra, the farmers who had been cultivating land on lease in Kaithal and Karnal districts would now be given further lease of the land for a period of 99 years.

He said by getting this historical Bill approved in the Vidhan Sabaha, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had fulfilled his promise made to the people during the Pehowa rally in which he had assured the people of the constituency that he believed in settlement of farmers and no farmer would be rendered landless.

The Finance Minister said the villages of Pehowa to be benefited from the Bill included Siyana Sainda, Bodhni, Boda, Krah Sahib, Kalsa, Shahpur, Mangna, Neemwala, Syonsar, Jurasi Kalan, Ramgarh Road, Guldera, Jhimarhedi, Tikri, Bakhli, Gadi Langri, Mohanpur, Helwa, Ishak, Dhulgarh, Morthali and Adhoya.

Besides Pehowa, thousands of people of Kurukshetra, Karnal and Kaithal districts would also be given land on lease for a period of 99 years, the minister added.

Fatehabad, September 12
A three-year-old girl died and four other members of her family were taken critically ill, possibly due to food poisoning, at Alipur Barota village in Fatehabad district.

Kalpana (3), her sister Kashish (4), brother Kailash (6), mother Deepa Rani (40) and father Hira Lal (60) fainted after diahorrea and were rushed to General Hospital, Fatehabad. Kalpana died on way to the hospital while the other four are getting treatment in the hospital. Dr Manav Sethi, who treated these patients, said it seemed a case of food poisoning.

Chandigarh, September 12
Devender Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, UHBVN and DHBVN, inaugurated model cash collection centres at Panchkula today.

Electricity consumers can make payment of their electricity bills through the digital token system in these centres. — TNS