Jhajjar, November 24
Hundreds of Aadhaar cards were found abandoned in Bahu Jhholari village under Salhawaas police station yesterday. Villagers have charged local post office employees with negligence in distributing these cards.

Some villagers spotted the cards lying abandoned on the road.

Other villagers rushed to the spot and started looking for their cards. Several villagers reportedly also took away the cards belonging to other people.

Ashok Kumar, a villager, told reporters that the villagers had been making rounds of the local post officefor their Aadhaar cards but the stock reply each time was that the cards would reach their homes after these were received. office.

He maintained that the local post office was informed about the incident but no one came there.

The villagers were planning to lodge a complaint against the post office with the district authorities in this regard.

The local post office manager could not be contacted for his version. 

Sonepat, November 24
The Sheesh Marg Yatra, organised by the Sarbat Da Bhala Trust, Patiala, was given a rousing welcome at the Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Memorial, Badkhalsa, today by residents of the area and representatives of different social and religious organisations.

The yatra of around 100 vehicles was led by Guru Granth Sahib Ki Palki with Panj Piaras. Maninder Kaur, wife of the renowned social activist and chairperson of the Patiala Trust HS Oberoi, also part of the yatra.

Organised on the martyrs’ day of the ninth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Teg Bahadur, the yatra, on its way to Anandpur Sahib from Sheesh Ganj Gurdwara at Delhi, made its first stop at Badkhalsa memorial after entering Haryana from Delhi.

During the yatra’s stay, the devotees paid tributes to Bhai Jaita Singh. They were offered langar and literature pertaining to the life and supreme sacrifice of Guru Teg Bahadur.

In his welcome address on the occasion, president of the Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Memorial Trust, Narela, Malkiat Singh, recalled the supreme sacrifice made by Guru Teg Bahadur, Bhai Mati Dass, Sati Dass, Dayala and Bhai Kushal.

Badkhalsa's pride:

The small village of Badkhalsa has its name inscribed in the Sikh history in golden letters. The supreme sacrifice of an ancestor from here, Bhai Kushal, a follower of the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Teg Bhadur, is something that this village will always be proud of. Bhai Kushal Singh of this village offered his head to fool the Mughals, who wanted to retrieve the head of the guru being taken to Anandpur Sahib by one of followers.

Each year, Badkhalsa, which was then known as Garhi, holds an annual memorial to remember Bhai Kushal, their ancestor, who ordered his son Bahadur to behead him. For he resembled Guru Teg Bahadur, he offered himself to be beheaded to befool the Mughal forces, so that the head of the guru could be taken to Anandpur Sahib for cremation. Villagers often organise religious functions and ‘nagar kirtans’ in the memory of the guru and Bhai Kushal.

Ram Chander Dahiya and Rajesh Dahiya, Badkhalsa residents, told The Tribune that after the selfless sacrifice of Bhai Kushal, Garhi was renamed Kushal Garhi and then it was named Badkhalsa. “There is no record of the direct lineage of Bhai Kushal, therefore the entire village considers itself a direct descendant of the martyr,” they said.

The Haryana Government has constructed a memorial in the name of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur in an area of around two acres on the GT Road.

Sirsa, November 24
The police have booked a gynaecologist for negligence under Section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code after a woman died due to excessive bleeding after delivery at a private hospital here.

Sumitra, wife of Ajay Kumar of Bani village in Sirsa, was admitted to a private hospital yesterday. Dr Sunita Beniwal conducted a Caesarian delivery.

The victim’s husband claimed that the gynaecologist left for a wedding function after the surgery. He alleged that his wife developed severe pain in the abdomen and started bleeding profusely after the birth of a son, but there was no one to attend on her at the hospital.

“Frantic calls on Dr Sunita Beniwal’s mobile phone by the hospital staff went unanswered and Sumitra died crying in pain,” Ajay Kumar reported in his complaint to the police.

Dalip Kumar, SHO of the City police station, went to the hospital and took the body to the General Hospital for post-mortem examination. The SHO said a case under Section 304-A of the IPC was registered.

Efforts to contact Dr Sunita Beniwal on her mobile phone for her version were futile. An SMS sent to her, requesting her to give her version, did not evoke a reply.

Dr RK Mehta, president of the local chapter of the Indian Medical Association, claimed that there was no negligence on the part of the doctor. “Post-partum haemorrhage (bleeding after surgery) is a known complication and can occur in some cases,” he added. 

Jhajjar, November 24
Reiterating that school lecturers would not carry out ther evaluation of answer sheets of first and second semester Class XII examinations until their demands are met, the Haryana School Lecturers’ Association (HSLA) has decided to launch another series of protests against the state government from November 26.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the association held at Government Senior Secondary School here today. The meeting was presided over by state president Dayanand Dalal, who asserted that school lectures were united over the issue and would not bow down before the "autocratic" attitude of the government.

“School lecturers will remain on the mass casual leave across the state on November 26 and 27 to register their protest against anti-teachers’ policy of the government. Thereafter, the lecturers will sit on a dharna at the office of the District Education Officer (DEO) from 3 to 5 pm on November 28 to 30,” said the president.

He said the association would organise a state-level rally in front of Siksha Sadan in Panchkula on December 11, if their demands were not accepted. The rally would be attended by over 12,000 lecturers," he claimed.

“We will not let the students suffer, hence the association has decided to continue the teaching work. That is the reason that the dharna would be held in afternoon,” said Dalal.

Criticising the relieving order of the lecturers engaged in the evaluation work, Dalal said the state government was trying to scare them by issuing illogical orders.

To give a biffting reply to the government, the lecturers would organise a demonstration outside evalution centers on Monday, he added. At the meeting, the HSLA office-bearers said that Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal was misguiding them by issuing false statements that most of their demands had been met.

Meanwhile, Bhukkal said carrying out the evauluation of answer sheets was the duty of school lectures.

The agitation of the HSLA is illogical as their demands have been approved and sent to the Finance Department,” said the minister. She said the agitating lecturers should withdraw their boycott.

Notably, lakhs of answer sheets of Class XII exam have been lying unchecked in various evaluation centres across the state, owing to boycott of the evaluation work by the HSLA for the past 17 days.

Jhajjar, November 24
Concerned over the boycott of answer sheet evaluation by school lecturers, the Education Department has warned of disciplinary action against officials and lecturers found indulging in indiscipline in discharge of duty.

A communique in this regard has been shot off by the office of Director, Secondary Education, to all District Education Officers (DEOs), directing them to get evaluation work done at the earliest. The department declared the evaluation work as mandatory for officials and school lecturers.

"All officials and employees concerned have been directed to get evaluation of answer sheets done on priority while considering it obligatory, otherwise disciplinary action will be taken against guilty officials and employees while considering their act as violation of the directives," the communique read.

Evaluation work of answer sheets could not be begun even after 15 days following the Haryana School Lecturers' Association (HSLA) boycotting the work to mount pressure on the government for getting their long-pending demands met.

Over 54,000 answer sheets were lying unchecked at two evaluation centres of the district, taking a toll on students who might have to face a delay in getting their results.

Sadhu Ram Rohila, Jhajjar DEO, directed principals of all government senior secondary schools here to relieve with immediate effect the lecturers who were assigned evaluation work and ensure their presence at the evaluation centres tomorrow.

Dayanand Dalal, HSLA president, said the authorities were trying to scare them by issuing such orders, but it was clear that school lecturers would not join evaluation work until their demands were met.

"Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal is misguiding lecturers and other people by saying several demands have been met. The fact is that not a single demand has been met so far. The HSLA has submitted its demand charter to the authorities many times, but to no avail," he said.

He said they were demanding a grade pay of Rs 5,400 on parity with school headmasters, special quota for PhD-holder and NET-qualified lecturers in higher education institutions and change of nomenclature of newly appointed lecturers.

Sirsa, November 24
As many as 10,500 volunteers of Dera Sacha Sauda dressed in red claimed to have formed the largest blood drop in the world to stake a claim to entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The event was organised at the SMG Sports Complex in the dera and the blood drop was spread over 24,000 square feet. The volunteers stood for seven minutes to give the universal message of blood donation.

"This will be our 15th entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. Our volunteers have created 14 records, including those for plantation, blood donation and eye cataract surgery," said spokesperson Aditya Insan.

He said three records were in the field of blood donation. He said the dera had collected over 3 lakh units of blood in camps so far.

An e-mail sent to him by Alex Angert of Guinness World Records Limited said the world record was in the name of Orenburg Regional Blood Donors Centre in Russia, where 7,100 persons formed a blood drop on May 18.

Hisar, November 24
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be here on December 1, the day the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) will hold a Vijay Rally on the completion of party supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi’s Vijay Rath Yatra. Bishnoi was at Gohana in Sonepat on November 10, the day Hooda organised the Shakti Rally there.

Bishnoi’s 57-day rath yatra will conclude on December 1, a day ahead of the previous schedule, to make it a mega show and reportedly to ensure the presence of Central Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitely’s presence has been confirmed as December 2 will be the last day of campaigning in Delhi.

BJP spokesperson Capt Abhimanyu said it would primarily be HJC’s rally and the presence of BJP leaders would reinforce political cohesion between the two parties.

Asked if they would like to compare it with the Congress’ Gohana rally, the BJP spokesperson said, “The Gohana rally was unique in its own way as government employees, NERGS workers and panchayat members were make to show up. This rally would prove harmful to the Congress in political terms.”

HJC leader Devi Lal Bishnoi said the rally venue had to be shifted from Mahavir Stadium to 150 acres along the Delhi bypass on sensing the mood of the people. “It will be the biggest-ever political gathering. A strong anti-incumbency factor has been visible across the state during the yatra,” he said.

Political observers said it would be a make-or-break rally for the HJC, being held at the end of their mobilisation drive. “BJP leaders are tactically distancing themselves from the rally though it will be equally important to them,” said a political observer.

Why CM is coming
Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be the chief guest at a national convention and the convocation of the National Academy of Veterinary Science and Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Hisar on December 1 and 2.

Hisar, November 24
The love for nature in Bishnois has attracted a woman scholar from a Canadian university to carry out a research on the community's relationship with the environment.

Alexis Reichert is doing master's at the department of religious studies, University of Ottawa, Canada, . She said she selected the topic, "Religion Influences Human Relationships With Their Environment", and found it to be particularly fruitful among the Bishnois who have a sense of sacrifice to preserve the environment.

Interacting with The Tribune during her visit to Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology here, she said she wanted to explore the relationship of humans and non-humans in the Bishnois from an anthropological perspective.

"I learned about the religion of Bishnois last year in Mumbai. I came to about their religion through a newspaper article and became very interested in it . Later, I decided to explore it further in my master's thesis. I have so far visited temples and villages in and around Delhi, Hisar and Jodhpur. I will soon go to Bikaner, "Alexis said.

"What interests me is that Bishnois are willing to sacrifice their lives for trees or animals. The women are also willing to breastfeed orphaned fawns, if required. The community seems to live in harmony with nature. I think we can learn a lot from this community," she says.

Dr Narsi Ram Bishnoi, Professor at the department of environmental science and engineering in the university, informed that she visited Guru Jambheshwar religious institute in the varsity and got to know about the contribution of Jambheshwar Maharaj and his teachings, which have inspired the Bishnoi community to work for the environment conservation. 

Chandigarh, November 24
Nearly 51.86 lakh tonnes of paddy has so far arrived in various mandis of the state during the current procurement season as compared to the arrival of over 48.68 lakh tonnes of paddy during the corresponding period last year.A spokesman for the Food and Supplies Department today said the government agencies had purchased over 35.70 lakh tonnes of paddy.

He said the Food and Supplies Department had purchased over 14.46 lakh tonnes of paddy, HAFED over 10.18 lakh tonnes, Haryana Agro Industries Corporation over 5.83 lakh tonnes, Haryana Warehousing Corporation over 3.43 lakh tonnes, CONFED over 1.64 lakh tonnes and Food Corporation of India had purchased 13,181 metric of the crop, he added.

He said Karnal district was leading in the paddy arrival where over 9.44 lakh tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis, followed by Kurukshetra with over 8.97 lakh tonnes. Kaithal ranked third in the paddy arrival where over 8.65 lakh tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis, in Fatehabad over 5.23 lakh tonnes of the crop had arrived.Similarly, in Ambala over 5.27 lakh tonnes of paddy had arrived, in Yamunanagar over 3.40 lakh tonnes, in Panipat over 1.79 lakh tonnes, in Sonepat over 1.69 lakh tonnes, in Palwal over 1.28 lakh tonnes, in Panchkula 83,499 tonnes, in Rohtak 29,651 tonnes, in Faridabad 22,359 tonnes and in Hisar 20,089 tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis. 

Karnal, November 24
The health-conscious youth and people suffering from diabetes and obesity have a reason to smile as nutritious carbonated “lassi” will hit the market soon.

The product will have the flavour of a soft drink and the nutrition of milk. The fizz is likely to appeal to children. The low-calorie dairy beverage is priced at Rs 7 for a 100-gram pack.

With a shelf life of 21 days under refrigeration, the product has an effervescent and tingling flavour due to natural biofortification with carbon dioxide produced during fermentation. Talks are on with industries to launch the product. It is the result of an four-year research by NDRI scientists who discovered the bacteria stain Leuconostoc Ln 27, being used to manufacture carbonated sweet “lassi”.

Technical details

Mannitol, a naturally occurring polyol, is present in small quantities in most fruits and vegetables. It is only half as sweet as sucrose. 

Karnal, November 24
There has been a spurt in the registration of sexual assault cases after the amendments to the anti-rape law, making the provisions more stringent. However, the conviction rate is abysmally low as victims turn hostile in the court in a majority of the cases and accused are acquitted.

As per the data, accused are known to the victims in 90 per cent of the cases and retract from their statements after the challans are filed and cases come up for hearing in the court.

As many as 58 rape cases were registered in Karnal district till November 22, 2012, out of which 36 cases were decided in fast track courts and only three accused were convicted. In 25 cases, the accused were acquitted.

The picture is no different this year in the 74 rape cases registered till November 22. Out of the 32 cases taken up by the court, the accused were convicted in only two cases while in 27, the victim did not cooperate with the prosecution and turned hostile.

While the conviction rate has come down from 8.3 per cent in 2012 to 6.2 per cent this year, the percentage of acquittal due to victim becoming hostile has increased from 69.4 per cent to 84.4 per cent. Karnal SP Shashank Anand said despite the fact that victims and their family members are escorted by the police, the number of out of court case settlement was on the rise, which was a cause of concern.

In case the witness turns hostile, all the scientific evidence becomes irrelevant, he said.

A majority of the cases in the past two years were registered in the Karnal city area and accused were arrested in all the cases.

The rape cases are broadly categorised into four groups that include elopement of minor girls, boy-girl affair and the girl alleging sexual assault when caught, false cases to blackmail and tarnish the image and genuine cases.

In many cases, the FIRs are being lodged under pressure from family members and victims find it convenient to wriggle out of the situation by turning hostile in the court. “The witnesses are not scared of making false charges and backing out in the court, as the punishment for such offences is not deterrent and attracts six months’ imprisonment and fine,” opined Karan Sahu, a social activist.

The investigating agencies said the number of cases would increase further with the Supreme Court ruling that consensual sex among adults on the promise of marriage would also invoke relevant Section of the anti-rape law.

Remedy
Pritpal Pannu, a social activist, says the involvement of the community during the preliminary investigations and counselling will help check registration of false complaints and stringent punishment for making false complaint
The reasons behind victims and witnesses turning hostile should be thoroughly probed and strict action should be initiated against the victim if the reason was allurement or the intention was blackmail
In case the victim backs out due to pressure or intimidation by the accused, action should be taken against them

Hisar, November 24
Congress MLA and former Union minister Venod Sharma has termed Haryana Janhit Congress supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi a novice who lacks a vision and understanding of politics and needs of the people.

Addressing a public meeting here today, Sharma said voters were aware who their well-wisher was and who wanted to use them to fulfil his vested political interests.

He asserted that the state government had worked for the welfare of all sections and no community was being discriminated against while implementing schemes.

Referring to Bishnoi, he said a few leaders were taking out “vijay yatras” with the hope of realising the dream of becoming Chief Minister. “One must get trust and support of voters to become Chief Minister,” he said.

“Leaders in the opposition have neither a development policy, nor a public welfare viewpoint. Their sole agenda is getting power by any means,” he alleged.

The Congress leader said the government had taken important decisions for the welfare of those belonging to every strata of society and the people had benefited from the implementation of the schemes in letter and spirit.

He said economically weaker sections from upper castes had been extended the benefit of quota in educational institutes and government jobs to raise their standard of living and bring them to the mainstream.

He said 10 per cent reservation based on financial status was being given to the poor and weaker sections of the Brahmin, Rajput, Punjabi and Vaish communities.

Nalwa MLA Sampat Singh said Sharma had played a significant role in providing reservation to economically weaker sections of society.

Sirsa, November 24
Ambala City MLA Venod Sharma’s statewide campaign is aimed at wooing non-Jat voters for the Congress ahead of the parliamentary and Assembly elections due next year.

The tone and tenor of his speeches during his almost-three-month-long campaign suggest that the objective is to prevent non-Jats, particularly Punjabis, Agarwals and Brahmins, from breaking away from the Congress.

Considered close to the Chief Minister, Sharma began his mass contact drive on November 19 to meet people in all 90 Assembly constituencies.

“The objective is to interact with people, know their issues, inform them what Congress has done for the people and exhort them not to be misled by the propaganda of vested interests,” Sharma said over telephone.

Referring to Haryana Janhit Congress supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi and Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhey Singh Chautala, he said those whom the people had tried and rejected were trying to mislead the people again.

Sharma said it was the first time any government had given 10 per cent reservation to upper castes on an economic basis, but beneficiaries were unable to take the benefit due to lack of awareness.

He said he would tell the people what the Congress government had done for them in the last nine years so that they could take benefit of all these schemes.

Ambala, November 24
Despite having the documents supporting his claim, brother of a deceased government school teacher, has been running from pillar to post for the past three years to get the dues of her sister cleared by the Education Department.

Ashok Kumar’s sister Neelam Rani had died during her tenure of a social science teacher at Government Girls' Senior Secondary School (GGSSS), Baldev Nagar, in August, 2008. Following her death, the dues, including her salary for 17 months and an ex-gratia grant of Rs 25,000 besides the monthly financial assistance were to be released in the name of her mother Lajwanti in April, 2010. Her mother died on January 8, 2010, and the payment could not be realised.

As Neelam Rani was unmarried, her brother Ashok Kumar moved an application with the department, seeking the release of dues in his name as he was the next kin as her father was no more. The department told Ashok Kumar to produce a succession certificate, issued by the court to claim the dues, which was granted to him by a local court on February 6, 2012.

Even after producing succession certificate, the department continued to delay the payment on one or another ground. He n approached the Director of the department, who on three occasions wrote official letters to the district Education Department to release the dues.

However, these communiqués could not help Ashok Kumar in getting the dues.

Ashok Kumar said the local officials had been coming up with irrelevant anomalies against the decision of court on the basis of which they had been denying him the dues. Kumar, who is a resident of Tohan in Fatehabad district, alleged that he was mistreated and insulted by the employees of the department for the reasons best known to them.

He said that he had already met a number of officials of the department and the district administration, but everything proved futile. He said now he was planning to move the court against the department as the last resort.

Meanwhile, District Elementary Education Officer Paramjit Sharma could not be contacted for comment.

Hisar, November 24
A car plunged into a canal on National Highway 10 between Mundhal and Hansi, about 50 km from here, this evening. One person was washed away while four others were taken out and rushed to the PGIMS at Rohtak.

The persons travelling in the Maruti Alto car, including two women, were going from Rohtak to Hisar. The driver lost control and the car plunged into the canal on Peepla bridge.

Local residents and police personnel rushed to the spot. They managed to take out four persons from the canal while one of the occupants of the car was still missing.

Kurukshetra, November 24
Aashir Khan of Kurukshetra and Saakshi of Rohtak emerged winners in the 21-km half marathon and 10-km women’s cross-country race, respectively, in the Kurukshetra Marathon held here today.

The marathon was organised by the Flag Foundation of India, headed by Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal.

The 6-km ‘tiranga’ run was flagged off by Savitri Jindal, Minister for Urban Development and Local Bodies, Haryana.

Youth and children from all over the state assembled at Dronacharya Stadium to participate in the marathon.

Arjuna Award winner Rajendra Umari flagged off the first event of the marathon at 6.30 am. Aashir Khan of Kurukshetra emerged winner in the event, whereas Sonu, Devendra, Sukhvinder, Sanjay, Devender(Kaithal), Anil, Mahipal, Vinod and Ashok followed him in the event.

Aashir got a cash prize of Rs 31,000, Sonu Rs 16,000 and Devendra Rs 11,000.

The women’s cross-country race was flagged off by Dalel Singh of Kurukshetra University. Saakshi of Rohtak, who stood first, was given prize money of Rs 16000. Reema stood second and Versha of Kurukshetra third.

Arun stood first in the ‘tiranga’ run followed by Anil, Deepak, Ramkesh and Ramesh. 

Rohtak, November 24
A village youth’s murder, two cases of rape, including one involving a minor girl, and a road accident which claimed two lives stunned residents of Rohtak today.

Sonu, a resident of Roorkee village, informed the police that his brother, Deepak, had been shot dead. Deepak’s bullet-riddled body was reportedly found lying near a liquor vend.

The deceased youth’s family members alleged that a quarrel had broke out between Deepak and two other youths of the village over some vehicles going to Gohana for a recent political rally.

On the complaint of Deepak’s brother Pradeep, the police has booked the youths named by the family. Deepak’s body was handed over to his family members after a post-mortem examination.

Meanwhile, the police claimed to have rescued a minor girl of Brahmanwas village located on the outskirts of Rohtak town from a youth of the same village who had allegedly kidnapped and raped her. The police said Sumit, alias Mona, was nabbed from the Panipat bus stand and the girl handed over to her family. The police first got the girl medically examined. Then, her statement was recorded before a Magistrate. The girl alleged that she had been abducted and raped by Sumit. Following that, the youth was produced in a court, which sent him to jail.

In another case of rape, a woman resident of Rohtash Nagar told the police that while she was asleep in her home at night, Satpal of Titoli village in the district raped her and fled the scene. After rape was confirmed in the girl’s medical examination, the police registered a case .

In yet another shocker forRohtak residents, Amit and Ashish of Gumana village, who were coming to Rohtak town on a motorcycle to participate in a marathon race organised this morning, were killed after being hit by a canter on the Kiloi-Bhalouth road.The canter driver fled the scene after the accident. The police has registered a case. 

Hisar, November 24
The scheme of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) to install pillar boxes in villages has run into trouble as unknown villagers torched around 20 pillar boxes in Siswala village of the district last night.Though people have been expressing doubts about replacing the existing electricity metres with the new pillar box system, the incident of damaging the installed boxes have raised concerns among power officials.

A power official informed that they had identified some persons who had damaged the pillar boxes in the same village and now, had burnt the boxes by pouring kerosene. “These persons had earlier broken the glasses of pillar boxes. We suspect the hand of the same group and have lodged a complaint with the police against them.

A farmers’ body, Haryana Kisan Manch, led by Ramesh Beniwal, has been mobilising villagers against the pillar boxes stating that the new system has put extra burden on villagers as they are getting inflated power bills.

Faridabad, November 24
Dengue continues to affect the town, with the total number of cases swelling to 406. This is the first time such a large number of cases has been reported in the district. The number of cases last year was 52.

While the number of suspected cases has crossed the 1,700-mark for the first time this season, the number of positive cases is 406 so far, says the report compiled by the office of the District Malaria Officer.

The total number of suspected cases was 374 last year. An official said the long duration of the monsoon, along with lack of awareness and inadequate preventive measures, resulted in the spread of dengue.

Stating that the climate was still favourable, a doctor with a government hospital said the menace could continue for some more time and the number of patients could rise further.

A Health Department employee said doctors and officials believed that the problem of mosquitoes would subside with the fall in temperatures in the coming days.

He claimed that malaria and fever had become the most common health disorders in both urban and rural localities in the last several weeks.

An official said on the condition of anonymity that fogging and anti-larvae operations were on, but those perhaps did not match the growth of the menace.

He added that the lack of cleanliness and the choking of sewerage had been among the main factors contributing to the problem.

Ambala, November 24
Additional Sessions Judge Amarjit Singh sentenced life term to retired ASI Surender Kumar for murdering his daughter-in-law Nisha.

Nisha’s husband was also sentenced life imprisonment for his involvement in the crime.

Nisha, a resident of Barara, was married to Vishal in 2008. The uncle of the deceased, Baldev Singh, in his complaint lodged with the Baldevnagar police station police, had said Nisha was being harassed by her husband and the in-laws for dowry. He said they had given car and costly furniture in the dowry but the in-laws were not satisfied. He said in December 2012, Vishal had asked Nisha to bring Rs 5 lakh from her parents. Her parents had paid Rs 50, 000 to him and were arranging the remaining amount.

Baldev said on January 1, they got information from someone that Nisha had sustained serious burn injuries. They immediately rushed to Ambala and found that Nisha was badly burnt. He alleged that Surender and Vishal had poured kerosene oil on her and set her on fire.

Initially the police had registered a case of abetment to suicide against Surender and his son.

Later, on the request of the counsel of prosecution, the court had directed to add Section 302 in the case. 

Faridabad, November 24
Three persons have been booked on charge of duping two youths of Rs 10 lakh. They had allegedly promised the youths to arrange the job of a travelling ticket examiner (TTE) in the Indian Railways. Naresh Kumar, a resident of Badarpur, had lodged a complaint with the police that the accused-Jitender, Ajit and Pope Singh- had told him and his cousin Kuldeep that they could arrange the job of a travelling ticket examiner(TTE) within a month , if they paid them Rs 5 lakh each.

To impress them, they introduced a person in Kolkata, who claimed to be working with the CBI and having high connections. The victim told the police that the accused took the money this July and gave them appointment letters on August 29. The accused asked them to report at Cuttack for the formal training.

But the victim got the shock of their life when the officials there told them that the appointment letters were fake and there was no training schedule as mentioned in the letter. Later, the accused refused to return the money. The victims lodged a complaint with the police on Saturday. A case under Sections 420, 467, 471 and 120- B of the IPC has been registered, but no arrest has been made so far.

Jhajjar, November 24
A state-level agriculture exhibition will be organised here on December 23 to mark Kisan Day with a view to make farmers aware of new agriculture technologies. Farmers across the state will take part in the exhibition and interact with agricultural experts over important issues of the farming sector.

CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be the chief guest. RS Dalal, Member-Secretary, Farmer Commission, visited the exhibition venue.He held a meeting with Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi and other officials to review the preparations. — OC

Sirsa, November 24
Arun Beniwal was today named state secretary of the BJP Kisan Morcha.

Rampal Yadav, state general secretary of the morcha, handed over the letter of appointment to Beniwal at a function held here today.

Beniwal, who had recently organised a rally at Chopta in Ellenabad, said he would live up to the expectations of his party in discharging his duties in the morcha.

Beniwal will also be the in charge of the morcha in Fatehabad district. 

Jhajjar, November 24
After establishing a special school for mentally challenged children, the district administration have begun preparation for setting up a school for visually disabled children.

Jhajjar Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi said that the special school would be established under Sarv Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)to impart education through the Braille method. Joshi said the school would be set up on the same campus where ‘Sawera’, a school for mentally disabled children, was being runhere. 

Chandigarh, November 24
Sainik School, Kunjpura, near Karnal, has bagged the volleyball trophy for the 14th time in a row at the annual competition organised by the Indian Public Schools Conference (IPSC). As many as 79 schools are the members of the conference.

School principal Gp Capt LN Sharma said the boys from the school had won the championships in all three age groups. Among them, 14 students have been selected for the national games being organised by the School Games Federation of India shortly. —TNS