Chandigarh, September 22
All efforts to form a “maha alliance” to take on the BJP, Congress and the INLD unitedly in Haryana have fizzled out after the BSP failed to reach an agreement with the Kuldeep Bishnoi-led HJC and Venod Sharma’s Haryana Jan Chetna Party (HJCP).

After a series of talks, negotiations finally broke down after a meeting held in Delhi this morning. Soon after the meeting, the HJC and the HJCP announced they would contest 65 and 25 seats in alliance for the 90- member Haryana Vidhan Sabha.

HJC spokesperson Devi lal Bishnoi said: “As of now our (HJC) alliance is with the HJCP and we will contest the elections together. The HJC will release the list of all 65 candidates on Tuesday”.

At the same time, the HJCP is expected to release the list of nominees for the 25 seats that have fallen to its share on Thursday. Party insiders indicated that the HJCP was waiting for the Congress to release its list so that it could persuade some ‘unsuccessful’ Congress leaders to contest on the HJCP ticket.

Meanwhile, the BSP has already announced 43 nominees in its three lists released so far. When the BSP held the first round of talks with the HJC and the HJCP jointly, it had released only 33 names, leaving a scope for seat adjustments. But after the failure of talks today, the BSP released a list of for 10 seats in Faridabad, indicating that it would go it alone.

BSP’s chief ministerial candidate Arvind Sharma is being fielded from two seats, Yamunanagar and Rai. This was announced by the state BSP president Naresh Saran while giving out the names of nominees for the other eight seats today.

The Smast Bhartiya Party (SBP) led by Sudesh Aggarwal was also approached to join the “maha alliance” but Aggarwal said since his party had already announced 53 names, it would be difficult to withdraw their nomination. However, the SBP is still undecided on fielding candidates on the remaining 37 seats.

Highly placed sources said that the talks of “maha alliance” did not work out as both Kuldeep Bishnoi and Arvind Sharma were adamant on being projected as the chief ministerial nominee of the alliance. Moreover, as Arvind Sharma and Venod Sharma do not enjoy “cordial” relations, neither was willing to adjust to terms of the other.

Earlier, an attempt was also made to involve the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) led by Gopal Kanda into the alliance but Kanda refused to accept the offered terms. He has now said: “The HLP will go for an alliance only with the people of Haryana and no other political party”.

It is, however, learnt that though there is no formal alliance between the non-Congress, non-BJP, and non-INLD political parties, they are still working out some informal arrangement to help each other get a better hold against the three major parties.

Panipat, September 22
This industrial town is known as the hub of the textile factories. About 1.25 lakh workers here toil day and night, but fail to make it to the wish list of political parties. Reason: Most of them are not registered as voters.

As no political party bothers about factory workers, the Assembly elections have brought no cheers to them.

Most of the textile industries do not implement the provisions of the labour laws. As a result, a majority of workers do not even get minimum wages. They get only between Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000 a month after working for about 12 hours a day. They do not get other facilities such as the ESI and PF, as most of them are not shown as permanent workers and are not even allowed to mark attendance.

As they are underpaid, it is difficult for them to make both ends meet. They are left with no option but to live in difficult conditions on rent in illegal colonies that are devoid of basic amenities.

Hailing from UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and Kolkata, most of these workers live in various areas under the Panipat rural and the Panipat city Assembly segments.

Girish, a textile worker from Kanpur in UP, has been living at Baljeet Nagar in Panipat for 17 years. Alleging that labour department officials are hand in gloves with factory owners, he said, "Most of the workers are not allowed to mark their presence in attendance register and are not even issued identity cards."

Besides, justice to workers is also delayed by labour courts. 

Chandigarh, September 22
Still basking in the glory of its spectacular performance in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is pinning hopes on the 'Modi magic' in the upcoming October 15 Haryana assembly electionsto form the next government in the state.

The severing of its ties with its alliance partner HJC after the Lok Sabha poll, the recent reverses in the assembly byelections and a statewide rebellion against the party's official candidates has made theBJP rely still more on the 'Modi magic' to repeat is Lok Sabha performance.

Besides, the party seems to be relying on defectors such as former Congressman Birender Singh to tip the scales in its favour. Since the party has traditionally been considered a non-Jat party, the BJP had made conscious efforts to rope in prominent Jat leaders, including Birender Singh, to present a ‘Jat face’ to the voters in the run-up to next month’s elections.

These factors, coupled with anti-incumbency against the Hooda Government for its various acts of omission and commission, seemed to have enthused the party leaders to go alone in the assembly elections. However, the gamble of going alone could prove to be double-edged sword for the saffron party — it could either prop up the party to power or it could push it to the margins in Haryana.

Riding on the Modi wave, the party led in the 52 of the 90 assembly segments in the state bagging 7 of the 8 seats it contested in the recent parliamentary elections. However, its alliance with Kuldeep Bishnoi-led HJC which helped the BJP consolidate the non-Jat and urban votes at that time .That is another matter that the HJC lost both seats it contested, leading to the break-up of the alliance.

With no mass leaders, the party will be banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oratorical skills to woo the highly unpredictable Haryana electorate. 

Jind, September 22
Haryana khaps are not new to politics. Presidents of many khaps have been extending tactic support to various political parties for the past many years. However, a proposal made at the September 13 meeting in Narwana advocating open participation by khaps in politics appears to have caused a rift among them.

Till date, khaps enjoy immense influence over voters across Haryana and all are waiting for September 28, when these bodies will take a final decision in Jind whether to extend open support to a political party or not.

Though most of the times these councils are in news for wrong reasons, their diktat continues to be is the last word for majority of locals. There are more than 100 khaps in the state. These command immense influence in Bhiwani, Jind, Sonepat, Rohtak, Panipat, Mahindergarh, Gurgaon, Jhajjar, Karnal, Kaithal, Faridabad and Palwal areas of the state.

“We have not been able to get fulfilled our long-pending demands just because we do not have khap leaders in politics and always depend on politicians of various parties. If we contest elections directly, we will be in a better position to raise our voice in the Assembly,” said Tek Ram Kandela, president of the Kandela Khap and national convener of the Sarv Khap Panchayat. Kandela, who recently joined the Congress after resigning from the INLD, is a ticket aspirant from the Jind (City) Assembly constituency.

Many other khap leaders have also become active in state politics during this election season. Sarv Khap Mahapanchayat president Santosh Dahiya, Satrol Khap president Sudesh Chaudhary, Aithgama Khap leader Shamsher Kharkara, Malik Khap chief Baljit Singh and many others have recently joined various political parties and started flexing their muscles for political space.

“Politicisation will only reduce the influence and power of khaps. These bodies have survived for hundreds of years only because of their non-political character. Like me, many strongly believe that politicisation is a deep-rooted conspiracy of politicians, who do not want any other parallel power centre in the state and want to reduce the influence of these social bodies,” said Anil, a youngster from Bhiwani, who has been actively involved in social welfare initiatives of khaps.

Spokesman of the Sarv Jatt Khap Panchayat Sube Singh Sumain said there was nothing wrong if khap leaders joined politics and participated in the formation of the government. 

Chandigarh, September 22
With nearly three dozen turncoats, primarily of the Congress and the INLD walking away with tickets from right under the nose of local BJP leaders, the struggle within the party intensified further.

While some leaders camped in Delhi seeking a review of tickets, ex-MLA Jasbir Mallour stepped down as party secretary and “ignored” loyalists stepped up parleys with other parties. Senior leaders said they were in touch with disgruntled leaders to placate them to work for the party.

Since the party is contesting the Assembly election on its own for the first time, it is faced with the twin challenge of fielding faces with some standing as also carving out a Jat identity, sources said. With only a handful of Jat leaders of its own since it has always contested the Assembly election in alliance with a Jat-dominated regional party, the BJP was forced to bring in leaders from other parties.

Also, despite the “overflow” at some seats, the party did not have any known face that could be seen as a potential candidate. Sources said even leaders who were now being looked at as the faces of the BJP were all second-rung leaders since there was never an opportunity for them in the past.

However, the “importing” of leaders has not gone down with loyalists, who said the party had let them down when the time to reward them came. “We have done everything from putting up tents to spreading out durries. We have been associated with the party when there was absolutely nothing in it for us. Now, by allocating ticket to outsiders, the party has humiliated us. These outsiders are the very leaders who have always enjoyed power and are now playing politics of opportunism,” a senior party leader said.

The BJP, too, had maintained it would only take in leaders from other parties where there was a vacancy and it did not have candidates of its own. However, the party ended up giving ticket to nearly 35 outsiders among the 90 candidates.

While there was a race among leaders from other parties to join the BJP in view of its resounding success in the Lok Sabha poll, infighting and undercutting by “deprived loyalists” could take a toll on the party’s fortunes. This is especially critical since the BJP has entered this election in a do-or-die mode, realising it may never again be in a position of strength if it does not deliver now. 

Bhiwani, September 22
The HJC landed with a prized catch in former Education minister Bahadur Singh who deserted the BJP after being denied a ticket from the Loharu Assembly segment.

He joined the HJC in Loharu town today in the presence of HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi’s wife and former MLA Renuka Bishnoi. She also assured Singh of the party nomination from Loharu.

The former minister was upset after the BJP preferred another turncoat from the Congress, JP Dalal, to him. Dalal, who was considered a loyalist of Tosham MLA Kiran Chaudhary, had also joined the BJP about a fortnight ago. Singh had served as education minister during the INLD rule but had joined the Congress after the party suffered a defeat in 2005. On being denied the ticket, he joined the BJP for a brief stint before landing in the HJC today.

Renuka claimed that the BJP was in a habit of betraying its allies and the people would teach the party a lesson during the elections.

Poll observers said that Loharu is set for a close four cornered contest as Bahadur Singh has a considerable support base in this segment and he expects to corner the non-Jat vote bank of the HJC. His rivals include BJPs JP Dalal and Om Prakash Gora from the INLD. The Congress is likely to field former CM Bansi Lal’s son-in-law Sombir Singh from this seat. 

Rewari, September 22
After Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh failed to get the BJP ticket for his daughter Aarti Rao from Rewari, the prestige of another Ahirwal’s stalwart and state Irrigation Minister Capt Ajay Yadav is at stake in terms of ticket allocation.

Yadav, who is carrying forward the political legacy of his father and three-time MLA Rao Abhay Singh, is seeking the Congress ticket for his son Chiranjeev Rao from the Kosli and Ateli Assembly segments.

Though the prominent Ahir leader is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the entry of his next generation into the poll battle scheduled for October 15, getting the ticket for him seems like a challenging task.

Sources say the Congress is in a dilemma over Chiranjeev’s claim for the party ticket as rebellion may break out in the party if it nominates him either from Kosli or Ateli as both constituencies are being represented by sitting MLAs- Rao Yadavendra Singh and Anita Yadav, respectively.

As far as the political experience of Chiranjeev is concerned, he has served as the Haryana Pradesh Youth Congress (HPYC) chief.

Yadav had also made sincere efforts to get the Congress ticket for Chiranjeev from Gurgaon in last Lok Sabha elections but failed in his mission after the party nominated Rao Dharampal as its nominee from there. However, Chiranjeev’s father-in-law and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had also lobbied hard for him.

Meanwhile, terming the rising trend of dynastic politics as ‘fatal’ for the democratic setup, HJC general secretary and former MLA Raghu Yadav said the party should not allot the ticket to Chiranjeev.

“It will be gross injustice with grassroot workers of the Congress if he manages to get the ticket,” Raghu added.

Sirsa, September 22
Haryana Lokhit Party president Gopal Kanda today released the second list of 34 candidates for the October 15 Assembly poll. He will contest from Sirsa seat that he presently represents as an Independent.

The 33 other candidates announced by Kanda are: Deepak Bhirdana (Fatehabad); Gurjeet Singh Kaura (Ellenabad); Kuldeep Singh Malhi (Radaur); Nirmal Singh Malri (Kalanwali); Nahar Singh (Badli); Ravi Olihan (Garhi Sampla); Sandeep Ahlawat (Beri); Yogesh Kalra (Kaithal); Hanuman Prajapati (Barwali); Shubhangi Sharma (Pehowa); Dara Singh Saini (Narnaul); Sandhya Sharma (Yamunanagar); Nirmal Sikriwal (Hodal); Niyamat Pahalwan (Nuh); Jiwan Hiteshi (Kosli); Ekta Bansal (Panipat Rural); Pankaj Thakral (Panipat Urban); Sunita Sahrawat (Jhajjar); Abbas Khan (Faridabad); Rajni Bansal (Adampur); Krishan Chand Rana (Sonepat); Ram Mehar (Narnaund); Rajiv Gupta (Jagadhri); Rajinder Khatkar (Uchana Kalan); Surender Malik (Julana); Karan Singh Ror (Gharaunda); Satpal Rana (Kalayat); Dr Rajbir (Loharu); Rajbir Mohana (Israna); Vijay Khatak (Narwana); Ravinder Dhamlawas (Bawal); Dharamvir Yadav (Mahendergarh) and Baldev Singh Chahal (Nangal Chaudhary).

The party has fielded 40 candidates so far. — TNS

Yamunanagar, September 22
In an apparent bid to project Arvind Sharma as heir to the Brahmin leadership and the legacy of Pandit Bhagwat Dyal Sharma, the BSP has fielded him from Yamunanagar constituency. The party is desperate to yield big advantage in this region known for the non-Jat vote majority.

The constituency is known as a Brahmin constituency as the voters here have sent five Brahmins to the state Assembly after Haryana became a separate state in 1966. First Then Chief Minister Pandit Bhagwat Dyal Sharma fought the Assembly elections in 1967 and won with a record 52.43 per cent votes.

Interestingly, other Brahmin leaders, including prominent labour leader Girish Chander Joshi, Bhagwat Dyal Sharma’s son Rajesh Kumar Sharma, Dr Jai Prakash Sharma and his wife Dr Krishna Pandit were fielded from this industrial segment and they won.

No doubt Arvind is a senior and a seasoned leader, but he is a new face here. He will have to win the faith of the voters of the constituency, who have faced discrimination in terms of development and employment for 10 years.

He will be facing a three- corner contest from the Congress, BJP and INLD candidates, but the advantage he has is that MLAs of different parties elected from here failed to get the top post of chief minister.

The BSP, which applied its social engineering formula in UP, may use it here as the constituency has 43,000 SC, 25,000 Muslims and 23,000 Brahmin voters. Sitting BSP MLA Akram Khan, contesting from Jagadhri, is an influential Muslim leader and may help garner support for Arvind.

9 candidates, 10 seats

Seat Name

Y’nagar, Rai Arvind Sharma

Rewari Pritam Jangra

Kalka Madan Pal Rana

Ferozepur Jhirka Farukh Ahmad

Gohana Dr Gajraj Sharma

Gannaur Dr Gulshad Chauhan

Gharaunda Sohan Lal Gupta

NIT Faridabad Liyakat Ali

Baroda Shamsher Sharma

Fatehabad, September 22
Situated on NH10 between Hisar and Sirsa, this historical segment is among a few seats of Haryana which has above 2 lakh voters.

Comprising 53 villages and three towns — Fatehabad, Bhuna and Bhattu —this Assembly has people from mixed cultures - Bagri Jats, Deswali Jats, Punjabis, Aggarwals and others.

Then there is a mega nuclear project which is proposed to be set up at Gorakhpur.

The constituency is currently being represented by Independent MLA Prahlad Singh Gillankhera who contested the 2009 poll as a rebel Congressman to defeat the official candidate Dura Ram and INLD’s Swatantar Bala Chaudhary.

In 2009, Gillankhera polled 48,637 votes against 45,835 polled by Dura Ram while Chaudhary trailed at third place by polling 37,536 votes. In the 2014 parliamentary polls, the HJC-BJP nominee Sushil Indora got 55,950 votes against 55,425 polled by INLD nominee Charanjit Singh Rori and 34,303 by Congress candidate Ashok Tanwar.

This time, Dura Ram will be contesting as a candidate of his cousin, Kuldeep Bishnoi’s HJC. The INLD has chosen Balwan Singh Daulatpuria, a prominent Jat leader of the area.

The BJP, which is yet to finalise its ticket from Fatehabad, has a long queue of contenders, who include Sonali Singh, convener of its ST Morcha, Swatantar Bala Chaudhary, who recently joined the BJP, Atam Prakash Mehta, who quit the Congress recently besides a plethora of old stalwarts.

Gillankhera, who supported the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government and was appointed as the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, claims to have brought several big projects here. He is likely to be fielded by the Congress this time though other leaders like Sampat Singh, Tek Chand Midha and Krishna Punia are also in the fray.

“The state government has spent Rs 99 crore on a state-of-the-art waterwork to provide canal based clean drinking water to people and setting up a sewerage treatment plant for the town. A mini bypass has been constructed at a cost of Rs 15 crore to end congestion of traffic on NH 10 which passes through the middle of the town,” he said.

A community centre, a multi story car parking, a polytechnic college at Dhagar village, new CHC buildings at Bhattu, Bhuna and Badoapal, a new bus stand at Bhuna, elevation of Bhuna village to a municipal committee are some of the other works that have been done during his tenure.

A 100-bed hospital and a new additional grain market are some other projects in the pipeline. As many as 1,000 youths from his constituency have been given jobs during his term. Over 2,500 dhanis have been provided electricity by installing specially designed transformers bought from Gujarat.

In addition to this, a Rs 23,500 crore central project, a 2,800-MW nuclear power project at Gorakhpur village of Fatehabad also come up during his present term.

However, Dura Ram, who was Parliamentary Secretary in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government from 2005 to 2009, alleged that a majority of jobs as well as funds for development have gone to Rohtak during the past five years. The constituency is likely to witness an interesting contest in the upcoming assembly poll. 

Badli (Jhajjar), September 22
On the assurance by the police that cow slaughterers would be arrested in four days, villagers lifted the road blockade from the Jhajjar-Gurgaon road in Badli town of Jhajjar district today.

With this, normalcy returned to the town that had been on the tenterhooks since Saturday following the road blockade. The police have also to deploy 400 of their personnel in the area to check cow smuggling and slaughter.

The villagers threatened to resume the agitation if the assurances proved hollow. Later, they buried cow carcasses that were placed on the road during the protest.

Earlier, Jhajjar Superintendent of Police (SP) Balbir Singh along with administrative officials reached the Badli bypass where the villagers had been squatting since Saturday. He succeeded to get the blockade lifted after assuring the protesters of taking stern action against cow smugglers.

“The authorities have sought four days to arrest cow slaughters, besides promising to deploy 400 police personnel in Badli. We have also demanded to set up nakas and install CCTV cameras at entry and exit points to Badli to keep tabs on commuters,” Vinod Gulia, former sarpanch of Badli village, told The Tribune.

Gurgaon, September 22
Doctors stalled work at the Gurgaon Civil Hospital for nearly two hours to protest the alleged misbehavior and thrashing of a doctor by a patient’s attendants.

A patient was wheeled in for a delivery on Sunday night and operated upon. Her husband was drinking liquor on the hospital premises and the securityman objected to it. He took him to the doctor on duty where he misbehaved with the doctor and called his other friends, who also misbehaved and thrashed the doctor and staff and resorted to vandalism. Irate doctors stalled work in the morning today and sent health services in a tizzy.

Meanwhile the police have registered an FIR under Sections 147, 149, 186, 332, 353 and 506 of the IPC at the Civil Lines Police Station in Gurgaon City. Two of the accused have been arrested on the basis of CCTV footage handed over to the police by the. The arrested have been identified as Chotte Lal of Gosaipur village in Balia (Bihar) and his wife Kusum.

Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi and the Commissioner of Police said security would be strengthened in the hospital. A PCR would be stationed near the hospital so that response time is reduced. 

Rohtak, September 22
The ongoing strike of resident doctors has paralysed health services at the local PGIMS. Visiting as well as admitted patients are being taken to private hospitals due to the doctors’ strike. The patients are facing grave difficulties in getting treatment and at least three patients have reportedly died for want of required medicare though the PGIMS authorities refute this.

The trouble began when the maternal uncle of a girl admitted to a paediatric ward assaulted a resident doctor on duty with a broken glass bottle on Friday night. The girl, who was suffering from blood cancer, had died and her attendants blamed the doctors for it.

Following that, resident doctors went on strike. They alleged that some other attendants accompanying the girl’s uncle also attacked their colleagues with a knife. They have been demanding arrest of the accused. Meanwhile, the deceased girl’s family has also lodged a complaint.

Sources said at least three patients have died due to the strike by resident doctors. Some resident doctors also admitted that some patients had died in the emergency wing. However, the PGIMS authorities deny any deaths due to lack of treatment. “Consultant doctors are taking care of emergency services and no patient has died due to lack of medical care or negligence,” maintained Dr Ashok Chauhan, Medical Superintendent, PGIMS.

On the other hand, Dr Varun Garg, president of the Resident Doctors ‘Association at the PGIMS, has asserted that the authorities had not taken any concrete initiative to resolve the issue.

The PGIMS director, Dr Chand Singh Dhull, called a meeting of the department heads to take stock of the situation.

Karnal, September 22
Furious over the low price of various basmati varieties being given to farmers, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) members took out a procession in the city today. They handed over a memorandum to deputy commissioner (DC) Balraj Singh for PM Narendra Modi and CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The members also served a 48-hour notice to the Central Government and threatened they would protest if their demands were not met.

Rattan Mann, national vice-president, said despite adverse climatic conditions, farmers had produced paddy, but the traders were purchasing their crop at a very low price, which was a betrayal as the farmers spent a lot on the production of paddy.

1509, a variety of basmati, which was earlier paid Rs 3,500 per quintal, was later reduced to Rs 2,000 per quintal by the traders. It has increased the woes of the farmers as they had spent all their savings to save the paddy in the absence of an adequate monsoon, he said.

The national vice-president demanded that the central government should give a bonus of Rs 1,000 per quintal to the farmers. The auction should be conducted in all the grain markets to facilitate the selling of paddy at suitable rates.

He also demanded the government agency, HAFED, to purchase the basmati varieties including 1509, 1121, and others as it had earlier purchased these. By doing so the farmers would get a better worth of their paddy.

Chandigarh, September 22
The Haryana Lokayukta today reserved its order on a petition against Haryana Health Minister Rao Narinder Singh and four other MLAs accused of demanding money in lieu of grant of change of land use (CLU) permission.

Sources said the Lokayukta reserved the order after the conclusion of arguments by both sides in which Rao Narinder and other MLAs raised questions on the authenticity of the video clips released by the main Opposition.

The clips show them demanding money for getting CLUs.

Earlier, the Lokayukta had directed Chief Parliamentary Secretary Vinod Bhayana, Raita MLA Jarnail Singh, Barwala MLA Ram Niwas Ghorela and Uklana MLA Naresh Selwal to file affidavits whether they were ready to give voice samples to determine the authenticity of the videos.

Demanding registration of an FIR against the accused, the Indian National Lok Dal’s counsel contended that the video clips were authentic and the original recording equipment was still ‘preserved’ with the Dharminder Kohan, who conducted the sting operation.

Ambala, September 22
Additional Sessions Judge Bimlesh Tanvar has dismissed the application of a minor rape victim, who had sought permission from the court for terminating her pregnancy. She said bearing an unwanted child could result in a grave injury to her mental health, since it was caused due to rape.

The 16-year-old victim had filed an application in court a few days ago through her parents. The court recorded her statement on Friday and reserved the order for September 20. The victim and one of her cousin sisters were residing in a village in the Mulana constituency. She alleged two youths known to one of her female relatives took them to Karnal on April 5.

She said one of the youths, Surjit, married her in a Mohali gurdwara by making a false certificate of their age. Later, he raped her and she conceived. She requested the court that she was not physically fit to give birth to a child, so she should be allowed to terminate the pregnancy.

Earlier, on the complaint of the parents of the girl, the police had registered a case against Surjit and a few others. On July 18, the police rescued both the girls from their custody. The accused were arrested. Surjit has also filed a petition in the local civil court seeking injunction to restrain the victim from going for abortion, as he was her husband. — OC

Yamunanagar, September 22
A girl got pregnant at a Children Home, being run by the Institute of Child Care at Chhachhrauli in this district.

Both the girl (18) and the boy (19) are Children Home inmates. While the girl was handed over to the Haryana State Child Welfare Council, Chandigarh, on September12, the boy, who belongs to Yamunanagar district, was sent to his guardians. The council has sent the girl to Shishu Greh, Panchkula, so that she could get proper care. The Child Welfare Committee recorded the statements of the boy and the girl, who stated that they wished to marry. The committee has conveyed their wish to the senior authorities.

While the girl has been living at Children Home, Chhachhrauli since 2007, the boy has been there since 2006. A child who attains the age of 18 can’t stay at such shelter homes, they were living as the girl is an orphan. Satpal Kaur, chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, said the boy’s guardians had agreed to solemnise the marriage. — OC

Bhiwani, September 22
The 14-year-old rape victim, who had approached court to allow abortion, has requested the health authorities for termination of her pregnancy. A local court has directed the victim’s parents to approach a proper forum as per law. She is five months pregnant.

After hearing the case on the application submitted to court, judicial magistrate Prateek Jain stated the victim was free to approach the proper forum for abortion as per law. The court also remarked that “the foetus is relevant for throwing light on the prosecution case”. Therefore, the investigating officer of the case is directed to remain in touch with the prosecutor.

The victim was sexually abused by her 55-year-old neighbour, Nihal Singh, in a village under the Barwala police station in the district for six months.

Seeking abortion, advocates Lal Bahadur Khowal and Vikram Mittal argued that “under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (1971), the court is empowered to allow a woman to go for abortion. As per the Act, where any pregnancy is alleged to have been caused by rape, the anguish shall be presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the victim,” Khowal said.