Sirsa, March 24
Names of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and MLA from the Dabwali seat Ajay Singh Chautala, both serving sentence in the JBT teachers recruitment case, figure in the list of the 20 star campaigners issued by the INLD for the parliamentary polls in Haryana.

The party has, however, mentioned “Only for voice messages” against their names.

Sources in the INLD said the party would play audio messages of Chautala and Ajay to convey their vote appeal to the people. But before this, the party would seek permission from the court and the Election Commission.

The list of star campaigners released by the INLD also includes Ellenabad MLA Abhay Singh Chautala, state president of the party Ashok Arora, former minister Mange Ram Gupta, Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh and Rajya Sabha member Ram Kumar Kashyap.

Also on the list are Khairati Lal Sharma, Mohinder Singh Malik, Birbal Dass Dhalia, Digvijay Chautala, Krishan Chander Banger, Subhash Chand Goyal, Surender Singh Barwala, Brij Sharma, Telu Ram Jogi, Nirmal Chaudhary, Pradeep Gill, Pradeep Chaudhary and Surat Singh Khatak.

Surprisingly, the name of Ranbir Singh Prajapati, one of the two Rajya Sabha members of the INLD, is missing from the list.

Meanwhile, Abhay started his campaign on helicopter yesterday, when he addressed six rallies in the Ambala, Kurukshetra and Karnal parliamentary constituencies and is scheduled to address seven more in Rohtak, Sonepat and Faridabad today.

Party sources said Abhay would address six meetings coming under three different parliamentary seats of Haryana everyday till April 6.

Sonepat, March 24
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today took exception to the statement of Kuldeep Bishnoi on grabbing the “chaudhar” from Rohtak-Sonepat. He asked the people to judge and decide on their own. He said this during his day-long canvassing for Congress candidate Jagbir Singh Malik in Rai, Kharkhoda (Reserve), Gohana and Baroda assembly constituencies of the Sonepat parliamentary seat.

“If you vote for the BJP-HJC alliance, you will pave the way for the chief ministership of Kuldeep Bishnoi, and if you vote for the Congress, you know who will be the Chief Minister,” he said while addressing roadshow meetings at Rai, Jatheri, Nahra, Nahri, Mandora and Kharkhoda.

He refuted charges of favouritism for the Rohtak-Sonepat region in development works. He claimed that development had taken place in every part of the state and it was evident to the people.

He chided the BJP for auctioning the ticket and the protests being organised against the ticket distribution had exposed the false propaganda of the BJP leadership of giving clean and honest government. He questioned, “Jo aadmi ticket kharidkar laya ho, woh logon ka kya bhala karega (the person who has brought a ticket, what welfare will he extend to the people?).”

“BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had addressed an election rally at Sonepat in the 2009 elections, but the party did not win a single seat,” he said.

The INLD was no more a political force to reckon with and the party was on the verge of losing its existence, he said, and asked the people not get misled by the propaganda and promises of INLD leaders.

During his roadshow, the CM addressed most of the roadside meetings from his ‘vikas rath’. However, he was forced to make unscheduled stops at a number of villages, as residents from many villages had come out to greet and listen to him. Hooda was late by two hours when he left Kharkhoda for further destinations at around 4 pm.

The CM was joined by sitting MP Jitender Singh Malik, Gohana MLA, candidate Jagbir Malik, Prof Virender, Rai MLA Jai Tirth, Kharkhoda MLA, CPS Jaiveer Singh and Baroda MLA Sri Krishan Hooda.

Sirsa, March 24
Naveen Jindal, the Congress nominee from Kurukshetra, is the richest candidate among the eight sitting MPs contesting for the parliamentary polls in Haryana, while Bhiwani nominee Shruti Choudhry is the “poorest”, as far as their assets are concerned.

According to the income-tax returns filed by Naveen, his individual annual income is Rs 101 crore, while wife Shalu Jindal has an annual income of Rs 1.60 crore.

Shruti Choudhry’s own income might be the lowest (Rs 5.99 lakh only) among other MPs, but her husband Arunabh Chowdhury’s annual turnover is Rs 1.33 crore.

Of the 10 sitting MPs from Haryana, only eight are contesting the polls. Ambala MP Kumari Selja had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha, while Sonepat MP Jitender Malik has opted out.

Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar is the “poorest” among the eight. His annual income equals Rs 15.02 lakh only, while wife Avantika’s annual income is Rs 5.41 lakh.

Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh may be after Jindal as far as his annual income is concerned, with an annual return of Rs 1.09 crore, but has no match with Kurukshetra MP’s wealth.

Rao’s wife Manita, however, is “not-so-rich”, whose annual income is Rs 9.83 lakh only. Haryana Janhit supremo and Hisar MP Kuldeep Bishnoi’s annual income is Rs 98.53 lakh, while his wife Renuka’s IT return shows her annual income as Rs 3.90 lakh only.

Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda is also among the rich contestants with an annual income of Rs 79.75 lakh, while wife Shweta’s income is just Rs 1.47 lakh per annum.

In fact, Shweta Hooda is the “poorest” among the spouses of the contesting MPs. Faridabad MP Avtar Singh Bhadana’s annual income is Rs 18.83 lakh, while wife Mamta Bhadana’s income is Rs 5.93 lakh. Arvind Sharma, the Congress MP contesting from Karnal, has an annual income of Rs 10.79 lakh, while wife Reeta Sharma has an income of Rs 5.18 lakh.

Kaithal, March 24
President of the HPCC Ashok Tanwar today inaugurated the election office of Naveen Jindal, who is contesting elections from the Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency, in Cheeka village, 27 km from here.

Addressing people on the occasion, Tanwar said the Congress would win all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. He said Prime minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi would address public meetings in support of party candidates at various places in the state. He appealed to the voters to ensure victory of Naveen Jindal. He termed Jindal as an outstanding parliamentarian and highlighted various philanthropic activities carried out by him during his two tenures as an MP.

Jindal said during the last 10 years, he had done his best to serve the people of his constituency.

He said he would continue to put in efforts for the development of the area.

Kurukshetra, March 24
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda sought support for Congress MP and candidate Naveen Jindal from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency. He said he was confident that people of Kurukshetra would vote in favour of the Congress and its candidate and form a record in Kurukshetra by electing Jindal for the third consecutive term.

In his address during the roadshow here yesterday, Hooda said the Congress would fight on the issue of development and the party would win all 10 Lok Sabha seats.

He criticised the INLD and BJP on the occasion and said the INLD’s identity would disappear after the Lok Sabha elections. There was no Modi wave in the state, but there definitely was a development wave, which was a result of all development works done by the Congress government in the last 10 years.

Jindal said he had made every possible effort to work for the development and welfare of the Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency and its outcome was visible in the condition of roads, health facilities, education institutions, religious and tourist places and rural areas.

He appealed to the people to support him.

Jindal’s mother, Minister of Urban Local Bodies Savitri Jindal, also sought support for his son.

Gurgaon, March 24
Hours after Arvind Kejriwal's celebrated roadshow, the district unit of the Aam Aadmi Party collapsed, as a large number of office bearers resigned late last night. The resignation dispatched to Kejriwal and party candidate Yogendra Yadav was rendered not just by unit convener, general secretary and treasurer, but also a reported 200 members, a number rubbished by Yadav.

The mass resignation that played a spoilsport to the party's first major campaigning event in the district was spearheaded by party organiser Ramesh Yadav, who blamed the party of deviating from its policies.

“We all had given our sweat and blood to the party because of its policies and principles, but all this has vanished. The name of the party is being used for personal gain and anti-common man activities. The power of the party has been given to limited people and the members do what they wish,” alleged Ramesh.

Dispatching the letter of mass resignation to party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Yadav also hit out at the party leadership for its undemocratic attitude, double speak and running away from responsibilities in Delhi. He also accused Kejriwal of fielding candidates of dubious image for the Lok Sabha poll.

“Things are not right in the party and we have told both Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav about the problems. However, they never cared to solve them and we are forced to distance ourselves from the party,” he said.

The party has refuted all claims and released a CD of a sting operation conducted by them on Ramesh Yadav, claiming him to be a traitor.

“He was involved in anti-party activities and was defaming it. We questioned and warned him many times but he did not improve. As part of his anti-party activities, he has staged this resignation drama,” said Yogendra Yadav at a press conference.

“Those who have resigned were not going by party principles and wanted personal gains. Their resignation has no effect on our campaign or us. Nothing has collapsed and the party is as good as before,” said Yadav.

He said it was all pre-planned and probably instigated by their political rivals, who could not tolerate the success of the roadshow. “They wanted to spoil the show but failed,” said Sanjay Kumar, media in charge, AAP.

C0handigarh, March 24
Spouses and daughters of some contestants are slugging it out to ensure their victory in Haryana where multi-corner contests are on the cards in all 10 Lok Sabha seats.

Haryana may be infamous for its skewed sex ratio, but in the run up to the April 10 Lok Sabha polls, women are sweating it out to garner votes for their relatives.

With prestige at stake in his family's traditional Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, sitting MP Deepender Hooda (Congress) is fighting another battle and that is with his backache.

Down with health problems, Deepender's canvassing is being taken care of by his wife Shweta and mother Asha who are leaving no stone unturned to seek votes for the sitting Member of Parliament by getting the electorate apprised about development work done in Rohtak over the years.

Former Chief Minister Bansi Lal's grand-daughter and sitting MP Shruti Choudhary (Congress) is getting able support in her campaigning from her mother and cabinet minister Kiran Choudhary for Bhiwani-Mahendergarh seat.

Kiran had recently received injuries, when she was stoned by some unidentified persons during electioneering at Narnaul in favour of her daughter.

Noted dancer Shalu Jindal is seeking votes for her industrialist-husband Naveen Jindal, who is seeking hat-trick of victories from Kurukshetra seat as a Congress candidate.

Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi, contesting from his traditional Hisar seat, is also banking upon canvassing by his mother Jasma Devi and wife and sitting MLA Renuka.

Hisar is set to witness a big battle as Bishnoi faces Congress candidate Sampat Singh and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) young leader Dushyant Singh, son of jailed leader and former MP Ajay Singh Chautala.

Sampat's wife Krishna is also wooing voters so that her husband tastes victory this time after his unsuccessful 2009 electoral battle.

Kiran Chopra, wife of Ashwani Chopra of BJP who is in fray for Karnal Lok Sabha seat, is meeting voters for her husband.

In Sirsa (reserve) seat, Avantka Makan is helping her husband and sitting Congress MP Ashok Tanwar.

Prominent women contestants in the state are Shruti (Cong-Bhiwani-Mahendergarh), Kusum Sherwal (INLD-Ambala- reserve), Balwinder Kaur (Aam Aadmi Party-Kurukshetra). — PTI 

Chandigarh, March 24
Nomination of as many as 48 candidates, including 19 women, have been rejected during the scrutiny of papers today, thus leaving a total of 251 candidates in the fray for the elections to be held for 10 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state on April 10.

Giving this information here today, Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad says the last date of withdrawal of candidature is March 26 and thereafter, the final list of contesting candidates would be prepared.

He said the nomination of candidates had been rejected by the Returning Officer (RO) concerned on the basis of scrutiny of affidavits furnished by the candidates and valid reasons for rejection of the nomination had been given.

Walgad said the process of preparing electronic voting machines and printing of ballot papers had been started. He said with a view to ensure transparency and fair conduct of the Lok Sabha elections, postal ballet papers would also be printed and delivered on the address of voters who have applied for the same.

He said training would be imparted to the polling staff and they would also be issued election duty certificates.

Kurukshetra: Nominations of 11 candidates were rejected during the scrutiny of papers of 36 candidates for the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat.

Amit Kumar said he had withdrawn in support of the BJP, but officials said his nomination was rejected following incomplete papers.

Nomination papers of Sanjay Kumar (covering candidate of the BSP candidate), Amit Kumar (Independent), Santosh Rani (covering candidate of the INLD), Shalu Jindal (covering candidate of the Congress), Pawan Kumar (covering candidate of the BJP), Krishan Kumar (Independent), Randhir Singh (Independent), Rajbala (Rashtriya Bahujan Hitay Party), Baldev Singh Dahiya (Independent), Balbir Singh (Independent) and Karam Singh (Samajwadi Party) were rejected.

Karnal: Returning Officer (RO) Balraj Singh today rejected nomination papers of seven candidates.

He said 33 candidates had submitted their papers to contest election from the Karnal parliamentary constituency.

The nomination papers of Rita Sharma, covering candidate of Congress candidate Arvind Kumar Sharma, Kiran Chopra, covering candidate of BJP candidate Ashwini Chopra and Gaganjot Singh, covering candidate of INLD candidate Jaswinder Singh Sandhu were rejected.

Karnal, March 24
Karnal constituency is one of the oldest constituencies of Haryana. Earlier Kaithal, Yamunanagar, Panipat and Kurukshetra were also a part of this constituency. Now only Karnal and Panipat districts are its part.

The voters of this constituency have always preferred national parties. Regional parties have never been able to make a strong foothold here.

As per the political experts, there is always a close contest between BJP and Congress at this seat.

Congress has won it nine times and BJP (Bharatiya Jan Sangh and Janata Party) has won four times and remained on second number six times out of the13 elections (including bye polls) since 1967.

Madho Ram was the first person to be elected from Congress ticket. He had defeated Rameshwaranand of Bharatiya Jan Sangh with a thin margin of 203 votes in 1967 and had retained the seat in 1971.

The seat was won in 1977 by former Chief Minister Bhagwat Dayal Sharma (Bharatiya Lok Dal), who created a record by polling 81.99 per cent votes and defeating Jagdish Prasad of Congress by 2, 76,885 votes.

The Congress snatched the seat in 1980 and its candidate Chiranji Lal Sharma defeated Sushma Swaraj (JNP) by 22,320 votes in a triangular contest.

Charanji Lal recorded four successive wins from this constituency, defeating old rival Sushma Swaraj (BJP) in 1984 and 1989 and Ghansham Pal Singh of the Janata Dal in 1991.

In 1989, Sushma Swaraj lost by a narrow margin of 8,673 votes.

Former Union Minister of State for Home Affairs ID Swami (BJP) snatched the seat from Congress in 1996, defeating Chiranji Lal Sharma by 1,91,865 votes, but the Congress regained the seat in 1998 as former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal defeated ID Swami by 52,061 votes.

But Swami avenged his defeat in 1999 by beating Bhajan Lal by a huge margin of 1,47,854 votes.

In 2004, the seat was won by Arvind Sharma (Congress), who defeated Swami by a convincing margin of 1, 64,762 votes. Arvind once again won this seat by a margin of 76,346 to Maratha Virender Verma of BSP. 

Sonepat, March 24
The BJP and Congress are the two sides of the same coin, said INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala, while addressing an election meeting at Gannaur today in support of party candidate Padam Singh Dahiya.

He said the people were angry and dissatisfied from these parties, adding that they wanted to see Narender Modi as the Prime Minister of India, but the BJP in Haryana had no candidates to field from different parliamentary constituencies.

“The BJP has borrowed five candidates from the Congress to make up this deficiency,” he said.

Similarly, fearing their defeat in the elections, the Congress leaders were also withdrawing their feet from contesting the elections on party ticket, he added.

He held the Congress responsible for all kind of problems such as inflation, corruption and for pursuing anti-farmer and pro-rich policies. He said if the Congress was voted to power, it would become difficult for the common man to sustain their living.

State president Ashok Arora and national spokesman KC Bangar said the Congress was a double-edged sword, which harms the common man from both sides.

The leaders appealed to the people to vote for Padam Singh Dahiya. 

Jind, March 24
Even though much noise is being made against discrimination with Haryana women in the ongoing elections, things are no better at the national level.

A thorough study of all women contestants of the 2009 poll across the country shows that though they defeated the national success rate of their respective parties, they are still facing the same discrimination in the 2014 poll.

A study of all national parties and their women candidates in the 2009 elections by People For Transparency (PFT), an NGO, shows that in 2009, the BSP fought on 500 seats, out of which it secured only 21 with the national success ratio of 4.2 per cent. The party gave ticket to 28 women, which is only 5.6 per cent of the seats, despite having a woman as the national president of the party. Women contenders of the BSP secured 4 seats out of 28.

The same was the case of the Indian National Congress, as it also failed to provide justice to the fairer sex in allotting MP tickets. In 2009, the Congress gave ticket to only 43 women, out of which 23 won the election with a handsome success ratio of 53.48, whereas the national success ratio of the Congress party stood at 47 per cent.

“All politicians are doing is making tall claims that women are assets to the country, but things are different at the ground level. The proposed legislation to reserve 33.3 per cent seats in Parliament and state legislatures for women was drafted first by the HD Deve Gowda-led United Front government on September 12, 1996. The Bill has not been passed as yet because of lack of will in the male-dominated politics,” said Kamal Anand, convener, PFT.

In 2009, the BJP also failed to do justice to women by giving only 10 per cent representation to them in politics. The fairer sex, however, showed the party their power by getting the success rate of 29.54 per cent, which is more than national average of 26.78 per cent.

Even other national parties like the BJP, CPI, NCP and RJD failed to allot MP tickets to more than 10 per cent of the total seats contended. Worse was the RJD, which allotted only two tickets to women out the 44 contested seats.

“The study has exposed the real anti-women face of all parties,” said Kusum, a student of local college. 

Faridabad, March 24
The election time has come as a unique opportunity to those who are leaving no stone unturned in galvanizing support for candidates engaged in canvassing.

They are not devoted party leaders, but common people, who lend support to various political parties and leaders or their supporters by exchanging “monetary” benefits.

Chander, a resident of Sector 4 here, said: “During elections such people act as middlemen or agents, who help in organising corner meetings and interaction of candidates with voters at various places, where the presence of a certain candidate is either weak or has no assurance of support during polls.”

He said: “Some do campaigning just because it is their hobby, while some do it to sustain a living.”

Agreeing that such a practice existed, Alam of Indira Colony said several people attend almost every meeting organised in connection with the elections and promise support to any candidate who contacts them.

He said: “The leaders and activists of various political parties do take their support, but the ground reality is different. Some of them help in organising meetings of all candidates to make money and project them as solid agents for garnering votes for the candidates in every election.”

Admitting that he himself supported a political party because of poverty, Roshan of Prem Nagar said: “The power of money has driven several people to act as supporters of all those who contact them for support during elections and this time is no different.”

He said Indira Colony, among over a dozen slum colonies, housing more than one lakh residents, were favorite spots for vote seekers.

He admitted that money, liquor and other things were not only offered, but solicited by those who acted as “middlemen” for garnering support.

Claiming that majority of the slum colonies in the city were very old and had no sewerage, Satpal a resident of NIT said though a candidates dole out tall promises, the situation remains the same. He said both voters as well as the candidates know that a demand such as alternative houses for slum dwellers was not possible and was just a temporary benefit.

He said open drains, foul smell and slush on streets was common at all slum colonies, adding that the city was known for its slum areas and population.

Rewari, March 24
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal yesterday apologised to mediapersons after one of them was allegedly manhandled by party workers in Dharuhera of the district.

The incident took place just before Kejriwal, along with party nominee from Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat Yogendra Yadav, reached Bhagat Singh Chowk in Dharuhera to garland a statue of the freedom fighter.

A senior journalist was manhandled by a group of AAP activists when he objected to alleged "insult of the national flag" by them.

Later the matter was brought to the notice of senior AAP leaders. On learning about the incident, Kejriwal tendered an apology and asked the mediapersons to treat the matter as a "closed chapter". After holding the roadshow in Dharuhera, Kejriwal reached Rewari where they were accorded a warm reception by party activists. — PTI

Ambala, March 24
The INLD has filed a complaint with the District Returning Officer against BJP candidate Ratan Lal Kataria contesting from the Ambala Lok Sabha constituency in which it said some of the information given by the BJP candidate was not correct.

Surender Ghai, press secretary of the local INLD said that Kataria had mentioned two PAN numbers in the nomination papers. Besides some of the declarations filed by the BJP candidate were not properly signed and attested by the competent authority. He demanded the nominations paper of Kataria should be cancelled.

District Returning Officer Saket Kumar said he had received the application of the INLD. He said a notice in this regard would be served to the BJP candidate to clarify his version.

Fatehabad, March 24
Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) candidate Sushil Indora had to face stiff opposition from his own Dhanak community members in his hometown Fatehabad today.

At a meeting of the community called in at a Fatehabad grain market today to seek support for Indora contesting poll from the Sirsa parliamentary seat, a group of the community started opposing him and termed him as an opportunist leader.

The faction of the community opposed to Indora alleged that he had done nothing for the community and they would not support him. Soon the verbal altercation between Indora’s supporters and opponents turned into free for all and the HJC nominee left the scene in a hurry. Rajinder Kumar, a member of the community, was injured in the clash and some others also received minor injuries.

Indora claimed that the community was with him by large, barring a few who had been opposing him ever since he had joined politics.

“It is never possible that the entire community supports or opposes a leader,” Indora said. Indora, won the Sirsa seat in 1998 and 1999 on the INLD ticket, lost the seat to Atma Singh Gill of the Congress in 2004.

He left the INLD when the party fielded Sita Ram instead of him and contested the Kalanwali assembly seat as a Congress nominee in 2009 and lost it to Charanjit Singh Rori of the SAD.

Indora quit the Congress on March 20, the day the HJC surrendered the Karnal seat to the BJP for Sirsa and announced to field him from here.

Lucknow, March 24
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati will address two elections meetings in Haryana tomorrow.

The first meeting will be held at a ground in front of Kabir hostel, Rajgarh road in Hisar district, while the second meeting will be held at HUDA Gymkhana Club ground at Sector 29 in Gurgaon, a party release issued here said. —PTI 

Karnal, March 24
Voters who do not have the electoral photo identity card (EPIC) can cast their vote by showing the voter slip, which will be provided by the election office for establishing their identity. This was stated by District Election Officer Balraj Singh.

The voters, who had either misplaced their EPICs or the card could not be issued to them due to any reason, could show their passport, driving licence, PAN card for casting their votes. — TNS

Chandigarh March 24
Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad said today a single window system had been started at all district headquarters to assist the candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the General Elections-2014 in getting requisite permission for holding rallies and public meetings. This facility would be available in the office of the Returning Officer (RO) at the concerned district headquarter.

Walgad said earlier, the candidates contesting elections had to seek permission of the police, SDM, Public Works Department etc, regarding holding rallies and public meetings through the RO. But now, instead of the RO, they could take the permission through the single window system, he said.

The Chief Electoral Officer said the candidates of the political parties were required to take prior permission for organising rallies and public meetings and if they did not take permission, it would be considered violation of the model code of conduct. Similarly, it was also necessary for the political parties to take permission for the helicopter landing during the campaigning and landing without pre-permission would be treated as the violation of the code, he said.

Walgad also launched an audio-video CD to generate awareness among the voters and to encourage them to cast vote. He said the CD would also be made available to all the Deputy Commissioners in the state, so that the same could be run on the local cable TV network and other local news channels.

Walgad said the last supplementary list of voters was to be completed by March 22 and within one or two days, the entire electoral data would be uploaded on the website.

Kaithal, March 24
The road constructed by the PWD department from Daban Kheri village in Guhla subdivision of this district to Harchand Pura village of Punjab has caved in at number of places.

To express their protest the villagers seized a road roller and other articles belonging to the contractor on Sunday and forced the labourers who had come to repair the damaged road to leave the spot. The villagers have expressed concern over the role of the contractor and the department officials who supervised the construction work.

This road was reportedly inaugurated four months ago by PWD Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala. The villagers led by sarpanch Gurbaj Singh said this village road connects them with Punjab. They waited for long to see this road constructed and they were pleased when this project was completed and the minister inaugurated the road. However, their pleasure remained short lived as the road caved in at number of places soon after the completion and they were put to lot of inconvenience.

They alleged that the contractor did not use the construction material as per specifications and the department officials failed to ensure quality of construction. Meanwhile, it is learnt that the concerned SDE told the villagers and mediapersons that contractor was bound to repair the damaged road as per terms of the contact. However, the villagers cry a foul play and said the connivance between contractor and officials was quite visible, hence this project needed an inquiry. They demanded that exemplary punishment should be given to the guilty persons to pass strong massage to those who had tarnished the image of the government and the department in the eyes of public.

Kaithal, March 24
A team from the Women and Child Development Department visited the Bal Upvan Kendar here where destitute children are brought up.

The team led by Adarsh Bala Gakkhar, programme officer, Integrated Child Protection Scheme, took stock of the facilities, including living conditions and diet being provided to the inmates of this centre which is being run by Sanatan Dharam Mandir Sabha. Gakkahr said in Kaithal, two such centres had been working which were registered under the Juvenile Justice Act 2000. As many as 49 children were living in these two centres. She asked sabha president Ravi Bhushan Garg to start a centre exclusively for girls. She further elaborated that a scheme "Bal Shishu Swagat Kedra" had been launched in each district. — OC

Yamunanagar, March 24
Taking advantage of the busy schedule of police and local administration, caused by the Lok Sabha elections, mining mafia has again become active in the district.

In various villages of Chhachhruali block, mining mafia is indulging in digging of sand, boulder and gravel from the illegal quarries spread in a vast area.

Sources said a number of groups of the mafia were taking help of manual mining system. The mafia groups were getting the raw mining material separated into sand, gravel and boulders with the help of labourers in mining quarries itself.

Sources added that the mafia was active in various villages of Bilaspur sub-division, areas of Sadhaura town and in Jathlana village also.

Before the announcement of the elections, local administration, with the help of police, had tightened the noose around mining mafia and illegal mining activities had almost come to an end.

Like several other parts of the state, mining has been banned in Yamunanagar district since March 1, 2010.

The auction of six units of minor minerals of the district had been carried out on December 24, 2013. However, the commencement of mining work would start here after the contractors were able to obtain clearance from Ministry of Environment.

Rewari, March 24
The 22-year-old wife of a nephew of Power Minister Capt Ajay Yadav died under mysterious circumstances at the house of her in-laws in Sector-3 here last night.

Garima, a resident of Gurgaon, got married to Capt Yadav’s nephew Sourabh Yadav more than a year ago.

On a complaint lodged by Garima’s kin, the police have registered a case against her in-laws, including her husband, and started investigations.

Garima’s kin said they had given enough dowry in the marriage, but her in-laws used to tease her for bringing more dowry.

“Last night, we were informed that Garima had committed suicide by hanging herself in her room. It is a case of murder on suicide,” said a relative of the victim. Her relatives also raised slogans against Capt Ajay Yadav.

Demanding a high-level probe, they said as the minister’s family was involved the case, they were apprehensive about fair investigation.

“We are investigating the case. Three members of Sourabh’s family have been booked,” said Shakir Husain, in charge of the Model Town police station.

Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar), March 24
An internationally acclaimed wrestler, Inderjeet Dalal alias Leela Pahalwan (40), was murdered in Bahadurgarh town of the district yesterday. After perpetrating the crime, the killers buried the body near Sector-13 here with an intention to destroy evidence.

Inderjeet was the winner of three junior international wrestling championships and had been working as Senior Ticket Checker (STC) with the Indian Railways in Bahadurgarh for the past some years. He belonged to Chhara village but at present, he was residing at Chhotu Ram Park Colony here.

The police have registered a case of murder against unidentified killers on the complaint of Leela’s brother Ranjeet Singh.

The incident came to light when someone spotted an abandoned motorcycle in Sector-3 and informed the police. While taking stock of the situation, the police found a man buried in a pit there.

The body was exhumed and later, it was identified as Inderjeet who had gone missing under mysterious circumstances on Saturday night. The police said Inderjeet had gone out of his house on Saturday evening to meet someone but did not return.

“The body bore injury marks on the face and head inflicted by some sharp-edged weapon. A bottle of liquor has also been recovered from the spot which indicates that the killers would have consumed alcohol before committing the crime,” said the police, adding that Leela’s kin denied having any enmity with anyone.

Yamunanagar, March 24
An employee of ply factory died when he met with an accident while working on a machine today.

The police said Rama Shankar Singh of Gopalganj district, Bihar, was living here for past 10 years and was working in a factory at Damala village. They said he died after his clothes got entangled in the machine on which he was working. Meanwhile, deceased's brother Major Singh alleged that his brother was killed. —TNS

Kaithal, March 24
A Kaithal based broiler supplier has allegedly duped dozens of poultry owners of the Kaithal area of crores of rupees and then disappeared from the town after closing his shop. The panicky poultry owners held a meeting and expressed their concern over the resulting loss to them. On the complaint of a victim poultry owner, the police have registered a case and started investigations.

According to information Lovely, the local broiler supplier, for the last couple of years used to procure broilers from various poultry farms around the area and used to supply the same to bulk purchasers. Ranvir Fauji of Mans in a complaint to the police alleged that the said supplier purchased broilers for about Rs 10 lakh from him but paid him only Rs 3 lakh and had promised to pay him the balance amount shortly. However, after waiting for some days, when he reached his shop to get the balance amount, he found the premises closed.

As he talked to other poultry farm owners, then it came to light that the broiler supplier owed them substantial money against purchase of broilers. The poultry owners assembled and requested the police to trace the accused and help them in getting their money back. 

Yamunanagar, March 24
The police have registered a case against three youths of Mohri village in the district for allegedly gang-raping a married woman.

In her complaint to the Bilaspur police, the victim alleged that she was gang-raped by three youths identified as Mukesh, Gurdeep and Hardeep last night.

She said she was alone at her house as her husband had gone to fields to protect crop from wild animals.

The victim alleged that the accused forcibly entered her house at 10.30 pm and raped her.

Investigating Officer Randhir Singh said the victim was medically examined today. He said a case had been registered against Mukesh, Gurdeep and Hardeep under relevant sections of the IPC and they would be arrested soon.