Yamunanagar, September 19
The state Lokayukta has sought a report from the district police into the cancellation of an FIR registered against three businessmen on the charge of duping a local wood merchant of Rs 50 lakh on the pretext of helping him set up a plywood factory.

In 2008, the district police had registered an FIR against Subhash, Naresh and Kamal, who were into the business of wood trade, on a complaint filed by Sharad Jain of Buridya.

In his complaint to the police, Jain had stated that the three, who ran a plywood factory, used to buy wood from him, the payment of which was made from time to time.

He had claimed that the three started stalling his payment in 2008 and when he took up the matter with them, they lured him into a trap, claiming that they would help him set up a plywood factory of his own.

Jain had alleged that the three promised to help him get a loan of Rs 10 crore from a nationalised bank and managed to ‘extort’ Rs 50 lakh from him. He had added that they stopped taking his calls after getting the money and went underground.

Unable to recover his money, Jain had filed a complaint with the police. After registering a case against the three under relevant sections, the police entrusted the investigations to an inspector, in charge of the local police station. However, no action was taken against the three persons.

Later, he met senior police officials, who instead of expediting the investigations, went in for cancellation of the FIR. This prompted Jain to file a complaint with the state Lokayukta, who after going into the details of the case, found that the police had failed to perform its duty as required by the law. He directed the district police chief to take action against the guilty policemen and file a report within three months.

Rohtak, September 19
Showing no signs of remorse, Narender Badak, the perpetrator of the barbaric killing of a couple, including his daughter, justified the killings, stating that "this was necessary to cleanse society of vices".

Badak, the prime accused in the murder of his daughter Nidhi (20) and her boyfriend, Dharmender Badak (22), in Garnawathi village, said this to mediapersons while being taken out of the court complex here today.

Anil Kumar, DSP (Headquarters), said the girl's parents — Narender, Reeta Devi and uncle Ravinder Badak — had been arrested. A local court remanded the girl's father and uncle in five-day police custody and sent her mother in judicial remand. Three other accused — the girl's brother Sunny, another relative Rajesh Kumar and taxi driver Mahesh Kumar — are at large.

While the police recovered the girl's half-burnt body from the cremation ground on the outskirts of the village, the youth's beheaded body was found lying outside his house.

Nidhi was a student of fine arts at the State Institute of Fine Arts, Rohtak, while Dharmender was pursuing an ITI diploma.

The couple had eloped on Tuesday realising that their families would never agree to their match. At the instance of the girl's family, Dharmender's friend asked them to return. As the couple was running short of money, they agreed to come to Bahadurgarh town hoping to get financial support. As they de-boarded at Bahadurgarh bus stand, they were bundled in a vehicle by the girl's family members waiting there.

On reaching home, the accused severed the boy's hand and legs, besides chopping off his torso. The body was thrown in front of his house about half a km from the girl's.

The DSP said no villager or any member of the two families had given any statement in the case. "We are piecing together the circumstantial and forensic evidence ", he said.

Meanwhile, an eerie silence prevails in the village as no villager is ready to talk about the incident. The police has been deployed outside the victims' houses.

The villagers said the girl's father Narender had thrashed Dharmender when he came to know about the affair about two years ago. Though the couple stopped meeting for some time after threats, they resumed the affair recently and planned to leave the village fearing threats to their lives, said a villager.

Rohtak, September 19
The Haryana khap panchayats today condemned the barbaric honour killing incident in Garnawathi village of the district. They have stated that the families must find some other ways to sort out such problems.

Talking to The Tribune here today, Mehar Singh, head of the biggest khap of the region-Meham Chaubisi Khap Panchayat, said the khaps had no role in any kind of crime, particularly in honour killing.

“We have been trying to convince the higher authorities and the courts that khaps have no role in such ghastly acts. It is unfortunate that the people get provoked and resort to violence against their children. It must stop. The khaps are meant to resolve the disputes and never intend to create any kind of problems for individuals,” he added.

Baljit Singh Malik, head of Gathwala Khap, which is considered the most progressive khap, also echoed similar views. “If there are some issues with the youngsters, the families must maintain poise and find a way out in a peaceful manner, by persuasion and talks, instead of getting violent”.

Both khap leaders maintained that the Garnawathi honour killing, in which the father of the girl had confessed to his crime, was a condemnable act.

The Supreme Court had earlier sought the view of the khaps in a PIL filed by an NGO, urging the courts to issue guidelines to the government to rein in khap panchayats dictating violence against youngsters.

The khap leaders had denied their role in such incidents before the apex court also. The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) also expressed a deep shock and anguish over the honour killing in Garnawathi.

Terming it a shame for the civil society, its state secretary Savita said the level of cruelty displayed in the crime had stirred the conscience of all right-thinking individuals. “Such barbaric crimes continue unabated and remind people of the medieval period. Haryana alone has recorded dozens of honour killings but nothing has been done to curb such crimes”.

She said the state government and mainstream politics, ironically, continued to be silent spectators, due to which no strong signal was sent to the perpetrators of such crimes.

Chandigarh, September 19
The recent appointment of four Haryana Public Service Commission(HPSC) members has come under the judicial scanner.

Seeking the quashing of appointments, Victor Robinson of Hisar district has alleged the adoption of a pick-and-choose policy in the matter of appointments. The petition was placed before the Bench of Justice Rajiv Narain Raina but was referred to another Bench.

Elaborating, he has asserted that the state government functionaries had appointed their “near and dear ones”. Jagan Nath was the cousin of union minister Kumari Selja whereas Savita Tayal was the wife of ML Tayal, who was “very close” to the Haryana Chief Minister. Surender Kumar Sharma was the vice-president of the Sonepat district Congress committee while Harender Pal Singh was president of Palwal district Congress committee.

Referring to the High Court judgment in the case of Salil Sabhlok versus the Union of India and other respondents, he asserted that the state was required to constitute a search committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary. The committee was required to consider the names which came to its notice or were forwarded to it before preparing a panel of suitable candidates.

The panel was then required to be placed before a high-powered committee, comprising the Chief Minister, the Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition. The recommendations were then required to be placed for the Governor’s approval.

The respondents, he alleged, were appointed as members violating the mandate of law laid down by the Full Bench of the High Court and upheld by the Supreme Court in the Salil Sabhlok case.

Chandigarh, September 19
While deciding against the restoration of municipal status to Jakhal Mandi in Fatehabad district, the state government has spelled out the criteria for the constitution of municipal committees (MCs) in the state.

In his order dated September 16, P Raghavendra Rao, Principal Secretary, Urban Local Bodies, noted that the income of the proposed municipality should be sufficient to meet their own establishment charges, including salary, provident fund share, pension, gratuity and local mandatory obligations likes audit fee, directorate supervision charges and repayment of loan. Moreover, the expenditure on these heads should not be more than 80 per cent of the total income of the municipality.

While the population of the town should be in the range of 15,000-50,000, the density should be atleast 400 persons per square km. Atleast 60 per cent of the people should be engaged in non-agricultural activities.

The gram panchayat concerned should pass a resolution for the constitution of the municipality followed by a recommendation of the DC, the order said.

The clarification on the criteria for setting up the MCs has come in the wake of a Punjab and Haryana High Court order, asking the government to re-examine the restoration of Jakhal MC.

The court order, quoting the fact-finding report from the Fatehabad DC, said the annual budget of the gram panchayat, Jakhal, was about Rs 30 lakh per annum, which was not sufficient for constituting a municipal committee for the town. Also, the population of the town was around 8,000, short of the mandatory 15,000.

The government had abolished 29 MCs, including MC Jakhal, on March 2, 2000, against the backdrop of their poor financial condition. 

Karnal, September 19
In yet another effort to reform prisoners and ensure their rehabilitation, the Karnal Model Jail became the first jail in the state to open a bakery unit today.

The unit, which was inaugurated by Director-General (DG) Prisons Yashpal Singhal, would start production of confectionery items like biscuits, buns, bread and rusks soon. All bakery products would be supplied to inmates in Karnal jail. These items would also be sent to other jails in Haryana, said Jail Superintendent Sher Singh. The manufacturing of confectionery items would be made a commercial venture and an outlet would also be opened on the Karnal-Kaithal road, he added.

Sher Singh said five officers and prisoners had been trained by food and nutrition scientist Dr AK Singh at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal. The funds for the bakery had been donated by an NGO, while machines had been bought from Tritul Ovens Manufacturers, Muzaffarnagar.

DG Prisons Yashpal Singhal said bakery units would be also be established in other jails in the state on the lines of Karnal jail.

Chandigarh, September 19
The mega housing project spread over 108 acres in Sector 102 and 102-A of Gurgaon of Countrywide Promoter Private Limited has run into rough weather.

Following the failure of the firm to deposit external development charges(EDC) and internal development charges(IDC), the Department of Town and Country Planning has withdrawn the demarcation-cum-zoning plan (of Licence No 58 of 2010) and asked the firm to stop any development work at the site.

The firm has also been prohibited from issuing any advertisement for booking, sale of plots and flats. “The licencee is also prohibited from accepting any amount against earlier bookings in the colony till further orders”, an order issued by Anurag Rastogi, Director-General, Town and Country Planning, said

A licence to develop a residential colony was granted to Countrywide Promoter Private Limited on August 3, 2010. The licencee approached the department for approval of demarcation/zoning of the colony for Blocks A, B, C, D and E on August 21,2010, and a report on verification of the demarcation plan was received from the Senior Town Planner/District Town Planner, Gurgaon, on January 25, 2012.

However, it was observed before approval of demarcation/zoning plan that EDC and IDC dues amounting to Rs 23.79 crore and Rs 14.93 crore, respectively, were outstanding against licencee as on April 1,2011. The realty firm submitted an undertaking on June 30, 2011,“ that the due amount of EDC shall be deposited within three months from the date of release of the approved zoning plans”.

The demarcation plan/zoning plan were approved on March 14, 2012, subject to the fulfilment of the undertaking submitted by the licencee.

On June 3, 2013, the licencee submitted a request to approve/release the revised demarcation/zoning plan for the colony along with a request for re-structuring the EDC without making any payment of EDC as per its earlier undertaking.

Saying that realtor’s failure to fulfil its commitment even after more than one year raised questions on its financial capacity to execute the project, the order said the outstanding EDC for the project amounted to Rs 73.64 crore by July 17,2013.

Karnal, September 19
Local residents and some NGOs are up in arms against Soma, the company executing the Rs 2,747.55-crore Panipat-Jalandhar six-laning project, for the inordinate delay in the completion of the project, which has reportedly been causing frequent accidents.

The accident involving a Volvo bus on the flyover on National Highway 1 near the Nirmal Kutia here on Saturday night has put the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Soma Isolex Rollways in the dock.

Five persons, including a relative of Union minister Praful Patel, were killed and a dozen others injured in the mishap. Residents and NGOs are demanding action against Soma and the NHAI.

The police had registered a case against the driver of the bus, but no case was registered against the company, which had failed to complete the project even after five extensions and the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had slapped a fine of Rs 60 crore on the company.

The driver of the ill-fated tourist bus alleged that the accident could have been avoided if railings had been erected on the edge of the highway. NGOs are demanding action against the company on the basis of the driver's statement.

Pritpal Singh Pannu, National Integrated Forum of Artists and Activists president, said the company could not evade responsibility as it had opened the incomplete road to traffic. He pointed out that at least 100 persons had been killed in accidents on this 291-km stretch in the last 19 months.

He urged the NHAI to take action against the company for the delay in completing the project and collecting toll on incomplete roads. The daily collection at the toll plaza in Karnal, which was shifted from the Karna Lake to Samanabahu village, was between Rs 40 lakh and Rs 45 lakh.

Gurgaon, September 19
To ensure complete safety of woman travelling in autorickshaws, the Gurgaon police has asked the autorickshaw drivers to get themselves registered .

Autorickshaw drivers will now have to submit copies of their driving licence, vehicle registration papers and finger print scans. Only then will they get recognition as safe autos.

The Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bharti Arora, launched the initiative at HUDA City Centre Metro station today.

“Women will now be encouraged to choose from what we will call safe autos. This will diminish, if not eradicate, the threat of robbery, molestation, abduction etc while travelling in an auto. The traffic department is hoping to register at least 5,000 autorickshaw drivers within a month. A device has been installed at the police booth outside the Metro station, where drivers can get their documents and fingerprints scanned,” she said.

The frequent incidents of women commuters being targeted by autorickshaw drivers or fellow commuters have made the police go an extra mile to ensure their safety. After several rounds of meetings, the traffic department came up with the idea of keeping records of all autorickshaw drivers so that it is easy to keep a track of the wrongdoers in case of an incident.

The move has not only rejoiced the commuters but even the drivers as more than 100 drivers were scanned on the first day of the initiative.

Gurgaon, September 19
Hundreds of students of the Manesar campus of the Government Polytechnic organised a march today to protest against detention in the fifth semester.

They gathered near a local temple and marched to the campus, raising slogans against the institute authorities. The management tried to talk to them, but they refused to relent.

Seeing things go out of hand, the management called the police, which brought the situation under control. Police officials said they reasoned out with the students while the protesters claimed that they were thrashed and many were injured.

“We were protesting peacefully, but the college authorities called the police, which started beating us up. We tried to stop them, but many of us were injured. They have ruined our future and are getting us beaten up,” said a protester.

Manesar ASP Veer Singh refuted the claim. Principal Mukesh Chadha said the detention was done as per Haryana technical education norms.

“It is a rule that a student who has a compartment in the first semester has to clear it by the fourth semester or will have to face detention. All protesting students are in this category. We even gave them a special chance, but to no avail,” he said.

Sirsa, September 19
The ongoing controversy between Chaudhary Devi Lal University employees recruited through outsourcing and their contractor has turned murkier, with the registration of an FIR against Registrar Manoj Siwach, four students and some employees.

After a demonstration by students yesterday, two student organisations today organised a boycott of classes and a demonstration, one in Siwach's favour and the other against him.

Activists of the Indian National Students Organisation (INSO), the student wing of the Indian National Lok Dal, held a demonstration, demanding the Registrar's removal.

Led by INSO president Yogesh Sharma, they met Vice-Chancellor Radhe Sham Sharma and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Governor and him.

The other group of students came out in the Registrar's support and alleged that he was being made a scapegoat due to the internal politics some teachers were engaged in.

Under the banner of the Nai Subeh Chhatra Sangh, the students went to various classes and sought support. Hundreds of students boycotted classes and held a demonstration in Siwach's favour. The students met SSP Saurabh Singh and the university authorities, seeking the cancellation of the FIR against Siwach.

The Registrar claimed that his name had been included in the complaint by the contractor concerned due to some ulterior motives.

Ambala, September 19
The court of Additional District And Sessions Judge Amarjeet Singh today summoned Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Congress MLA from Naraingarh Ram Kishan Gujjar. He is facing charges of abetment of suicide of a local journalist Pankaj Khanna, who had committed suicide in June 2009. The court directed Gujjar to appear on October 21, the next date of a hearing in the case.

Pankaj had committed suicide by consuming celphos tablets. In his suicide note, he had blamed Gujjar and two of his supporters, Ajit Aggarwal and Vijay Aggarwal, for creating circumstances which forced him to take the extreme step.

Khanna had alleged that Ajit and Vijay had been harassing and humiliating him at the behest of the MLA. Soon after the incident, Khanna’s relatives had blocked the state highway, demanding registration of a case against the MLA and his aides. The district police had on June 11, 2009, registered a case against the MLA and his two supporters in Naraingarh.

The father of the deceased, Yashpal Khanna, had alleged that his son had carried some reports against Gujjar in the newspaper, following which false cases had been registered against him to harass him. He stated that his son had been subjected to mental agony after which he had committed suicide. 

Sirsa, September 19
A man booked yesterday for rape was found lying on the roadside near the main gate of Chaudhary Devi Lal University under mysterious circumstances last night.

Accused Harpinder Singh's family alleged that he was lying injured and his hands were tied with a rope while his car was found parked near the Air Force Station.

They admitted him to the General Hospital here. They said he left his house at Mangala village on September 16 and there was no news about his whereabouts since then.

A woman from Harpinder's village, who lived in rented accommodation at Bhagat Singh Colony in the town, got an FIR of rape lodged against him at the City police station yesterday. She reported that the accused, who was her acquaintance, came to her house when she was alone and raped her.

Dalip Singh, SHO of the City police station, said the claims of Harpinder's family seemed doubtful. He said the possibility of the rape accused making efforts to prepare an alibi could not be ruled out. He said the police would investigate the matter from all angles.

Kaithal, September 19
Three youths have been booked for poisoning their friend to death. The police has booked the three on the complaint of the deceased's father.

Om Parkash of Cheeka in Kaithal district reported that he got information around 6:30 pm yesterday that his son Mithu (20) was lying unconscious on the Khushal Majra road.

He stated that he rushed to the spot and took his son to Mahabir Dal Hospital at Cheeka. He added that the doctors there referred his son to a Kaithal hospital due to his serious condition, but his son died on the way.

The complainant alleged that his son had told him while he was being taken to Kaithal that three friends of his had given him a soft drink laced with some poisonous substance.

Rewari, September 19
Seven members of a family have been booked for abduction and causing hurt. Going against the wishes of her family, Bimla Kaur of Alwar district in Rajasthan wed Sukhvinder Singh of an adjoining village a few months ago.

She moved to his family's house at Jarthal ki Dhani village, 14 km from here, where he was into farming. Members of Bimla's parental family came to Jarthal ki Dhani on September 17 and made a bid to take Bimla back.

When she resisted, they thrashed Bimla and Sukhvinder and forcibly took away her mother-in-law Sheela Kaur (40) with them.

On the way, they inflicted grievous injuries on Sheela and dumped her at an isolated place in the Kishangarh area of Alwar district. She was later admitted to a hospital in Jaipur by some villagers.

The Kasaula police of Rewari district yesterday registered a case of abduction and causing hurt against Harjit Singh, Kulwant Singh and five others on a complaint filed by Bimla. A senior police official said efforts were on to arrest the accused.