Chandigarh, November 10
Issuing fresh non-bailable warrants of arrest against Sant Rampal, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today made it clear to the self-styled spiritual guru that the court can direct the state to smoke him out even if he holes up in a bunker.

The High Court observed that collusion between the state and Rampal was apparent, after it took exception to the constitution of a medical board to examine him without seeking the Bench’s permission. The Bench junked the report prepared by the board that said the contemner was hospitalised with chest pain.

“We are not happy with the way in which a medical board was constituted, without the authority of this Court, in order to evade implementation of the directions of this Court,” the Bench of Justice M Jeyapaul and Justice Sneh Prashar asserted before initiating proceedings for cancellation of bail granted to Rampal in a murder case.

The Bench once again directed the Haryana DGP and Home Secretary “to ensure that the non-bailable warrant is executed and the contemner Rampal is brought before the Court on or before the next date of hearing”.

“It is made clear that the DGP and the Home Secretary shall be present in Court at 10 am on November 17 in the event of non-execution of non-bailable warrant issued as against contemner Rampal,” it said.

The directions came after the police failed to arrest and produce Rampal before the court. Facing contempt of court proceedings, he and his aide Ram Kanwar Dhaka were on the previous hearing directed to be arrested and brought before the court today.

As the case came up for hearing this morning, Dhaka was produced in custody before the Bench. At that time, Haryana DGP SN Vashisht, Additional DGP Muhammad Akil and IPS officer Maneesh Chaudhary were present.

Appearing for the first time as Haryana Advocate-General, senior advocate BR Mahajan sought additional time for arresting Rampal. Expressing apprehensions of a backlash by Rampal supporters gathered outside his ashram, Mahajan submitted that the doctors at the district level were associated with the board to test the veracity of information passed on by one of the disciples that Rampal was ill.

Justice Jeyapaul added that the police had come out with “two sets of excuses” for not executing the non-bailable warrants: the force provided was grossly inadequate to maintain law and order and Rampal was found “seriously ill”.

Miffed, Justice Jeyapaul questioned the action of constituting the board. “Who asked you to constitute the Board? This is beyond the brief of the Home Secretary. You should have come to us for advice. This is to outsmart the Court…. The medical report is to facilitate the other side…. You will not arrest him, even if we give you a month,” Justice Jeyapaul verbally observed in the open court.

Barwala (Hisar), Nov 10
Thousands of women and children squatted in front of the Satlok ashram, while stick-wielding youths guarded every corner of the premises.

Police personnel and paramilitary forces were deployed at the Barwala police station, 5 km from the ashram. They, however, did not make an attempt to arrest Sant Rampal in compliance with the Punjab and Haryana High Court directions.

The self-styled godman remained confined to his fortified ashram being guarded by his followers for the past four days.

As the three-day “satsang” concluded on Sunday, thousands of followers decided to stay put at the ashram. They claimed Sant Rampal was being implicated in criminal cases. “We have been giving due regard to the judiciary, as guruji has been regularly appearing in courts ever since he was booked in criminal cases. But the judiciary has been harassing Sant Rampal, as some judges are issuing judgments as per their whims. We will not tolerate this injustice being meted out to our guruji,” said Sushila Devi, a professor in Haryana Agricultural University (HAU).

She is among several other followers sitting outside the ashram with her hands folded and hymning prayers. “The followers will not bow to the unjustified verdicts of the judiciary.”

“The followers will remain at the ashram till justice is done to us,” said Ramavtar Dass, state chief of the Rashtriya Samaj Sewa Samiti (RSSS).

Ashram spokesperson Raj Kapoor Dass said the condition of Sant Rampal had not improved. “He is under constant observation of a team of cardiologists, as he has been suffering from chest pain and other ailments. The satsang is over and disciples can head for their homes. But we cannot force anybody to leave. The ashram authorities have been making arrangements for their stay here,” he said.

Traffic movement outside the ashram was smooth. Directions were issued to followers not to create any obstacles on the highway. 

Gurgaon, November 10
With the Union Ministry getting five members from the National Capital Region, BJP has surely scored brownie points in the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

With the party loyalists from Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad getting ample representation in the Cabinet, the party seems to have worked out a perfect social equation that is expected to win it the favour of Jats, Gujjars and Brahmins alike.

Inclusion of two Jat leaders Sanwar Lal Jat from Rajasthan and Birender Singh from Haryana has to a great extent balanced the BJP’s decision of going in for a non-Jat CM in Haryana and landed it in the good books of the community. Earlier, Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan was the lone Jat minister in the Modi Cabinet.

“Jats not only play a key role in Haryana politics, but also have a sizeable share in Delhi. To garner the support of Gujjars and Brahmins, the BJP has leaders such as Mahesh Sharma, Harsh Vardhan, Rao Inderjit Singh, VK Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar,” said a party leader from Haryana.

Jats have a huge vote share in rural Delhi as out of 364 villages in the Capital, over 200 are Jat-dominated. Gujjars dominate the vote share in around 70 villages. Brahmins, though less in number, play an important role in rural areas.

The BJP had won all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi besides sweeping across constituencies of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Gautam Budhha Nagar, Ghaziabad and Sonepat, which constitute the NCR.

Chandigarh, November 10
The appointment of Kiran Choudhry as leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has once again brought to fore the closeness she shares with party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The party has done a balancing act to appease all those who have been vocal in their attack on former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for the party’s dismal performance in the Assembly elections.

Though, somewhat on expected lines, it was clear that with the state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar being a Dalit, the CLP leader would be a non-Dalit. But, the Hooda camp was pushing for the appointment of former Speaker Kuldeep Sharma for this slot.

The other Hooda-loyalist and former Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal is also a Dalit, so if she was made the CLP leader then the Congress president too would have had to be changed, which the party does not want at this juncture.

The Congress which won 13 out of the 15 seats from the Deswali belt comprising Jat-dominated Jhajjar, Sonepat and Rohtak districts could not let the voters down by bringing a non-Jat leader. So Kiran Choudhry fit this slot well, besides giving representation to a woman.

Since Congress is the third largest party in the Vidhan Sabha, it does not qualify to have leader of Opposition from among its members. Further with the BJP picking up Chaudhary Birender Singh to become the Union Minister for Rural Development, the Congress which is still a formidable force in the state politics wanted to counter the BJP’s “please Jat effect” by giving the position to another Jat, and Kiran Choudhry fit the bill perfectly.

The other Jat leader who was a probable for this job was Randeep Singh Surjewala, who retained his Kaithal seat despite the Modi wave. But since he is already the Congress spokesperson and is considered close to Hooda, Kiran’s aggressiveness made her the party’s choice.

The non-Jats have voted for the BJP in a big way, so the appointment of a Jat by the Congress as a CLP leader is also being viewed as the party’s move to consolidate its Jat vote base.

Kiran Choudhry has said the party President Sonia Gandhi has reposed faith in her and she has been chosen despite a lot of opposition to her name from within her party. This indicates that all may not be well within the Congress legislative party, but with the House having only 15 members from the Congress including Kiran, her task will not be very difficult to manage her colleagues.

Choudhry fought the election under the campaign of Hooda and retained her Tosham seat despite Congress’ total wipeout from other seats in the region. She will now have to prove her political abilities again by taking on the BJP in the House and perform the role of the Opposition, especially since the Indian National Lok Dal that has 19 members in the House is considered sympathetic towards the BJP Government.

Ambala, November 10
Health and Sports Minister Anil Vij said the state government would review the previous government’s decision to constitute Municipal Corporations and Police Commissionerates across the state.

Addressing the BJP workers at a meeting held today, Vij said the corporations and commissionerates were set up without taking into consideration the limited resources of the civic bodies. He said such decisions taken by the previous governments not only strained the available resources with the civic bodies, but also created more problems for the local residents.

Vij said the state government would review these decisions after taking the public opinion into consideration and if a general consensus was found against setting up of corporations and commissionerates, an appropriate decision to dissolve these would be taken by the state government.

He said instead of ensuring basic amenities for the masses, the Congress government misled the people of the state with a false propaganda of Haryana being the No. 1 state.

Vij emphasised that the BJP was committed towards providing the people of the state with a transparent government for which efforts were already afoot and results would be visible in the next few months.

He claimed the Congress government could not fulfil even a single promise made during its 10-year rule. 

Faridabad, November 10
Various industrial associations have reiterated the demand for regularisation of the industrial units operating in the non-conforming areas of the city. While entrepreneurs have taken up the issue with local MLAs and the MP, they have pinned hopes on the new state government for getting their demand accepted. Almost 75 per cent of the industrial units here are located in non-regularised zones, it is claimed.

“We have been running from pillar to post for many decades to get these thousands of industrial units regularised but to no avail,” claimed Ramneek Prabhakar of the Industrial Area Welfare Association, Faridabad.

He said the majority of the units operating from non-confirming zones were small and medium and the demand to get them regularised was raised several years ago. The hurdles connected with the location of these units had hampered their growth and development, causing problems for the entrepreneurs. The problems being faced by such units include non-approval of loans or financial help from the banks, lack of basic amenities and non-compliance of norms related to pollution and environment. “Had the demand been accepted, both the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) and the industrial units operating from such pockets would have benefited in terms of higher revenue for the civic body and proper growth of the industrial environment of the city,” he claimed, adding that the environment had been a victim of slump and negative sentiments over the past couple of decades.

“Non-confirming areas that include Krishna Colony, Sarurpur, New DLF, SGM Nagar, Indira Colony, Mujesar and Dabua-Pali road have more than 15,000 small and medium functional units. Mixing of industrial and residential pockets has led to water and air pollution in these areas,” said a member of the Manufacturers’ Association Faridabad (MAF).

He revealed that local MLAs and MP had been apprised of the problem. “The official industrial zone of Sector 24, 25, Industrial Area (NIT), HSIDC and newly carved IMT were able to adjust up to 25 per cent of the total units. We have taken up the demand with Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar and other representatives for getting the units regularised,” said Arun Bajaj of the Laghu Udhyog Bharti.

Chandigarh, November 10
Former Congressman and Jat leader Birender Singh, who was inducted into the Modi Cabinet yesterday, is set to be re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana.

Sources Birender Singh, who resigned from the RS on August 28, 2014, to join the BJP, will complete the remainder of his term till August 2, 2016, for one of the seats which had fallen vacant in the state. Singh was elected to the RS on a Congress ticket in 2010.

Besides his seat, another vacancy arose after the resignation of the INLD legislator from Nalwa, Ranbir Singh Prajapati, recently. The term of both the seats will expire on August 2, 2016.

Sources said the ECI would soon notify the schedule for the conduct of the election to both the seats. Following this, the Vidhan Sabha secretariat would chalk out out the modalities for the election.

Though the new ministers have six months’ to get elected to either of the Houses of Parliament, yet the BJP would prefer to send Birender Singh to the upper house as soon as possible. This would send a right signal to the dominant Jat community in Haryana, especially after the party named non-Jat Manohar Lal Khattar as the CM. The BJP, which has 47 members in the 90-member house, has the support of five more MLAs and both the seats are expected to go the saffron party.

In fact, it would be the first time since 1990 that a BJP government will be able to send its nominees to the Rajya Sabha from the state. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was the lone BJP nominee to reach Rajya Sabha in 1990 but with the support of the Lok Dal. Later, her husband Swaraj Kaushal was also elected on the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) symbol in 1999 during the Bansi Lal-led HVP-BJP government. However, with a divided Opposition, the BJP nominees are set to have a smooth sailing in the election to the RS.

Kaithal, November 10
Private bus operators went on an indefinite strike and parked their buses on the premises of the traffic park adjoining the main bus stand here today.

This is due to the failure of the transport department to allot a timetable to them failing which they were unable to run their buses.

Dalbir Singh, President of the Transport Operators Union, said that they had no alternative but to discontinue plying of their vehicles on routes allotted to them earlier. They had been allotted permits three months ago and had started plying their vehicles. However, due to their dispute with Haryana Roadways employees they had discontinued their services.

In the present circumstances, they were suffering huge financial losses as they had raised loans from the banks and were unable to repay them.

He refuted allegations that they were plying buses on various routes in an unauthorized manner. The private bus service was not in operation and they all had parked their buses outside their homes or at other places. However to clarify their position they have now parked their buses in the traffic park area.

A former chief of the agitators, Virendar Sangwan, said that they had recently met Transport Minister Ram Bilas Sharma and had sought his intervention to find solution to their outstanding problem.

RS Chahal, RTA, said that they had talks with the protestors but the matter could not be resolved .On the other hand, passengers were inconvenienced as a limited number of Haryana Roadways ply on certain routes. 

Faridabad, November 10
The revenue authorities have started the process of acquiring another 175 acres for the ambitious Railway Freight Corridor project in the district. The project will provide a dedicated corridor for the movement of goods from the NCR to Mumbai. The Ministry of Railways is constructing a Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) covering about 3,300 km on two routes — the Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni in West Bengal and the Western Corridor from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai to Tughlakabad, Delhi.

The authorities said the detailed plan of acquisition had been prepared and would soon be submitted to the state government for further action. “We have started the process under which around 175 acres belonging to 20 villages have been proposed to be acquired for the project,” said Kulbir Singh Dhaka, District Revenue Officer (DRO).

Claiming that while the award of compensation would be announced after the issue of notification in this regard, he said around 444 acres had already been acquired for the purpose. A compensation of Rs 365 crore has already been released to the land owners, it is claimed. Villages whose land is likely to be acquired include Dayalpur, Prahladpur, Majra, Deeg, Fafundapur, Machhgar, Bukharpur, Navada, Tigoan, Neemka, Sadpuar, Faridpur, Kheri Kalan, Nachauli, Bhupani, Dadai, Chakamjai, Lalpur, Nachauli and Mahawatpur.

In 2007, the Centre had decided to construct a Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor linking Delhi and Mumbai (Delhi-Mumbai Dedicated Freight Corridor). As per the alignment surveyed by RITES, the proposed 2,762-km corridor will enter Haryana from Narnaul in Mahendragarh district and pass through Rewari, Dharuhera, Tauru, Sohna and Asaoti near Prithla. From here it will be linked to Tughlakabad in New Delhi and Dadri in UP. The length of the corridor in Haryana is about 274 km. The authorities have also decided to develop the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) up to 150 km as an influence zone of the corridor where industrial and logistic hubs will be developed.

A Dry Port or Freight City at Prithla of Faridabad district has also been proposed under the draft plan already notified. 

Sonepat, November 10
Farmers blocked the Sonepat-Rohtak road in front of the new grain market in protest against not getting the remunerative prices of superfine quality paddy during the auction here today.

Following this, the police and market committee officials reached the spot and assured the farmers that their demands would be forwarded to the government. They also assured complete transparency in the auctioning of the produce.

The farmers alleged that while last year they had received Rs 4200 - 5000 per quintal, they were hardly getting Rs 2200 - 2800 per quintal this year.

The blockade was lifted after an hour but resulted in a lot of hardship to commuters on the main road.

Market committee officials maintained that the prices in the market were the same in all the markets of the state. It appears to be spontaneous response since it’s an open market and there was no distress sale, they commented.

Jind, November 10
After getting their demand of action against the Jind SP fulfilled, the agitating doctors today called off their strike and resumed duties. They, however, announced to review the investigations in the case after 72 hours and threatened a stir again if the government failed to arrest the accused.

The doctors had stopped all emergency services in Jind district on Monday after an irate mob attacked doctors at the Jind Civil Hospital.

After a meeting with the medical authorities, the doctors announced to resume their duties from 8 pm today and announced that there would be no strike across the state from tomorrow.

DC Jind Ashok K Meena, who was also present during the meeting, confirmed to The Tribune that doctors had agreed to end their strike.

“Kuldeep Singh, Kaithal SP, has been given an additional charge of Jind SP, relieving Anil Dhawan. Dhawan’s posting orders will be issued later,” said a press release of the state government.

Dhawan has denied all allegations of his failure to take timely action to protect doctors during the attack last Monday.

“We have called off our strike as the state government has transferred Dhawan. We will hold another meeting of all associations after 72 hours to review the progress of the case. If the police fail to arrest the accused, we will announce our future course of action,” said Dr Arun Kumar, district general sectary, HCMSA.

On November 5, Darshan Pal, a local shopkeeper, was shot dead. Later, his relatives and some locals allegedly vandalised the Jind Civil Hospital and attacked doctors. The police have registered a case against Dr Krishan Middha, son of local INLD MLA Dr Harichand Middha, Raju Lakhina and Ashok Lakhina.

“We have arrested Raju Lakhina and Ashok and conducting raids to arrest Middha,” said Sadhu Ram, Jind city SHO.

Rohtak, November 10
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said the BJP aimed at having 16.5 lakh members through online registration across the state. He was addressing a gathering after launching a state-level membership drive at the state BJP headquarters today.

The CM was the first to be registered as a BJP member through online registration. He said the party targeted to have 10 per cent state voters, which comes around 16.5 lakh, as its members in the state.

Any person above 18 years of age could get primary membership of the BJP by giving a missed call on 18002662020. The party hoped to make 100 members at every booth, said the CM.

He said after getting the primary membership of the BJP, those who fulfil certain criteria would be made active members of the party. Such active members would also be given some responsibility in the party, he said.

Khattar pointed out that the BJP had honoured a simple worker like him by installing him as the CM.

State BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma and in charge of Haryana affairs Anil Jain also received party membership through online registration. 

Sirsa, November 10
CMK National PG College for Women, Sirsa, has won the overall trophy in the three-day cultural youth festival of Chaudhary Devi Lal University (CDLU) that ended here today.

The college teams won seven events and stood second in eight.

Manohar Memorial Post Graduate College, Fatehabad, was declared runner-up. It won nine events and stood second in five.

Prof Rajbir Singh, Director, Consortium for Educational Communication in the University Grants Commission, was the chief guest.

Exhorting students to participate in youth festivals in large numbers, Rajbir Singh said such events helped in developing personality of students.

Vice Chancellor Radhe Sham Sharma, who presided over the closing ceremony, said it was for the first time that the university had hosted a youth festival. Earlier it was organised in some affiliated college, he said.

Giving details of the results, Deepti Dharmani, director, youth and cultural affairs of the university, said teams of CMK National PG College were adjudged winners in dance, classical vocal, group song, Sanskrit play, ghazal, Haryanavi folk song and group song competitions.

The winner college’s teams stood second in western group song, western vocal solo, western instrumental, choreography, Haryanavi group song and Haryanavi pop songs competition.

Dharmani said Manohar Memorial Post Graduate College was stood first in the folk song, classical dance, Haryana song solo, qawwali, western group song, western vocal solo, western instrumental, one act play and Haryanavi group song contests.

Chandigarh, November 10
Haryana Mahila Congress president Sumitra Chauhan has resigned from her post barely nine months after she was appointed. In her resignation sent to AICC president Sonia Gandhi, she cited “personal circumstances” for her decision to quit the post. 

However, sources said she had resigned against the backdrop of the party’s dismal performance both in the LS and Assembly poll. The high command had nominated Chauhan, considered close to veteran Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi, as Mahila Congress chief in February replacing former Karnal MLA Sumita Singh. —TNS

Ambala, November 10
The Haryana School Education Board (HSEB) today took a U-turn by holding back its decision to withdraw the affiliations of more than 1,000 private schools in the state.

The board has left the matter to the Education Department to decide the fate of these schools.

The HSEB had, on November 1, sent notices to the private schools, informing them that their affiliations had been rejected and asked the authorities to appear before it. Since these schools did not meet the land norms, which came into existence in 2003, the Education Department did not recognise them. The norms made it mandatory for them to have at least 2 acres to be recognised by the department.

As several schools were already functional before 2003, the department granted them permission to continue admitting students. On the basis of this permission, the HSEB provided these schools with affiliation.

The schools continued to demand that the norms be relaxed, but no decision was taken in this regard. But the schools continued to admit students every year and produced the admission data before the department.

Kulbhushan Sharma, president of the Haryana Federation of Private School Welfare Associations, said: “The notices states that the affiliation was rejected on May 2, 2014. The schools were not intimated regarding this and the authorities continued to admit students.”

In August and September, he said, the schools produced the admission details before the District Education Officers (DEOs), who counter-signed the admission registers validating the admissions.

Sharma added that the notices caught the schools off guard and put more than 40,000 students across the state in a fix. HSEB Secretary Ashok Kumar Sharma told The Tribune that notices were sent on the basis of reports received from special committees formed under Deputy Commissioners who were asked to look into the matter of “unrecognised” schools.

“The HSEB is not taking any action against the private schools and will instead wait for the Education Department to clarify its stand on the issue,” he added.

Sonepat, November 10
Goods and property worth lakhs was gutted in fire in a grocery shop on the Delhi road here in the early hours of Monday. A shout-circuit is believed to have caused the fire.

People living in the vicinity of the shop noticed smoke around 4 am and informed shop owner Naresh as well as the fire brigade. Firemen took around one hour to extinguish the fire.

BJP state vice-president Rajiv Jain reached the spot and said he would try to get the shopkeeper compensation from the government. “It is the BJP’s policy to set up 
a ‘Beopari Kalyan Kosh’ to compensate shopkeepers for losses caused by fire and other reasons,” he said. 

Kurukshetra November 10
A newborn girl was found abandoned beneath an underpass near Pipli bus stand last night.

Sources said a passerby heard the baby’s cries around 2.30 am and informed the police. The girl is around 20 to 25- days-old. A police team reached the infant to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hosptial where she was kept in the Special New Born Care Unit under supervision.

CMO Dr JS Garewal said “We are feeding her and she is healthy. Further medical tests are being conducted and she will be sent to the child protection care centre.”

“The girl weighs around 2.8 kg and many people have expressed their desire to adopt her, Dr Jagmal said. A case under Section 317 of the IPC has been registered. — TNS

Jhajjar, November 10
A man was killed and his friend sustained bullet injuries when two motorbike-borne assailants opened several rounds of fire upon them in Sheria village under Beri police station in this district today. The killers fled after the crime.

The deceased has been identified as Maya Prakash (28) of Mauja Bhojpur village in Lakhimpur (Uttar Pradesh). Bachpan Singh has been admitted to PGIMS in Rohtak 
where his condition is stated to be critical.

The attack took place around 1 pm when Maya Prakash and Bachpan were going to their room after working in the fields at Sheria village. The assailants came on a motorbike and started firing upon them from close range without saying anything. Maya Prakash reportedly died on the spot.

Injured Bachpan was immediately taken to the Community Health Centre at Dighal village from where he was referred to PGIMS Rohtak due to his critical condition.

The Beri police have started investigation after registering a case of murder against the killers. No clue about the assailants was found till filling of the report. A team of forensic experts also visited the crime scene and lifted some blood samples.

“The statements of Maya Prakash and Bachpan’s friends are being recorded for information about the killers. In his statement, Bachpan has denied enmity with anyone in the area,” said Jasbir Singh, incharge of Beri police station. 

Ambala, November 10
Four unidentified robbers snatched the car of a youth at gun point on the Ambala-Hisar road near Ambala City last late night.

The Sadar police station has registered a case on a complaint by Gurpreet Singh against the unknown robbers. He said he was coming back to his village Sounda in his car along with his friend Taranjeet Singh after attending a function at a nearby village. Just before his village, four muffled robbers stopped his car and forced him out of the car at gunpoint. They later fled away with the car.

SHO Hitesh Sharma said they were investigating the matter.