Hisar, April 23
Students and staff members of DAV Police Public School here today blocked the Hisar-Chandigarh highway for nearly three hours protesting the arrest of three staff members, including two teachers, in a molestation case of a fellow teacher.

Sources said the police arrested the three staff members soon after registering a case of molestation against them last evening. The police action, however, evoked sharp reaction in the school. The students and staff members ransacked the school office and damaged widowpanes of the building and tried to manhandle the principal.

The protesters then blocked the Hisar-Chandigarh highway for nearly three hours.

The protesters said the three staff members were innocent and were being framed in a false case. They blamed the school principal for messy affairs in the school. “We want the principal to be sacked immediately as his actions have resulted in utter disorder in the school and affected our studies. He has expelled many good teachers while pursuing his own agenda,” said a teacher while shouting slogans against the principal.

The protesters said the police arrested the staff without carrying out an initial inquiry. “Even after months, a complaint lodged by a woman teacher against the principal has not been addressed. It shows the biased attitude of the police,” said a student.

Denying the allegations, principal Rajender Sachdeva, however, expressed ignorance about the complaint lodged by a woman teacher against the three staff members. He said he came to know about the case this morning and had asked the police to probe the matter.

A police spokesperson said the Superintendent of Police and other officials rushed to the spot and assured the protesting students and staff members of appropriate probe into the allegations.

Fatehabad, April 23
Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Raj Narain Kaushik has submitted to Deputy Commissioner DK Bahera the report of a probe conducted by him into the death of a newborn at the General Hospital, Fatehabad, allegedly due to negligence of doctors.

Bahera confirmed having received the report today, but said he was yet to go through it.

He said he would take suitable action after going through the report.

Earlier, Kaushik recorded the statements of three doctors, three workers of the hospital and one class IV employee working there. He also recorded the statements of some members of the family, whose newborn had died, allegedly due to the negligence of doctors at the General Hospital, Fatehabad, on April 15.

Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj, Civil Surgeon, was present at the ADC office when Kaushik recorded the statements of different parties.

Earlier, an inquiry was conducted by Dr Subhash, an anaesthetist at the hospital, on the directions of the Medical Superintendent, Dr Vinod Sharma.

The inquiry officer recorded statements of six doctors, including the two who sparred, five paramedics, a class IV employee and family members of the victim.

Dr Sharma is yet to submit his report, but sources revealed that the inquiry has ruled out negligence on part of the doctors, though it admits the spat between two doctors.

Two doctors of the General Hospital here exchanged blows and hurled abuses at each other, accusing one another of negligence on the April 15 night even as their lackadaisical attitude cost a poor couple their newborn.

When the neonate’s condition was worsening, a paediatrician and the in charge of the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the hospital continued exchanging rather than attending to him.

Dr Varun Munjal, paediatrician in the hospital, as well as Dr Rahul Midha, the doctor on duty in the SNCU from 2 pm to 8 pm, who were involved in the altercation that led to the fight, had blamed each other for the lapse. 

Hisar, April 23
The Satrol khap, which recently eased gotra and caste restrictions in matrimonial ties, had waived restrictions on inter-faith marriage as well. It has called a meeting in Narnaund village tomorrow to review the decision.

The khap will validate the decision taken on Sunday and clarify doubts, if any, among representatives of the khap and the Ugalan, the Bans, the Narnaund and the Petwar tapas, which are its subsidiary tapas.

Hansraj Yadav, pradhan of the Bans tapa, said the khap would have no objection to inter-caste and inter-faith marriage in the 42 villages. Khap pradhan Inder Singh said there would not be any bar or pressure of the khap.

Yadav said representatives of backward classes, Scheduled Castes and Muslims would participate in the meeting. He said the decision had gone down well in the 42 villages and received widespread appreciation.

Ambala, April 23
Duped by a local travel agent of lakhs of rupees, five youths from the region have returned back to narrate their tale of horror.

While they were promised jobs in Canada, the travel agent took them to Bangkok, from where he threatened them to return to India or face dire consequences.

Narinder, a resident of Haldri village, and his friend Ravinder, of Kesri village, said they were recently approached by one of their friends who was settled in Bangkok. He told them that in case they wanted to get jobs in Canada, they should get in touch with a local travel agent named Lovey.

They said after being assured by Lovey, three of their other friends- Harinder, Mandip and Prabhjot, from Rajpura, also agreed to the proposition and decided to move to Canada.

After charging a hefty fee from them, Lovey prepared some documents and flew them abroad claiming that they were going to Canada.

Instead, they landed in Bangkok, where they were kept in a hotel for a couple of days. There they were told that in order to fly to Canada, further documentation was required which was being prepared, they added.

However, as they started mounting pressure on the travel agent to come out clean, he threatened them to fly back to India or they would be eliminated. Ravinder said the same night, they got tickets to fly back to Delhi.

On reaching here, they filed a complaint. The victims said they had even mortgaged their family properties to arrange for the money demanded by the travel agent. The youths demanded that the accused be booked and their money be refunded. 

Rohtak, April 23
Haryana’s khap panchayats, which have hit the headlines for wrong reasons more often , have decided to back a residents’ movement against the imposition of exorbitant toll in the state.

The Meham Chaubisi Sarvkhap Panchayat and the Gathwala khap have extended their support to the campaign against the toll regime which has become a bone of contention between residents and the authorities concerned.

The residents of Rohtak, the hometown of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, are forced to shell out big bucks to travel towards Panipat and Jhajjar. They are all set to be fleeced on Delhi road shortly.

Several social and political organisations have opposed the autocratic toll system and have staged demonstrations in this regard.

Meham Chaubisi Sarvkhap head Tulsi Grewal and Gathwala khap general secretary Ashok Madina have remarked that as the levying of heavy toll directly concerned the common man, they had decided to extend their support to the anti-toll movement.

The Toll Hatao Sangharsh Samiti, which had organised a long fast against the toll regime, has welcomed the kaps' support to the movement.

Samiti president Virender Hooda maintained that they were also in touch with several other social organisations which had assured them of full support.

The anti-toll crusaders will chalk out their future course of action at a meeting convened at Rohtak for May 4. 

Karnal, April 23
District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO) Uday Partap today wrote to the Director of the Elementary Education and the Rohtak Commissioner on the issue of fee hike by various school managements. He has sought his direction regarding the protest of parents and the Abhibhvak Ekta Sangh against the hike.

He appealed to the parents and the sangh to maintain peace and cooperate with the district administration till the further order was out. The DEEO also appealed to the school managements not to charge hiked fee till a fresh announcement was made in this regard.

The protesting parents continued their protest in sector-7 today and raised slogan against various school managements. Meanwhile, they also said they would not send their wards to school.

They later met Deputy Commissioner Balraj Singh and DEEO Uday Partap Singh and sought their intervention in the matter.

Sources said the DC also directed the DEEO to find a solution to this matter.

Dinesh Narula, president, Abhibhvak Ekta Sangh, said the they had called off their protest but would start a stir again if their demand was not met.

Sonepat, April 23
With the selection of 767 youth, Hisar dominated the final selection of 5,000 youth under the SPAT programme of the state government. Hisar has replaced Bhiwani to top this year’s final list.

The state coordinator of SPAT programme, Aruna Sood, said out of the 5,000 youth selected in the under-14 and under-19 age group categories, the number of girls was 1,250. As many as 4,748 selected students were in the under-14 age group.

The final list includes 641 students from Bhiwani, 513 from Mahendergarh, 500 from Kaithal, 464 from Sonepat, 413 from Jind, 314 from Jhajjar, 225 from Rohtak, 209 from Palwal, 153 from Karnal, 138 from Panipat, 136 from Rewari and 100 from Sirsa.

The list also includes students from Faridabad (90), Mewat (43), Gurgaon (23) and Yamunagar (14). Only eight and three youth from Panchkula and Ambala, respectively, could find their place in the programme.

District Sports Officer Lokmani Tyagi said the trials were conducted more than two months ago and the selected youth would be entitle for scholarship from May onwards. 

Jind, April 23
In the male-dominated Jat land, where women never even dare to speak in front of the male members of their families, woman sarpanch of Chappar village, Neelam, has been trying to end the centuries-old tradition of “ghoonghat” (veil).

The sarpanch, with the help of other like-minded women, has been organising special lectures and interactions to end the custom of veil, which she sees as a major hurdle in the progress of women.

“Ghoonghat is a big obstacle for progressive women. Time is changing now and women want to shun this burden and they just need a push and inspiration. I am trying to convince women to shun it,” Neelam said.

She is a daughter of a former serviceman and has studied till senior secondary level. Her family is settled in Sonepat. She got married to a farmer of Chhapar village, Sohan Lal, in 1999. Initially, she tried to convince village women secretly to shun the veil, but when she did not get the desired support, in 2007 she launched a campaign, with the help of her husband, to spread awareness about women rights and against social evils such as dowry and female foeticide.

“We have the support of maximum women of the village and all want to join us. But many still do not come out openly due to the fear of their husbands. Their number is rising and now many women of other villages also want our help to fight against social evils and shun the veil,” Neelam added.

It was the result of her rising popularity that she became the village sarpanch in 2010 and has received many awards like the state award and an award for providing proper drinking water to the village. The Jind administration has also honoured her for her work.

Though the number of women joining her campaign is rising slowly, it has divided the village males in two groups as some support her while others do not. Many villagers said they did not have any problem if their women wanted to do away with the veil while others said they would never allow their women to shun it.

“Ghoonghat ab jaruri nahi raha samay badal raha hai, (The veil is not necessary anymore, times are changing),” said a youngster Suresh, standing near the village Chaupal.

But old-aged Krishan intervened and asserted that it was a must for all women to maintain the dignity of the family.

Sirsa, April 23
The elections for the state Assembly due in October are likely to witness the display of money power, as several neo-rich players, particularly from this part of Haryana are rolling up their sleeves for it.

Former minister Gopal Kanda, who is presently on bail in the Geetika Sharma suicide case, plans to contest this election in a big way by fielding his own candidates from all 90 Assembly segments of Haryana.

Sources close to Kanda said he would launch his own political outfit, Haryana Lokhit Party, soon.

Though Kanda himself said he would reveal the date of the launch of his party by holding a press conference, the sources said the party would be launched in Gurgaon on May 2 in presence of media.

Kanda’s rise, first in business and then in politics, has been meteoric. Having left Sirsa, where he had a small-time shoe business in the late nineties, Kanda went on to become a billionaire in less than five years through real estate business in Guargaon.

He took his first plunge in politics when he broke up with his political mentors, Chautalas, in 2009. He contested the Sirsa seat as an independent and became a minister after winning the seat by sheer money power.

This time, Kanda is planning to field his candidates from all 90 Assembly seats in Haryana and the sources close to him reveal that he plans to cash in on the sentiments of non-Jats in the state after the inclusion of Jats in the list of OBCs as well as at the Centre.

Kanda first came in the limelight by weighing former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala against currency notes in 1999.

His victory in the 2009 Assembly elections as an independent against a six-time MLA and former minister LD Arora and Chautala’s candidate Padam Jain witnessed blatant exhibition of money power.

This time, his supporters are planning to replicate that experiment on more seats.

Devender Singh Babli, another billionaire, who has reaped a rich harvest of money in a short span of time, is aspiring to contest from the Tohana Assembly segment.

Babli has pan-India business of supplying transportation and security to multinational companies, particularly those in the field of software and BPO, and also has business interests in construction companies.

He has been active in Tohana for the past more than a year now and has spent much from his own pocket for social and developmental activities.

Satyawan Chauhan, other neo-rich from Bhuna, managed to get his name on BJP’s panel for Sirsa parliamentary seat within a few months of joining the saffron party. He quit the BJP after the seat went to HJC’s Sushil Indora and now, he is planning to contest the Fatehabad Assembly seat as an independent.

Deepak Bhirdana, Zila Parishad vice-chairman, who went from “rags to riches” in a few years in real estate business, is also preparing for the elections.

The plans of these neo-rich politicians are in sharp contrast to the politics of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party that once caught fancy of millions of youths after Delhi elections before the party’s fiasco in the running government disappointed a large number of its admirers.

It is yet to be seen whether money power will also win them the confidence of voters, who have exhibited a greater sense of political maturity in the recent poll.

Karnal, April 23
The demolition squad of the Department of Country and Town Planning today demolished roads and illegal structures in an unauthorised colony, which was spread in around seven acres at Madhuban.

SK Punia, District Town Planner (DTP), and Hari Om Attri, Duty Magistrate-cum-tehsildar, reached the spot this morning and started the drive.

The demolition team faced no opposition. Two JCB machines were pressed into service to demolish the structures, said the DTP, adding that an FIR had already been registered against the owner of the unauthorised colony. He said the colony was being developed without obtaining the permission from the department.

The tehsildar also appealed to people that they should not purchase plot in unauthorised colonies. They must verify colonies from the DTP office and tehsil.

Karnal, April 23
Traders and farmers have been facing problems due to slow lifting of procured wheat, with heaps and bags of wheat lying in the open.

Around 4,93,042 metric tonnes of wheat has been procured in the 23 grain markets of the district, but around 2,33,908 metric tonnes of it, which is around 47 per cent, is still to be lifted.

The Food and Civil Supplies Department had purchased 1,96,678 metric tonnes, Hafed 1,75,739 metric tonnes, FCI 54,131 metric tonnes, Agro 28,168 metric tonnes and Haryana Warehousing Corporation 38,326 metric tonnes in the district.

"With the use of a combine for harvesting, the wheat crop has been brought speedily to grain markets, which has affected lifting," said an expert.

A few days ago, traders at the local grain market had met the Deputy Commissioner Balraj Singh when he visited it. They had urged him to ensure speedy lifting.

Rohtak, April 23
Doctors at the Department of Medical Gastroenterology of the PGIMS here have performed a path-breaking endoscopic surgery to rid a patient of a large mop (gossypiboma) left in his stomach during an earlier surgery.

The 55-year-old patient had got his gall bladder removed at a private hospital around five months ago. Subsequently, he developed pain in the abdomen, persistent vomiting and loss of appetite.

He went to several hospitals but did not get relief. Ultimately, the patient was referred to the PGIMS. There, a team led by Dr RS Dahiya diagnosed him with suspected gastric outlet obstruction.

The patient was then referred to the Department of Medical Gastroenterology. An endoscopy was performed and it revealed a large mop (gossypiboma) stuck at the pyloric antrum of the stomach and duodenum.

“Usually, in such cases, an open surgery is done to take out the foreign object from the body. But we decided to go in for an endoscopic procedure to save the patient from laprotomy,” said Dr Parveen Malhotra, head of the Department of Medical Gastroenterology at the PGIMS.

Dr Malhotra and his team took nearly an hour to complete the procedure. 

Faridabad, April 23
The target of revenue recovery of tax collection through roadside checking in the Faridabad (west) division of the excise department here seems to have slipped sharply in the 2013-14 financial year. The loss is reported to be a whopping 57 per cent if the details made available by the department to an RTI activist are to be believed. This has been mainly due to no duty roster prepared for roadside checking to keep an eye on tax evasion.

In response to queries submitted by Dharmender Kumar of Panipat under the RTI Act recently regarding the target and achievements made by Faridabad (west) between 2010 and 2013, it is revealed that though the achievement of tax collection was higher than the target in 2010-11 and 2011-12, it went down sharply in 2012-13 when the tax realised was Rs 1,52,893.88 against the target of Rs 1,56,917. The department here has two divisions of the east and west headed by an official of the rank of Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (DETC).

Regarding the question of roadside checking and realisation of revenue under this head for the period between April 01, 2012, and March 31, 2013, he has been told that the department (Faridabad-west) could realise an amount of Rs 351.35 lakh against the target of Rs 480 lakh.

While this slipped by Rs 128.65 lakh during the period, the problem ‘aggravated’ further in 2013-14 when the division could achieve only a realisation of just Rs 179.16 lakh up to December 2013 against the total target of Rs 560 lakh up to March. This revenue is concerned with the roadside checking in the area falling under the jurisdiction of the Faridabad (west) only, it is revealed.

Sources in the department said the sharp fall in revenue collection had perhaps been due to the fact that the authorities concerned did not prepare a duty roster for the officials for the period and it is admitted in the RTI reply in which the department has revealed that no roster was prepared or circulated for the period. The authorities concerned also did not order any roadside checking during the period covering November and December 2013, it is added. The sources in the department claim that the overall loss to the department by the end of March due to no duty roster for roadside check could be well over 57 per cent even if the department realised an average of Rs 20 lakh per month in the remaining months of January, February and March this year.

Hanuman Singh, Additional Commissioner, Excise (enforcement), said while it was the prerogative of the local authorities to prepare a duty roster for the work, he said the authorities review the performance of each division at the end of each year and any lapse was dealt with as per the rules.

Fatehabad, April 23
Municipal councillors from several wards here are up in arms against the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department over choking of sewers and supply of contaminated drinking water.

The councillors, led by Virender Narang, president of the Fatehabad MC, started a dharna outside the office of the PHE, but later lifted it after getting assurance.

Narang and councillors Suman Mahta, Raju Munjal, Balwant Mistri, Subhash Nayak and others, who took part in the dharna, alleged that the sewerage system of the town was choked for the past nearly 20 days. They alleged that the sewage contents were overflowing from manholes at several places.

The councillors alleged that sewage mixed contaminated water was being supplied to residents. They alleged that the samples of drinking water had been found unfit for human consumption in the past, but the authorities failed to pay any attention to the problem.

The alleged that in some localities cracks had appeared in the houses due to constant overflow of sewers. The councillors suspended their agitation after senior officers of the PHE Department assured them that their problem would be solved soon.

Deputy Commissioner DK Bahera said a sewage treatment project for the town was awaiting funds.

“I have written a letter to the government to expedite the release of funds,” he added.

Chandigarh April 23
The Haryana Government has issued instructions for writing annual confidential reports (ACRs) of HCS officers.

An official spokesman said here today that as per the guidelines, the reporting, reviewing and accepting authority for writing ACRs of HCS officers would be only one officer each for a given period of time.

However, if more than one person supervises the performance of an HCS officer, the Personnel Department has to identify the person to report or review well in advance of the relevant assessment year.

He said where more than one person supervises the performance of a member of the HCS, the relevant assessment year as the reporting or reviewing authority, the person who supervises the performance of a member of the service for the maximum period (minimum three months) during the relevant assessment year, would report or review the performance of the officers reported upon during the relevant assessment year.

The spokesman said in case the periods of the officers who supervise the performance of the member of the service during the relevant assessment year were the same, the latter would report or review the performance of the officer reported upon during the relevant assessment year. If an officer reported upon holds more than one post simultaneously, the authorities prescribed for writing ACRs of the substantive (main) post would report or review the performance of the officer reported upon during the relevant assessment year.

In the case of officers holding the charge of posts of Additional Deputy Commissioner, SDO (Civil), City Magistrate and General Manager, Haryana Roadways, their ACRs would be got recorded for the posts of Additional Deputy Commissioner or SDO (Civil) or City Magistrate or General Manager, Haryana Roadways, held by them, he added.

Chandigarh, April 23
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today made it clear to Haryana that it was required to continue with its action against encroachments on the Jagadhri-Yamunanagar road.

The assertion came after the Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Arun Palli was informed that 32 encroachments had been removed and another 67 premises sealed.

The directions came on a petition filed in public interest by Humane Helpline through counsel Alok Jagga.

Taking up the matter, the Bench asserted: "The status report shows that action is being taken in accordance with law. Some of the affected parties have approached the appellate forum and the Supreme Court in one case. Thus, naturally, action is being taken qua the properties where there are no interim orders.We are of the view that no further directions are required in this petition except that the authorities will continue to take action in accordance with law. The petition accordingly stands disposed of”.

Chandigarh, April 23
Alleged irregularities in the despatch of postal ballots for Army and paramilitary persoonel for the elections is threatening to snowball into a major controversy, with the BJP and the INLD demanding an inquiry into it.

Close on the heels of the demand by Om Prakash Dhankar, BJP candidate from Rohtak, the INLD has raised the issue of thousands of postal ballots for in-service personnel being returned as undelivered.

“The return of thousands of postal ballots, particularly in the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency, is a matter of concern. The Election Commission must inquire into it so that in-service personnel are not denied the basic right to vote,” INLD general secretary RS Choudhary asserted.

Dhankar had alleged that of over 26,000 postal ballots, nearly 6,000 had been returned as undelivered, raising serious concern over the mechanism to deliver postal ballots.

Reports of postal ballots being returned as undelivered had also been received from other districts of the state. There are over 1 lakh in-service voters in Haryana.

Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad claimed that a proper mechanism was followed while posting postal ballots to in-service personnel.

He said district sainik welfare officers were involved in the process of posting the postal ballots, which were sent to official addresses of in-service personnel.

Officials sources said since the addresses of troops which had moved from their designated places of posting were not updated, the postal ballots must have been returned as undelivered.

Ambala, April 23
A large number of Congress workers in Ambala have questioned the fairness of the “report cards” being prepared by the district presidents of the rural and urban units of the party.

They had been recently asked by state president Ashok Tanwar to look into the efforts put in by the workers in the Lok Sabha elections and submit a report. The workers are claiming that reports being prepared would not be without bias.

Tanwar had recently asked district presidents to prepare a list of workers who worked in favour of or against the party candidates, so that a strong message could be sent within the party keeping in view the upcoming Assembly elections.

In Ambala, where party candidate Raj Kumar Valmiki has already accused around 35 partymen, owing allegiance to former MP and Union Minister Kumari Selja of working against him, presidents of the urban and rural Congress units Harish Shashan and Nirmal Singh have been entrusted with the job of preparing the report cards. While, Shashan is a known supporter of Kumari Selja, Nirmal Singh is known for his proximity with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Interestingly, Shashan had himself been accused of anti-party activities by Valmiki.

The workers, who are in the line of fire due to the latest development, said while Shashan would make it a point to target workers of the other group, Nirmal Singh would be naming Selja supporters in the list of workers who did not support the party candidate.

It is to be mentioned that Valmiki had recently shot a letter to the party high command accusing as many as 35 leaders from the constituency, including two sitting MLAs, of not supporting him during the election campaigns. Most of the leaders named in the complaint owed allegiance to Kumari Selja.

Those named in the complaint include Rajpal Bhukhri, sitting MLA from Sadhoura and Venod Sharma, Ambala city MLA, who till then had not been ousted from the party. Besides, Panchkula mayor Upender Kaur Walia’s husband Dhanendra Walia has also been named in the list.

The district presidents have been asked to submit the report cards to Tanwar by April 30, following which more political fireworks are expected in the district. Shashan, when contacted, said while preparing the report cards fairness would be ensured. 

Karnal, April 23
As many as 225 students of BA, BSc, B.Com, BCA, BBA, MA, M.Com courses at the Government College for Women received their degrees at a convocation held here today.

Dr AK Srivastava, Director, National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), was the chief guest on the occasion. Delivering the convocation address, Srivastava stressed on moral values and said students should set a goal and work hard to achieve that.

He emphasised that the youth must realise their role in making the country a world leader and achieve it with their knowledge, training and passion.

He said:“There is no short cut for success. So, always work hard.”

He also presented the facts of malnutrition and anaemia among girls in India and appealed to the students to take care of their diet.

Students having skills must give back to the country while serving in their respective professions, Srivastava said.

The chief guest added that universities and colleges had a greater responsibility of developing skills and talent among the youth.

Principal Mahabir Nain read out the annual report of the college, mentioning the achievements of the students.

Rohtak, April 23
The need to combat stress for better health and a balanced lifestyle for good health was emphasized in a 'Stress Awareness March' organised by the Department of Psychology at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) here today.

Faculty members and students of the department took part in the awareness rally which was part of the series of programmes under a stress awareness month being observed by the department.

Prof Amrita Yadav, head of the department, said the march had been organised to generate scientific awareness in society about stress, which seems to have become part of life. Proper stress management was the need of the hour, she maintained.

Students carrying placards on various aspects of stress, its causes and management took part in the march which commenced from the Department of Psychology and covered different areas on the university campus.

Students also gave dramatic presentations on stress and its effects as well as cures.

Kurukshetra, April 23
A seven-day state-level flood relief training camp was inaugurated by Neelam Pradeep Kasni, Commissioner of the Ambala Division, on the banks of the Brahma Sarovar here today.

Addressing the trainees, Kasni said the camp had been organised by the Haryana Revenue and Disaster Management Department to impart practical training to handle the consequences of natural calamities and to save lives.

Deputy Commissioner Nikhil Gajraj advised the trainees to be confident and use common sense at the time of adverse situations.

He further said 135 trainers from all over the state would be trained in the use of swimming aids, rowing, first aid etc by master trainers.

Yamunanagar, April 23
The police arrested a man for molesting his minor stepdaughter in the Hamida area of Yamunanagar.

The police said Mutzir of Hamida colony had been molestating his 16-year-old stepdaughter for about four months.

The accused had threatened her of dire consequences if she disclosed the matter to anyone.

He again molested her on April 21. However, this time the victim narrated the matter to her mother and the latter reported it to the police yesterday.

The police said the victim's mother, who had been married in a village of Saharanpur district of UP, left her first husband and married Mutzir two years ago. The victim is a dropout of class VIII.

Balraj Singh, investigating officer, said the accused had been arrested. He was produced in the court today which sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.

Ambala, April 23
The police have arrested Mohit, a resident of Barwala in Panchkula district, for allegedly raping a married woman of a Naraingarh village in 2012.

The police said they
had arrested Mohit after his DNA matched with the DNA of the boy who was born to the woman who had accused him of raping her in April 2012.

Police Commissioner AK Singhal said the police had registered a case against Mohit on the complaint of the woman. She alleged that on the pretext of giving her a lift to her parents’ house, Mohit took her in his car and gave her some drink mixed with sedatives and then raped her.

The Police Commissioner said the during investigations, the police went for DNA test of Mohit and the boy born to the woman and after the results matched, they arrested Mohit and produced him before a court today and the accused was sent to the judicial custody. 

Sirsa, April 23
Kin of a road accident victim ransacked a private hospital and blocked the national highway after the victim died during treatment.

The angry kin of the victim Atma Ram, who was seriously injured in a road accident on April 21 and was shifted to a hospital on Dabwali road of Sirsa for neurosurgery, alleged that the victim died due to negligence of the doctors.

The kin alleged that the hospital authorities made them deposit Rs 65,000 first and when their patient died, they demanded another Rs 60,000 before handing over his body.

The kin further alleged that Atma Ram had died before the start of surgery, but they were kept in the dark to extract money.

The kin, later, blocked vehicular traffic on Dabwali road and demanded arrest of the doctors.

Soon, the police arrived there and persuaded them to remove the blockade.

A spokesperson for the hospital, however, denied all allegations and said the patient was critically injured when brought to the hospital and needed neurosurgery.

He said the kin were informed about the prognosis of the injuries in advance.

He maintained that they had done an extensive damage to the hospital property and the hospital would take suitable action against them in consultation with the local unit of the Indian Medical Association.