Ambala, May 15
The district administration is geared up for the counting of votes on Friday. The counting will be held at SD College, BPS Planetarium and DAV Senior Secondary School. Deputy Commissioner Saket Kumar said: “The video footage of the counting process will be provided to candidates after the results are out.

He said that postal votes would be counted at SD College. The process would be supervised by election observers appointed by the Election Commission. Assistant returning officers will monitor the counting of postal ballots, which will start at 8 am.

A meeting of the election observers, the DC, candidates, election agents and micro-observers was held at Panchayat Bhawan and instructions were issued to the contestants. Counting agents have also been issued identity cards by the Assistant Electoral Officers.

SDM Yogesh Kumar said mobile phone, cigarette, matchbox, lighter and knife would not be allowed in the counting centre.

The DC has also declared a holiday on May 16 in 10 educational institutions on the Jagadhri road and schools and colleges near the counting centres.

Karnal: The administration has completed preparations for the smooth counting of votes for the Karnal parliamentary constituency. Counting will start at 8 am and is expected to be over by 4 pm. Deputy Commissioner-cum-returning officer Balraj Singh and Superintendent of Police Abhishek Garg today visited the counting centres and reviewed arrangements.

The DC said counting for Nilokehri, Indri, Assandh, Gharaunda and Karnal would be conducted at SD Senior Secondary School and for Panipat (Urban), Panipat (Rural), Samalkha and Israna at SD institutions in Panipat.

The SP said those entering the counting centre would have to go through three-tier security checks. He said barricading would be done and the police had put up special 'nakas' and metal detectors at and near counting centres. Twelve duty magistrates and over 700 police personnel had been deployed.

Gurgaon: The administration today reviewed the final arrangements for counting of the votes for the Gurgaon parliamentary constituency.

Returning Officer Shekhar Vidyarthi and Election Observer Subhas Chandra visited the counting centre at Dronacharya Government College here to review the arrangements for all four Assembly segments.

Officials on duty have been barred from carrying mobile phones, match box, cigarette, bidi, lighter, nail cutter, pen or anything which can be a threat to EVMs.

"The instructions should be duly followed especially by the counting agents. If anybody found carrying these items, he will be sent back," read the instructions.

The administration has also barred gunmen of the candidates from entering the counting halls. The counting of votes for the Gurgaon parliamentary constituency will be held at three locations.

Hisar: The district authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the counting of votes for the Hisar parliamentary constituency tomorrow.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer ML Kaushik and SSP Sibhash Kaviraj reviewed the arrangements at the counting centres.

The first trends would start coming from the Hansi counting desk followed by the Narnaund and Uchana Assembly segments.

The SSP reviewed security arrangements at bothcounting centres this evening. Two battalions of the IRB had been requisitioned from Bhondsi police training centre while around 1000 cops of the Hisar police would remain deployed in the town. Sources said the police were taking no chances in apprehension of violence during the counting in Hisar.

Rohtak: All preparations have been made for the counting of votes for the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency here tomorrow. Adequate security arrangements have also been made.

Dr Amit Aggarwal, Returning Officer-cum-Rohtak Deputy Commissioner, said no unauthorised person would be allowed to enter the area within a radius of 500 metres from the counting centres.

A three-tier security set-up comprising BSF as well as police personnel had been put in place to ensure peaceful counting. In all, more than 1,300 personnel, including 10 DSPs and 15 Inspectors, would be deployed to maintain law and order.

Sirsa/Fatehabad: Heavy security is in place near the counting centres in Sirsa and Fatehabad for smooth and peaceful counting of votes tomorrow. Counting for Kalanwali, Rania, Ellenabad, Dabwali and Sirsa Assembly segments will be held at Government Women’s Polytechnic, Sirsa, while that for Narwana, Tohana, Ratia and Fatehabad Assembly segments will be held at the Government College for Women, Fatehabad.

Anshaj Singh, Returning Officer for Sirsa parliamentary seat, said more than 400 officials had been deployed at the counting centres.

Sirsa DC Anshaj Singh and Fatehabad Magistrate DK Bahera have promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in the vicinity of counting centres.

Jind: To avoid any untoward incident during counting of votes on May 16 here in Arjun Stadium, the Jind administration has turned the counting centre in a sealed cantonment. Apart from three companies of paramilitary forces, around 800 personnel of Haryana Police have been deputed to provide security during the counting process.

“I, along with Rajiv Rattan, Jind DC, have been spending almost four-five hours daily here to check all necessary arrangements. Though junior officers are working sincerely but I do not want to take any chance and am closely observing all arrangements,” said Balwan Singh Rana, Jind SP. 

Sonepat, May 15
While all arrangements have been made for counting for the Sonepat parliamentary segment on Friday, the strongroom where EVMs had been stored would be opened in the presence of Election Commission (EC) observer Rakesh Vats 10 minutes before the start of counting.

Sonepat DC-cum-returning officer Samir Pal Srow said that the counting for the six Assembly segments of Sonepat district would be done at the Bharat Institute of Technology (BITS) on the Sonepat-Gohana road in Sonepat whereas the votes of three Jind district Assembly segments would be counted in Arjuna Stadium at Jind.

There will be 112 counting tables and 125 counting rounds for all nine Assembly segments of the Sonepat LS seat.

“All Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) of the Assembly constituencies will send the results of every round to the central control room set up in the RO’s court room,” Srow said. “Media room facilities had been arranged in the BITS as well as the main control room at Sonepat.”— TNS

Chandigarh, May 15
Poll results will have a direct implication on the timing of and can determine trends for the Assembly elections, due in October. The Congress holds nine of the 10 seats in the Lok Sabha.

It is predicted that the BJP will be the biggest beneficiary of the loss that the Congress may incur. It is to be seen if HJC chief Kuldeep Bishnoi, who is in an alliance with the BJP, is able to retain his Hisar seat.

Haryana went to the polls on April 10 in the third phase. It saw 230 candidates test their luck in single-phase polling. Haryana has about 1.59 crore voters, including 74 lakh women, for whom arrangement were made across 16,240 polling stations with the use of about 50,000 electronic voting machines.

The results, that will start coming early in the morning, will decide the fate of industrialist Naveen Jindal, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's son Deepender Hooda, Faridabad MP Avtar Singh Bhadana (all three of Congress) and former Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh (BJP). Rao Inderjit, Jindal, Arvind Sharma (Congress) and Avtar Singh Bhadana are seeking a third term.

The SAD supported the INLD after Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal failed in to broker an alliance between the INLD and the BJP.

The BJP contested the poll in alliance with the HJC. All eyes are focused on the fate of SAD-turned-INLD candidate Charanjit Singh, who has taken on state Congress president Ashok Tanwar from Sirsa (reserve).

Bishnoi is locked in a stiff contest with former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala's grandson Dushyant Chautala. If the HJC retains the seat, the HJC-BJP alliance will get a boost.

In case the INLD defeats the HJC, the HJC-BJP alliance will come under strain. It has been said Bishnoi benefited from the 'Modi wave', but the contest is a close one.

Another interesting contest will be in Gurgaon, where former Congress leader and sitting MP Rao Inderjit Singh has shifted loyalty and contested the seat on the BJP ticket.

AAP nominee Yogendra Yadav was initially considered to be a serious contender. The contest became a multi-cornered one between the Congress, the BJP-INLD and the AAP.

There are several seats like Gurgaon where Congress men, after quitting the party, are contesting on the BJP ticket. One such seat is Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, where former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dharambir Singh is contesting on the BJP ticket.

He is pitted against former Chief Minister Bansi Lal's granddaughter Shruti Choudhry. This seat is considered to be sensitive and the Election Commission is keeping a close watch on all activities.

Both reserve seats Sirsa and Ambala, held by the Congress, have witnessed anti-incumbency. From the Ambala seat, Rattan Lal Kataria of the BJP appears to be the favourite after sitting MP Kumari Selja decided not to contest and sought election to the Rajya Sabha.

The state is facing anti-incumbency despite numerous development works undertaken by the Hooda government. But what has caused a real setback to the party is last-minute desertion of several leaders who have joined the BJP.

This includes some close aides of the Chief Minister. The results to be declared tomorrow will determine the course of politics in the state for the Assembly elections, due in October.

Gurgaon, May 15
Amid stringent security measures, the repoll at eight polling stations in Mewat was held peacefully.

The polling started at the scheduled time and continued till 6 pm. A booth at Thek in Punhana registered 94.17 per cent polling. The polling booth in Banarasi in Ferozpur Jhirka registered 94.71 per cent turnout. The poll percentage dropped to 65.69 per cent in Neemkhera as against 97.17 per cent on April 10.

Shahpu witnessed a poll percentage of 66.07 per cent compared 95.24 per cent on April 10. “Six out of eight centres witnessed high voter turnout,”€� said an official.

The Rehana centre registered 96.46 per cent polling, Tapkan 97.31 per cent and Sudaka 96.23 per cent. A centre in the Bawala area in Sohna registered 89.93 per cent turnout as against 97 per cent last time.

INLD candidate Zakir Hussain and his wife came to cast their vote. BSP candidate Dharampal Rathee also visited the polling booths.

Rao Inderjeet Singh of the BJP and AAP’s Yogendra Yadav, who alleged of rigging in Mewat and demanded re-poll, remained absent.

Psephologists claim the re-poll will not have a major effect on results. “It may not have much effect on results, but this re-poll has sent a message that it will be fair elections in Mewat. It is the beginning of a political renaissance here,” said Yogendra Yadav.

Sirsa, May 15
A day before the counting of votes, the ‘satta’ bazaar has given a majority of seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana.

Punters say the ruling Congress is likely to get one seat and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) two.

In 2009, the Congress had won nine seats with the 10th seat (Hisar) going to former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC).

The ‘satta’ bazaar follows a simple formula. Those having a betting rate of less than a rupee are considered winning candidates. The lower the rate, the brighter are the chances of a candidate of winning the seat.

If the betting rate of a candidate is 15 paisa, the ‘satta’ bazaar promises to pay Rs 12,000 for every Rs 1 lakh put on stake. On the other hand, it is ready to pay Rs 1 lakh for every Rs 15,000 if the candidate loses.

BJP’s Rattan Lal Karatia (Ambala), Ashwani Chopra (Karnal), Rao Inderjeet Singh (Gurgaon) and Krishan Pal Gujjar (Faridabad) are safely placed with rates of Rs 10 paisa each.

Other BJP candidates who are being projected as winners include Ramesh Kaushik (Sonipat) with a rate of 15 and 20 paisa (15 for betting on his victory and 20 for defeat), Raj Kumar Saini (Kurukshetra) 18 and 22 paisa and Dharambir Singh (Bhiwani) 40 and 45 paisa.

The ‘satta’€bazaar has given the Rohtak seat to Congress candidate Deepender Singh Hooda. He carries a rate of 10 and 12 paisa.

The INLD is likely to win the Sirsa and Hisar seats. In Sirsa, Charanjit Singh Rori of the INLD carries a rate of 12 and 15 paisa and in Hisar, Dushyant Singh Chautala has a rate of 48 and 55 paisa.

As per the ‘satta’ bazaar predictions, Dushyant Singh Chautala from Hisar and Dharambir Singh from Bhiwani do not appear too comfortable given the rates they carry.

Though ‘satta’ predictions are based on surveys over a period of time, the rates can be manipulated by investing huge amounts on a particular candidate.

Past records, however, show that ‘satta’ predictions are not always right.

Sirsa, May 15
The mood is upbeat in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) camp, that of hope in despair in the Congress camp while the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) supporters have optimism for ‘Modi miracle’ in Sirsa, as counting of votes of April 10 parliamentary poll begins on Friday morning.

State Congress chief and sitting MP Ashok Tanwar was pitted against Charanjit Singh Rori of the INLD and two-times MP from Sirsa Sushil Indora of the HJC in a multi-cornered contest.

The INLD supporters are in an upbeat mood and have been considering Charanjit Singh Rori’s victory from Sirsa a foregone conclusion.

They have not even been discussing the results of Sirsa seat, as their attention is more towards Hisar where Dushyant Singh, a scion of Chautala clan, was in the field.

The “satta” bazaar as well as most of the exit polls has been giving Sirsa seat to the INLD, though the ABP survey has given one seat to the Congress and nine to the BJP plus its allies (HJC in case of Sirsa.)

Congress nominee Ashok Tanwar and his supporters, however, have their own calculations.

“Exit polls and ‘satta’ rates have always been proved wrong. This time too, people will prove them wrong,” Tanwar said today.

Tanwar won the Sirsa seat by defeating INLD’s Sita Ram by a margin of 35,000 votes in the 2009 parliamentary poll.

His supporters maintain that in 2009, the INLD had the support of BJP too, while the HJC candidate Rajinder Dhanak had polled merely 56,000 votes in that election.

“With the division of anti-Congress votes between INLD, HJC and AAP candidates, Tanwar will win this seat comfortably,” his supporters claim.

Sushil Indora’s supporters, however, maintain that the present election has been contested only on the issue of Narender Modi, the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP.

“People have voted for Indora heavily in all the 12-odd towns falling under Sirsa seat and in villages too, the HJC candidate has received considerable support of the electorates in Modi’s name,” said HJC poll manager.

Bhiwani, May 15
Despite exit polls predicting a dismal performance by the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana, supporters of Shruti Choudhry, party candidate from the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh seat, are confident of her victory.

Setting aside the impact of ‘Modi wave’, they say there is only ‘Bansi Lal wave’ in the region even years after his death.

“People have voted in favour of Shruti again to pay tributes to Bansi Lal,” said Sunder Singh Sangwan, a farmer of Charkhi Dadri, at ancestral house of Shruti in Bhiwani.

Subhash, a Congress supporter, said: “We cannot rely on exit polls as their predictions are always wrong.”

Similar discussions were going on at the residence of BJP candidate Dharambir Singh in Vidhya Nagar locality here. “We have already announced Dharambir as winner on the basis of the public response. People are fed up with the Congress and want to see Modi as the next PM,” said Dharmbir’s supporter Satnarayan of Golpura village.

Workers of the INLD are also staking claim to defeat both the heavyweight candidates. At the residence of INLD nominee Rao Bahadur Singh in Mahendragarh, Jaswant Singh said: “The INLD vote bank along with Bahadur Singh’s image and his personal relations with public will ensure his victory.”

On the other hand, political pundits say Shruti is locked in a triangular contest with Dharambir and Bahadur Singh as all seem to be strong in their areas. However, Modi wave is favouring Dharambir in the urban area.

Kurukshetra, May 15
Anticipating victory, the BJP has started preparations for the big day, while leaders of other political parties believe that the exit polls will prove wrong.

The Kurukshetra district BJP unit has already placed an order for ladoos. District BJP chief Dhuman Singh Kirmach said: “Most of the exit polls have given the NDA a clear majority. An order of 20 quintals of ladoos has been placed and ‘dhol-nagadas’ have also been booked for the day. Congress leaders have already accepted their defeat while the INLD will be wiped out after the results.”

He said Kurukshetra BJP candidate Raj Kumar Saini would win by a huge margin.

Leaders of other political parties dismissed the projection and said results would be completely different.

District Congress chief DD Sharma said: “Exit polls cannot be trusted, as a sample of a few hundred people cannot predict the results of the Lok Sabha elections. The final result will be different and the Congress will surely win the maximum seats.”

INLD state chief Ashok Arora said: “Exit polls were proved wrong in 2004 and 2009.”

AAP leader Naveen Jaihind, who contested from Rohtak, said: “I don’t believe in exit polls as they were proved wrong in the Delhi elections. It would be better to wait for the actual results. Opinion polls and exit polls are always sponsored.”

Hisar, May 15
A day before the counting of the votes, the Haryana Janhit Congress and the INLD are in upbeat mood in Hisar where both the parties are locked in a tough contest.

The stakes are high for both HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi and fourth generation of Chautala clan Dushyant Chautala. The outcome of the poll would have a huge impact on the future prospects of both the leaders in the state.

Among others nominees, Congress’ Sampat Singh, AAP’s Yudhbir Singh Khyalia and BSP’s Mange Ram Varma are also in the reckoning.

During a meeting with counting agents and workers, Dushyant Chautala gave clear instructions to the agents to keep a close watch on the counting process.

However, HJC supremo Bishnoi held a closed door meeting with senior party leaders.

With a close contest in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and 2011 bypoll, local residents are keeping their fingers crossed. “It is still 50-50 chances for both the candidates,” said a local resident.

Sampat had virtually accepted his defeat after the polling stating that the caste politics had hijacked the elections.

AAP leaders, including Hisar nominee Khyalia and Rohtak nominee Naveen Jaihind held a meeting with workers. Sources said they were hopeful of securing a good number of votes.

Jind, May 15
The exit poll predictions have brought cheer to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadre in the state. “The exit polls proved wrong in 2004 and 2009. This time, poll pundits will be proved wrong again,” said Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Karmbir Saini.

The BJP leaders, however, say exit polls have been conducted in a scientific way and the party will form the next government at the Centre.

“We are confident of winning seven seats in Haryana. The party’s alliance partner, the Haryana Janhit Congress, will win two seats,”€� said OP Pehal, district (Jind) president of the BJP.

The latest entrant on the political scene, the Aam Aadmi Party, is also confident of a good performance in the state. “It is Kejriwal vs Modi across the country and AAP is going to win a majority of seats of Haryana as residents are fed up with the policies of the other political parties. Do not go by the projections of exit polls,”€� said Yogesh, district press secretary of AAP.

Julana MLA Parminder Singh Dhull of the Indian National Lok Dal, however, claimed that the party would win six seats in the state.

Karnal, May 15
Candidates in Karnal are keeping their fingers crossed. Even though almost all exit poll has predicted a landslide victory for the BJP, some candidates have termed the exit poll as baseless.

Ashwini Chopra, BJP-HJC candidate, today interacted with party workers. He was confident about a comfortable victory. “Exit polls are the voice of the people. The exit polls of the last General Election were accurate. The NDA will form the government,” he said. Former Agriculture Minister Jaswinder Singh Sandhu said, “I have done my bit and it is time to wait. We can only pray for the best. I feel that it will be a close contest between the INLD and the BJP.”

BSP candidate Virender Maratha claimed that he would win with a hansome margin. Rejecting exit polls, he said, “Exit polls are baseless and thoughts of the media. You cannot always predict what is on the mind of voters,” he said.

Rohtak, May 15
The low voting percentage in the Rohtak parliamentary constituency added to the anxiety of contenders as well as their supporters and made their long wait for results more difficult.

The Rohtak Assembly segment, which had been the traditional stronghold of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son and incumbent MP Deepender Hooda, registered the lowest polling of 64.3 per cent, which could be a cause of concern for the Hoodas.

The BJP nominee seems hopeful of toppling the father-son applecart, but he cannot breathe easy as low voting generally indicates that the electors are not keen on change. The vote share cornered by AAP nominee Naveen Jaihind will be viewed keenly by political observers.

The outcome of the Meham Assembly constituency, which recorded the highest voting at 73.9 per cent, would be an indicator of the time to come for the Congress and INLD candidate Shamsher Kharkara, aspiring to contest from the Assembly segment in the coming elections.

While two-time MP Deepender hopes to retain the seat for the third consecutive time on the basis of his performance, his main challenger, BJP’s OP Dhankhar, expects to topple the incumbent MP by virtue of the “Modi wave” he is riding on.

Sonepat, May 15
A majority of the 23 candidates trying their luck here are set to lose their security deposits. The main contest is among Ramesh Kaushik (BJP), Jagbir Singh Malik (Cong) and Padam Singh Dahiya (INLD) in Sonepat.

All other 20 candidates, including Jai Singh(AAP) and Suman Singh Dharma (BSP) are likely to lose their security deposits as they are unlikely to get the required one-sixth of the valid polled votes. As per the Election Commission of India rules, if the candidate fails to get a minimum of one-sixth (16.67 per cent) of the total valid polled votes, the deposit goes to the Treasury.

In this General Election, out of 14,09,788 total voters, 9,64,294 cast their votes. The polling percentage in this election was recorded at 68.42, around 3.75 per cent more than that in 2009.

Meanwhile, district INLD spokesman Pawan Taneja said: So far as the pre-poll survey and exit polls are concerned, the opinion of the very few voters cannot be taken as the decisive opinion about the result. Moreover, different opinion polls predict different results.”

State BJP vice-president Rajiv Jain appreciated the pre-counting survey reports and exit polls. He said: “Most opinion polls give the NDA an absolute majority . As the electors responded in favour of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the NDA was likely to cross the magic figure of 300. The BJP can get an absolute majority on its own.”

Chandigarh, May 15
In an agriculturally significant economy which provides employment to nearly 60 per cent of the population, the government's decision to formulate its state's progressive agriculture to improve the lot of the farming community is aimed at making the sector efficient, economically viable, knowledge based and sustainable at a time when challenges have come by way of depleting water resources, poor soil health and rising costs.

"Our goal is to attain inclusive growth in agriculture by providing food and nutrition for all, linking farmers to markets for increased income and sustainable agriculture and environmental security," Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Roshan Lal, said.

With the help of the Haryana Kisan Ayog and with comments from various stakeholders, the policy outlines high priority for improving the quality of land and soil resources and improving water use efficiency by promoting micro-irrigation and other water-saving devices. Though the state has banned the burning of crop residue, the policy looks at using non-conventional sources of energy and protecting agro-biodiversity.

"As far as crop productivity goes, the policy will focus on measures aimed at narrowing existing yield gaps, timely sowing and planting of crops, promotion of inter-cropping, breeding high-yielding stress-tolerant hybrids, production of enough good-quality seeds, increased investment in research and development and promoting crop diversification," the Principal Secretary said.

The policy lays stress on productivity of horticultural crops by promoting increased acreage under hybrids and large-scale adoption of protected cultivation, improved fish productivity and livestock productivity. "We want an integrated approach for animal management focusing on breeding and nutrition, healthcare and management centres for livestock, poultry and fish, use of progeny-tested elite bull, emphasis on quality fodder seed production, use of sexed semen in Murrah buffalo and Hariana and Sahiwal cows for genetic improvement, harnessing embryo transfer technology and establishment of a livestock mission," he said.

Maintaining that credit supply was the lifeline of any sector, the Principal Secretary said this could be achieved by way of kisan credit cards to all farmers, adequate and timely supply of credit at lower interest rates and provision for short-term credit against produce.

"The policy highlights a multi-pronged approach with which we want to approach the agricultural sector. We have incorporated reforms in the policy's safety net programmes, which aims at overcoming constraints in the crop insurance scheme, providing greater coverage under the weather-based crop insurance scheme, processing and value addition," he said.

Jind, May 15
Seeing no government action to contain the increasing liquor addiction in their village, the women of Bhonsla village damaged liquor vend of their village today. They first broke the lock of the vend, threw all bottles outside, and then damaged it with bricks and stones lying nearby.

The women alleged that they had informed the authorities about the sale of liquor to minor boys in their village and demanded closure of the vend, but the authorities did not take any action.

However, the District Excise and Taxation authorities claimed that they had not received any complaint in this connection.

“The free availability of liquor has increased the number of addicts in our village. Not only adults, minor boys are also consuming liquor. After having liquor the men start thrashing their wives and many a times throw them out of their homes,” alleged Rajwati.

Another woman, Rajni, alleged that men were not working as they started consuming liquor in the morning and women had to undertake all the work.

“When we ask our men to stop consuming liquor, they start beating us,” she alleged.

Protesting women announced that they would not allow a vend to open in the village at any cost.

They alleged that girl students, during their way to school, and village women, who go to fields to fetch fodder for animals, had to face much embarrassment as drunk men harassed them.

“We did not receive any request to remove the liquor vend. It is totally illegal if villagers have done it,” said Satya Bala, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Jind.

But Santo, an aged woman, alleged that they had requested the Excise Department authorities to remove the vend and had to take law in their hands when authorities refused to act on their request.

“Liqour contactors have beaten many minor boys of our village, when they went to the vend to take their relatives home. We would not allow the opening of a vend here,” said Baljit, the village sarpanch. 

Chandigarh, May 15
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today granted bail to Haryana’s former Transport and Tourism Minister Om Prakash Jain in the abetment to suicide case. He is presently lodged in Ambala Jail.

As the case came up for resumed hearing before Justice Mehinder Singh Sullar, the CBI vehemently opposed the plea on the ground that Jain's release could hamper the investigations.

Accused of abetting the suicide of a former sarpanch, Jain had moved the High Court against the rejection of anticipatory bail and issuance of non-bailable warrants by the CBI special court.

Challenging the order, Jain's counsel contended that the accused had been cooperating with the investigating agency. The cooperation on their part was evident from the fact that the CBI could file a chargesheet in the matter without even arresting them. In any case, Jain's arrest was not required in the case at this stage as the premier investigating agency has already filed the chargesheet in the matter.

The CBI had filed a chargesheet against three persons on August 8 in the the death case of Karam Singh, a former sarpanch of Kambopura village in Karnal. In its chargesheet, the agency maintained that it was a case of suicide and had accused Om Prakash Jain, former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Zile Ram Sharma and Jain’s PA of being responsible for abetment to suicide. They were charged by the CBI under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC. Jain was one of the seven independent MLAs, who helped the Congress in forming the government in Haryana in 2009. 

Gurgaon, May 15
Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi has ordered setting up of a three-member committee under the chairmanship of Executive Engineer, PWD (B&R), NK Tomar to inquire into the water tank collapse near Kankrola village.

The committee will also fix the responsibility of the officials concerned. The other members of the committee include Deputy Director of Industrial Safety & Health Ajmer Deswal and Sub-Divisional Officer of the Public Health Engineering Department Ramesh Aggarwal. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a week.

Four people were killed and one was critically injured when a water tank collapsed at a ready-mix plant in Sector 90 near Kankrola village on Tuesday evening.

The police have lodged an FIR against officials of the construction company — Simplex Infrastructure India Ltd. A team of the Labour Department officials also visited the site.

The company has, however, issued an official statement holding the sub-contractor responsible for the mishap.

“Simplex Infrastructures Ltd regrets the loss of life in the accident. We cooperating with the authorities and have also launched an internal investigation into the incident. Prima facie, the cause for the mishap seems to non-adherence to safety measures by our sub-contractor,”� the statement reads.

SONEPAT, MAY 15
On the complaint of a married girl of Nagar village, a case of rape has been registered against a youth, Rahul, of the same village in Gohana police station today. The alleged rape was committed about four years back.

In her complaint, the girl stated that on June 20, 2010, she was alone in her house. The accused entered the house and raped her. He also threatened her with dire consequences if she disclosed it to anyone. However, she was married in a Karnal village in November 2012.

She further submitted that she had come to her village to participate in the marriage of her sister. On May 4, Rohit rang up on her father’s mobile, which was attended by her. Rohit allegedly asked her to meet him, threatening her that if she did not come, he would kill her husband and minor son.

She then narrated the incident to her family members who asked her to file a complaint against the accused.