Gharaunda (Karnal), April 4
BJP national president Rajnath Singh today pointed to the miserable condition of farmers in Haryana and unsafe boundaries of the country. “I know about Haryana very well. The condition of its farmers is not good and they have sold their land at low prices,” Rajnath Singh said.

“Pakistan drags away our jawans from the border, behead them and celebrate while Manmohan Singh remains silent. Do not think that our soldiers are weak. Give them a free hand and no power on earth can defeat them,” he said. He said only the NDA government under Narendra Modi could give better governance and security.

Addressing an election rally at the Gharaunda grain market in support of BJP candidate Ashwini Kumar Chopra, Rajnath Singh termed the Congress government as the most corrupt in the country since Independence. The Congress had ruled the country for 55 years since Independence, but poverty had increased, he added.

Attacking the Congress, he said wrong economic policies and corruption of the UPA government were responsible for price rise. He added that the Congress was in the habit of making false promises during elections. If the Congress had fulfilled half of its promises, India would have been the most prosperous country in the world today, he claimed.

He appealed to voters to wipe out the Congress from the country. He recalled the tenure of the BJP-led NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said it controlled prices for six years. Urging the people to vote for the BJP candidate, he said, “Karnal is the land of Karna, where people always give something to everyone. now I appeal to you to giving your precious vote to Ashwini Kumar Chopra.”

He criticised the statement of a Congress leader to give a major task to Priyanka Gandhi. Rajnath Singh claimed that there was no youth leader in the Congress, which was promoting a family. He said the BJP had a leader who was down to earth and had a vision. Narendra Modi was the only solution to problems such as unemployment, corruption and national insecurity, he claimed.

Satpal Maharaj appealed to his followers to support the BJP candidate and pointed to the issue of national security. He urged voters to give a strong leadership to the nation and appealed to them to give a chance to Narendra Modi. State BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma attacked the Congress government. Chopra appealed to voters to cast their vote in his favour.

Khap leader Baljit Singh Malik joined BJP on the occasion.

Barwala (Panchkula), April 4
Terming the Congress as the mother of corruption, BJP national president Rajnath Singh today alleged that shady land deals of Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra were a clear indication of the nexus between the Haryana Government and the UPA government at the Centre.

“When rulers turn into robbers, the public gets dragged into heavy debt,” claimed Rajnath Singh, taking a dig at Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the UPA government at the Centre.

The party candidate from Ambala, Rattan Lal Kataria, in whose support Rajnath Singh addressed a public rally here, failed to turn up at the venue. Rajnath Singh madethe announcement that Kataria had got stuck somewhere following a fault in his vehicle.

”We are seeking votes for building the nation and not for forming a government. Vote for BJP candidate Rattan Lal Kataria to strengthen the hands of Narendra Modi and help in building the nation,” appealed Rajnath Singh.

Coming down heavily on the UPA government for corruption, price rise, unemployment and poor growth rate, he alleged that rampant corruption in the last 10 years of the UPA regime had pushed up prices, making the living costly for the common man.

Instead of launching development projects, leaders in the Manmohan Singh government had invested huge amounts of black money in Swiss banks, alleged Rajnath Singh. He claimed that the money would be brought back to the country if the BJP formed the government at the Centre.

Bhiwani, April 4
Playing the national security card at a rally here today, BJP president Rajnath Singh lashed out at the Congress, claiming that the party had been more concerned about the formation of third and fourth fronts to stop the BJP from coming to power and least bothered about national frontiers.

Addressing a rally at HUDA Park here, the BJP president raked up the issue of beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistani troops in January 2013, alleging that the Congress-led UPA government did nothing on the issue.

"Defence forces have been guarding the nation's borders round the clock without caring for bullets from across the border. The Centre has failed on the national security front," he alleged. He urged the people to support BJP candidate Dharambir Singh in the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh parliamentary constituency.

Bhiwani district has a large number of defence personnel. The constituency has 24,289 service voters, besides a large number of retired defence personnel. Haryana has a total of 1,02,052 service voters, comprising 69,475 male and 32,577 female voters. If Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, the enemy would not be able to see towards the borders of the country, claimed Rajnath Singh.

Stating that the BJP would give a strong leadership to the nation, he said, "Atal Bihari Vajpayee government conducted the Pokharan nuclear test despite pressure from external forces. Though many powerful countries imposed economic sanctions, inflation remained in control and the government ensured that people did not suffer from price rise. During the Congress regime, several scams have taken place even in defence forces."

Reiterating that the BJP's alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress was rock solid, the BJP chief stated that the INLD was spreading rumours by seeking votes in the name of Narendra Modi. "We have an alliance with the HJC in Haryana which will continue and people should not have any confusion on this," he said.

State BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma said the BJP had fielded two persons hailing from Bhiwani district. He said apart from Dharambir Singh, Gen (retd) VK Singh, a resident of Bapora village in the district, had been allotted the ticket from Ghaziabad, which was earlier represented by the BJP president. Haryana BJP in charge Jagdish Mukhi and Bhiwani MLA Ghanshyam Dass Saraf were present.

Keorak (Pehowa), April 4
Political parties in Punjab have reaffirmed their stand on sharing of river water with neighbouring Haryana. Former Punjab Chief Minister and Congress nominee from Amritsar Captain Amarinder Singh has launched his campaign by announcing "he will not let a drop of water from Punjab go to Haryana".

Water may be an emotive issue in Punjab, but it is not an election issue in Haryana this time.

Farmers living along the Hansi-Butana canal want the canal filled up because of the misery an empty canal has brought them by way of numerous accidents.

The canal that has brought about a Supreme Court reference seeking for an early resolution to the inter-state water dispute has caused several deaths after vehicles, inebriated villagers and even stray cattle have fallen into it.

Villagers at Keorak have no hope of drawing water from the canal. All they know is that their farms have been divided into small plots on either side of the canal and during monsoon they have to watch out for breeches that often inundate their farms.

Built at a cost of Rs 392 crore, the Hansi-Butana canal, which has remained in news for all wrong reasons, was meant to ensure irrigation to 18 districts of the state, including Kaithal, Jind, Ambala, Rewari, Mahendragarh and Rohtak. Haryana claims that the canal should get the state’s share of water from the 1.60 MAF water from the Bhakra mainline canal in Punjab close to the Haryana border.

Dinesh Kumar, who runs a tea stall where the canal intersects State Highway 65, says the canal is 10 feet higher than the surrounding villages that include Deora and Keorak. “Every time the canal overflows, villagers spend sleepless nights putting sand bags to strengthen the banks.”

In July 2010, the situation had become so alarming that the Army had to be called in to plug flooding of villages on the banks of the canal in Kaithal district. There were reports that seven villages-- Tatiana, Khushal Majra, Baupur, Hemu Majra, Lalpur, Seo-Majra and Bhatian -- were flooded, affecting over 5,000 people.

“Very often, tractors, blue bulls and even drunk villagers fall into the canal at night and it is almost impossible to pull them out due to the depth of the canal,” said Ram Pal, who has to shuttle on the two sides of the canal to look after his land. There are many like him who suffer the same plight after nearly 80-odd acres were acquired from here.

Yamunanagar, April 4
Landlocked on four sides by UP, Ghoro Pipli village in the Ambala Lok Sabha seat, about 33 km from here, faces an identity crisis. The Gujjar-dominated village wants to break free from Haryana and merge with UP to protest the lack of development.

With development giving this village a virtual miss on account of its peculiar geographical location, the villagers see no future in Haryana whose successive governments have failed to spare a thought for the village. “We are tired of requesting Haryana government functionaries to provide us with basic amenities but to avail. The Haryana Government should allow us to merge with UP if it cannot provide even basic amenities in our village,” rued Omkar Singh.

The biggest hurdle in the village’s development is the absence of direct link with Yamunanagar district through a bridge on the Yamuna. Currently, the villagers have to reach the village after passing through various villages of Saharanpur district (UP) after traversing nearly 33 km on rickety roads. The construction of a bridge over the Yamuna will cut this distance to 11 km but the successive Haryana governments have failed to provide a direct link to Ghoro Pipli and adjoining Tappu Majri village which remain cut off from the rest of the world during floods.

Derisively called “kalapani”, Haryana inhabitants are even today hesitant to marry their daughters and sons in Ghoro Pipli and Tappu Majri villages, complained Brij Lal, a village resident. Though the construction of a bridge on the link road to the village from Shahjahanpur (UP) a few years ago has made commuting slightly easier, the direct link to Yamunanagar is still to catch attention of the authorities concerned.

The villagers get TV channels, newspapers and mobile signals from UP and even have to depend on UP for their daily needs. However, they have to travel to thedistrict headquarters of Yamunanagar for routine administrative works.

Villagers rued that it was only during elections that politicians visited the village. “I have seen our MP Kumari Selja only on TV as she has never visited the village,” said Sher Singh (70).

The residents had earlier decided to boycott the poll. However, leaders of several political parties, including the INLD and the BJP, prevailed upon them, saying that their genuine grievances would be redressed.

Jind, April 4
Perturbed at the cancellation of a proposal to widen their seasonal rivulet (Kilajafargarh small canal) crossing from near village, the Budhakhera village has decided to boycott the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The villagers have also decided to block the entry of all politicians in their village and if any villager violates the boycott decision, they will take strict action against him.

They have also formed special teams to keep villagers away from the booths on the polling day.

The village has more than 2,000 acres, while due to inadequate water carrying capacity, the Kilajafargarh canal has not been able to meet the water demand of the villagers. They alleged that some time back, the Haryana Government had sanctioned Rs 4 crore to increase the water carrying capacity of the canal by increasing its width and depth. But now the government had silently cancelled that proposal and decided to construct another small canal from Bhiwani branch. The proposal of a new canal will benefit only Kilajafargarh village, while the earlier project of widening the Kilajafargarh canal could have benefited at least six big villages of the area.

“If the government can change it’s a plan to benefit only one village, why can’t we boycott the elections? We have met senior officials and even the Chief Minister on a number of occasions. Now, the approved proposal has been cancelled for no 
specific reason,” said Nilabh, a farmer from Budhakhera village.

“There is no one to listen to our grievances. We would take all steps to ensure full boycott of elections,” said Ram Sarup, another villager. Jind ADC Jaibir Singh Arya said: “We have conducted a meeting with village and officials. Their problem will be solved at the earliest.”

Panipat, April 4
Over 10,000 voters of Vikas Nagar under municipal ward 14 have decided to boycott the parliamentary elections in protest against the closure of three- decade-old NFL Kendriya Vidyayala.

Ward 14 councillor Manju Kadian’s husband, Ram Chandra Kadian, said: “We have decided not to cast our votes on April 10 to protest the decision to close Kendriya Vidyayala.”

The decision has left over 750 students in the lurch. “About 550 students reside in Vikas Nagar and 70 per cent of them are children of defence personnel posted in different locations across the country.”

While KV principal Prakash Parate could not be contacted, KVS Additional Commissioner (Administration) GK Srivastava stated in the letter dated April 3 that “the HRM-cum-chairman of the KVS has given approval to the closure of KV NFL with immediate effect on account of non-compliance with financial commitments by sponsoring authority NFL as per the agreement signed at time of its opening.”

Kuldeep Chand,NFL DGM (HR), told The Tribune that “we have sent a request to the KVS to review its decision, promising it to keep on using our infrastructure to run the school so that the pupils do not face any harassment.”

Set up on November 3, 1980, the school is attached to the KVS, Sirsa region, and has over 750 students on its rolls.

Sirsa, April 4
Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot today claimed that the UPA government will return to power for the third time.

Gehlot, who campaigned for state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar in Sirsa today, said the so-called “Modi wave” was the creation of a section of the media.

Accusing the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of misleading the country on facts and figures, the former Rajasthan CM said people of this country were smart enough to see through their game plan.

Ridiculing the BJP for going to the General Election without a manifesto, Gehlot said this was the first occasion in the 65 years of India’s independence that a national political party did not have a manifesto in parliamentary polls.

“The political bankruptcy of the BJP can be gauged from the facts that now its leaders have been maintaining that Narendra Modi’s words are like a manifesto for the party,” the Congress leader said.

Gehlot claimed that due to the “people-friendly” legislations like MNREGA, Food Security Act, Right to Education Act and Right to Information Act passed by the UPA government, there was a strong wave in favour of the Congress not only in Haryana but also elsewhere in the country.

Terming Ashok Tanwar as an honest and hardworking leader, Gehlot called upon people to vote for him for better future of their constituency.

Tanwar said he had brought central and state projects worth Rs 40,000 crore to his constituency during the past five years.

Ashk Ali Tak, a Congress MP from Rajasthan; Amit Sihag, president of Haryana Youth Congress; Hoshiari Lal Sharma, Bhupesh Mehta, Anand Biyani, Sushil Mittal and several other leaders were present on this occasion.

Rohtak, April 4
An educated, jobless youth, who happens to be a former student leader, challenges two-time MP and political scion of the Chief Minister Deepender Hooda here. While the former is a self-declared “crorepati”, the latter confesses to be a son of the soil. Still, the latter hopes to emerge victorious in the battle of the ballot.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda‘s son and incumbent MP Deepender is locked in a multi-cornered contest with the BJP, INLD and AAP candidates.

The challenger here is AAP’s Naveen Jaihind, who has dropped his surname in a bid to abolish the caste psyche, and whose wife was dropped from the national executive of the party as part of the policy adopted to discourage nepotism and dynasty politics.

“I gave up my seemingly lucrative career in IT industry to address pressing social concerns while Naveen has not taken up any job in a bid to change the present state of affairs in politics. As of now, we have dedicated ourselves to the cause of the common man,” said Jaihind’s wife, Swati, who has been managing his poll campaign here.

Swati has herself been associated with the India Against Corruption movement spearheaded by Anna Hazare since 2006 and preferred the struggle to her career. She met Naveen, who was also associated with the movement, and they got married.

Asked about the escapist route adopted by the party leadership in Delhi, Swati admitted that they were not able to justify their decision, which led to much criticism. She, however, maintains that the party leadership had learnt a lot from the Delhi experience and would perform well in Haryana.

“There has been a plenty of introspection and we earnestly feel that we deserve another chance to prove ourselves,” she asserted.

About the issues taken up in the campaign, Swati pointed out that the pitiable state of educational and health infrastructure at the grassroots level was a big cause of concern, and so were safety of women and prevalence of liquor culture in the state.

“We are getting an overwhelming response from voters across the constituency. People are fed up of with politics behind governance and are itching for a change,” she claimed.

Swati remarked that they had toured the constituency extensively but had not come across any Modi wave anywhere.

Kurukshetra, April 4
Congress MP and candidate from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency Naveen Jindal today hit back at BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and said “Modi is ill-informed and propagating politics of hatred”.

On Thursday, Modi had said at the Bharat Vijay Rally in Kurukshetra, “You go to Surat and you will find half of the Haryana there”.

Naveen criticised Modi for his statement and said he had disrespected the people of Haryana. While demanding an apology from Modi, he added that people of Haryana were self-dependent in their respective fields. He also declared the rally a ‘flop show’ and alleged that most of the people in the crowd were arranged from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Naveen said “Modi is building air castles, but the real development happens on ground, for which I have worked hard for a decade and the people of Kurukshetra would not get dissuaded by Modi’s politics of hatred and lies.” Modi had lashed out at Naveen for his alleged involvement in the Coal Block Scam and said “How can you expect your welfare from a man who did not even spare coal?”

Retaliating on Modi’s remark, Naveen said the matter was sub-judice and he would come out of the case clean.

Taking a dig at the BJP star campaigner, he said Modi claimed to be familiar with all streets and issues of Haryana and Kurukshetra but was not even familiar with the party's candidate as he referred to them with wrong names.

Karnal, April 4
Former minister Satpal Maharaj said today that nation and its development should be the first priority of a leader and the BJP was the only party which could ensure that.

Interacting with mediapersons, he said the UPA government had no vision for national development. He said while China was intruding into India, the Congress government remained silent over the issue.In reply to a question related the inclusion of the Ram Mandir issue in BJP’s election manifesto, he said, “Our country is also a temple and its development must be our first priority. Let our leaders decide the manifesto.”He praised Narendra Modi and criticised the policies of the UPA government and said only Modi had a vision for India.

Rewari, April 4
Breaking his silence after 10 days on the issue of allegations against him of interfering in the police investigation in the Garima death case, Power Minister and local legislator Capt Ajay Yadav said he never tried to pressurise the local police in connection with the investigation.

His nephew Sourabh Yadav and the latter’s parents are the main accused in the case. Talking to The Tribune, Yadav said the allegations being levelled against him were baseless as Sourabh had been arrested. Garima’s post-mortem examination had been conducted at the PGIMS as per the demand of her kin, he added.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Anita Yadav charged Capt Ajay Yadav with interfering in the police probe two days ago. She and hundreds of residents of Chakrapur village submitted a memorandum to the Rewari SP, accusing Capt Yadav of protecting his family. The villagers sought a CBI probe into the case.

“I do not understand why Anita levelled such a serious allegation against me even though she has been a committed worker for long. I had promoted her in state politics. Anita is a bride of Chakrapur village and she would have gone to the SP with the protesters,” said the minister.

Asked about the delay in the arrest of the main accused, Capt Yadav said, “Every probe takes time and the police cannot arrest anyone with a preliminary investigation into the case. There is no pressure on the police and the law will take its own course.”

Garima (22), a resident of Chakrapur village, died under mysterious circumstances at her in-laws’ house in Sector 3 here on the night of March 23. The police had booked Garima’s in-laws and husband on the complaint of her kin, who accused them of killing her.

Karnal, April 4
Yoga guru Ramdev, who has been actively campaigning for Narendra Modi, yesterday canvassed for BJP-HJC candidate Ashwini Kumar Chopra.

Attacking the Congress, Ramdev said it was responsible for corruption and was the most corrupt party in the country. He reiterated his promise to bring back the black money stashed abroad.

Ramdev said he would cover 100 parliamentary seats while campaigning against the Congress. He claimed that the Congress would not get more than 15 seats in the Hindi belt.

The yoga guru made an attack on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi on the foreign origin issue. He alleged that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were stashing black money abroad.

He claimed that India had gone down in every sphere despite having unlimited resources. He alleged that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had turned the nation broke.

Faridabad, April 4
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda covered several villages in the district as part of his roadshow in support of the Congress candidate today. Urging the people to vote for the Congress, he said it was the only party which could ensure proper development.

Interacting with residents at Jharsently, Sikri, Prithla, Dudhola, Dahtir, Mandkola, Garrot, Hathin, Uttawar and Kot villages in Faridabad and Palwal districts, he criticised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for misleading the people on the Gujarat model of development.

Claiming that Haryana was the frontrunner in comprehensive development, he urged the people to vote for the Congress. Describing the party, himself and Congress candidate Avtar Singh Bhadana as the symbol of development, he said he would come again to express gratitude if Bhadana was elected for the third time.

Stating that Haryana was ahead of Gujarat on various fronts, he said it had been reflected through figures, including old-age, widow and handicapped pension, per capita income and investment and planned budget.

Citing an example, he said old-age pension was Rs 1,000 in Haryana and Rs 400 in Gujarat. He said wages of labourers, minimum support price of sugarcane and compensation for loss to crops due to natural calamities in the state were among the highest in the country and higher than in Gujarat.

Hooda said development of people belonging to every strata of society had taken place in the state and significant steps had been taken towards woman empowerment. He said Modi should describe his vision of development instead of delivering flimsy speeches which lacked seriousness.

He charged the BJP prime ministerial candidate with playing pranks and deceiving the people. "This roadshow concentrated on the belt dominated by Jat voters. It is likely to boost the chances of the Congress candidate, who appears to face anti-incumbency and the issue of corruption," said a political analyst.

He said Hooda and his son Deepender had spent four days in hectic campaigning in the 2009 elections, which helped the Congress candidate garner support in rural areas. The number of Jat voters in the Faridabad Lok Sabha constituency was the highest at present.

Sirsa, April 4
Eyebrows are being raised over the manner in which authorities in Sirsa have razed the kutcha roads of an upcoming sector of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) to prepare it for the April 6 rally of Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, to seek votes for state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar.

The land was acquired by HUDA for carving out a residential sector and the authorities had already built kutcha roads as per the sector’s plan layout.

Some other development works, including that of the water supplies and sanitation, were also underway.

However, the authorities today razed all the structures, making the ground even for facilitating the rally of Rahul Gandhi.

The razing of structures is likely to cause much financial loss to the HUDA, as the department will have to set up these roads all over again after the rally.

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), the main opposition party of Haryana, has taken a serious view of this and has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission.

Ellenabad MLA Abhay Singh Chautala’s son Karan Singh Chautala, who is heading the INLD’s campaign in Sirsa, alleged that the authorities had thrown all rules to the wind to prepare the ground for Rahul Gandhi’s rallies.

He has demanded action against Ashok Tanwar as well as the officials responsible for causing damage to HUDA property and has also demanded recovery of damages from them.

He alleged that tankers purchased from the MPLAD funds of Tanwar were being used to water the ground.

Karan Singh alleged that a direct kundi connection from the lines of the DHBVN had been taken to where the work for levelling of the ground was in progress.

Terming it as gross violation of the code of conduct, Karan alleged that the Sirsa authorities had not been providing level playfield to all players contesting the poll.

Anshaj Singh, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer, denied there was any violation.

“The HUDA ground is one of the sites declared for the election rallies earlier and the levelling has been done by the authorities as per the security norms of the Special Protection Group (SPG),” Anshaj Singh added.

He said while most of the preparations on the rally grounds are to be made by the political parties themselves, some of the work is done by the authorities as a norm of the SPG.

He said a temporary electricity connection had been issued by the DHBVN in the name of Tanwar on the site after completing all formalities and hence there was no power theft.

Kaithal, April 4
The poll authorities have found that out of 4,793 voters registered on 25 booths in the Kaithal assembly segment, about 2,600 were found to be present on their given addresses. However, others about 2,100 voters who were not found on their given addresses were found to have shifted to other places, got married, dead or already deleted from voters’ lists.

During spot verification by a team of officials, the number of those shifted to other places was nearly 1,610. As many 269 were found to have died, 99 married and 201 already deleted from the voters’ list.

The state INLD office, Chandigarh, in a letter to the Haryana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) had alleged existence of thousands of bogus voters in the Kaithal assembly segment. The INLD had sought inquiry by any official outside Kaithal district, as local officials were allegedly under the influence of local ministers.

After receiving a letter from the CEO on the issue of existence of bogus votes in Kaithal, the District Electoral Officer, Kaithal, directed the Assistant Returning Officer to conduct an inquiry. He directed the local tehsildar to look into the allegations.

The DEO-cum-Deputy Commissioner, NK Solanki, said today that the voters verification report had been submitted to the CEO. On the polling day, the block level officials would ensure that only genuine voters carrying proper identity papers voted and there was no bogus voting, said Solanki.

Panipat, April 4
A Dalit child labourer, Awdesh Kumar, a resident of Bagawa Fatehpur village in Kaushambhi district near Allahabad, UP, lost his left arm in an industrial mishap.

The 14-year-old child’s arm was caught in a machine at a spinning mill and the doctors had to amputate it at the elbow to save his life.

The authorities allegedly adopted a calous attitude as instead of lodging an FIR against the factory owners, under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and other relevant laws, the police are allegedly trying to shield them.

The owners of Paul Enterprises, located at Bharat Nagar, kept the incident under wraps for a few days but it came to the fore when the doctors of a private hospital informed the police as the arm of the child was to be amputated.

However, the Panipat police just got a written statement from the factory owners that they would bear the cost of his entire treatment.

Talking to The Tribune, Awdesh said “I have been working at Paul Enterprises for a few weeks at a daily wage of Rs 270. My arm was caught in a machine at around 5 am on March 27. My co-workers took me to the hospital.”

When contacted, one of the factory owners, Amit Kumar, claimed “Awdesh was not working in the factory. He had just brought tea for his friend working in the factory.”

Corroborating the factory owner’s statement, Model Town SHO Inspector Bipan Kumar said “We have not taken any action against the factory owners as the child had gone there to provide tea. Moreover, the child gave us the statement that his hand was caught in the machine due to his own fault.”

When asked, why the police did not register an FIR for engaging child labour, he said “This is the work of the Labour Department, not ours.”

While SP B Satheesh Balan could not be contacted, DC Ajit Balaji Joshi said “Appropriate action will definitely be taken in this regard.”

Demanding stern action against the erring police and Labour Department officials also, state convener of the Indian Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) PP Kapoor said “The administration should take care of his treatment and he should be given adequate compensation as he has become handicapped for his entire life.”

Awdesh’s father Kamta Prasad, who reached Panipat after getting information about the mishap, said “Awdesh was studying in class VI at a government school in the village. He ran away from home to work and earn some money to help me marry his five sisters.”

Meanwhile, Kapoor said “At least 5,000 child labourers are working in various industries in Panipat but the Labour Department has turned a blind eye towards the issue.”

The DC said he would ask the Labour Department to take appropriate action and if they failed to do so, they would also not be spared.

Chandigarh, April 4
The fate of 2,800 JBT teachers, appointed by the Om Parkash Chautala-led Haryana Government, remains uncertain.

Just about three months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court showed them the door, the state today sought additional time to file its reply. The matter will now come up for hearing on April 28 when the State government will appprise the High Court of its stand.

On a previous date of hearing, The court had asked the state government to decide the fate of these teachers. Their removal orders have already been stayed by a Division Bench during the hearing of an appeal filed by the removed JBT teachers. Counsel for the state had earlier informed the Bench that it had sought legal opinion from the Advocate-General’s office regarding the continuation of their services. The final decision in the matter would be taken by the state government after getting the legal opinion.

Justice K. Kannan had earlier asserted that the selection was vitiated ?though not fully?; and also rejected the argument that selection of candidates after 13 years could not be interfered with.

Justice Kannan had also directed the government to prepare a single merit list and made it clear that the state was not required to issue “show cause for removal” as the selected candidates were parties to the writ petitions and the High Court order was rendered after hearing their submissions.

Justice Kannan had ruled candidates who deserved to be selected and have a right to continue in office were the ones figuring in two lists --- the published list and the one filed by accused IAS officer Sanjiv Kumar in the Supreme Court.

The judgment on 80 petitions by Vijay Kumar and other petitioners came a year after the special CBI court in New Delhi convicted then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala, two IAS officers, including Sanjiv Kumar, and 51 others on corruption charges in the JBT selection case.

Yamunanagar, April 4
The police today arrested two boys on charge of gang-raping a girl of Khizrabad area of the district.

The Khizrabad police said the accused were identified as Vikram and Rinku, both belonging to village Bakkarwala.

In her complaint the victim said she had gone outside her house to answer nature's call at about 10 pm on April 1.

The accused, who came in a car, dragged her inside the vehicle and brought her to the fields of a nearby village, Tibbi. They raped her inside the car and threw her in her village at about 4 am.

Inspector Sheelawanti, who is investigating the case, said a case of gang rape had been registered against the accused yesterday and both the accused were arrested from near Hathnikund barrage this evening.

She further said the accused would be produced in the court tomorrow.

Chandigarh, April 4
Just about four months after a policeman ended his life after being booked for rape, the complainant in the case has been granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

She, along with a co-accused, was facing allegations of abetting the policeman’s suicide.

Claiming implication in the case, her counsel had asserted that she was harassed and raped by ASI Karan Singh in 2012. In spite of numerous complaints, no action was initially taken.

After about a year and a half, the police registered a case despite a clean chit to the ASI in multiple inquiries. The case was registered on November 27, 2013, at Barara police station in Ambala district. But the very next day he committed suicide.

An abetment to suicide case was registered the same day at Parao police station in Ambala district. Opposing the bail plea, counsel for the state told the court of Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa that ASI Karan Singh had left a suicide note. “The name of the present petitioner prominently figures along with other co-accused”.

Justice Dhindsa observed that the inquiry reports furnished by various police officials had failed to find truth in the complaints lodged by the petitioner, yet there was no escape from the fact that an FIR was registered against ASI Karan Singh.

Justice Dhindsa asserted: “The issue as to whether an offence under Section 306, IPC, would be made out against the present petitioner would be a moot point to be adjudicated upon during the course of trial.

“It has gone undisputed that the petitioner has been in custody since November 28, 2013. She has a minor son. No case is made out on behalf of the state that the petitioner, if released on bail, would be in a position to hamper the process of investigation. ...this court is of the considered view that the petitioner is entitled to the concession of bail. Petition is allowed”.