Hisar, August 10
Ending all speculations over his next political move, Congress rebel Birender Singh has said he has reached a point of no return in the party.

“I have gone too far and it’s impossible to retreat from this point. Severing the four-decade-old ties with the party is not an easy decision. I have made up my mind to leave the party with a heavy heart. The party leadership is responsible for the state of affairs,” he told the media.

Singh was in Narnaund town of the district today to address a workers’ meeting and garner support for his rally in Jind on August 16. He is expected to leave the Congress and join the BJP at a rally in Jind on August 16 in the presence of BJP chief Amit Shah.

Singh claimed that several sitting and former legislators would join him at the Jind rally. “There will be no worthy leader in the state Congress after August 16,” he said, indicating that he could affect mass defection in the party.

The Rajya Sabha MP said the Jind rally would bring a turnaround in the Haryana politics. “People of Haryana are fed up with the politics of caste and regionalism. The discrimination on various counts has vitiated the atmosphere in the state.”

Taking pot shots at Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, he said Hooda had eroded the base of the Congress in the state. “His model of development has been discriminatory and this marginalised other party leaders. He sacrificed nine Lok Sabha seats to save the Rohtak seat for his son,” he alleged.

Jhajjar, August 10
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda continued with his poll-related announcements and declared a host of incentives for ex-servicemen and armed forces’ personnel ahead of the Assembly polls.

He said a government job would be given to dependents of martyr soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the 1962 war. He also announced hike in pension of martyrs’ children and “kanyadan” amount being given while wedding of daughters of ex-servicemen besides construction of flats for serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and para-military personnel on concessional rates.

Hooda was addressing a gathering during the Ex-Servicemen Sammelan at Anaj Mandi here today after laying the foundation stone of Swami Omanand Saraswati Archaeological Museum.

“We have decided to provide employment in Group C or D category to one dependent of those Haryana martyrs who laid down their lives in 1962 or in any other war. Moreover, pension of martyrs children and Kanyadaan Raashi for wedding of ex-servicemen’s daughters have been enhanced from Rs 200 to 500 and Rs 51,000 to 21000, respectively,” said the CM, adding that Gallantry award winning soldiers would also be able to travel free in Haryana Roadways buses.

Hooda said the government would now bear the interest burden for loans to be taken by ex-servicemen and serving soldiers from banks to get government proposed flats.

“The government will construct 50,000 residential flats for the personnel and allot these to them on concessional rates. The first phase of construction of these flats has already begun and registration for flats has also commenced at Faridabad, Gurgaon, Mahendragarh, Jhajjar, Panchkula, Pinjore, Rohtak, Palwal, Rewari, Sampla and Bawanikhera,” said Hooda. He urged the ex-servicemen to attend in large number the Congress rally to be held at Panipat on August 24. HPCC president Ashok Tanwar slammed the Modi-led government for politicising the issues of the Army.

“It is for the first time that the country has no full time Defence Minister. How can the soldiers think of their welfare by the government?” he demanded.

Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal and MP Deepender Hooda also expressed their views at the Ex-Servicemen Sammelan here.

Panchkula, August 10
Fearing the enforcement of model code of conduct, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda seems to be on an inauguration spree in Panchkula. So much so, he did not waste any time by going to various places and as he had to lay the foundation stones in a single day, the CM did the ceremony of all of these at the Red Bishop Complex, Sector 1, Panchkula.

Foundation stones of all the four bridges in Raipurrani- Bhud Mandlai Bridge, Kandaiwala-Kaimbwala Bridge, Begna-Badiwala Bridge and Omla-Hangoli Bridge, building of Sub-Tehsil office and inauguration plaque of Community Health Centre (CHC) of Raipurrani are still lying at Red Bishop Complex, even after four days of the ceremony. On August 7, five foundation stones of bridges and buildings and four inauguration plaques were laid by Hooda. Even today, Hooda gave a road near Suraj Theatre its name- Pandit UD Gaur road- by getting a plaque fixed here. Gaur was a former Advocate General, from 1979 to 1982.

The foundation stones and inauguration plaque of the second floor of CHC, Raipurrani, lying at the Red Bishop Complex since days, have been made on the same strip of stone.

When asked, HUDA and PWD officials said soon the stones would be taken to their respective places.

“A few places have not been marked. Once it is done, we will send the stones and plaques there,” said NK Verma, superintending engineer of HUDA. Sources said the stones were made in a day, each costing approximately Rs 20,000. “We got to know on August 6 that the CM would inaugurate all these projects in one day, so we had to ready all the stones by August 7 afternoon,” said a source in the HUDA department.

Fatehabad, August 10
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is crying foul as Agriculture Minister and Tohana MLA Paramvir Singh is on a foundation stone laying spree ahead of the announcement of Assembly polls.

The foundation stone laying of a drainage system by the minister at Jakhal in his constituency at 11:30 pm on Friday drew flak from his opponents in the INLD.

The minister arrived at the Jakhal mandi after 11 pm and laid the foundation stone. A few Congress workers were present when the minister laid the foundation stone.

Many residents said they did not have information while some others who knew about the stone laying returned home by the time Paramvir Singh arrived.

Addressing those present, the minister said development oriented policies of Bhupinder Singh Hooda government were driving him to lay foundation stones around midnight.

He said elections were around the corner and the model code of conduct could be enforced any time. He said the state did not want any promise made to the people unfulfilled.

He said the drainage project would be constructed at a cost of Rs 71 lakh and would carry Jakhal rainwater to a disposal tank, from where it would be carried through pipes into the Ghaggar. He stayed there for a mere 15 minutes and said he had to lay some more foundation stones.

Nishan Singh, district president of the INLD, who had contested the last Assembly polls against Paramvir Singh in 2009, alleged that the foundation stone laying by the minister around midnight were poll stunts.

He alleged that the minister had laid several other foundation stones in his constituency at odd hours. “He has not taken any interest in development activities in the constituency for five years and is now trying to fool the people,” the INLD leader alleged.

New Delhi, August 10
A day after BJP president Amit Shah called upon his party cadres in poll-bound states, including Haryana, to strive towards the party forming a government on its own, Hayana Janhit Congress (HJC) chief Kuldip Bishnoi has written a letter to him, seeking clarity on the status of the HJC-BJP alliance in the state.

In the letter, a copy of which has been sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders, especially those on party’s parliamentary board, Bishnoi has urged Shah to meet him in case the latter has not taken “unilateral” decision against the alliance.

He alleged “deep-rooted conspiracy and vested interests at play”, especially by a section in the Haryana BJP, against the HJC-BJP alliance, forged in September 2011. He has made it clear that his party was not open to any suggestion for alteration in the terms of alliance which had been ratified by the BJP Parliamentary Board.

In the letter, he directly charged Haryana BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma to be working against the alliance.

“State BJP president is indulging absolutely in unwarranted, uncalled for, petty, rash and unwise statement against me personally, as well as against my party, with an objective to tarnish my image without realising that it will seriously damage the prospects of our alliance and that of the BJP in particular,” the letter reads.

He has emphasised the need of an early meeting with Shah. He tried to impress upon the BJP leadership that any further delay on the identification of seats to be contested between the allies would only benefit the political opponents in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

He apprised Shah that following his becoming BJP President, he had tried to fix a meeting with him several times, but in vain.

Alliance hanging by a thread

n In a letter to BJP chief Amit Shah, HJC president Kuldeep Bishnoi has urged Shah to meet him in case he has not taken ‘unilateral’ decision against the alliance

n Bishnoi alleged ‘deep-rooted conspiracy and vested interests at play’, especially by a section in the Haryana BJP, against the HJC-BJP alliance

n He has made it clear that his party was not open to any suggestion for alteration in the terms of alliance which had been ratified by the BJP Parliamentary Board

}State BJP president is making uncalled for statements against me and my party to tarnish my image without realising that it will damage the prospects of our alliance~

Kuldeep Bishnoi, hjc chief in a letter to amit shah

Rewari, August 10
The state BJP in charge, Jagdish Mukhi, has said Kuldeep Bishnoi would be responsible if the BJP-HJC alliance breaks up, as HJC party leaders are issuing one-sided and illogical statements posing a threat to the alliance prospects.

Mukhi was interacting with the mediapersons today and said, “The HJC wants to continue the alliance on the old terms and conditions, which is not feasible in the changing political scenario in the state after formation of the Modi Government at the Centre.” He added the HJC leaders were making statements of contesting election alone on 90 seats, which was against the alliance dharma.

He made it clear that in view the dismal performance of the HJC in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, change in the alliance terms had become imperative.

“The BJP leaders will be allotted party tickets from where they are in a winning position. Beside, those senior leaders will also be fielded on the party symbol, who are joining the party,” he added.

In reply to a question, Mukhi said the main leaders of the opposition parties were joining the BJP every day, which was a clear indication that the BJP was going to form the state government with a full majority by showing historical performance in the Assembly polls.

He informed the party state’s executive meeting had been convened in Kaithal on August 19 to chalk out plans in connection with the upcoming polls. As many as 68 senior BJP leaders had been roped in to strengthen the party in the state, he added.

Jagdish Mukhi, Haryana bjp in charge

Karnal, August 10
Lack of development and other local issues will weigh heavily on the minds of voters the day they walk to their polling booths to cast the ballot.

Needless to say, the pulse of leaders desirous of representing them has quickened in the run-up to the polls. This Assembly segment is one of the crucial seats among the five seats of the district. This seat was the sole win of the Congress in the 2009 Assembly elections.

Election Commission figures state that elections have been held 11 times in Karnal since 1967. Of these, the BJP, the BJS and the JNP have collectively won the seat five times, the Congress four times and independent candidates twice.

The Congress has retained the seat since 2005. In the recent General Election, BJP candidate Ashwini Chopra had secured a lead in all Assembly segments with a huge margin, which gave the party the confidence of winning it in the Assembly elections.

Congress legislator Sumita Singh is riding high and feeling confident on the basis of development work done by the state government, but the opposition is ridiculing such claims. The opposition is claiming discrimination in all fields. This could be a key factor in the forthcoming elections.

Eyeing a hat-trick, Sumita, who retained the seat in 2009 by defeating her nearest rival Jai Parkash, said the people of Karnal were with her and they knew that there was no discrimination against this segment.

Prakash, who contested his first election in 1986 as an independent candidate, had lost. He won the seat in 1991 as the Congress candidate. He was the Excise and Taxation Minister from 1993 to 1996. He lost in 1996, but won again in 2000.

Total voters: 2.01 Lakh
Men: 1.06 Lakh
Women: 95,437

BJP: Chander Parkash Kathuria, Jagmohan Anand, Renu Bala Gupta, Manohar Lal Khattar, Ashok Sukhija, Krishan Garg

INLD: Manoj Wadhwa

Congress: Sumita Singh, Rakesh Nagpal, Suresh Gupta Matlauda, Pankaj Gaba

• Ashwini Chopra (BJP) 78,825
• Arvind Sharma (Congress) 24,223
• Jaswinder Sandhu (INLD) 14,130

Sumita Singh, MLA

Sirsa, August 10
Ask him a question and his younger brother Sohan Lal Singla will offer an instant reply.

Makhan Lal Singla

Makhan Lal Singla, the man INLD has chosen to take on Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) president Gopal Kanda from Sirsa Assembly seat is a man of few words.

“Tusi khud hi kuchh changa jeya likh do (You please write something nice for me yourself),” Makhan Lal said.

When asked will you accompany your elder brother to Vidhan Sabha too, if he was elected, Sohan Lal replied, “he (Makhan Lal) would learn the skills by then.

“He is giving nice speeches to workers,” Sohan Lal added. When asked why he did not seek the ticket instead of his elder brother, Sohan Lal replied, “We all brothers respect Makhan Lal like our father. Being the eldest, he deserves to be elected for the Assembly.”

But, this is only one side of Makhan Lal’s personality.

Educated up to class VII, Makhan Lal (65) possesses a business acumen that catapulted an ordinary farming family from Mehta village of Bathinda, Punjab, to conglomerate with interests in liquor, automobile, real estate and developer spread over Haryana, Punjab and NCR.

With business of liquor and car agencies in three states, contract of all the 120 toll barriers of the Municipal Corporation Delhi (MCD), developing townships in the NCR, developing roads on Build – Operate – Transfer (BOT) basis and a plethora of others, Singla has immense wealth to match his opponent Gopal Kanda.

Sohan Lal is confident that with the INLD’s support base behind him, his brother would be able to win the Sirsa seat.

“If money could win elections, Tatas and Birlas would have been ruling this country,” he added.

Know the contestant

• Makhan Lal Single (65) is a native of Mehta village of Punjab’s Bathinda district
• He has studied up to Class VII
• He has business interests in liquor, automobile, real estate over Haryana, Punjab and National Capital Region
• He has the contract of all 120 toll barriers of the Municipal Corporation Delhi

Sirsa, August 10
Ten days after the party denied him ticket, INLD MLA from Rania Krishan Kamboj today announced to quit the party.

Speaking to mediapersons, Kamboj said he would reveal his future course of action later on, but clarified that he would not contest the upcoming Assembly poll.

Kamboj had been keeping away from the INLD’s poll campaign ever since party leader Abhay Singh Chautala and state INLD president Ashok Arora announced the names of 62 candidates on August 1 and nominated Ram Chander Kamboj from Rania.

“After my election as an MLA in 2009, I worked hard for the people of my constituency. However, the party leadership ignored my claim and gave ticket to an unknown person,” Kamboj alleged while speaking to The Tribune over telephone.

He said after consulting his supporters, he had come to the conclusion that there was no point in continuing with the INLD under these circumstances.

He said his supporters were feeling cheated at the denial of ticket.

Asked about his future course of action, Kamboj said leaders of several political parties were in touch with him, but he was yet to make up his mind.

“I will take a decision very soon, but it is for sure that I am not contesting the upcoming Assembly poll,” Kamboj said.

Kurukshetra, August 10
As many as 52 ticket aspirants are in fray for BJP tickets from four Assembly constituencies — Thanesar, Pehowa, Ladwa and Shahabad — of Kurukshetra.

Currently there are no BJP MLAs and the seats are shared between the INLD and the Congress. While INLD legislators are representing Ashok Arora and Sher Singh Badshami are representing Thanesar and Ladwa, respectively. Pehowa is represented by Congress legislator Harmohinder Singh Chatha and Shahabad by Anil Dhantodi.

With 15 aspirants each, Ladwa and Pehowa have the highest number of aspirants followed by Thanesar with 12 candidates and Shahabad (reserve) with 10 ticket seekers.

From Thanesar, BJP district chief Dhuman Singh Kirmach, former state party chief Aatam Prakash Manchanda, Krishan Bajaj, former Congress district chief Jai Bhagwan (DD) Sharma, Dharmbir Mirzapur and Babu Ram Taya are some prominent names among others in fray.

BJP SC Morcha State Chief Krishan Bedi, member RTI Cell Prem Hingakheri, Sukhbir Kataria and civic body member Sukhwinder Singh among other have sought ticket from Shahabad constituency.

From Pehowa assembly constituency, Bharat Bhushan Bhartiya, civic body member Randhir Gujjar and Sukbhir Saini and others are seeking the party’s ticket.

Sukhbir Saini is the brother of Balbir Saini who contested the Lok Sabha elections on an INLD ticket from Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency.

While from Ladwa, Pawan Saini, member of state working committee, Jitender Kaka and Rajkumar Saini among others have sought a ticket.

Yamunanagar, August 10
BSP leader and deputy Speaker of Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Akram Khan, said the BSP would play an important role in the Assembly elections and no party would be able to form the government without its support.

Addressing a workers’ meeting in Jagadhri on Saturday, Khan, who is an MLA from Jagadhri, said: “With a strong vote bank, our party is going to play an important role in the elections as well as in the formation of a government in the state.”

He said he had spent the maximum amount of time among the people of his constituency and tried to live up to their expectations, by taking up development works in both urban and rural areas.

Lambasting BJP, he said the party managed to get votes in Lok Sabha elections making tall promises. People also gave their votes to Narinder Modi, but the circumstances would be different in Assembly elections. — OC

Chandigarh, August 10
In the run-up to the Assembly elections, the Haryana Government seems to be leaving no chance in pleasing most communities.

After announcing the formation of the Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee to win over Sikhs in the state, Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government has recommend to the Centre to include Rai Sikhs in the Scheduled Caste (SC) category.

GS Warwal, a retired Indian Foreign Service officer spearheading the campaign for reservation for Rai Sikhs, said the state government had sent the recommendation to the Centre last week.

He said an ethnographic study of Rai Sikhs conducted by scholars of Panjab University was also sent, which recommended inclusion of Rai Sikhs in the SC category.

The ethnographic study on Rai Sikhs and banjara, naik and dhobi communities was ordered by the Haryana government four years ago and it was conducted by Prof Kiranpreet Kaur of Panjab University.

The report was submitted to the Haryana Government in February 2013. The government sent this proposal along with its recommendation and ethnographic study to Sanjeev Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Rai Sikhs in Punjab had already been accorded SC status since July 2007 by an Act enacted by Parliament, Warwal claimed.

Jind, August 10
The Haryana Power Engineers Association has decided to submit detailed memorandums to all political parties of the state in the coming days, highlighting their problems and demands to seek their intervention.

They have also decided to intensify their agitation after their repeated pleas failed to get any response from the government.

The Association held a meeting of all executive members, zonal presidents and zonal secretaries in Rohtak on Saturday to review the progress of agitation. During the meeting, it was decided that regional protests will be held at Hisar and Panchkula. The first meeting will be held on August 14 at Hisar, to be followed by second meeting at Panchkula on August 20.

K D Bansal, president of the association, said they would submit memorandum to all political parties to highlight the problems being faced by engineers in executing their duties.

“The work load in utilities has increased manifolds but no steps have been taken by the managements to restructure the utilities as per work load norms. But whenever there is any problem, engineers have to face the wrath of the common man and seniors,” alleged Bansal.

He further asserted that to make the matters worse, the management had announced new promotion policy based on merit-cum-interview instead of universally followed practice of seniority-cum-merit principle. The posts of engineer-in- chief are not being revived though the government has decided to fill the posts of directors from other power utilities.

“As the bureaucrats are heading the power utilities, they are not listening to the problems of engineers. We have decided to launch a struggle for the appointment of technocrats as managing directors of utilities, besides demanding promotion of chief engineers to the post of directors,” Bansal added.

Rewari, August 10
Haryana Ultrasound Owners’ Association (HUOA) has accused the PNDT authorities of misusing the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act to harass ultrasound centre owners for their vested interests.

The HUOA members have demanded withdrawal of police cases registered against doctors on charges of minor deficiency in Form F meant for recording detailed information about expectant women.

The association has also threatened to seal all ultrasound machines across the state on its own to register their protest if action isn’t taken within the next two weeks in this regard.

HUOA chief Dr Ishwar Yadav and secretary Dr Urmil while addressing a meeting here today, said, “Criminal misuse of the PNDT Act is deliberately being committed by the authorities concerned to harass and prosecute owners of innocent ultrasound centres in the name of checking or inspection.”

They maintained over 150 cases had been booked under the PNDT Act against doctors in the state during the last few years merely on the basis of smallest mistakes in Form F, while the authorities persistently failed to nab or check erring owners, who carry out illegal sex determination across the state.

“Only those doctors are being prosecuted who help the law by filling Form F while the main culprits involved in sex determination are far away from the clutches of the authorities as they never fill Form F while conducting sex determination tests,” said Dr Ishwar Yadav.

Dr Urmil said, “There is an urgent need to make vital amendments in the PNDT Act so as to prevent the authorities concerned from harassing innocent doctors who are bringing the number of pregnant women on record by keeping all sorts of records that are mandatory to carry out an ultrasound test.”

Karnal, August 10
To sort out the issue of a separate committee for Haryana and to maintain peace and harmony between the community members of Haryana and Punjab, the thinkers of Sikh community will approach the Jathedar of Akal Takht on Monday.

Disappointed over the incident that took place at Kurukshetra on August 6, near Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi, Ajit Singh Kahlon, a retired professor of Khalsa College, Karnal, and national spokesperson for the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), said the incident was unfortunate and uncalled for. It hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community all over the world. Such incidents have to be avoided by the Sikh leaders of both sides.

“I have taken an appointment with the Jathedar of Akal Takht on Monday. Many intellectuals from the state will accompany me. There we will demand the removal of task forces from the shrines of Haryana as it is against the sanctity of the shrines,” Kahlon said. They will request the Jathedar for sorting out the issue and also use their power for maintaining the sanctity of the religion and not indulge in political issues. The Jathedar should be fair and not biased towards any specific group, he added.

The retired professor said, “We are not against the SGPC and do not want to be bifurcated from it, but want the proper proportion of Haryana’s share. We had called a Sikh sammelan, which was to be held on August 10, but cancelled it due to our meeting with the Jathedar of Akal Takht on Monday,” he said.

Karnal, August 10
The rice exporters of the state are up in arms against the four per cent market fee levied on rice export by the market committees. They claimed it has multiplied their woes as it affects the export business.

They demanded that the state government wave off the fee and have decided to meet Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the coming days in this regards.

Roshan Lal Gupta, former senior vice-president of the Haryana Rice Millers Association, told The Tribune that the rice exporters of the state had been bearing the burden of four per cent market fee, which had affected the export as the rice they produced was expensive by ~150 per quintal than other states.

He added that the state should remove the fee, as it had done on other goods. This fee affects the profitability and revenue generation of the state.

Traders of Tarori market, known as the rice bowl of the country, have also raised this issue many time in the past, but no action has been taken so far, he added.

Roshan Lal said, “In the global market we are facing challenges from Pakistan and Thailand, which are major Basmati rice producers besides India. But now a days, we are facing challenges from our neighbouring states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh as there is no market fee on rice export there. This has encouraged people to purchase rice from there as it is cheap in comparison to rice produced in Haryana, even though our rice is of much better quality.”

Fatehabad, August 10
Sahiba Sethi, a student of class VII of DAV Public School, Ratia, in Fatehabad, appeared to be on cloud nine as she narrated her experience of tying rakhi on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wrist at his official residence today.

Sahiba was among a group of four girls – others being Naina (class VIII), Manini (class VIII) and Mannat (class VII) – who were invited by Modi for tying rakhis on his wrist.

“I am feeling great as meeting the Prime Minister was a wonderful experience. I am feeling proud of being one of the few girls of the country to have got this honour,” Sahiba said.

She said Modi spoke to her and inquired about her and her family’s welfare.

She also recited a poem before him.

“Very good,” he said after hearing her poem, Sahiba beamed.

Four other girls from the school – Garisha (class I), Shweta (class I), Mehak (class III) and Khushi (class III) – tied rakhi on President Pranab Mukherjee’s wrist.

Dr Sanjay Chugh, principal of the school, who accompanied the children to the two dignitaries along with two other teachers, Manisha Khurana and Anil Bishnoi, said while they were able to get pictures clicked at Prime Minister’s house, their photos with the President would be made available by the Rashtrapati Bhawan tomorrow.

DAV Public School, Ratia, was among 25 schools of the country to have been invited by the Prime Minister House and Rashtrapati Bhawan to tie rakhis to the two dignitaries.

In all, 100 schoolchildren tied rakhis to Mukherjee and Modi each, Chugh said.

Ambala, August 10
The central jail premises brimmed with joy and tears on Raksha Bandhan as hundreds of women came here to tie rakhi on the wrist of their brothers on Sunday.

It was a festive atmosphere for inmates. Around 1,200 men and 80 women were lodged in the jail. The jail authorities made special arrangements for the occasion.

Jail superintendent Ratan Singh and other jail officers were present. AA convict serving life term said he was happy that the jail authorities gave them the opportunity to meet their sisters every year.

woman who met her brother after several months started weeping. Another inmate became emotional when he met his five-year-old son with his sister.

Sirsa, August 10
Four incidents of motorcycle-borne miscreants snatching gold chains of women in Sirsa, in less than 12 hours, have sent the residents in a tizzy.

The police have not been able to nab the culprits, though SP Mitesh Jain said the police were after them.

At 8.30 last night, miscreants targeted a girl riding a scooty on Barnala road, outside the Deputy Commissioner’s residence.

The victim, 20-year-old Maya, was returning to her Sector 20 home when the miscreants came close to her and sped away after snatching her chain.

Almost half an hour later, miscreants struck at Kirti Nagar Colony, where they targeted Menka.

They struck once again and attacked a morning walker this time.

The victim, Dharmo Devi, a resident of MC Colony, was taking a walk with another woman when the miscreants snatched her gold chain around 6 am.

At 7 am, the miscreants snatched the gold chain of Kamla Devi in C Block. The incidents caused panic among residents.

Sonepat, August 10
A number of male volunteers of Janti Kalan village today celebrated collective raksha bandhan festival to save the society from deteriorating social values and to strengthen the bond of social relationship.

The village girls, including married ones coming from their in-laws house to tie rakhis to their brothers, were urged to tie rakhis to these volunteers.

Ajit, Satish, Balwan, Ashok, Satbir, Rajesh, Manoj and several others said they took this step after witnessing that the social relations and brotherhood was deteriorating day by day and resulting in weakening of social bonds.

“It is a small beginning to remind the people about our rich social and cultural values and we hope that the people will realise the importance of protecting the dignity of women,” Ashok said.

Faridabad, August 10
The striking employees of the Municipal Committee, Faridabad (MCF), are hopeful that the Haryana Cabinet, scheduled to meet on Tuesday, will consider their demand for regular jobs.

“The local authorities, including the MCF Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner, have assured the employees of putting up the demand on the Cabinet’s agenda,” said Naresh Shastri of the Nagar Palika Sangh, Haryana.

With the strike entering 17th day today, the city is in a mess. Heavy showers today made the matters worse. Overflowing sewers and garbage lying in the open are a common sight.

“The employees are concerned about the inconvenience faced by the residents, but the blame falls on the government for ignoring the demands for long,” Shastri said. He assured that the employees were ready to put in extra efforts to clean the city as soon as the authorities announced regular jobs for nearly 2,500 ad hoc or contractual employees.

Meanwhile heavy showers in the city exposed the civic preparedness and poor drainage in the city as nearly all the internal roads in the city got waterlogged and flood water entered the residential and commercial premises in the parts of the city.

“The things took a bad shape when overflowing sewer and garbage lying on the roads got mixed with rainwater,” said OP Miglani of Sector 7. He said filthy conditions have posed a risk to the health of residents.

Sonepat, August 10
To encourage students towards environmental cleanliness, the DCR University of Science and Technology, Murthal, has decided to introduce “Taru Mitra Puruskars” and plant 10,000 saplings on the campus.

Vice-chancellor RP Dahiya said the university premises had been divided into eight zones and faculties would assess the work of plantation in each zone. —OC

Sonepat, August 10
The BPS Women University, Khanpur Kalan, and the Indian Nation Cooperative Federation (INCF), have signed a MoU for introducing certificate of proficiency in cooperative management at the university’s Centre for University-Society Interface and Research.

The MoU was signed by vice-chancellor Prof Asha Kadian and federations Chief Executive Dr Dinesh during his visit to the university on Saturday.

Karnal, August 10
A man was murdered with a sharp-edged weapon on the Karnal-Yamunanagar state highway late last night.

The deceased, 33-year-old Udham Singh, was a resident of Ladwa, Kurukshetra.

Narinder Kumar, SHO, Sadar police station, said he received a message late Saturday night about a man being seriously injured after an attack on the Karnal-Yamunanagar state highway, around six km from here. He was brought to the hospital, where he was declared dead by the doctors.

The aggrieved family members told the police that Udham Singh left the house along with two friends on Saturday. They alleged that his friends murdered him with a sharp-edged weapon and dumped his body there.

After the incident, both the youths are absconding, the police source said.

Forensic experts were also rushed to the spot and collected some evidences.

“A case has been registered under Section 302 of the IPC. Allegations made by the family members are being investigated by the police. Many points will be revealed after the post-mortem report,” said Narinder Kumar.

Kurukshetra, August 10
The district police have arrested Prem Raj from Delhi in connection with a case of preparing fake stamps and documents for visa of European countries.

The police have recovered 25 fake stamps, 70 moulds, light embossing machine and a printer from his possession.

A police spokesman said, “A police team had reached Delhi during investigation and arrested Prem Raj, who accepted his crime during remand. The accused confessed that he prepared fake stamps and had done it for Praveen Kumar, who has already been arrested for preparing fake documents for visa of European countries. The accused was running this racket from his home.”

Prem Raj was produced before a local court from where he was sent to judicial custody.

Praveen Kumar, the kingpin of this racket, has already been arrested and the police had recovered fake three-year returns, bank statements and stamps of bank manager, school principal, excise and taxation officers, notary and oath commissioners of Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Indore, Madhya Pradesh and several other states from him. — TNS

Panipat, August 10
A married woman has allegedly been gang-raped by four persons at her house in the Chand masjid area near Kasim godam under the Panipat City police station.

The victim reported to the police that Kasim, Reyajudin, Irfan and Mosin of Haji Colony on the Babail road entered her house when she was alone, raped her and threatened to kill her if she informed anyone.

An FIR was registered. SI Balwan Singh started an investigation. No arrest was made so far. — TNS