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On DC’s report, NHRC shuts Fatehabad rape victim’s case
Teen victim’s father went to jail for a ‘normal’ life
Paddy glut in Jind mandi, courtesy poor quality
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Early sowing of mustard, wheat on
Presence of Naqvi, Badal at Samman rally raises hopes of new alliances
Gohana rally to be a grand show, says Deepender Hooda
New policy on time-limit for construction on plots
Eight duty magistrates deputed
Loan payment default: Notices to 22 farmers
93,000 families enrolled under MNREGS
Farm labourer dies as thresher overturns
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On DC’s report, NHRC shuts Fatehabad rape victim’s case
Sirsa, November 2 The commission had taken suo motu cognizance of a report ‘Rape victim's father wants all three girls back in school’ published in The Tribune on October 16 last year. A local court has since convicted Sohan Lal, who is presently serving a seven-year jail term. Once the news report was published, the authorities acted swiftly and admitted the three girls to a government school in the neighbouring village of Bora. When the girls did not attend their new school in Bora, the authorities admitted them to another school at Nangal village within two weeks. Upon notice from the NHRC, the authorities submitted an inquiry report by District Education Officer Manju Gupta, which said the girls’ school-leaving certificates were issued against a request signed by their father and he admitted his daughters first to Bora and then to Nangal on his own wish. However, the NHRC did not find the report worthy of trust and told the Fatehabad Deputy commissioner to send a report. The DC’s report said the victim’s father was living in Nangal village on his own will and was working as a labourer under the MGNREGA scheme and his daughters were studying in Nangal School as per his wish. “Due to the problem of long distance from his house to the school, he readmitted his daughters in Nangal school after moving them from Khai and Boda schools,” the DC’s report said. “In view of the fact that the complainant is satisfied with the cooperation extended by the administration, the case is closed,” the NHRC’s final orders said. RP Malhotra, former state convener of the BJP’s Human Rights Cell, who has been taking up media reports on human rights violation with the NHRC, said his efforts to get justice for the sufferers through the Commission have time and again met with frustration. “It is paradoxical that the commission relies on reports from the same bureaucracy that is largely alleged to be responsible for violation of human rights due to its acts of commission or omission,” Malhotra said. |
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Teen victim’s father went to jail for a ‘normal’ life
Last year, Ali was a different man, the father of 16-year old girl Rano (name changed) who had been raped by her uncle and his friend. He was committed to bring his daughter’s violators to book and unwilling to succumb to any pressure from villagers. A few months later, the father lost his battle for justice. He bought peace with a compromise, retracted from his statement in court and went to jail while the accused got away easy. “I am an illiterate man. I don’t know what I said in my first statement and what I claimed later. All I know is the court ordered a fortnight in jail and I served that sentence. The village is with us and everybody has condemned and warned the accused. They will be ostracised if there is a repeat,” he says. Since the compromise, worked out in March this year, his daughter has been married off, which is a big relief for the family that is happy to be back in the fold of its community. “I had given my first statement in a fit of anger. Even then, the village elders had tried to explain to me to enter into a compromise with the accused, one of whom was a relative of mine. But I was so livid over what had happened that I didn’t see their logic — that it will only disturb my peace of mind and be a drain my meager resources. They were all very supportive,” he says. “Finally, my anger subsided and I realised my folly and struck a compromise which was worked out after repeated rounds of meetings, keeping the interest of the three families and the village brotherhood in mind,” Ali claims. In the village, neighbours and elders explain that the pressure to compromise began building up soon after the girl came home. Claiming that everything had been “amicably settled” among the three families by the village panchayat, the girl’s paternal uncle says, “The accused were made to admit their mistake in the presence of the entire panchayat and offer an apology to the family, which was very keen that the girl be married off. The village helped.” A member of the panchayat admits some “compensation” was also paid to the family to help them marry off their daughter and meet other sundry expenses, a claim disputed by Ali. “I can’t take money for whatever happened. However, it is also true that we have made peace with the families of the accused, one of whom belonged to another community but was from out village,” he remarks. The girl’s mother, when asked how she managed to help her daughter deal with her trauma, sums up the family’s sentiments, “All’s well that ends well. My daughter is married and my husband is back from jail. We are satisfied and have nothing more to say.” Ali chips in, “Life is about making compromises. Everybody does it. We are no different.” |
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Paddy glut in Jind mandi, courtesy poor quality
Jind, November 2 Over 3 lakh quintals of paddy had arrived in the local grain market till Friday. “Over 15,000 metric tonnes of the crop was lying in the local market here for past few days for sale, but paddy merchants were reluctant to purchase it due to its inferior quality. In order to sell the produce, farmers have to reduce its exiting market rates,’’ sources said. It is revealed that the acre-wise production of the major varieties of the crop had slipped to 150-175 kg per acre from the overall average production of 200-225 kg per acre. “The unseasonal rains in the past couple of months have not only decreased the acreage production of the crop, but also damaged its quality,’’ said Sandeep Malik, who is in the business of trading of agricultural produce in the district. He said a majority of the paddy produce was bought by private agencies and millers. The inferior quality produce was fetching between Rs 1,200 and 2,700 per quintal while the better qualities were getting a rate between Rs 3,000 and 4,000 per quintal. He said the main varieties, including 1121 and 1509, had suffered a damage due to the rains and the farmers were left with no option than to sell the stock lying in the mandis at throwaway prices. The sources said, the highest rate fetched by the most common variety on Friday was Rs 4,012 per quintal, while the market rates of the pure Basmati variety had touched Rs 5,500 per quintal, which was highest rate so far. The total arrival and procurement of paddy at the Jind grain market last year was around 8 lakh quintals. The procurement of paddy which started last month is likely to go on till first week of December. Jind is placed at fifth spot in the state in terms of paddy production. Dip in acre-wise production
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Early sowing of mustard, wheat on
Gurgaon, November 2 While sowing of mustard has already begun in some parts of the district, sowing of wheat, which usually commences in the second week of November, is also likely to be advanced by a few days, provided the temperature continues to dip in the coming days. Deputy Director (Agriculture) PS Sabharwal said apart from the recent rain, Cyclone Phailin which hit Odisha also resulted in conservation of moisture by soil.
— TNS |
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INLD workers ‘thrash, threaten’ Badshahpur toll barrier manager
Gurgaon, November 2 The incident took place in the Badshahpur area on the Gurgaon-Sohna road. According to the complaint by Dharmender Jain, the toll barrier manager, he was pulled out of his office, threatened and brutally thrashed on Friday. INLD district in-charge Satbir Pehelwan arrived at the toll plaza in his Toyota Fortuner and allegedly attacked Jain for not allowing the party's buses to pass through without paying toll. After beating up Jain, Pehelwan and his men allegedly warned the employees not to collect toll from any vehicle passing through as punishment for seeking toll from party buses. The victim named Pehalwan on the basis of the conversation among his assailants. Pehalwan blamed the Congress for implicating him in the incident. Workers at the toll plaza alleged that as the attackers went about beating them up and ransacking the booth, the police didn't respond quick enough to their SOS and arrived only after the attackers had left. Following the incident, the police have promised to step up security at the toll barriers. SHO Ram Chander said that they were looking into the matter and conducting a preliminary investigation. On October 17, a group of men allegedly armed with chains, iron rods and hockey sticks assaulted staff of the toll booth at Wazirpur and stole nearly Rs 2
lakh. The trigger
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Presence of Naqvi, Badal at Samman rally raises hopes of new alliances
Sirsa, November 2 Currently, the BJP has an alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) in the state. Putting a brave front, leaders of the Haryana Janhit Congress have
been dismissing Naqvi’s participation merely as a courtesy to attend the function whereas leaders of the INLD, which has organised the rally, have preferred to keep quite on the issue. The recent development has sent strong signals across the grass-roots workers of the parties throughout the state. A Shiromani Akal Dal leader from Delhi, who is considered close to INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala, said a change in the political equations among opposition parties in Haryana is on
|the cards and it is only a matter of time when it happened. He said the senior leadership of the BJP was convinced that joining hands with Chautalas was essential to stop Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s hat-trick in the state. He, however, did not make it clear as to what could be the contours of the new political equations. Kuldeep Bishnoi’s cousin and Haryana Janhit Congress in charge for media affairs Devi Lal Manjhu, however, said no political meaning should be drawn from Naqvi’s presence in the yesterday’s rally. “No national party would like to associate itself with a regional party
whose two main leaders are serving imprisonment in a corruption case,” Manjhu said. He said as far as Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was concerned, he has been already advocating the INLD’s cause due to his family relations with Chautalas. “But those who heard Naqvi’s speech yesterday know that his participation in the rally was
more of social nature than the political one,” Manjhu said. |
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Gohana rally to be a grand show, says Deepender Hooda
Bhiwani, November 2 Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda, who has been travelling across the state to ensure huge turnout in the politically significant rally to invite people, toured several villages of Bhiwani district today to activate workers and to invite people. Addressing the public meetings, Hooda claimed that Gohana rally would be a record public gathering where Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would announce historical schemes for the development of the state. Claiming that the government had carried out unprecedented development during the last eight years in the district, he said Haryana is reckoned among the most developed states in the country. "The state has achieved progress in all spheres, including education, employment, roads, transport, rail, medical facilities, electricity generation, sports and public welfare schemes. Emphasising the need for quality education to ensure the future of young generation, the young MP said the state now had 36 universities, including a Central and Defence University. About 19.72 lakh students are getting scholarships right from class I to XII. Senior citizens are getting old age samman pension up to Rs 750 per month while it was Rs 250 and Rs 300 in Punjab and Gujarat, respectively. The government planned to further enhance the samman pension allowance, he added. While taking a dig at the opposition, Hooda said those who opposed the Congress should understand who was responsible for corruption and anarchy in Haryana. Under the INLD and HJC rule, farmers were tortured and every section of the society was dissatisfied. It was the Congress government which only waived off pending electricity bills of farmers but also reduced the interest rate on cooperative bank loans to four per cent. |
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New policy on time-limit for construction on plots
Chandigarh, November 2 While stating this here today, a spokesman of the department said that as per provision of Rule 24 of the Town Improvement Trust Land Disposal Rules, 1976, the allottee of a plot is required to complete the building within the prescribed period, to be fixed by the Trust in each scheme or extended period and or in accordance with the conditions set forth in the agreement. In case of failure, the security amount deposited by the plot holder shall be forfeited. He said although Improvement Trusts are empowered to take the decision for allowing the time extension as per the said provision, presently, there is no comprehensive and uniform policy in the department with regard to granting extension of time period beyond the stipulated period, as mentioned in the allotment letter, and charging of requisite fee. In case the period of construction has expired before October, 2013, the allottee of a residential plot in the schemes developed by an Improvement Trust, who has failed to construct the building within the stipulated time limit would be, henceforth, allowed to construct the building subject to payment of extension fees. |
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Markets witness heavy rush of customers
Sirsa, November 2 Deepak Agarwal, who deals in electronic products, said inflation was the main reason behind the lack of interest amongst customers. “Although the companies have offered many schemes on Diwali, including scratch coupons on some products and gift items on high end items, the strategy has failed to evoke the desired results,” said Agarwal. Meanwhile, the police has made elaborate arrangements for regulating vehicular traffic and flow of people in the busy markets. “Entry of vehicles, including two-wheelers, is completely barred in busy markets like Sadar Bazar and Rori Bazar. The vehicle owners are being asked to park their vehicles on the rear side of the post office or in the old civil hospital area,” said the Senior Superintendent of Police Saurabh Singh. He said as 175 police personnel had been deployed in the city to regulate traffic. Three inspectors - City SHO Dalip Singh, Crime Investigation Agency SHO Kishori Lal and Traffic Police Station SHO Virender Singh - have been assigned duties in different parts of the town for this purpose. Fire tenders and Vajra vehicles of the police have been kept in readiness to meet any eventuality. |
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Eight duty magistrates deputed
Faridabad, November 2 The district authorities have specified special zones in the city for the sale and purchase of crackers. In a bid to control pollution and the use of dangerous fireworks, they have regulated the timings to burst crackers. The bursting of crackers has been banned between 10 pm and 6 am. The public have been asked not to burst crackers in silence zones such as areas near hospitals and schools. The Deputy Commissioner said the police had made elaborate security arrangements to prevent and deal with any situation. |
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Loan payment default: Notices to 22 farmers
Hisar, November 2 The farmers have taken up the matter with the Haryana Kisan Manch which has been planning to launch a stir on the issue soon. Reports said the bank itself had been declared a defaulter by the NABARD over the non-recovery of the loans from the farmers. The auction notices have been served on 12 farmers in the Adampur branch who owed Rs 24.28 lakh while six farmers in Barwala and four farmers in Hisar branches. Kisan Sabha general secretary Ramesh Beniwal said they would launch a stir to oppose the auction. “It was shocking that the farmers’ land is being auctioned. We will start the stir from November 18 from the district headquarters where we will gherao the DC office,”€¯ he said. “The farmers who have defaulted on farming sector loan payments have not been served the
notices,” said Balraj Siwach, assistant registrar of the district cooperative societies. |
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93,000 families enrolled under MNREGS
Sirsa, November 2 Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar was to honour gram panchayats and officials performing good job in implementation of MNREGS in the district today. However, due to his preoccupation in Rajasthan, his wife Avantika Maken Tanwar gave away prizes to as many as 58 persons for their extraordinary services. Those honoured today included village panchayats, employment assistants, block and panchayat development officers and even some MNREGS workers. Ganesan said e-muster rolls and electronic funds management system (EFMS) had been initiated in the district, whereby funds to as many as 29 panchayats were being transferred electronically. Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras had been set up under the MNREGS in 75 villages of the district and in 50 of these Kendras, rural e-libraries had been set up. Avantika said this programme of the UPA government had provided employment to over 8 crore people in the country and nearly 47% of them were women. — TNS
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9 Nanded Sahib
pilgrims hurt in mishap
Sonepat, November 2 Five of them received serious injuries. The injured have been identified as Paramjit Singh, Dalbir Kaur, Jagir Kaur, Kashmir Kaur, Kulvuinder, Jagdish, Avtar Singh, Jaskaran and Manjinder Singh. The police admitted the injured to the Civil Hospital from where they were referred to the PGIMS. Sub Inspector Yudhveer Singh said the canter driver had wrongly parked the vehicle on the road and there was no reflector in the rear of the vehicle. The tempo driver could not see the canter because of some foggy conditions in the morning hours. A case has been registered against the unidentified canter driver who escaped from the spot after the accident. |
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Farm labourer dies as thresher overturns
Sirsa, November 2 He was working on a contract on the fields of Sukhjinder Singh of Bahiya village and he was sitting on the back of the thresher when the machine was being shifted from one field to another. Suddenly, the thresher overturned and Sanjay came under it. Other labourers immediately pulled the victim, but by that time, he had already died.
— TNS |
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Yamunanagar, November 2