Sirsa, March 2
A delegation of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (HSGPC) is likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon but the HSGPC and two of its members on indefinite fast will not end their agitation till the demand for a separate gurdwara panel is not accepted.

State Congress chief AshokTanwar, who met the HSGPC members on the dharna site outside his residence for the second time in a couple of days, told them that he had taken up the issue at the highest level and their meeting with the Prime Minister was likely to take place soon.

"There is a meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) in Delhi on March 4. I will have to check whether a meeting of HSGPC leaders with the PM is possible on that day," Tanwar said.

Earlier, Tanwar had told the agitating Sikh leaders that the Haryana Congress was in support of their demand. " We know that the problem can only be solved through deliberations but we will not end our agitation till out demand is accepted," said Jagdish Singh Jhinda, president of the HSGPC. Meanwhile the indefinite fast by Swaran Singh continued for the third day today. The indefinite fast by Jarnail Singh Brar, who was forcibly lifted by the police from outside Tanwar's residence entered ninth day today.

Hisar, March 2
Jats have withdrawn the agitation on the quota issue as the Union Government has decided to grant reservation to the Jats in government jobs and educational institutes this evening.

Dhara Singh, pradhan of the Saatvas Khap, who was leading the agitation at Mayyar village, said it was a win for the community.

“We have succeeded in our fight for reservation. The Jats had lagged behind socially and economically so it is necessary that our children get the advantage of reservation in jobs and education institutions. We thank Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and welcome the decision. We have decided to cancel the stir. Representatives of Jats will meet the Chief Minister to thank him.”

Rambhagat Malik, state president of the AIJASS (Malik faction ), said they would meet at the Mayyar railway track where people are on dharna. “It will be a formal meeting to thank the people who have put in efforts to carry forward the agitation,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Jat agitators continued their dharna near the railway track in Mayyar village of the district .

The khap mahapanchayat and the Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (Malik faction) are agitating for a quota to Jats in the OBC category for central government jobs and admission to educational institutions.

New Delhi, March 2
A nine-member committee of the INLD, constituted to prepare a panel of probable candidates for all Lok Sabha seats in the state, has submitted the same to the leadership.

The INLD is making its poll plans to go all alone in the face of uncertainty with regard to the outcome of its back-channel talks with the BJP for a possible tie-up. Time is running out for the party, hence its leadership is credited with the view that poll preparations should be carried forward independently.

The committee has shortlisted probables for all the seats, except Bhiwani and Hisar. The party is expected to declare its candidates when the model code of conduct comes into force by the next week.

A party functionary and member of the committee said names of only those who had applied for nominations were considered at the time of preparing the panel.

“No one applied from Bhiwani and Hisar. There is unanimity among leaders from the area that someone from the Chautala family must contest from the two seats,” he added.

The poll panel not short listing names from Bhiwani and Hisar signals INLD’s strategic moves. The party is certain that HJC, which is in alliance with the BJP and is a hindrance to INLD’s alliance with the national party, will field its president and sitting MP Kuldip Bishnoi or his wife Renuka from Hisar.

The party would be most happy to see the HJC nominee from Hisar defeated, as it is the home district of Bishnoi and is considered to be his family’s pocket borough. Its strategy against the HJC, especially in Hisar, is with an eye to the subsequent Assembly election in the state.

The latter’s loss will create a doubt in the mind of the public about his claims with regard to the Assembly elections. Also, it would compel the BJP to snap its electoral ties with the HJC. There are more than four lakh jat voters in Hisar on whom the party feels it has a say. Hence, it feels confident that it could give effect to its strategy.

According to political pundits, Bhiwani is also crucial for the INLD. Ajay Singh, elder son of party supremo and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, has represented it in the past. There are more than two lakh Ahir voters and about three lakh jat voters here. In case both the Congress and the BJP field jat candidates from here, it would field a Ahir candidate. If not, someone from the family may be the nominee.

New Delhi, March 1
Following the re-entry of Ram Vilas Paswana’s Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) into the NDA fold, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has renewed pressure on the BJP to forge an alliance with the INLD in Haryana.

Yoga guru Ramdev is also understood to have also taken up the issue with BJP leaders. Sources said Badal had spoken to a number of leaders, including Rajnath Singh.Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is said to be in constant touch with the INLD leadership.

However, the BJP is said to be non-committal on account of the conviction of INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay Singh in the JBT recruitment scam.

A section in the BJP feels that an alliance with the INLD would dilute its attack on the Congress on corruption issue in the election campaign.

Sonepat, March 2
HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi said today that if the HJC-BJP alliance was voted to power and he became the Chief Minister, Gohana would be upgraded as a district. Bishnoi added he would also donate 100 acres of land at Kurukshetra for the construction of a "Smriti Samarak" in memory of those who lost their lives during Partition in 1947.

He was addressing a samman samaroh at Gohana on the occasion of joining of the HJC by Ramesh Khurana, a former president of the Haryana Chemists and Druggists Association and a senior Congress leader, and others.

HJC-BJP alliance coordinator Dharam Pal Singh Malik alleged that some people with vested political interests were spreading rumours about the alliance in Haryana. "The alliance is on the basis of principles and in accordance with the wishes of people," Malik added. 

Jind, March 2
Perturbed at attempts to 'misuse' their name for votes, khaps have decided to oppose those claiming their support. Two members of separate khaps have applied for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket.

Haryana has more than 110 khaps which influence social life of the people. Many young members have started projecting themselves as young khap leaders with the support of a few youngsters, but without khap support.

"Khaps are non-political outfits for social welfare. Political parties want to use their influence," said Kuldeep Singh Dhanda, convener of the sarv-khap panchayat.

"A sarpanch applied for the AAP ticket and tried to project himself as a khap leader, which was wrong. We will teach a lesson to those who try to misuse our name for votes," he said.

"We are not stopping anyone from joining any party, but no one has the right to claim the support of khaps," said Inder Singh Dhull of the Dhull khap.

"Any individual can support any political party, like many khap leaders. They should do it at the individual level and not use the name of khaps for political gains," he said.

"Khaps have a mechanism to take decisions and no individual has the right to politicise the working of khaps, which are non-political bodies," said Tek Ram Kandela, convener of the sarv-Jat khap panchayat.

Gurgaon, March 2
Despite repeated attempts, Gurgaon residents have shown little interest in getting themselves registered as voters. About 60 per cent of the eligible voters have failed to get themselves registered.

The population-voter ratio in Gurgaon is 457 against 580 in the state. However, the administration is continuing with its special awareness drive across the city to bring people to polling booths.

In addition to ensure hassle-free registration, the administration has zeroed in on 15 villages in Mewat, which falls under the Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency, where special camps will be organised throughout next week tourge people to get themselves registered as voters.

" We are organising cycle rallies in colleges and schools for the first time voters. We are also in touch with village heads for their support and suggestions to make elections a success.

The initiative has to be taken by voters. We are here to make everything easy for them," said DC Shekhar Vidyarthi.

According to the official records, the city has a population of 20,44, 912 of which 12,11,201 are over 18 years of age.

Though 48,000 new voters have been added to the voters' list, about 2 lakh new voters in Gurgaon, Sohna, Badshahpur and Pataudi still remain to be registered.

The authorities revised the voters' list from September 6 to October 25, but received 47,947 forms only.

Over 100 registration form collection centres were set up in different areas of the region to register at least 50,000 voters. The registration was also being done online at www.ceoharyana.nic.in but the residents were least bothered. 

Karnal, March 2
Former Deputy Speaker of Haryana Chaudhary Vedpal, who quit the NCP on Thursday, today joined the INLD with his supporters in the presence of INLD president Ashok Arora and Abhey Chautala.

Attacking the Hooda government, Abhey Chautala said the government was mercilessly misusing public money on advertisements that were far from reality.

“No announcement has been made for farmers and traders in the Budget. It is just an election budget,” he added.

Vedpal said top NCP leaders, including its national president Sharad Pawar, had been overlooking the Haryana unit and never visited the state in the past five years.

One of the founder members of the NCP, Vedpal had been working for the party for the past 15 years in the state. 

Faridabad, March 2
The suicide by Himanshu, an engineering student residing at the NIT here, may be due to online gambling, claim sources. With no formal complaint, the problem seems to be at an initial stage, they say.

He committed suicide recently after he reportedly failed to pay up. The police had registered a case in this regard, but were yet to arrest the main accused.

Himanshu's father Madan Lal said his 24-year-old son was pursuing an MCA course at the YMCA Engineering College and was perhaps addicted to online gambling.

He said his son committed suicide by jumping before a train near Gannaur of Sonepat district after he failed to pay an online casino operator.

When contacted, Police Commissioner AS Chawla said one person had been arrested, adding that the victim might have committed suicide due to debt taken from various persons.

He said the police were on the lookout for the operators of the online gambling racket, if any, claiming that no formal complaint had been lodged regarding online gambling so far.

Since it was based on gadgets with Internet, it could be played anywhere anytime, he said. As it did not require a specific place, its detection was not easy unless someone lodged a complaint, he added.

The Senior Citizen Welfare Association of Sector 7 requested the police to conduct raids to keep a check on gambling as it was an illegal activity.

"I came to know about this activity going on in some parts of the town recently," said excise and taxation official on the condition of anonymity. 

Gurgaon, March 2
In what has left hundreds of farmers across Mewat shocked and perplexed, they have received between Re 1 and Rs 50 as compensation for crops destroyed by the hailstorm in January and February last year.

The farmers eagerly waited for compensation for almost a year after being reportedly promised around Rs 4,000 per acre as compensation for the massive loss of crop.

The compensation was based on a survey of affected villages by the Revenue Department. The Agriculture Department had to distribute about 3,000 cheques in 14 villages of Mewat.

Of these, 300 had already got the cheques, which were for Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 12 or Rs 50. Expecting it to be technical error, they approached the authorities concerned, but had to return empty handed.

“This is a mockery. The loss last year had thrown life out of gear and we were counting on compensation. We were shocked when we got the cheques for crops destroyed on several acres,”said Mushtaq of Punhana.

“When I received my cheque, I thought that there was a technical error. I went to the department and found that several others had got similar cheques. The local authorities say they have no knowledge about calculation parameters,” said Mohammad of Nuh.

A block official said on the condition of anonymity, “We have informed the department and an inquiry is being conducted into the lapse. The department is planning to give compensation in cash to avoid this in the future.”

Jind, March 2
Availing oneself of below poverty line (BPL) facilities fraudulently by thousands of families in the district has resulted in action against them and officials concerned.

The district administration has struck off names of 14,380 ineligible families from the below poverty line list and charge-sheeted 58 patwaris for negligence.

The authorities have cancelled 14,380 bogus ration cards after a survey conducted on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

A total of 376 families did not get ration cards while they were shown to have ration cards on paper. The beneficiaries of 16 families died.

A total of 25 families got registered at two places. The administration struck off their names, but did not take any action against them.

As many as 6,710 families were found to be involved in fraud. The administration deleted their names, cancelled ration cards and issued recovery notices.

A total of 7,219 ration card holders were found ineligible in urban areas. A total of 1,536 families did not get ration cards while they were shown to have ration cards on paper. The beneficiaries of 72 families died. Nine were registered at two places while 147 had shifted.

The names of 1,764 families were deleted from the BPL list. As many as 5,455 families were found to have committed a fraud by submitting incorrect information. Their names were struck off and they were issued recovery notices.

A senior officer said, "This happened as patwaris did not check land ownership and other sources of income. Many owned more land than what they claimed. A total of 58 patwaris have been charge-sheeted.”

The district had 69,061 ration card holders after revision, said Ashok Kumar, District Food and Civil Supplies Controller.

Jhajjar, March 2
The Toll Hatao Sangharsh Samiti, which is spearheading a campaign against excessive toll in the state, will hold an indefinite fast at Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s native village, Sanghi, in Rohtak from March 9.

The samiti has been garnering public support against excessive toll by launching a signature campaign across the state.

During its on-going signature campaign in Dighal village near the NHAI toll plaza on the Jhajjar-Rohtak road here today, Virender Hooda, chief of the samiti, said the samiti had now been left with no other option but to undertake an indefinite fast to make the authorities slash toll and ensure free travel on toll roads for those residing within the radius of 25 km from the toll plazas.

Under the rules, a toll plaza company could not charge more than 65 paise per kilometre for toll roads but the companies were extorting a much higher rate, said Hooda.

He said the Rewari toll plaza at Ganagaicha Jat village was charging Rs 90 while the one at near Makdauli village (Rohtak) was extorting Rs 155 for return journey from light vehicles in gross violation of the rules.

Virender Hooda said he along with other office-bearers of the samiti would hold an indefinite fast at Sanghi village on March 9. 

Hisar, March 2
The sudden change in the weather has adversely affected the standing rabi crops in the region, especially mustard which is under aphid attack. According to agriculture scientists, winds coupled with drizzles have not only flattened the crops which are at an advanced stage but have also exposed them to various diseases.

Ramniwas, head of the Meteorological Department at Haryana Agriculture University (HAU), said snowfall in the upper parts and hailstorm in the plains have had an adverse impact on the crops.

"The mustard crop is suffering from white fungus disease (safed chapa) while wheat crop is exposed to pila chapa". He said though the dip in the temperature was good for the crops, moisture in the weather and strong winds with rains were a major threat to the crops.

Tara Chand Tak, a farmer of Bahbalpur village, however maintained that since wheat crop had not grown enough so it had remained safe despite the winds. Rains and 
low temperature was good for the crops, including vegetables, but mustard crop had got damaged in the villages that had witnessed hailstorm while diseases were also likely to harm the crop, he added.

Sonepat, March 2
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has given the green signal for the construction of chambers for around 250 members of the Sonepat Bar Association on condition that the construction would be in accordance with the approved drawings.

Association’s president Rajesh Chhikara said the association was granted permission for construction of the chambers within the court premises and the construction drawing was approved on April 27, 2012.

However, while starting the construction, Chhikara said the drawing norms were violated and an appeal was filed in the High Court against such construction. The court stayed the construction till the appeal was decided.

The High Court has now directed the demolition of unauthorised construction done so far and allowed new construction as per approved drawings, he said. A meeting between the chamber applicants and office-bearers of the association had place to start construction. 

Hisar, March 2
Youth INLD leader Dushyant Chautala has alleged that four Congress leaders are involved in a Rs 200-crore transformer purchase ‘scam’.

Addressing a press conference here today, Chautala said the four Congress ministers and one former minister had been a part of the high power purchase committee which purchased transformers from 2007 to 2012.

He alleged that the transformers were purchased above the market rate, which resulted in an excessive financial burden on the power utilities which, in turn, shifted this liability to consumers by increasing power tariff.

“In 2007, the government purchased 10,000 transformers of 65 KVa at the rate of Rs 1.04 lakh per piece. While the market value of these transformers was in the range of Rs 40,000 to 45,000. In 2008, the government again purchased 6,875 transformers of 63 KVa above the market price,” the INLD leader alleged.

He said the high power purchase committee again invited tenders for the purchase of transformers in 2011 and the same firm, from which the transformers were procured at Rs 1.04 lakh per piece in 2007, agreed to provide similar transformers at a rate of Rs 77,500 per set.

"It suggested that the Congress ministers had inflicted a loss of around Rs 135 crore as per the records. If the same scam is probed further, I believe it would be not less than a Rs 200-crore scam,” Chautala claimed.

He demanded a judicial inquiry into the case and the registration of criminal cases against the ministers.

Yamunanagar, March 2
The State Wildlife Board (SWLB) has approved the four-laning of 105-km stretch of National Highway-73 from Yamunanagar to Panchkula.

The 19.21-km stretch of the NH-73 falls in the Khol Ki Ratan Wildlife Sanctuary and within the eco-sensitive zone (ECZ) of the sanctuary.

The stretch is a major roadblock in the execution of the project as one of the two toll plazas falls in the ECZ of the said sanctuary. The concessionaire has to procure loan to make the highway against the toll plazas and the banks have reportedly denied granting loan.

“Granting the approval to the stretch of the NH-73 falling in the sanctuary area, the Haryana Government has proved that it is not biased against any area of the state,” said Satpal Kaushik, a senior Congress leader.

Sirsa, March 2
In an interesting case, an associate professor with Chaudhary Devi Lal University, also the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) under the Right to Information Act, had issued a notice to himself, asking whether or not to provide to an applicant information pertaining to him.

The information was later denied to the applicant. Terming it ridiculous, State Information Commissioner Yoginder Paul Gupta told the university to compensate the applicant for harassment and directed the SPIO to provide requisite information within 20 days.

Om Parkash Wadhwa of Rohtak, a retired college teacher, had sought information from Chaudhary Devi Lal University on certain issues pertaining to Rajbir Singh Dalal, associate professor, including the salary drawn by him during a particular period.

Dalal had supplied most of the information on 146 pages. The appellant was informed that the salary issue was of third party interest and the consent of the third party was sought, but was declined. Orders of the first appellant authority failed to get Wadhwa the information. He moved the State Information Commission in the second appeal.

In his order, the State Information Commissioner observed, “It is ridiculous that SPIO Rajbir Singh Dalal issued a notice to associate professor Rajbir Singh Dalal, seeking the latter’s consent for disclosure of what SPIO Rajbir Singh Dalal perceived as third party information.”

Gupta further observed, “Natural justice demands that SPIO Rajbir Singh Dalal should have recused himself from this particular case as SPIO and should have requested the public authority to appoint someone else as the SPIO in this particular case.”

The State Information Commissioner directed Dalal to furnish the requisite information to Wadhwa within 20 days of the order through registered post under information to the commission. The commission directed the university to pay Rs 2,000 as compensation to Wadhwa for harassment.

Sirsa, March 2
Volunteers of a cow rescue organisation today attacked a truck driver and his helper after they were found carrying bullocks and calves packed in a container in the vehicle.

The critically injured driver Salim and helper Asif, both residents of Uttar Pradesh, have been admitted to the General Hospital.

One of the volunteers said they had rescued 27 heads of cattle from the container and had shifted them to various goshalas of the town.

The incident occurred near Barnala Road of Sirsa when some volunteers of the Goraksha Samiti noticed the vehicle and signalled it to stop. Initially, the driver tried to speed away, but when he noticed he was being chased, he stopped the vehicle.

The volunteers and the people who assembled there beat up the driver and his helper, when they noticed that 27 animals had been packed in the container.

The police said the two were seriously injured and not in a condition to record their statements.

Sonepat, March 2
The police have claimed to solve the murder case of a 20-year-old girl of Pinana village whose body was found near the cremation ground of the village on Friday morning.

The accused has been identified as Ajmer, a resident of the same village. He was arrested from the village bus stand last evening. He was produced in court today, which sent him to police custody.

According to the police, he has confessed that he was in love with the girl for the past few months, but he was scheduled to marry another girl on March 6.

He confessed that the girl repeatedly threatened him that she would disclose their relationship to the people if he did not marry her.

The police said the boy called the girl outside her house on the fateful night, saying they would elope. They said he murdered her with a sharp-edged weapon and dumped the body near the cremation ground.

Sirsa, March 2
A seven-year-old girl was reportedly sexually assaulted when she returned from school at Bijjuwali village in Sirsa district yesterday.

A youth overpowered her and tried to rape her as she entered her house after coming out of her school bus. There was no other person at home at that time.

She raised an alarm, forcing the youth to escape. She narrated the incident to her parents, who then approached the police on Saturday evening. The police booked the youth and arrested him.

Sirsa, March 2
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, RP Goyal, recently sentenced a youth to seven-year imprisonment for raping a minor at Ellenabad in Sirsa.

A fine of Rs 5,000 has also been imposed on him.

Madan Lal of Ranjitsinghpura village in Rajasthan eloped with a minor from Ellenabad on May 19 last year.

He had been booked on the charge of kidnapping and raping her.

In another case, the judge sentenced three persons to seven-year imprisonment on the charge of attempting to murder a person over a property dispute. Of the six accused in the case, two were absconding.

The court found Bhajan Singh, Jagga Singh and Satish Kumar guilty of firing at Sukhpal Singh and Bhajan Kaur at Salarpur Dhani in Sirsa on May 1, 2010.

Palwal, March 2
Two incidents of rape and one of abduction have been reported in the district. One of the rape accused has been arrested.

The police said the first incident took place at Badram Nangla village last evening when the victim was playing outside her house. Kallu, her neighbour, took her to a room nearby and raped her. He was later arrested.

In another incident, a girl from Gadpuri village was allegedly kept in illegal confinement for two weeks and repeatedly raped.

In their complaint, the kin of the victim reported that Pawan Kumar had taken the girl to an unidentified spot. She managed to escape and reached her house yesterday. The police registered a case of rape.

In the third incident, the police booked a man on the charge of abducting a 16-year-old girl at Andhrola village in the district.

The kin of the girl reported that Istaqeem, a neighbour, had enticed the victim on the pretext of marrying her. The accused was at large.

Faridabad, March 2
The police have registered a case in connection with the alleged rape of a Dalit teenager at Rajpura Kalan village in the district. The accused is yet to be arrested.

The 15-year-old girl went to fetch drinking water from a public tap on Friday evening when Neeraj Kumar overpowered her. He forced her to accompany him to a room nearby, where he raped her.

He warned her against disclosing the incident and fled. She told the police that she met him at a grocery shop about 15 days ago and said he wanted to be her friend, but she did not accept his offer.

In another incident, the police booked Bablu, alias Mohammad Shafi, for assaulting and attempting to outrage the modesty of a girl. The accused was absconding.

Rewari, March 2
A 17-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly kidnapped from Goliyaki village here yesterday. The Rampura police registered a kidnapping case against a youth of Berwal village on the complaint of the girl’s father.

In his complaint, the girl’s father said his daughter, a Class XII student, who went to school yesterday, did not return home.

He said they searched for her, but to no avail. He alleged that the youth might have kidnapped her.

“We have started investigation after lodging an FIR against the youth and raids are being carried out at possible hideouts of the accused,” said the police.