Sonepat, November 27
The SHO of the Sadar police station, Panipat, Sandeep Kumar, and 11 other police personnel, including in charge of the Sanoli police post Charan Singh, were placed under suspension by SP Parul Kusi Jain yesterday for their failure to curb the illegal mining activities in the areas located in the Yamuna belt of the district.

The other police personnel who were performing duties in the area included Suresh Kumar, Rajinderm Karambir, Pankaj Sandeep, Sunil, Jagbir, Prem Dutt, Veer Singh and Satish.

The action was initiated after illegal mining was reported from the areas despite a ban by the Supreme Court. Residents of many villages in the Yamuna belt had also lodged complaints against illegal mining as well as highhandedness of the people involved in the practice.

Panipat ASP Badan Singh said to intensify patrolling in the Yamuna area, additional PCR vans and riders, including horse riders, had been provided to the new SHO. “The patrolling will cover even the kuchcha routes being used by the mafia for transporting sand,” said the ASP.

The inquiries revealed that though the police authorities had installed CCTV cameras at the toll plazas on the Sanoli road and the Hathwala route, the mafia used kuchcha routes to avoid detection of the vehicles carrying sand.

In some of the villages of the area, tractor-trailers of villagers are hired by the mafia for the transportation of sand.

Jhajjar, November 27
A 24-year-old woman, along with her 26-year-old lover and two-year-old son, committed suicide by jumping in front of a moving train on the Delhi-Rohtak railway lines in Rohad village here today.

Her illicit relation reportedly led the woman take this extreme step. The woman belonged to an upper-caste family and the man a backward class. The deceased have been identified as Monika, her son Naksh and Rajesh, residents of Rohtak.

A case under Section 174 of the CrPC has been booked by the Government Railway Police, Bahadurgarh, in this regard.

The SHO of the GPR police station, Bahadurgarh, Sukhbir Singh, said they received information this morning that three persons, including a child, were crushed to death by a passenger train moving towards Delhi from Rohtak.

“We immediately rushed to the spot and after going through the circumstantial evidences, it came to light that the case pertained to suicide instead of accident. We then recovered a mobile phone from the man's pocket and informed his family members about the incident,” said the SHO. He said the kin of the man and woman had disclosed that the duo had gone missing four days ago.

The traffic on the Delhi-Rohtak railway lines was disrupted for over an hour as the driver halted the train after the incident.

As per the preliminary investigation, Monika, mother of two, and Ashok, who had two daughters, were neighbours and had an illicit relation. The SHO said their kin had also lodged separate complaints with the Rohtak police.

“The bodies were handed over to their kin after postmortem today,” said the SHO.

Yamunanagar, November 27
Road rage claimed the life of a 60-year-old man, who was battered to death with wooden sticks, after he accidentally rammed his motorcycle into a car on the Gadhwali-Mugalwali road in the district, today.

Tejram, a resident of Patharheri village, was visiting his brother-in-law Bhagat Ram’s house at Mugalwali village to attend a wedding ceremony. After attending the ceremony, both of them were returning back to their home when their bike hit the car. Those travelling in the car got down and picked up a quarrel with the duo, which soon turned bloody as they attacked the two with wooden sticks.

Both sustained serious injuries in the assault. Tejram’s nephew Raj Kumar, who was coming from behind, tried to intervene but he was also brutally beaten up by the accused.

However, realising that the beating had gone too far, the assaulters fled the scene, leaving their car. After the matter was reported to the police, a team of officers reached the spot and impounded the car. In the meantime, Tejram was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died while undergoing treatment. The police said a case had been registered against unidentified persons.

Rohtak, November 27
University and college teachers of Haryana will intensify their agitation against the state government. This was stated by Dr Raj Kumar, president, and Prof Attar Singh, general secretary of the Haryana Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations (HFUCTO), in a press statement issued here today.

Dr Raj Kumar, president of the Maharshi Dayanand University Teachers' Association (MDUTA), said the executive committee of the HFUCTO had taken a decision to this effect after a statewide protest and a state-level dharna at the Shiksha Sadan in Panchakula yesterday.

“We have decided to observe protest week from December 16 to 21, during which the teachers will wear black badges while on examination duty. The teachers have also decided that they will go on mass casual leave on January 16, if no concrete action was taken by the state authorities to address their concerns,” he maintained.

The main demands of the teachers include the grant of increments of PhD/MPhil as per UGC recommendations, restoration of old-pension scheme for university and college teachers, grant of duty/academic leave to attend seminars and conferences, implementation of the post of Professor at colleges to remove stagnation in the progress of career of college teachers and provision of third promotion as recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission for all employees.

Karnal: Members of the Haryana School Lecturers Association who are boycotting the evaluation of answer sheets from the past 21 days went on one-day mass casual leave today.

The school lecturers burnt the effigy of the Haryana Government and decided to stage a dharna in front of the Mini-Secretariat here on November 28 and 29. The association also threatened to lodge a protest at Siksha sadan in Panchkula on December 11.

Jhajjar: While a majority of school lecturers in the district remained on casual leave for the second consecutive day today in response to the call given by the Haryana School Lecturers' Association (HSLA), Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal said the HSLA was indulging in politics by boycotting the evaluation of answer sheets. They should avoid politics and raise their demands in a proper manner, she added. Bhukkal said this while replying to a question on the agitation of school lecturers here today.

She said the agitation was illogical and putting adversely affecting students so the lecturers should join the evaluation duty without any delay so that the results could be declared well in time.

Sirsa, November 27
Family members and relatives of a rape victim today expressed resentment over the cancellation of her FIR by the Sirsa police. The victim had lodged a complaint against a youth from Anandgarh village by .

Villagers held a panchayat at Raghuana village and vowed to get justice for the victim.

The victim had lodged a complaint in the Baragura police station that a youth raped her on the pretext of marrying her. She alleged she had gone to attend a friend’s wedding when the youth raped her in a room.

A case under relevant Sections of the IPC was registered against the accused then.

On November 12, the victim accused the police of biased investigation and while speaking to mediapersons outside the SSP's office, she had threatened to commit suicide if she did not get justice.

The girl had alleged that the police was conniving with her persecutors, who in turn were pressurising her to take the case back.

The victim had alleged that the SHO of the Baragura police station had been pressurising her to withdraw the complaint because the accused was an influential persons.

Additional Superintendent of Police Rajinder Meena, however, said the FIR had been cancelled because no merit had been found in the girl’s complaint.

“We called her several times for her statement, but she never turned up. Once she came to the office and returned after giving some papers,” Meena maintained.

He said the police had seen the video of the wedding party where she had alleged she was raped and the video showed her dancing with other girls.

Meena further said the room where she alleged she was raped was occupied by those who were consuming liquor during the wedding.

Faridabad, November 27
Faridabad has has set an example in ensuring the welfare of the aged, especially those who have been victims of harassment at the hands of their kin.

Hundreds of them have been relieved following the intervention of special tribunals, which have made erring sons and daughters mend their ways in the last few years.

A tribunal recently ordered the installation of CCTV cameras inside some houses to curb victimisation. One such case came up for hearing before the tribunal formed under provisions of the Varishtha Nagrik Evam Mata Pita Bharan Poshan Adhiniyam (senior citizen and parent care notification).

The Faridabad Bench ordered the kin of Ram Kaur of the NIT to install CCTV cameras inside the house to keep a tab on the behaviour of her sons, daughter-in-law and grandchildren after she submitted a complaint recently that she was a victim of misbehaviour and ill-treatment.

The tribunal headed by the SDM warned of strict action if anyone was found guilty. "While 37 cases came up in the last two days, the tribunal ordered the installation of CCTV cameras in at least 10 cases in the recent past," said Aneesh Pal, a member of the tribunal.

"The tribunal disposed of over 400 cases since 2009, when it was set up," he said. He said some offenders were jailed for not complying with orders, adding that the success rate of disposal of cases was almost 100 per cent. Another tribunal was functional at Ballabgarh, which had disposed of around 250 cases in two-and-a-half years.

"The tribunal, required to resolve any dispute or case within 90 days, is working without any financial liability on the state or the district administration as the two members receive an honorarium of Rs 1,250 per meeting," said Vinod Mittal, a member of the tribunal at Ballabgarh. He said it disposed of 14 cases on November 18.

It had reached out to hundreds of senior citizens by resolving family disputes, he said. The tribunal was contemplating the use of the honorarium to provide financial help to those senior citizens who were poor and unable to fend for themselves, he added.

Kurukshetra, November 27
Major RN Kapoor DAV School, Ambala, lifted the trophy at the inter-school debate held at DAV Centenary Public School, Pehowa, organised for senior students on the school premises, 25 km from here.

Principal of the host school N C Bindal said in all, 12 teams from DAV Schools in Kaithal, Ismailabad, Kurukshetra, Ambala City, Ambala Cantt, Jind, Pehowa, Cheeka, Siwan, Pundri and Narwana had participated in the competition.

The topic of debate was “Should students be given an option to opt for board or non-board examination.” Prof Madhu Bala, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Chairperson of Foreign Languages from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, and Prof Manjusha Sharma of the Public Administration Department, judged the debate. A cultural programme was also staged on the occasion. Dr Kamdev Jha, manager of the school, presented a report on the school performance.

Gurgaon, November 27
The statewide yatra of Digvijay Singh, national president of the youth wing of the INLD, passed through at least 12 villages in the district today. Senior party leaders, including party vice-president Antram Tanwar, accompanied Digvijay Singh.

The yatra that commenced from a Gurgaon village this morning. The yatra passed through Daulatabad, Dhanwapur, Basai, Hayatpur, Manesar, Bilaspur and Bhonda Kalan villages. In response to a question, Digvijay ruled out the possibility of joining the BJP-HJC alliance.

He alleged that the Congress government had failed to fill vacant posts and control the law and order situation. He was also critical of the policy of “outsourcing” government jobs. Anita Yadav, president of the Gurgaon women cell of the HJC, joined the INLD. 

Chandigarh, November 27
The State Police Complaints Authority(SPCA) has recommended action against only seven police personnel out of the 436 complaints it received during the past over three years.

Data showed that out of 436 complaints, 331 complaints were disposed by the authority recommending punishment in seven cases. While the authority disposed of 96 complaints as “not falling in its jurisdiction”,15 complaints were sent to the Home Department for appropriate action.

However, the state government does not care two hoots for the recommendations of the SPCA as the authority’s letter dated November 22 showed that no compliance report had been received by it, information procured by Chandigarh-based RTI activist HC Arora showed.

The SPCA was set up on September 13, 2010, under the chairmanship of former IAS officer HS Rana to look into complaints against police personnel. Against the backdrop of its ‘limited jurisdiction”, Rana, who completed his tenure recently, wrote to the state government to give more teeth to the authority by amending Section 65 to include “arrest and detention without due process of law and any incident involving serious abuse of authority in the definition of “serious misconduct”. Rana had also pointed out to the government that though the 2007 Act provided for the constitution of district and state-level police complaint authorities, it was silent on the demarcation of their jurisdiction.

Section 65 of the Haryana Police Act, 2007 empowers the authority to probe allegations of “serious misconduct against police personnel. The section also describes “serious misconduct” as any act or omission of a police officer that leads to or amounts to (a) death in police custody; (b) rape or attempt to commit rape; (c) grievous hurt in police custody

Almost all states and UTs have made the arrest of a person without due process of law a serious misconduct in their Acts. 

A toothless tiger SPCA recommends action in only seven of the 436 complaints 96 complaints did not fall with authority’s ‘jurisdiction’ No compliance report filed by state government in cases recommended for action SPCA wants more powers to deal with cases of “illegal detentions”.

Ambala, November 27
Following reports that Narayan Sai, son of self-styled godman Bapu Asaram wanted by Surat police in connection with a rape case, had been spotted in Ambala, the police today conducted a search for him in and around the district.

The search had been ordered after the Surat Police sent a look out notice to the Ambala and Panchkula range Police Commissioner which was received here today.

Police Commissioner Rajbir Deswal said the police had looked for Narayan Sai at all his possible locations and were even keeping a close watch on the staunch followers of Asaram.

Believing that Sai could be hiding in Ambala or in Panchkula, the police stepped up the search in the two districts. The police also put up check posts at Pinjor and Kalka and conducted search of the vehicles going towards Himachal Pradesh as Sai was said to have an ashram in the adjoining Paonta Sahib, he added.

Deswal said so far, the police had not stumbled upon any clue which could point towards his presence in Ambala or Panchkula.

He added that the police was keeping a close watch at all the possible hideouts of Asaram and Narayan Sai and a round-the-clock surveillance had been put up at all such places.

Meanwhile, reports emerging from Surat suggested that an influential politician of Uttar Pradesh was helping Narayan Sai evade his arrest by providing him with logistical and financial support. A senior police officer from Surat said the politician was constantly in touch with Sai through his men and even provided him with shelter at a farmhouse in Delhi.

Sai was booked by the Surat police on October 6 after a 30-year-old woman filed a complaint against him, accusing him of repeated sexual assault between 2002 and 2005, when she was living at Surat ashram. The complainant’s 33-year-old sister had earlier lodged a complaint of rape against his father Asaram.

Sirsa, November 27
While most Haryana villages present a picture of filth and squalor, Jodhpuria, a village in Sirsa, has turned over a new leaf. Its beautification has apparently demonstrated that whichever government schemes were available were sufficient to make the village a better place to live in through its beautification.

Owing to the efforts of the village panchayat, Jodhpuria is today better than many towns, as the village has well-maintained parks and ponds giving the ambience of lakes and neat and clean streets.

Led by young village sarpanch Urmila Devi and her husband Surinder Singh, the panchayat of Jodhpuria has set up several lush green parks in the village, giving it the sobriquet “Village of Gardens.”

Wherever the panchayat found any village common land, it developed it into a park, which has green grass, decorative plants and sweet-smelling flowers.

Not only have the efforts made the village cleaner and free of squalor, villagers find clean healthy atmosphere to sit in the open.

Sirsa Deputy Commissioner J Ganesan, who visited the village today for his open darbar, said the panchayat would be felicitated for its efforts.

“We have utilised funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) and other schemes to make our village clean and beautiful,” said the sarpanch’s husband Surinder Singh.

He said during his wife’s tenure, over Rs 1 crore had been spent on development activities in the village. In the current year, Rs 23 lakh have been spent, he added. The village has a digital classroom in its government school, a Rajiv Gandhi sewa kendra for MNREGA-related activities and an anganwadi kendra.

Kurukshetra, November 27
Additional Sessions Judge AK Singhal has awarded life imprisonment to three persons, including a woman, in a murder case. Karnail Singh, a resident of Halalpur, had alleged that unidentified persons had murdered his brother Angrez Singh in 2007.

The police arrested Kavita, Angrez Singh's wife, Manoj Kumar, a resident of Ghararsi village and Vikram, a resident of Kalwan village, Jind. It was found that Manoj Kumar and Kavita had illicit relations. Under a conspiracy, Angrez Singh was killed at Halalpur-Niwarsi road. — OC

Gurgaon, November 27
It is official now. As many as 140 ATMs out of more than 500 operating in Gurgaon function without any security personnel manning them. Gurgaon Police Commissioner Alok Mittal said that about 30 of the units of various banks did not have CCTV installed. This came to the light when a survery of ATMs was conducted at the behest of Gurgaon Police Commissioner Alok Mittal in the wake of the recent brutal attack on a woman at an ATM unit in Bengaluru.

Subsequently, the police took up the issue with Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi for necessary administrative action who clamped Section 144 of the CrPC in Gurgaon today. Vidyarthi directed the operators to deploy security personnel at their units and install CCTVs within the next fortnight. The authorities have made it known that failure of compliance would entail closure of ATMs.— TNS