Kaithal, October 24
The farmers across the district are being forced to make distress sales of paddy crop at Kaithal, Cheeka, Kalayat, Pundri, Rajound and Siwan mandis, resulting in huge financial losses.

The prevailing low prices of different varieties in the market, low yield due to untimely rains and crop diseases have aggravated the farmers’ problems. The worst affected are those, who had sown superior varieties of paddy such as 1121 , Mucchal, 1509 and Basmati. Those who had sown common varieties of paddy are selling their crop at the minimum support price (MSP).

Meanwhile, standing basmati crop in some areas has started showing signs of diseases, which may further aggravate the farmers’ worries. Many farmers have complained that they will have to wait for days to find buyers for their produce and they have blamed the government for their plight.

During a visit to the Kaithal grain market it was noticed that Mucchal paddy that fetched Rs 3,800 to 4,400 per quintal during the last year, was being sold between Rs 2,000 to 2,300 this season.

Balwinder Singh, a farmer from Farashmajra village, said he owned seven acres of land and had taken ten acres on lease for Rs 50,000 per acre expecting a bumper crop and keeping in view the price of paddy last year. He suffered a huge loss and has been unable to earn any profit

keeping in view the low price of Muchhal and the increasing cost of labour and lesser yield caused by untimely rains.

Kulwinder Singh, another farmer from a neighbouring Polar village said keeping in mind the high price, he planted 1509 variety of paddy and hoped to get good returns. But this season the variety was being sold in the range of Rs 2,800 to 2,900 per quintal as compared to last year’s Rs 3,300 to 3,400.

This was the case of crop harvested manually and the rates of paddy harvested with combine were even lesser in the range of Rs 2,550 to 2,650. The prevailing rate of 1121 variety was Rs 3,000 to 3,200 as compared to Rs 4,200-4,500 per quintal last year.

Kulwinder added initially drought and then untimely rains played havoc with the standing crop, which was ready for harvest, affecting the per acre yield and increasing the cost of labour.

Anoop Bansal, former president of new anaj mandi, said there were lesser buyers in the market for superior variety of paddy. The poor quality of crop was also responsible for the lesser rates this year. The arrivals of paddy from certain areas of Punjab in Kaithal and neighbouring mandies have also had an adverse affect on the market price.

Sham Lal another commission agent said last year the rates of superior variety paddy were abnormally high. The farmers expecting high rates this season too, planted superior paddy but the rates this season are much below that of last year, which had disappointed these farmers.

New Delhi, October 24
Stung by the humiliating defeat in Haryana, the Congress has begun an internal exercise to find the reasons for the “colossal loss”.

An internal Congress report has zeroed in on seven reasons for the debacle, topmost among these being the Dera factor followed by former state CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s one-upmanship and considerable internal damage to the party’s prospects by frequent statements by top leaders regarding lopsided development in the state.

Steering clear of the BJP-led allegations of corruption against Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s son-in- law Robert Vadra, the report is learnt to have acknowledged “perceived corruption” as another reason for the party’s defeat, besides the faulty ticket distribution in at least 30 segments.

The Tribune has learnt that the report has been submitted to Sonia before she starts meeting Haryana Congress functionaries on Monday.

The report offers a detailed analysis of the last-minute support Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh announced for the BJP. It mentions how this factor pushed the Congress to the third spot in Haryana after the BJP and the INLD.

The analysis revolves around the estimated 18 lakh supporters of the Dera who proved decisive in and around the Sirsa belt . The Congress talks of how this swing of around 18 lakh votes in an electorate of 1.65 crore proved decisive considering these votes traditionally come to it.

“Had the Dera not backed the BJP, we would have benefited from the Dera bloc. But the decision to back the BJP put us out of contest in Sirsa and the belt around where the INLD gained. We were pushed to the third position primarily on account of this factor,” a source in the Congress said.

The document is learnt to have referred in detail as to how loud and frequent allegations of lopsided development in Haryana by top leaders (such as former Congressmen Rao Inderjit, Birender Singh, Avtar Bhadana and a host of current leaders) within the party put the Congress at a serious disadvantage.

The Tribune has learnt that the report takes notes of the fact that no one substantiated these allegations with facts and soon the media and the opposition picked up the issue which the “insiders gave them on a platter”.

The report submitted to Sonia also admits to Hooda’s one-upmanship being a factor in the defeat. It mentions that the former CM failed to “take everyone along even though as the leader he was expected to build a team”. This acknowledgment comes in the wake of Haryana Congress leaders, including state party chief Ashok Tanwar, Kiran Choudhary, and Ajay Yadav, blaming the CM for failing to get the “other voices” on board.

Among other factors the internal report holds responsible for the defeat is “perceived corruption” considering the Congress gave the ticket to six sitting MLAs accused on tape of accepting money in lieu of land use change. All of them lost.

Finally, the faulty ticket distribution in at least 30 seats has been discussed in the report which is learnt to have admitted in hindsight that in 30 segments the Congress was virtually out of contest. Congress leaders admit Hooda had a principal say in ticket distribution and the party did go along with his choices in most segments.

The Congress leadership is expected to effect major changes in Haryana depending on the outcome of meetings Sonia has with state functionaries — AICC general secretary Shakeel Ahmad, AICC secretary Asha Kumari and other office-bearers from Monday.

Fatehabad, October 24
With Karnal MLA Manohar Lal Khattar set to take over as the 10th Chief Minister of Haryana on October 26, it will be interesting to watch what decision his government takes on the upcoming nuclear power project at Gorakhpur village in this district.

The BJP had supported two-year-long agitation of farmers against the project during which three protesters lost their lives.

While addressing a rally in Gorakhpur village in July, Khattar had promised to review the project once the BJP came to power, as his party, he had said, was against diverting fertile land for such projects.

Then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had laid the foundation stone of the nuclear power plant named Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP) on January 13. The work on the project is yet to start.

Then Congress government had allegedly organised the foundation stone laying ceremony in haste in view of the impending Lok Sabha elections though the environment clearance for the project issued a few days before the ceremony contained several riders.

Villagers living in the vicinity of the upcoming N-plant, environmentalists and animal rights activists have been opposing the project due to hazards associated with it. Several black bucks and deer have died after getting entangled in fencing around the project site.

Farmers, whose land was acquired, had protested for 26 months. They relented in October 2012 after the authorities convinced a majority of them to accept the compensation.

Several leaders such as General (retd) VK Singh and Maneka Gandhi, both ministers in the Narendra Modi government, had visited Fatehabad to oppose the project.

Khattar, too, had expressed similar concerns while addressing a public meeting in Gorakhpur after the recent parliamentary elections. “Though a majority of farmers have accepted compensation, the BJP is still concerned about the wastage of fertile land and shortage of irrigation water. The party is not against setting up of the nuclear power plants in principle, but it will review the project once the BJP comes to power. It will shift it to some other site where the land is not as fertile as it is in Gorakhpur,” Khattar had told the media on July 11.

Manohar Lal Khattar, CM-designate to the media on July 11

New Delhi, October 24
Two days before he assumes charge in Haryana, Chief Minister-designate Manohar Lal Khattar came calling at Keshavkunj, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Delhi.

Khattar, a committed sangh prachark for many years, was seen coming out of Keshavkunj located in the Jhandewalan area here.

Sources said the visit marked the beginning of the new Hindu calendar year-Samvat 2071.

In many parts of the country, especially Gujarat, the day after Diwali is celebrated as the first day of the Vikram Samvat calendar, ie the beginning of New Year.

Khattar has worked for almost four decades as a pracharak of the RSS.

He is believed to have been handpicked by the RSS and Prime Minister Modi to fight the elections from Karnal with a firm plan about his future role as the Chief Minister of Haryana.

In fact, his election as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party on October 21 was a mere formality.

Chandigarh, October 24
Haryana Chief Minister-designate Manohar Lal Khattar is set to have a leaner and ‘more professional’ Chief Minister’s Office(CMO).

The new incumbent is expected to maintain a ‘more manageable’ CMO than his predecessors so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission of providing good governance could be achieved, sources close to Khattar said, adding that more emphasis would on serving professional officers than retirees.

The final call on the key appointments in the CMO would be taken next week when Khattar formally assumes office after the swearing-in ceremony on October 26. Already, the process to appoint officers to key positions had been set in motion. “The emphasis would be on the officers of impeccable integrity and those, who virtually identified with the Hooda regime in the last 10 years, are certainly on their way out,” the sources said.

Hooda had at least a dozen officers in the CMO, including two Principal Secretaries, one Additional Principal Secretary, one Deputy Principal Secretary, one Principal OSD, at least three OSDs, besides four media advisors and one media coordinator.

However, all this may be a thing of the past. Khattar could have one Prinicipal Secretary and one Additional Prinicipal Secretary . The name of senior IAS officer Rajan Gupta is doing the rounds for the post of Principal Secretary. Similarly, the name of Rajesh Khullar, currently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, is also doing the rounds for this post.

The name of Pardeep Kasni, who red-flagged the appointments to the Right to Service and Information Commissions by the Hooda Government is being talked about for the post of the Additional Principal Secretary.

Meanwhile, sources said a big reshuffle was expected by next month in which ‘upright’ officers would be given plum postings to to fulfil the BJP’s dream of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’.

The name of Ajit Mohan Sharan, the senior-most officer presently on central deputation as Sports Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is doing the rounds for the post of Chief Secretary. The incumbent Shakuntala Jhakhu still has a month to go before her two-month extension ends.

- Sources

Chandigarh, October 24
The swearing-in ceremony of Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP’s first Chief Minister of Haryana, at the HUDA Ground, Sector 5,Panchkula, near here, will be a show of strength by the party with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading a galaxy of NDA leaders at the special function.

Haryana Chief Secretary Shakuntla Jakhu and DGP SN Vashist today held at meeting with senior BJP leaders, including Anil Vij and Vir Kumar Yadav, to review arrangements for the Prime Minister’s visit. Besides, senior police and administrative officials, a team of the Special Protection Group(SPG) also visited the venue to review security arrangements.

“Forming government in Haryana is a big day for the BJP and we are leaving no stone unturned to convert it to a historic occasion. In fact, Prime Minister Modi’s presence at the function will give it an added attraction and boost the morale of the BJP cadre, who worked day and night for the party’s success in the Assembly elections,” Anil Vij told The Tribune today.

While Modi’s presence at the function would catapult the function to the national level, the presence of leader of NDA alliance partners, including Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, would try to send a message to the electorate that despite a difference of opinion on several issues, the alliance with old allies would continue, at least in the short term.

The sources said Modi’s presence at the function where his protégé Khattar would be installed as the first BJP Chief Minister was natural as the Prime Minister campaigned intensively in the run-up to the Assembly elections on the issue of dynastic politics and corruption.

Sirsa, October 24
To counter his detractors who are digging up his past comments, wherein he allegedly backed khap panchayats and blamed women for rapes, Haryana CM-designate Manohar Lal Khattar has taken to Twitter to express his views on gender issue.

He has posted an article titled “All is not well — discrimination against women against very ethos of Indian life”, published in a daily in August to give an insight into his views on gender issue.

Ever since Khattar’s name has been announced as the Chief Minister, his detractors have been using his alleged comments to portray him as a conservative in his approach on women’s issues. He had reportedly said that if a girl was dressed decently, a boy would not look at her in a wrong way.

Without referring to his alleged comments posted on the social media, Khattar has tweeted his article from his Twitter handle Manohar Lal Khattar @bjpmla.

“Gender equality has always been the hallmark of ancient Indian civilisation. But of late, with the successive invasions, which took place from the western borders, societal changes crept in first in the form of protecting women and then subjugating them as commodity. Post colonial era saw the birth of many democracies in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where universal franchise became the order of the day and India took the lead role. Women in India got power to vote with the very first General Election of independent India. So, India has always been a proud nation, which gave its women equal rights in almost every spheres of life – political or otherwise,” Khattar writes in the article.

“Discrimination against girls and women is against the very ethos of Indian life, but unfortunately all is not that well and therefore a lot needs to be done to ensure gender equality. Need for such efforts are more required in states like Haryana, where successive governments ruled by different political parties failed to deliver on this count. Despite several success stories on account of solo efforts by our young daughters and sisters, face of Haryana could not change. Most of the social indicators point towards vulnerable condition of women, which weakens the social fabric of the state. Haryana is a state where male-female ratio is quite abysmal in the country. These indicate that people don’t prefer to have girl child,” Khattar further said in his article.

Khattar talked about several women achievers such as Yamnunanagar’s Sheena Aggarwal, who topped in the civil services examinations this year; Karnal’s Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman to go to space; mountaineer Santosh Yadav; badminton player Saina Nehwal; and discuss throw player Krishna Poonia. He cited these names to show how women from the state had scripted success stories from time to time.

Karnal, October 24
State BJP spokesman Jagmohan Anand said today that the BJP government would do inclusive development without any discrimination as it was doing at the Centre.

Interacting with mediapersons, Anand said the areas neglected by the previous governments would get the desired attention from the BJP government. “All development projects hanging fire in the state would be expedited and completed as the CM-designate Manohar Lal Khattar wanted to make Haryana the most progressive state in the country,” he added.

Jagmohan said the BJP would implement its manifesto and take care of the feelings of all sections of society in the state.

Karnal, October 24
The Chief Minister-designate, Manohar Lal Khattar, celebrated Diwali in his Assembly segment here yesterday. Supporters and residents greeted Khattar and wished him luck in his first stint as the CM during a function at the PWD Rest House.

“The aim is to provide clean, transparent and corruption-free governance and reach out to people without discriminating on regional lines,” Khattar said while addressing people.

Khattar set a goal of equaling Gujarat in terms of development. “State’s 2.5 crore people have given the BJP a mandate to form the government. They have done their duty. Now, it’s up to the BJP to perform and meet people’s expectations.” — TNS

Rewari, October 24
Having failed to secure the coveted post of Haryana Chief Minister even after giving all 11 MLAs to the BJP, the people of Ahirwal are now eying other prestigious posts — Deputy Chief Minister and Cabinet minister — for the development of the region which has been a backward area for a long time.

The residents stated that it would be gross ‘injustice’ to Ahirwal which includes Rewari, Mahendragarh and Gurgaon districts if the saffron party does not award two posts of the rank of the cabinet minister to this region.

“After putting all 11 legislators in the BJP’s kitty, Ahirwal has played an instrumental role in the formation of the BJP government for the first time in Haryana. Hence the post of Deputy Chief Minister, if the party creates it, should be allotted to Ahirwal as a reward for creating history in the region,” said Satish Kumar, a retired bureaucrat in Rewari.

The saffron party made a clean sweep by winning all 11 seats in Rewari, Mahendragarh and Gurgaon districts in the recently held Assembly elections.

It was for the first time when the BJP showed such a marvellous performance in the past 48 years after Haryana attained statehood in 1966.

In the last Assembly elections, the BJP failed to open its account in these districts of Ahirwal as the Congress romped home with seven and the INLD won three seats, while an Independent candidate managed to emerge victorious.

Significantly, both the Congress and the INLD failed to win even a single seat from here this time.

“After lending support to the BJP in the Assembly elections, the people of Ahirwal were quite hopeful to get the coveted post of Chief Minister after 48 years. However, the party shattered their hopes by designating RSS pracharak Manohar Lal Khattar for the same,” said Sunil Yadav, a businessman.

Vijay Kumar, a shopkeeper, said, “The BJP should either award the post of Deputy Chief Minister or give two berths in the state Cabinet to Ahirwal so as to ensure equal participation of every area in view of the poll performance.”

Notably, Rao Birender Singh, father of Rao Inderjit, had served as the Chief Minister of Haryana for some months in 1966. Barring this, no other leader from the region has been able to come up to this stature despite the fact that Ahirwal has always been a trendsetter for the state politics since the inception of Haryana.

Karnal, October 24
Former Deputy Speaker of Haryana Choudhary Vedpal today quit the INLD by resigning from its primary membership.

In February, he had quit the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as its state unit president and joined the INLD. He was one of the founder members of the NCP and worked for the NCP for around 15 years in the state. He would decide his future strategy on October 29.

Vedpal said his ideology was not matching with that of the INLD.

“The people of the state have rejected the agendas of local parties that were based on region, caste and dynastic politics in these elections. Now is the time to come forward for development without discrimination, corruption-free rule and a government for farmers,” he said.

Rewari, October 24
Diwali celebrations turned into a tragedy for three families when their kin died after inhaling a poisonous gas while cleaning a septic tank in a private industrial unit in the Bawal Industrial Town, about 15 km from here, on Thursday evening. All the deceased belonged to Bawal town.

The spare parts of two-wheelers were manufactured at the industrial unit.

Taking a serious note of the incident, the district authorities not only sealed the unit but also constituted a committee headed by Rewari SDM to probe the matter.

The registration of a case has also been ordered against the factory owner.

Rewari Deputy Commissioner (DC) RC Verma told The Tribune that seven youths had been summoned by the AG factory to clear the blockage in its sewer line.

“One of the youths, Raj Tilak (22), first entered the septic tank and fell unconscious due to inhaling the toxic gas. When Raj did not respond for several minutes, the other youths got suspicious and entered the tank,” said Verma.

Subsequently, Dinesh Kumar (47), and Suraj (19), also descended into the tank but fell unconscious due to the toxic gas. The trio was later pulled out by their friends along with the help of security guards. Though they were rushed to a hospital, they were declared brought dead by the doctors.

”I have ordered an inquiry committee to submit its report within the next three days so as to take further action against the guilty persons. The committee will also ascertain whether adequate safety measures were adopted by the factory authorities,” said Verma.

Meanwhile, the family members of the victims were informed about the incident. The Rewari District Red Cross Society has provided them a financial aid of Rs 10,000. The victims’ cases have also been prepared to get Rs 1 lakh each released under the Rajeev Gandhi Insurance Scheme.

Jind, October 24
In the absence of adequate infrastructure, Jind district administration converted a hostel for jail wardens into a safe house for couples on the run around two and half years ago; the administration is yet to make permanent arrangements for these runaway couples.

The hostel for jail wardens at the Jind Central Jail

Due to this arrangement, around 93 jail wardens, who are responsible for the security of Central Jail here, are facing inconvenience without the required resting space as the administration has neither made any alternative arrangement for them nor has any plans to shift the safe house to another building.

The warden’s hostel was constructed after much efforts of the jail administration as the old hostel had a capacity to accommodate only 20 people and it was constructed in 1985.

During the last 10-15 years, the number of posts for jail wardens has risen to 83 while there are around 10 constables. But since the new building is being used to safeguard eloped couples, the wardens continue to adjust in the old hostel.

“Due to the space crunch, many a times two wardens have to share a single cot as there is no space. We have been hearing that we will get the possession of our hostel since the last two years, but there has been no action,” said a jail warden, sitting inside the old hostel that is located just opposite to the new hostel.

Some wardens said during the duty hours, they work in shifts and everyone has to perform his duty for almost eight hours. The entire duty period is not at a stretch, as the wardens’ work four hours during the day and the rest during the night. Due to the different shift times the wardens cannot leave the premises and are stuck at the old hostel.

Repeated attempts to contact Jind SP Anil Dhawan proved futile as his mobile was out of coverage area. The mobile of SP (Jails) Dr Harish K Ranga was switched off while DSP (Jails) Sewa Singh confirmed that problems were being faced by their staff. “Our wardens have been facing problems due to lack of resting space. We have written to the Jind Administration to vacate our building and some action will be taken,” he said.

On the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the state government had set up a safe house in each district to provide refuge to runaway couples.

Jail wardens left high and dry

• Around 93 jail wardens responsible for the security of the Central Jail have been inconvenienced
• They do not have the required resting space as the administration has neither made any alternative arrangement nor has any plans to shift the safe house
• The warden's hostel was constructed after much efforts of the jail administration
• The old hostel had a capacity to accommodate only 20 people and it was constructed in 1985

Hisar, October 24
Zee Group owner Subhash Chandra Goenka has decided to stay put in Hisar to, what he said, “ensure all-round development of the city”. He played a key role in the victory of BJP’s local candidate Kamal Gupta who defeated Savitri Jindal by a comfortable margin.

“With the help of the government, the newly elected MLA and I will implement the growth agenda to bring the town on the national map,” he said during the foundation stone laying ceremony of a park in Agroha town of the district.

Goenka said they Gupta and he had already met the Deputy Commissioner regarding several problems that the city faced. “The problem of traffic congestion will be taken up on priority. Besides, the concerns of residents of Surya Nagar, Shiv Nagar and several other localities have been discussed with the authorities,” Goenka said, adding that the town will be transformed within a year.

Faridabad, October 24
As the new government prepares to take over the reins, the industrial fraternity is upbeat with the hopes of a new beginning to revive the lost glory of the city, which was known as the industrial hub of the state.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the city as the industrial capital of the state and stressed upon the need for adequate power supply and infrastructural facilities to revive the lost status of Faridabad,” claimed Navdeep Chawla, President of Faridabad Industries Association (FIA).

He said with the PM well aware of the problems in the area, the industry was looking forward to swift corrective measures from the new state government, which will be functional in a couple of days.

The elevation of local MP Krishan Pal Gurjar into the Union Cabinet is another factor that raised the hopes among the industry, which provides employment to thousands of persons besides contributing handsomely to the state exchequer.

Describing the need for setting more than one ‘mother’ industry in the city, Ramneek Prabhakar, General Secretary of the Manufacturers Association Faridabad MAF), the new government has generated hope among the industry that had been ignored during the last government’s tenure. He claimed the city that provided employment to a large number of people had itself become a victim to decline, resulting in a large number of units either closing down or migrating to other places over the past several years.

“While hundreds of manufacturing units are devoid of developed industrial sectors and parks, shortage of power supply and smooth roads has disfigured the industry in the city which was once known as the Manchester of north India, Prabhakar claimed.

We are hopeful of a new beginning as far as the industrial future is concerned and Faridabad stands to gain from it, claimed Rajiv Chawla of the Faridabad Small Industries Association.

The city has a little over 20,000 industrial units that include multinational, export oriented units, large medium and small scale industries at present.

Chandigarh, October 24
Just about five months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the authorities to upload information on results “relating to all public posts”, the Haryana Public Service Commission has finally complied with the orders.

The commission had initially moved the High Court against the orders dated May 22. The Haryana Staff Selection Commission and the Haryana School Teachers Selection Board had not filed an appeal against the orders.

As the case came up for resumed hearing before the Division Bench of Justice Satish Kumar Mittal and Justice Deepak Sibal, the commission’s counsel, on instructions from its District Attorney, informed the court that it too was complying with the directions.

Counsel also informed the court that necessary information, as indicated in the impugned order, was being uploaded on its website. He added: “In view of the aforesaid fact, the appellant commission does not want to press this appeal, with a rider to approach this court again, if some difficulty arises and some clarification is required”.

Taking a note of the contention, the Bench dismissed the petition as not pressed, with the rider. In his order, Justice Augustine George Masih had earlier directed the commission, HSSC and the HSTSB to ensure compliance with the provisions of Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, which “mandates the public authority to maintain records in the computerised form after the display of the result on the website”.

The directions were issued on petitions by Vikas Sharma and another petitioner through counsel Anu Chatrath Kapur.

Sonepat, October 24
Rajesh Chautala, a panwari at Gohana who received an electricity bill for over Rs 132 crore two days ago, today heaved a sigh of relief when the bijli vitran nigam authorities at Gohana corrected the bill and issued an actual bill for Rs 1,648 to him.

Rajesh runs a paan shop in a small rented room in the old grain market at Gohana and uses only a bulb and a fan. On October 22, he received a bill for Rs 1,32, 29,60,332 for 48 units to be paid by October 31. The bill included Rs 1,07,64,00,270 as energy charges and Rs 21,89,60,554 as an adjustment amount.

Rajesh brought it to the notice of the nigam authorities which corrected the bill today.

SN Sharma, Superintendent Engineer (SE) of Sonepat circle of the nigam, said the nigam had issued to the consumer a new bill for Rs 1,648 which included the bill for 48 units consumed during the last two months and the pending bill of 137 units before installing a new electricity meter in his shop. The SE attributed the inflated bill to a software error.

Sonepat, October 24
Yad Ram, president of the Kharkhoda Beopar Mandal, who had received an extortion call for paying Rs 50 lakh two days ago, has been provided security.

Police security has also been given to his son, Naveen, who was shot at and injured by armed miscreants on October 8 night near the old vegetable market at Kharkhoda. The police have formed three teams to nab the alleged accused —Rajesh of Buwana village in Delhi and Lamba of Barona village under Kharkhoda police station. — OC

Shahabad, October 24
In an unfortunate incident, three of a family including a two-and-a-half-month-old baby lost their lives after they were hit by two train engines in Shahabad on Thursday.

The victims have been identified as Ashok Kumar, Rekha Devi and Aarti of Sarang Village, Ambala. The police said Ashok Kumar had come to Shahabad on his motorcycle along with his sister-in-law Rekha Devi and her daughter Aarti to get medicines for Aarti.

Around 12:30 pm when they reached Jainpur village of Shahabad, they found the gate number 99 C closed. The accident occurred when Ashok attempted to cross the track and got hit by the train engines. The engines were on their way from Ambala to Shahabad.

Kurukshetra October 24
The district police have booked seven persons, including the deceased’s wife and in-laws, on the charge of abetment to suicide. Sandeep Kumar, the deceased, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his house by his parents yesterday.

Sandeep’s father, Babu Ram, a resident of Shankar Colony, Pipli, in his complaint to the police alleged that “my son took the extreme step after being harassed by his wife (Poonam Devi), her parents— Sahab Singh and Jasmeri Devi— and four other relatives.”

The police said all seven had been booked under Section 306, IPC. — TNS

Sirsa, October 24
Head constable Ishwar Singh working in the anti-sabotage cell (ASC) of the Haryana Police posted in Dera Sacha Sauda lost his wife when his motorcycle was hit by a truck near Mangalam Palace on the Sirsa–Fatehabad road.

While Ishwar Singh’s wife, who was riding pillion, died on the spot, he has been shifted to a private hospital with serious injuries. Reports stated Ishwar Singh was coming to Sirsa with his wife from Dera Sacha Sauda when the truck hit his motorcycle. — TNS

Kaithal, October 24
The police arrested five gamblers on Diwali eve and seized Rs 70,000 and a pack of cards from them.

Police Department PRO Roshan Lal said a police team found Sanjay, Suresh of Partap Gate , Naresh of Ambala Road, Rinku of Mata Gate and Anil of Amargarh gambling near Kirpal Ashram.

All five were taken into custody and booked under the Gambling Act.

Kaithal, October 24
A woman was killed while her family members suffered injuries when some persons allegedly attacked them following a dispute over payment of some money, which the victims owed them.

In a complaint lodged with the Civil Lines police by Vicky, the victim’s son and a resident of Jalandhariya Mohalla at Devi Road, he alleged on Wednesday night, Sumit, Sanjeev ,Chhotu, Kitabo, Bala Devi and Chaman of the same locality attacked his wife Pooja, his brother Sunny and his wife Seema and his mother Babli, following a dispute over some money.

The police said, Babli (52) sustained serious blows following which she fell unconscious and was rushed to the hospital where she died. The family had promised to pay money to the attackers after Diwali, but they (assailants) demanded the money earlier and attacked them.

The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the accused while the deceased’s body was handed over to her kin after the autopsy was conducted at the civil hospital.

Yamunanagar, October 24
A convict, Suresh Kumar, today committed suicide by hanging himself with a grill of a bathroom in the Jagadhri district jail today.

He was convicted in a case under Section 420, IPC, and had been lodged in the jail since June 10. Suresh Pal, SHO, Jagadhri, said the body was handed over to the deceased’s kin after a postmortem.