Hisar, March 20
The Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) finally gave up the Karnal seat to the alliance partner BJP while opting for the Sirsa (reserved) seat instead.

Party supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi decided to field former MP and Congress leader Sushil Indora from Sirsa soon after he announced to quit the Congress to join the HJC in a press conference at Bishnoi's residence here today.

Earlier, the HJC was allocated the Karnal seat, besides Hisar being represented by Bishnoi in the Lok Sabha, in the seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP which got eight out of 10 seats. Now, Karnal has gone to the BJP and the party is likely to field a Brahmin nominee, the sources said.

Facing a volley of questions, Bishnoi tried to put up a brave face and claimed that it was the HJC which took the decision to swap Sirsa with Karnal. On being asked whether he succumbed to pressure from the bigger coalition partner BJP in surrendering Karnal, he said, "The word 'surrender' is not mentioned in my dictionary. There has been no pressure from the BJP and it's the rival parties which are spreading rumours to create confusion among the electorate.

Winnability is the only criteria in deciding the seat. We find an able candidate in Sushil Indora in Sirsa".

Bishnoi said, "After my brother Chander Mohan withdrew his candidature from Karnal, we gave a rethink to the seat-sharing formula and opted for Sirsa. It sounds a better political decision. There is a Modi wave across the state and the NDA coalition hopes to sweep all 10 seats."

"Though the BJP and the HJC respect each other's decisions, still I requested BJP chief Rajnath Singh to field a Brahmin nominee from Karnal as per the wishes of my father and he too has responded positively," he stated.

The HJC chief claimed that this region had lagged behind in development due to discriminatory attitude by the Congress government. The BJP-HJC coalition would storm to power in the next Assembly elections also after winning the Lok Sabha poll.

Sushil Indora, who arrived at the press conference of Bishnoi announced to leave the Congress and join the HJC. "I have decided to join the HJC to serve the people of the region as the Congress has failed to protect the interest of the people", he said.

A doctor by profession, he got elected MP twice from Sirsa on the INLD ticket in 1998 and 1999 and again unsuccessfully contested from the party in 2004. He later deserted the INLD to join the Congress and contested from Kalanwali (reserved) in the previous Assembly elections but lost to the INLD's Charanjit Singh Rori.

Karnal, March 20
After a long struggle, Karnal BJP managed to get back the seat as the HJC has decided to withdraw its seat and opted for Sirsa. Now the BJP candidate will contest from this seat.

It is the second time when the BJP shows its strength to compel Kuldeep Bishnoi to follow its decision. The first time, BJP leaders opposed the decision of inducting former union minister Venod Sharma in the HJC and now the BJP dealt another blow to get back this seat from the HJC.

However, Bishnoi had declared his elder brother and former Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan its candidate from this seat but Chander Mohan withdrew his name yesterday.

Although he gave the reason to give this seat to a Brahmin leader, sources in the alliance said the decision was made due to strong opposition from the BJP.

A few days ago, the Karnal BJP unit came forward openly against this decision to give the Karnal seat to the HJC. They met party president Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj and put their demands in front of the central leadership. They claimed this is the traditional seat of the BJP and the party should allot this seat to the BJP. They also demanded not to impose an outside candidate.

Even after their resentment, this seat has given to the HJC, but Karnal unit regularly opposed the decision.

Hisar, March 20
The NDA constituents in Haryana and Punjab, the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), are on a collision course in Haryana as BJP-HJC nominee Sushil Indora is set to take on INLD's Charanjit Singh Rori, who was SAD MLA, from the Sirsa (reserved) constituency.

The war of words got shriller today when HJC chief Kuldeep Bishnoi slammed SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal for supporting INLD nominees and attending their rally in Hisar on Tuesday.

Responding to Badal's remarks that he would work to defeat Bishnoi in Hisar, the HJC chief stated that Badal would have to pay a price for supporting the INLD.

Stating that the Badal's stand had been highly objectionable and he complained to BJP president Rajnath Singh about the SAD leader's attending the INLD rally in Hisar on Tuesday. —TNS

Rohtak, March 20
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's son and Congress nominee for the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat Deepender Hooda will file his papers here tomorrow. A big rally is also planned to mark the occasion.

Rohtak MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra and other local Congress leaders have been campaigning for Deepender and inviting people for tomorrow's show of strength.

The two-time MP, who is in the fray for the third consecutive time, has stayed away from his poll campaign due to a spinal disorder.

The Chief Minister, his wife Asha Hooda, Deepender's wife Shweta and other family members have been canvassing to garner support for him.

Apart from Deepender, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Naveen Jaihind is also slated to file his nomination tomorrow. He plans to reach the office of the District Electoral Officer by Wagon-R which belongs to his friend and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.

According to party sources, Kejriwal has given his car to Jaihind for canvassing, though the party chief may not be able to visit Rohtak before the elections.

On the other hand, BJP nominee Om Prakash Dhankhar is scheduled to file his nomination papers on Saturday.

Dhankhar, who has been facing a stiff opposition from the leaders and workers of his own party, has disclosed that the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is likely to hold a rally in Rohtak in the first week of April.

INLD candidate Shamsher Kharkara has already filed his nomination.

Sonepat, March 20
Former MLA Padam Singh Dahiya today filed his nomination papers as an INLD candidate from the Sonepat parliamentary constituency. He was accompanied by senior party leaders, including Dr KC Bangar, Brig OP Chaudhay, former MP Surender Barwala, district president Kuldeep Malik and others.

Talking to mediapersons before filing his nomination, Dahiya blamed the Congress for inflation, corruption and for pursuing the anti-people and anti-farmers policies. “There is an anti-Congress wave in the country,” he said.

The occasion was marked by joining of the INLD by former MLA Kitab Singh Malik, who had won from the Gohana assembly constituency in 1982 on the Lok Dal ticket and in 1991 as an Independent candidate.

Besides, Padam Singh Dahiya, Hari Prakash of the CPI, Dalbir of the Rashtriya Janata Party, former NCP MLA Sukhbir Farmana and four others, including Dharambir of Harsana Kalan, Ram Chander of Rewara, Dalbir of Ridhana and Surender Pal of Nizampur Majra, also filed their nominations as Independent candidates.

Narnaul, March 20
Congress nominee from the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh parliamentary constituency Shruti Choudhry has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) for immediate deployment of paramilitary force in the constituency to thwart the possibility of violence. She has also sought instant intervention by the ECI in the stone-pelting incident.

In her communique shot off to the ECI, Shruti said there were a large number of hyper-sensitive booths in the constituency comprising Bhiwani and Mahendragarh districts, hence deployment of adequate numbers of paramilitary personnel here was needed with immediate effect to prevent any untoward incident.

Kiran Choudhry was injured last night when some persons pelted her with stones during campaigning in Koriyavaas village here. She suffered injuries on the neck and chest in the attack and is undergoing treatment in Gurgaon.

The Narnaul police have started investigation after booking a criminal case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC against some villagers on the complaint of Advocate Chander Prakash, a supporter of Kiran Choudhry.

"Some villagers, who have been rounded up on suspicion, are being questioned to find out clues about those who pelted the stones on the minister. A close tab is also being kept in the village to maintain law and order," said.

Shruti Choudhry, alleging involvement of BJP candidate Dharamvir in the incident, said not only her but also people of this constituency knew the man behind this petty act.

"People are ready to teach him a lesson in the poll as they know about the temperament of every candidate," said Shruti, adding that she would file her nomination tomorrow.

Sirsa, March 20
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today took a dig at the BJP, its PM candidate Narendra Modi and his Gujarat model of development and claimed that the Gujarat Chief Minister stood no chance of becoming the PM.

Addressing a public meeting in support of state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar after he filed his nomination papers from the Sirsa parliamentary seat today, Hooda said a party that claimed to have a wave in favour of Modi could not find 10 candidates from Haryana and had to give at least half the tickets to those whom the Congress had rejected.

Hooda alleged that Modi had no belief in federal values of the country, as he had gone to the extent of uprooting hundreds of Sikh families from Punjab and Haryana, who migrated to Gujarat at the instance of former PM Lal Bahadur Shashtri to make barren lands of that state fertile.

Scorning at the Gujarat model of development being projected by the BJP, Hooda said if he were to implement that model in Haryana, he would have to reduce social security pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 400, as is being given by the Modi government. “Let the people compare the Gujarat model with that of Haryana and they will find that farmers in Haryana were getting power at 10 paisa per unit, a rate 10 times less than that in Modi’s state. We have been giving elderly persons pension to 81 per cent people against 22 per cent in case of Gujarat,” Hooda said.

He claimed that the Congress would win all 10 seats in Haryana this time on the basis of the performance of his government in the state and the UPA government at the Centre.

Urging people to vote for Tanwar, Hooda warned local leaders aspiring for Congress tickets in the state Assembly elections that he would not tolerate backstabbing.

Clearing the air on reports about Tanwar shifting his base to Ambala, Hooda said though he had suggested this to the MP, the state party president was firm on contesting from Sirsa alone.

Several senior leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh, Speaker Kuldeep Sharma, ministers Paramvir Singh and Savitri Jindal, CPSs Prahlad Singh Gillankhera and Vinod Bhayana, former minister Ranjit Singh, former OSD KV Singh, Ratia MLA Jarnail Singh and former MLA Bharat Singh Beniwal, addressed the rally. Kuldeep Sharma and Birender Singh castigated Chautalas. While the former said the INLD would be finished after these elections, Birender Singh said Chautalas had set a bad example of dynastic rule by fielding fourth generation leader Dushyant Singh Chautala from Hisar.

Earlier, Hooda and other leaders accompanied Tanwar to returning officer where he filed his nomination papers for April 10 poll.

Karnal, March 20
Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate Mam Chand Saini and three Independents today filed their nomination papers from Karnal Parliamentary seat. Mam Chand is a joint candidate of the CPI and CPM from this seat.

Mam Chand, declared his assets worth Rs 1,05,50,000 including Rs 50,000 cash, land worth Rs 1 crore. Ashish Kumar, an Independent, filed his nomination papers. He has Rs 42,000 cash, Rs 60,000 in bank accounts and two vehicles worth Rs 15 lakh.

Kismat Singh, an Independent also filed his nomination and declared his total assets worth Rs 10.5 lakh. Meanwhile, Mahinder Kapoor also filed his nomination as an Independent and declared his assets worth Rs14 lakh.— TNS

Sirsa, March 20
When two political rivals within the Congress, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Rajya Sabha member Birender Singh, are together on a stage, people expect some ‘fireworks’.

The two Jat strongmen of the Congress disappointed people when they were together in Sirsa to address a rally on the occasion of filing of nomination papers by state chief Ashok Tanwar.

Referring to the absence of Rajya Sabha member Kumari Selja and former minister Jagdish Nehra, Birender Singh, who addressed the rally first, said it would have been better if they too could have been invited for the meeting.

Both Hooda and Birender Singh accused the BJP of bankruptcy as it was fielding Congress leaders as candidates in Haryana.

While Birender Singh said eight out of 10 candidates fielded by the BJP-HJC were from the Congress background and some of them had even paid for their tickets, Hooda took a light banter at the Rajya Sabha member, telling him that one of his relatives, Dharambir Singh, too was contesting on BJP ticket from Bhiwani.

Birender Singh did not forget to take a friendly jibe at the state chief when he told ticket aspirants for the Assembly seats to work hard for him, as this time Tanwar would be signing their tickets.

Both Hooda and Birender Singh condemned the attack on Kiran Choudhry in the Bhiwani-Mahendergarh constituency.

While Birender Singh said it was a cowardice to throw stones by taking benefit of darkness, Hooda said, “It is people’s choice to vote for a candidate or not, but they have no right to pelt stones on a political leader.”

Jhajjar, March 20
With the Lok Sabha elections gaining momentum, candidates of all political parties have become active on social networking sites to attract maximum voters.

Although outgoing MP and Congress nominee from Rohtak, Deepender Hooda, has not been able to meet people personally due to his spinal problem, he is seen approaching them through social media sites to convey his messages.

Deepender uploads a report of development works undertaken during his stint on his official Facebook (FB) page every day.

Not only this, he is also using the platform to invite party workers to join poll meetings being convened in every Assembly segment of Rohtak constituency for the preparation of ‘Naamankan Rally’ to be held on March 21.

Deepender Hooda, who was on a complete bed rest for over a month, will address the rally in Rohtak before filing his papers. To ensure an impressive gathering, Deepender is seen inviting workers through his FB page for various meetings in Jhajjar, Badli, Bahadurgarh, Meham, Kalanaur, Kiloi-Garhi Sampla, Rohtak and Beri Assembly segments of the constituency. Apart from this, he is also sending messages on mobile phones to inform supporters and party workers about the meetings to keep them updated about his poll campaign.

BJP candidate, Om Parkash Dhankhar, on the other hand, is seeking monetary aid from people through his FB page and has also mentioned his bank account number for it.

Similarly INLD nominee Shamsher Kharkara and AAP candidate Naveen Jaihind are also using the social networking platform to garner support and are seen posting campaign pictures on their official page.

Ambala, March 20
District and Sessions Judge HS Thakur today awarded life imprisonment to the then inspector in charge of the CIA, Jind, Nar Singh, and constable Ramesh, who had been accused in the infamous killing of notorious criminals, Jitender Pahal and Randhir Singh, in police custody on October 25, 1994.

As per the prosecution case, Jitender and Randhir were allegedly killed in a fake police encounter on October 25, 1994, at the Butana Branch Canal near Ishapur Kher village in Sonepat district. Both of them were highly connected and their murder caused severe political tremors in Haryana.

The CBI, which investigated the killings, had booked six policemen in the case, including former DGP Lachhman Dass, Jind CIA Inspector Nar Singh, 3rd Battalion HAP Commandant at Hisar Ved Parkash Verma, former ASI Mangat Singh Gill and constables Romesh Chander and Sube Singh. While the court on March 18 had exonerated former Haryana DGP Lachhman Das and then Commandant at Hisar Ved Parkash Verma, along with constable Sube Singh in the 20-year-old case, Mangat Singh Gill had died during the trial.

As per the FIR, on the fateful day, the two were taken out of the police station, Jind, on the pretext of effecting some recovery and further investigation of a criminal case by Inspector Nar Singh and constables Ramesh and Sube Singh, UGCs Hoshiar Singh and Puran and constable driver Hari Pal.

After the killing, a case was registered in Sonepat on the report lodged by Inspector Nar Singh, in which it was stated that when the police team was returning after the recovery, the vehicle got struck on an approach road due to some mechanical fault. In the meantime, the two tried to flee and even fired at the police team. Both Jitender and Randhir died due to firearm injuries and members of the police team also received injuries.

It was after the mother of Jitender Pahal, Ishwarti Devi, filed a Civil Writ Petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that a CBI inquiry was ordered into the killings on November 27, 1995.

During investigation, the CBI found that Jitender Pahal and Randhir Singh were known criminals. Jitender was lodged at the Ambala Jail from June 27, 1991, to December, during which Lachhman Dass was posted as Additional DG, Prisons, Haryana. The CBI said on November 8, 1991, Jitender clashed with one Budh Ram alias Charanjit of Panchkula, who was friends with Bunty, son of Lachhman Dass.

After going though the evidence put on record by the prosecution, the court held Nar Singh and Ramesh Chander guilty of the crime under the IPC and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Kaithal,March 20
The Kaithal police have arrested a youth of Barta village of Jind district on the charge of eve-teasing, making obscene gestures and threatening a woman employee of the local civil hospital here.

He has been identified as Varinder alias Binder of Barta village. The accused was produced in a court which sent him in 14-day judicial custody. The police said the accused had been following the victim for the last couple of days.

On Wednesday, finding the victim alone in her office, the accused entered her office and made obscene and objectionable gestures. When the woman objected, she was threatened of dire consequences.

The woman raised an alarm, following which, an employee from the adjoining room overpowered the accused and handed over to the police. He was booked under various sections of the IPC.

Yamunanagar, March 20
Two cubs of leopard were crushed to death by an unidentified vehicle on the National Highway 73-A, near Khizrabad in Yamunanagar district, Yesterday.

Sources said by the time, officials of the Wild Life Department reached the spot, the bodies of the cubs had been disappeared.

Sources added that the wild animals were coming out of the forest area to the agriculture fields for want of water, food and due to interference of poachers in their life.

On the other hand, Rajesh Chahal, Inspector, Wild Life Department, said the animals were not cubs of leopard. He claimed that they were cubs of jangal cat.

A case had been registered against the driver of unidentified vehicle and for stealing the bodies of the cubs on Thursday. 

Ambala, March 20
Wood and machinery worth several lakhs were gutted in fire which broke out in a plywood factory located on the Ambala-Jagadhri road near Saha, this evening.

According to owner of the factory Manoj Kumar, the factory was operational when it caught fire around 4 pm. He said it was being believed that overheating of the chamber lead to the fire in the factory.

Though the exact loss was yet to be ascertained, three fire tenders from Ambala cantonment rushed to the spot and doused the flames in more than one hour. 

Chandigarh, March 20
Kanpur-based JK Jute Mills is in the dock for allegedly supplying sub-standard gunny bales to the Haryana Government-run Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation (Hafed).

Sources said the consignment of nearly 1300 "mutilated, torn and unbranded" gunny bales had been rejected by Hafed and the company had been asked to refund the advance payment made for these bales.

The lid of the alleged multi-crore scam was blown off when the JK Jute Mills Mazdoor Ekta Union, Kanpur, complained to the state government that a consignment of the "sub-standard" gunny bales had been despatched to Hafed through train.

Ashok Yadav, Hafed MD, brought the matter to the notice of the Director General, Food and Supplies. A committee under the chairmanship of District Food and Supplies Controller, Ambala, was constituted to inspect the consignment when it landed at Ambala on March 18.

After inspection, the committee found that the consignment was in violation of certain mandatory guidelines of the Director General Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D).

Yadav said strict action would be taken against the firm as it had intentionally caused loss to the Hafed by supplying old, mutilated and unbranded gunny bales. aHaryana DGP Sriniwas Vashisht said an FIR would be lodged against the firm after investigation. 

Jind, March 20
In a case of suspected honour killing, the police have recovered bodies of a young couple from the railway tracks near Pindu Pandara village here. The deceased have been identified as 22-year-old Ritu and 25-year-old Amit both from Jind. The bodies have been sent to the Jind Civil Hospital. A case is yet to be registered in this connection.

Reports said around 4.30 am, a railway employee, posted in Pindu Pandara village, noticed a bag lying on the railway track. When he opened the bag, he found two bodies stuffed in it. He informed the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the bodies were taken into custody.

Reports said Ritu had completed her school some years back and was not studying these days. Amit had recently completed BTech and was looking for a job. Family members of both had refused to speak to the media and record their statements till the post-mortem report was out. The police suspect it a case of honour killing, as both belong to different gotra.

“It seems to be a case of honour killing, as the girl belonged to a Punjabi family, while the boy was from the Saini community. Their families have confirmed that both had gone missing from their respective homes last night, but are not ready to accept that both were in love,” said SHO GRP Jind Inderjeet.

Though the police have not registered any case so far, some senior GRP officials have confirmed that the bodies were placed on the track to portray a murder an accidental death or suicide. The body of the girl has some injury marks and her mouth suggests that she died of poisoning.

“It seems the girl had vomited before death. We are waiting for the post-mortem report and a register case will be registered after that,” said the SHO.

Chandigarh, March 20
In a major reprieve, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed two advertisement companies to pay initial ad money of Rs 7 crore to the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation.

The agencies have also been directed to come out with enforceable guarantees or collateral security.

The order by Justice Rajive Bhalla came on a petition filed by Advert Communication Private Limited and another petitioner after hearing at length Gurgaon Municipal Commissioner Dr Parveen Kumar. Justice Bhalla asserted in the open court that the Commissioner was arguing the matter in person not for himself, but for protecting the interest of the Municipal Corporation and public money.

The controversy hovers around payment for installation of advertisements on "unipoles". The petitioners had challenged the issuance of a notice of demand calling upon them to discharge their contractual liability regarding 72 "unipoles" admittedly allotted to them by way of separate contracts.

Dr Parveen Kumar submitted that advertisements were installed on "unipoles" in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contracts. Therefore, the petitioners were required to discharge their liability.

Counsel for the petitioners, on the other hand, submitted that 63 "unipoles" were not installed on the same date, but from time to time depending upon availability of site and demarcation thereof. The counsel submitted that while issuing the demand notice, the corporation has not considered that the sites removed were never relocated or re-allotted. If done so, the dates were not correctly considered.

Initially, the HC had ordered the corporation and the companies to put their heads together for resolving the issue. 

Jhajjar, March 20
Dharmender, vice-president of the Jhajjar Zila Parishad, along with his supporters joined the BJP after resigning from the Congress here on Tuesday. 

He announced his joining the BJP in the presence of the BJP nominee from Rohtak Om Prakash Dhankhar at a function. Dharmender said committed workers were being ignored by the state party leadership. — TNS

Yamunanagar, March 20
The police arrested three youths today for allegedly gangraping a student of class X over a month ago. The victim said she was raped by the accused, identified as Krishna, Raju and Neeraj, on February 14, 2014.

She alleged that she and her male friend were sitting in a park of sector-18, Jagadhri, in the evening. The three youths came there, beat up her friend and forced him to leave the place. They then gang-raped her, she further alleged.

The victim hid the said incident from her parents all this time. However, she narrated her ordeal to one of her female friends a few days ago after the accused chased her recently. Her friend then mustered courage and told the victim’s parents about the incident yesterday. The victim’s parents reported the matter to the police today.

Shashank Anand, Superintendent of Police (SP), Yamunanagar, confirmed that the accused had been arrested. He said the victim was being given counselling to come out of the trauma.

Timeline

* The class X student was raped on February 14, 2014

* The youths had beaten up her male friend before committing the crime

* The victim spoke up when the accused started chasing her