Chandigarh, July 16
With the average rainfall deficit pegged at around 64% this monsoon, a severe drought is staring Haryana in the face, taking a heavy toll on the sowing of the Kharif crops in the election year.

In fact, the rainfall deficiency has been widespread across Haryana from June 1 to July 16 with the deficiency ranging from 40.1% in Kurukshetra, to 94.5% in Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s home district, Rohtak.

The districts facing heavy rainfall deficiency and virtual drought-like conditions include Panipat (90.5 per cent), Panchkula (88.5 per cent), Sonepat (86.1 per cent), Palwal (77.4 per cent), Hisar (73.3 per cent), Yamunanagar (70.7 per cent), Jind (68.2 per cent), Gurgaon (67.6 per cent), Mewat (62.2 per cent), and Mahendragarh (60.6 per cent).

Meanwhile, the deficiency in rainfall has taken its toll on the sowing of Kharif crops, with only 68.6% of the total targeted area being sown till now. As against a target of 30.71 lakh hectares, the Kharif crops could be sown on an area of 21.08 lakh hectares ony.

Haryana had already prepared a comprehensive contingency crop plan under which farmers had been advised to grow short-duration varieties of bajra, moong and urad.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has gone on record demanding a bonus of at least Rs 300 per quintal and Rs 100 on other Kharif crops, to motivate and compensate farmers for the additional expenditure incurred by them on sustaining their crops by using alternate means of irrigation.

Hooda said, “The state has demanded an additional allocation of Rs 160.96 crore, including Rs 50.61 crore for seed distribution, from the central government. Besides, a special allocation of Rs 100 crore has also been demanded for compensating farmers for the expenses incurred by them to deepen tubewells due to receding water table.”

Grim situation Maximum rainfall deficiency in Rohtak at 94.5%; minimum in Kurukshtra at 40.1% Kharif crops sown on 21.08 lakh hectares against 30.71 lakh hectares Haryana rolls out contingency plan; asks Centre to chip in Hooda demands bonus of Rs 300 per quintal on paddy

Hisar, July 16
A never-ending potable water crisis has led to the exodus of a number of families from villages of Narnaund block in the district in the past decade. Villagers blame the crisis on defunct water supply schemes.

Villages such as Roshan Khera, Khera Rangran, Kinnar and Kutianwali have no water supply scheme while others such as Ugalan and Kapro don’t get adequate supply due to a non-inefficient water supply scheme.

Roshan Khera village depends on a water supply scheme in Kharbala village. “We hardly get water. Half the village gets supply, but only once a week. Politicians come and go, but our plight remains the same. All we want is a water supply scheme for the village to ensure adequate supply,” said Sandeep Kumar of Roshan Khera village.

Sandeep said around 400 families had left the village over the last decade due to water shortage. “We have to drive 4-5 km to get water. The groundwater is unfit for human consumption. A government team tried to locate groundwater in 2004, but could not after several attempts,” he said.

“We have raised the demand for providing water supply before politicians who visited us. We have decided to support the party that fulfills our demand,” said Sandeep.

Similar is the situation in Khera Rangran village. “We fetch water from a handpump in the fields of Mohlla village. We tried to revive an old well, but it does not have enough water to fulfill the needs of the village,” he said.

He said a number of families had left the village and settled in nearby Jind town, around 22 km from the village. “Life is very tough in the village. Women walk as much as 2.5 km to fetch water. Residents prefer to leave at the first opportunity.”

INLD Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala, who recently visited these villages, said, “The situation in these villages is dismal. Villagers make their own arrangements to get daily supply of water.”

Yamunanagar, July 16
The water level of the Yamuna rose to 1.28 lakh cusecs on Wednesday, the highest this season, at the Hathnikund Barrage near Tajewala in Yamunanagar district.

Heavy rain in the river’s catchment area in Himachal Pradesh in the last 24 hours led to the rise in the level. The river was flowing at 12,352 cusecs at 5 am, but a sudden increase was witnessed at 6 am and the level was recorded at 36,888 cusecs. Thereafter, the level kept rising till it reached 1,28,339 cusecs in the afternoon. The water is expected to reach Delhi after 72 hours.

Seasonal rivulets Somnadi and Pathrali overflowed their banks, inundating hundreds of hectares of agricultural land in several villages of Chhachhrauli tehsil and Bilaspur sub-division. Sugarcane and paddy crops suffered damage in several areas, but there was no report of loss to human life, cattle or property.

Irrigation Department officials said all five hydel projects on the hydel channel — including four government and one private one — were shut down. Water supply in the channel is stopped after the level crosses the 70,000-cusecs mark. This is done to prevent damage that may be caused by silt, huge stones and uprooted trees in the water.

Irrigation and Water Resources Department senior officers, including Chief Engineer Ajay Kumar Garg, Superintending Engineer VS Saini and Executive Engineer Haridev Kamboj, visited the Hathnikund Barrage at Tajewal and other places to take stock of the situation and flood control measures.

Saini said the situation was under control and there was no report of any type of loss due to rise in the Yamuna’s level.

Fields flooded Seasonal rivulets Somnadi and Pathrali overflowed their banks, inundating hundreds of hectares of agricultural land in several villages of Chhachhrauli tehsil and Bilaspur sub-division Sugarcane and paddy crops suffered damage in several areas, but there was no report of loss to human life, cattle or property Irrigation Department officials said all five hydel projects on the hydel channel — four government and one private one — were shut down

Kurukshetra, July 16
A woman councillor of the Pehowa civic body has sought action against Haryana Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chattha for allegedly molesting her.

The councillor submitted her complaint to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shital Singh, demanding that the minister be booked under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 354-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The councillor, a Congress worker, alleged: “Chattha had sexually assaulted me at his Chandigarh house in November 2012 on the pretext of appointing me the chairperson of the municipal committee. I did not report the matter to the police, fearing that the incident will bring dishonour on my family.”

But second such incident forced her to approach the police. “On Tuesday, when Congress observer G Rudra Raju reached Pehowa to get the feedback and forms of the ticket aspirants, Chattha again touched me in an indecent way,” she alleged.

The councillor claimed that the Pehowa legislator had sent his men with an offer of Rs 50 lakh for not raising the issue.

Rubbishing the charges, Chattha said: “It is unfortunate that someone is levelling such allegation against me at this age. The charges are politically motivated. If her allegations prove to be right, I will prefer to be hanged.”

He asked why the woman didn’t complain earlier. “I have always worked with honesty. People are well aware of my conduct and hers as well. Since elections are on the anvil and she is a ticket aspirant, she is trying to defame me,” the minister added.

Hundreds of Chattha supporters and municipal councillors, meanwhile, protested outside the complainant’s house today. The protesters said the complainant had been levelling false allegations against Chattha to get political mileage. She was employing tactics to get the party ticket.

The councillor has forwarded a copy of her complaint to President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Akal Takth jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, among others. 

Fatehabad, July 16
Manoj age 25 years S/o Krishan Jat R/o Chobara police station Bhuna has been expired due to fall down in canal water in the area of Dingsara.

In this case the above accused touching the secret part of the body of complainant and beaten & threatened to kill her.

These are just some of the entries made by Haryana Police personnel while preparing the day’s crime chart. The Queen’s English may be taking a beating, but it is the “preferred” language of the force.

Sentences may lack coherence and could be incorrect both syntactically as well as semantically, but the force seems unable to resist the temptation of using English in every day activities such as crime charts and even press releases.

Ironically, several senior officers of the force such as Rajbir Deswal, an IG-level officer, and former officers Ranjiv Dalal and VK Kapoor have authored books in English and often write for newspapers.

A senior officer admitted he could not help but smile every time he read a crime chart. “These are prepared by members of the lower constabulary. The personnel have only studied up to senior secondary level. I don’t expect them do better,” he says.

Explaining the process, he says crime charts are usually prepared late in the night by ‘munshis’ at the police station. “Most of the times, SHOs just glance through the chart before sending it to their superiors,” he says.

Karnal range inspector general (IG) of police Rajbir Deswal says the force has to use English to further professional and competitive interests, particularly when operating systems such as Crimes and Criminals Tracking Network System (CCTNS) and Multiagency Coordination System (MACS). He said efforts were made from time to time to improve and update the lower constabulary.

Chandigarh, July 16
Still smarting under a humiliating defeat in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Congress today tried to get its act together with senior Congress leader and Haryana party in charge Shakeel Ahmed taking a feedback from candidates who lost the 2009 Assembly elections.

The meeting, a part of a series of meetings to firm up a strategy for the coming Assembly elections, was held at the Congress headquarters here in the presence of party co in charge Asha Kumari and HPCC chief Ashok Tanwar.

Though the meeting was attended by 36 defeated candidates, Congress bigwigs, including Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s bete noire and Rajya Sabha member Birender Singh and former HPCC chief Phool Chand Mullana, Shakuntla Bhagwaria, Sher Singh and Ram Kumar Gautam, were conspicuous by their absence.

Prominent among those, who participated in the one-to-one interaction with senior leaders, including former MP Jai Parkash, Kailasho Saini, Meena Mandal, Sanjay Chhokar and KV Singh, primarily blamed the late announcement of ticket and sabotage by party detractors for their defeat in the last Assembly elections. Besides, certain other leaders cited weak organisational structure and ‘over-confidence’ for their defeat. Sources said the leaders were asked to give a feedback about their constituencies at the interaction that lasted over five overs. The feedback would go a long in way assessing the winnability of various candidates. .

In the last assembly elections, the Congress had won 40 seats on its own in the 90-member House. However, the party got support of seven Independents and five HJC members to form the government for second time in a row.

Reasons for defeat Defeated candidates blame internal sabotage for their defeat Late decision on ticket, ‘over-confidence’ also cited as reasons for defeat Feedback to form part of the decision about candidates for the Assembly elections Birender Singh, Mullana, other senior leaders skip meeting

Jind, July 16
Thousands of below poverty line (BPL) families who are entitled to subsidised foodgrain under the Food Security Act have not been receiving the benefit in Jind district since January 2013.

Reason: Discrepancy in the figures of the District Food and Supply Controller’s (DFSC) office in Jind and the Central Government pertaining to the Other Priority Houses (OPH) category, which includes BPL families.

Officers at the local DFSC office said since 2011, around five lakh new names had been added to the OPH category list, but after the implementation of the Food Security Act, the Centre has made some changes in the criteria for BPL and implemented it without giving enough time to the DFSC authorities to revise its list.

This has resulted in variance in the figures of the DFSC authorities and the Central Government. The number of BPL families on the Centre’s revised list is 22 per cent less than that on the Jind authorities’ list.

“The sudden change of criteria by the Central Government has created confusion. The problem is not on our side. The Central Government is not supplying the requisite foodgrains,” said Jind DFSC Ashok Kumar.

In July, the DFSC authorities had sought 4,747 metric tonne (MT) wheat for 5.68 lakh members of the BPL families in the district. But the authorities have got only 3,747 MT. This means, the remaining around 22 per cent BPL families will not get their mandatory foodgrains under the Act.

All 18,209 beneficiaries under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and around 50,000 BPL families registered before 2011 are getting their full benefits, but the problems lies with BPL families registered after 2011 when the criteria was changed.

Some BPL families alleged the officers were deliberately delaying the supply of foodgrains and giving these to select families. They alleged that officers were misappropriating foodgrains on the pretext of change of criteria.

The DFSC denied the allegations saying: “The AAY and old BPL families are getting full benefits. The problem will be resolved in the coming days as our surveys to finalize the BPL lists under the new criteria are almost complete.”

Number jumble The number of BPL families on the Centre's revised list is 22 per cent less than that of the Jind District Food and Supply Controller's office The Centre made some changes in the criteria for BPL in 2011 and implemented it without giving enough time to the DFSC authorities to revise its list As a result, the Centre is supplying 22 per cent less foodgrains than demanded Since then, around five lakh new names have been added to the OPH category list

New Delhi, July 16
There are indications the BJP may approach elections in Haryana without a chief ministerial candidate. So far it seems to be a case of ek anar sau bimar — one post and many aspirants.

In fact, Haryana leaders who attended today's meeting with the new party chief, Amit Shah, were categorically told to keep their personal ambitions at bay. Sources said they were told to stop projecting themselves as the CM candidate and, instead, concentrate on ensuring a sure-shot win for the party so that it is able to form a government without help from ally, if any.

Sources said Shah also asked individual opinions regarding the party's ongoing alliance with the Kuldeep Bishnoi-led Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC). While a few members appeared to be in favour of the alliance keeping in mind Bishnoi's presence in the urban areas, others were of the view that the BJP should go it alone. After meeting with Shah, Haryana leaders, including Ram Bilas Sharma, Jagdish Mukhi, Anil Jain and Krishan Pal Gurjar, held a separate meeting on the feedback sought by Shah.

However, the final decision on the alliance will be taken after considering all pros and cons and meeting with the HJC leaders. Even if the BJP decided to go it alone, it would not be the first one to walk out of the alliance, the party said, adding that the regional party may have lost its sheen after losing both the Lok Sabha seats, but the Assembly elections were fought on different combinations and permutations.

The underlying message by Shah was that the Haryana leaders should ensure that the BJP should maintain its performance of the Lok Sabha elections, where it won seven out of 10 seats in the state, so that the party can form the government on its own without any outside help.

Sources said the leaders were also instructed to promote winnable candidates based on their past performance. “No recommendations should be made except on the basis of yogyata (qualifications). The tickets will also be given on the aadhar of yogyata,” they said.

Sonia to decide next Cong CM: Capt Yadav Haryana Power Minister and Rewari MLA Capt Ajay Singh Yadav (pic) said Congress president Sonia Gandhi would decide the state’s next Chief Minister after the Assembly polls On being asked about the next CM if the Congress was voted to power again in the polls, he said, “The next chief minister will be decided by Sonia Gandhi. As far as I am concerned, by the grace of god, I may be elevated too.”

Panchkula, July 15
Exactly a year ago, the city saw widespread protests and agitations to seek justice for Geetanjali, a Panchkula girl, whose husband Chief Judicial Magistrate Ravneet Garg and his parents, were booked for murder under Section 302 of the IPC. Today her family still awaits justice.

Geetanjali’s husband CJM Ravneet Garg, who was posted at Gurgaon, and his parents — KK Garg and Rachna Garg — were booked in the case.

On July 17, Geetanjali, a resident of Sector 8, Panchkula, was found shot dead at the Police Lines parade ground in Gurgaon. The post-mortem exam revealed that she was shot at thrice. On the demand of the victim’s family, the case was transferred to the CBI, which is yet to file a chargesheet.

“I lost my sister, but the culprits are roaming free. How is it possible that no clues have been found by the investigating agency at the place where Geetanjali was shot at,” questioned Pradeep Aggarwal, Geetanjali’s brother.

He added: “Whenever we call CBI sleuths, they come with a standard answer that they can’t say anything.” The family alleged efforts were on to prove that Geetanjali had committed suicide.

While the victim’s family had alleged harassment at the hands of her in-laws, Ravneet Garg’s family denied the allegations.

The case was handed over to the CBI on August 8, 2013. A CBI official refused to comment on this case. The spot where Geetanjali was killed is close to the official residence of the CJM whose licensed revolver was found near the body following which the victim’s family had accused the CJM of murder.

Meanwhile, the case for the custody of the victim’s daughters is still pending. Sometime ago the court had allowed the victim’s family to meet her children at the residence of Garg’s counsel for three hours. — TNS

New Delhi, July 16
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today met Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda in the National Capital and urged him to expedite construction of the proposed rail coach factory at Sonepat.

Work on the ambitious joint venture can start only after an MoU is signed between the Haryana Government and the Railway Ministry. Hooda said he specifically urged Gowda to get the MoU inked expeditiously.

He told the minister the project was sanctioned by the UPA Government, but was halted as the Model Code of Conduct came into place ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Since elections were over, the project should resume, he said.

Gowda was told the state had already acquired 400 acres, of which 200 acres is for the project per se. The rest of the land will be used for facilities related to the project. The project, conceived at an estimated cost of Rs 2,200 crore, will be set up along the Jind-Sonepat rail line near Gohana.

Chandigarh, July 16
The Haryana Government has issued a notification regarding the use of beacon atop vehicles.

A spokesman of the Transport Department said those authorised to use red light with flasher included the Governor, Chief Minister, former Governors, Deputy Chief Minister, Chief Justice, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Speaker, Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board, former Chief Ministers, Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha, Judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Lokayukta of Haryana.

Those authorised to use red light without the flasher included State Election Commissioner, Deputy Speaker, Vidhan Sabha, Ministers of State, Advocate-General, Chief Secretary, Deputy Ministers and Chairman of the Haryana Public Service Commission.

He added those who had been allowed to use amber light with flasher included all MPs, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and MLAs, all IAS and IPS officers of the supertime scale and above, all IAS and IPS officers of supertime scale and above of Haryana cadre posted on deputation with the Centre and stationed at Haryana or Chandigarh, all HODs, Resident Commissioner, Haryana Bhawan, Delhi, Accountant General (Audit or Accounts), Haryana, Chairpersons or Members of all statutory commissions or tribunals, DCs and SPs , Principal OSD or OSD to Chief Minister and Vice-Chancellors.

Likewise, those who can use blue light with flasher include IAS officers and HCS officers, additional Chief Judicial Magistrate and Chief Judicial Magistrates of Haryana, all Executive Magistrates, all officials of the Transport Department, all officers of Excise and Taxation Department not below rank of Excise and Taxation Officer and Chief Medical Officers. — TNS

Jind, July 16
The rising transmission and commercial (AT&C) losses in Jind and two other districts have led to the poor performance of the Electricity Department in these areas.

Sources in the Electricity Department say political interference to satisfy vote banks is not allowing officials to take the much-needed stringent measures to reduce losses.

As per the sources, Jind , Bhiwani and Rohtak circles, have 48, 40 and 43 per cent losses, respectively. Some officers say in these areas, the department is unable to control power theft, due to direct interference of local leaders and support of various Kisan unions to farmers and their families.

“Though we have only 24% losses in the city, the major problem is with the rural areas. The losses amount to around 70% here, while the overall losses are 43%. Whenever we take strict action, there is resentment among power thieves and they start trying to scuttle our efforts,” claims SN Sharma, superintendent engineer, Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigram, Rohtak.

The spokesperson of All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), VK Gupta, alleges Power Department officers can efficiently control losses, but political interference is stopping them to take strict action. He adds politicians openly support power thieves just to get their votes.

In the recent months, many Power Department officers were beaten up at various places in Jind and other districts when they went to check power theft. In Nagura and many other areas of the district, the department has been facing acute shortage of staff as no one is willing to work in these areas due to power theft.

“Our losses are 40% and we cannot blame only rural areas as we are facing the problem in urban areas too,” says Bhiwani superintendent engineer Bhiwani Daljit Singh.

Why the losses Power theft not restricted to rural areas alone, but urban areas too are to blame Many Power Dept officials have been assaulted when they went to check power thefts Local leaders, Kisan Unions shield farmers and their families who indulge in power theft

Karnal, July 16
Enraged over frequent and prolonged power cuts, the residents of Prithvi Vihar colony along with Kattabag colony, suffering from acute shortage of water, blocked the Karnal-Meerut Road today, for over an hour.

Demanding restoration of power supply to the city feeder, residents of Prithvi Vihar colony and Kattbag colony, reached the Meerut Road this morning and blocked the road, as they were angry over the irregular water supply in the area.

They also raised slogans against the UHBVN and the Water Supply Department. The residents of Prithvi Vihar colony alleged the electricity supply to their area was connected with the city feeder, which was shifted to the Nagla feeder. This has led to increased power cuts, which has increased the problems of Prithvi Vihar residents.

A protester from Kattabag colony said they had been facing shortage of water for the last several days. Even after complaining to the authorities, no action had been taken so far.

DSP (city) Raj Kumar, Karnal Tehsildar Hari Om Attri, accompanied by UHBVN officials rushed to the spot and pacified the irate protesters with the assurance of rectifying the problems at the earliest.

Karnal, July 16
Despite adverse climatic conditions and several cases of yellow rust, India produced a record 95.85 MT of wheat this year as against 94.8 MT last year. Haryana and Punjab retained their position in the country’s top five wheat producers.

Dr Indu Sharma, project director of the Directorate of Wheat Research Institute (DWR), said the area under wheat increased to 31.3 million hectare from 29.8 million hectare last year. However, production per hectare reduced to 3.05 tonne from 3.10 tonne last year.

She said the top five wheat producing states were Uttar Pradesh at number one (30.3 MT), followed by Punjab (16.0 MT), Madhya Pradesh (13.93 MT), Haryana (11.46 MT) and Rajasthan (9.7 MT).

Sharma said Northern states played a vital role to achieve the record production. The high-yielding varieties of the wheat used by the farmers also contributed, she said.

Sirsa, July 16
Residents of Dadu, Singhpura, Dharampura and Keval villages in this district today disconnected a power line to Tilokewala village in Sirsa’s Kalanwali subdivision.

They were protesting against the DHBVN’s action of supplying power to Tilokewala village from a powerhouse meant for the four villages.

The protesters were pacified after Pankaj Ganda, assistant engineer, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), assured them not to connect Tilokewala with the powerhouse and, instead, supply power to the village from Kalanwali.

Dadu, Singhpura, Dharampura and Keval villages get electricity from the 33-KV powerhouse in Dadu village. At a time when four villages were getting power supply for merely 8 to 10 hours a day, the DHBVN authorities chose to connect another village to the substation, the protesters said.

Faridabad, July 16
Gurdwara managements in this district are unfazed by the controversy over the formation of a separate gurdwara committee for Haryana. They claim that the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) will not control every shrine in the district, as majority of them are run by independent bodies.

The district has more than 100 gurdwaras.

"The constitution of a separate body has nothing to do with the functioning of majority of the gurdwaras in the city or the state as these are maintained by independent committees under the name of Shri Guru Singh Sabhas, which are registered bodies," claimed Amarjeet Singh, secretary of the Shri Guru Singh Sabha Society looking after the affairs of Sector 15 gurdwara here.

He said the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) looked after only historic shrines. "So the formation of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee will have no impact on the working of gurdwaras in Haryana."

Ravinder Singh Rana, head of the Faridabad gurdwara association, described the controversy a political stunt by the Congress. "The state government is trying to divide the community," he said.

According to Gurjit Singh, secretary of the management committee of the Sector 9 gurdwara, Sikhs shrines in the district or the state were self-sufficient in terms of finances. "The Sikh community and committees taking care of religious places will only follow the directions of Akal Takht in case of any major controversy," he said.

Giani Kashmir Singh of the management committee looking after a gurdwara in Punjabi Mohalla, Ballabgarh, said both people were hardly bothered about such the formation of a separate body. "The government move exposes its political game. The functioning of any gurdwara in the district will not be affected," he said.

Sonepat, July 16
Residents of Mandora village today locked the Government Girls Senior Secondary School to protest against the alleged indecent behaviour of a school clerk towards students and women teachers.

On learning about the alleged incident, District Education Officer (DEO) Parmeshwari Hooda visited the school today and listened to the complaints of the villagers. She ordered the transfer of the clerk, Anil Kumar, and assured that the complaints would be inquired into. If he was found guilty, departmental action would be taken against him, the DEO said.

The villagers alleged that the clerk had been molesting students and behaving indecently with the women teachers. — OC

Rewari, July 16
The Rewari police have arrested an official of a private company on the charge of raping his subordinate and clicking indecent pictures.

The victim said she worked with a private company in the Nimrana area here. Over a year ago, Narender Singh of the Shanti Lok Society, head of the HR section of the company, took her to Jaipur on pretext of an official meeting where he raped her in a hotel after serving her food laced with intoxicants.

Narender also clicked indecent pictures and started blackmailing her that he would make her pictures public if she refused to fulfil his wish. The police arrested Narender after getting the victim’s medical examination report. — TNS

Jhajjar, July 16
People for Animals Haryana, an NGO, has lodged a complaint with the Jhajjar police authorities seeking the registration of a criminal case against Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s daughter and cine actress Soha Ali Khan in connection with the black buck poaching case in 2005.

Naresh Kadian, chairman of the NGO, said the weapon used in poaching a female black buck and two hares was issued in the name of Soha and her arms licence was found illegal in the investigation carried out by the Gurgaon police.

Although Soha’’s arms licence was cancelled by the then Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner (DC), he did not initiate any criminal action against her and the officials responsible for issuing the arms licence. Since the weapon used in the crime was issued on her arms licence, she was also liable for the crime and should be booked under Section 120, IPC, said Kadian.

Meanwhile, Balbir Singh, SP, Jhajjar, said the nine-year-old poaching case had been sent to the SHO concerned for thorough investigation.

SONEPAT, JULY 16
Three mobile vans, each installed with 200 KVA transformers, have been deployed in Sonepat, Gohana and Gannaur subdivisions to supply power in the case of damage to transformers, said VS Maan, Superintendent Engineer of Sonepat circle of the nigam, here today.

As many as 3,22,945 electricity consumers in the district were being fed through 421 11-KVA feeders from two 220-KV power stations , 13 132-KV substations and 18 33-KV subtations.

The SE blamed scheduled and unscheduled power cuts on overloading of the substations.