Panchkula, November 23
The new Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Panchkula, Hamid Akhtar, has a number of challenges lined up. With many gangs on the prowl in the city targeting residents, particularly elderly, Akhtar has a tough task ahead. Besides, he will have to tackle white-collar crime.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune over the phone from Rewari, the new DCP said, “I know there are many such areas to be worked upon. I will be able to tell about the area which I would be focusing on, only after I come to Panchkula.” He added, “I will assume the charge in Panchkula on Monday.”

Akhtar has replaced Rahul Sharma, who had a four-month stint here. Akhtar was the SP, Rewari. Sharma is now the SP, Panipat.

Meanwhile, the outgoing DCP, Rahul Sharma, was given a farewell by the Panchkula police here today. 

Sirsa, November 23
An RTI activist was allegedly held captive and mercilessly beaten up by some officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) here for exposing irregularities reportedly committed by them.

Narain Singh, a resident of Teg Bahadur Nagar, was rescued by a police team of the Khairpur police post. However, they have not registered any case so far.

Accusing the police of inaction, Narain Singh has written to the Superintendent of Police (SP) narrating his persecution by the FCI officials.

In his complaint, the RTI activist alleged that some FCI officials had been siphoning off government funds by showing fake attendance of labourers.He said when he sought information about the attendance under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, he was intimidated by the officials and threatened to be eliminated.

He said though he lodged a complaint alleging threats from FCI officials, the police ignored it. He alleged when he went to the FCI office to get a dispatch number of the FCI’s reply to his application under the RTI given on August 27, he was held captive by Area Manager Vishnu Sharma, Kabul Singh, Madan Lal, Bhora Singh, Raj Kumar, Surinder Singh and 12 others and beaten up. He said his mobile phone, diary and other documents were snatched by them.

He said though the police took her to the General Hospital for a medico legal examination, no case was being registered on his complaint.

Jhajjar, November 23
A special investigation team (SIT) headed by Sonepat Superintendent of Police (SP) Sathish Balan has been formed to probe into the B Tech student Nitin Kumar’s killing. IG (Law and order) Alok Mittal will monitor the investigation.

This was stated by Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) SN Vashisht today during his visit to Bahadurgarh town.

Earlier, the family of Nitin met the DGP at the Sadar police station in Bahadudrgarh and urged him to initiate a thorough probe into the case. He assured them of justice and speedy investigation.

“Action will be taken against the policemen if found guilty. Laxity in the discharge of duty cannot be tolerated,” said the DGP. He sought the progress report of the case fromofficials concerned

On November 14, Nitin (21) was abducted by three youths residing the same colony at Sector 6 in Bahadurgarh with an intention to extort money. The kidnappers murdered him and dumped the body near the HSIIDC along the NH-10 in Bahadurgarh on November 18 despite extorting ransom of ~1 crore.

Later, the IG Alok Roy suspended Jai Kishan Dahiya, in charge, Bahadurgarh city police and ordered a magisterial probe into the case. The police arrested three kidnappers and recovered Rs 90 lakh from them.

Palwal, November 23
Security has been stepped up in the communally sensitive Hathin town after a fire broke out at a furniture showroom today morning. While the local shopkeepers’ association has sought adequate security, the authorities have requisitioned deployment of a company of the Haryana Armed Police (HAP).

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. The government has posted two more DSPs to supervise security steps in the town.

The association members later met the SSP and the SDM seeking immediate arrest of the suspects involved in the clashes that took place on November 11 and deployment of more security personnel.

An SIT, headed by a DSP-level officer, has already started the probe.

Kaithal, Novmebr 23
MP Raj Kumar Saini said today that Sanghan village of Kaithal district would be made liquor-free. The MP has adopted this village following directives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the parliamentarians to adopt at least one village in their constituencies. He also inaugurated an exhibition put up by various government departments.

Later addressing villagers, he said the village would be developed as a model village. The residents would be provided all amenities and alcohol sales would be banned. He directed officials to ensure that no liquor vend was set up in the village.

The MP also announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh under MNREGA. He also assured of 24-hour power supply and regular bus service to the village. He promised to visit the village at least once a month and address public grievances. He said a sub-centre of the Kaithal ITI would also be opened in the village.

Arvind Malhan, Additional Deputy Commissioner, assured the MP that the district administration would ensure implementation of government schemes on priority and make all out efforts to maintain proper sanitation in the village.

Kaithal, November 23
Two children of Daba village in the Guhla subdivision drowned in the Ghaggar on Sunday. They were identified as Yadvinder and Sanju.

Reports said the incident took place when four boys went to the fields adjoining the river, which was not deep. They accidentally slipped into the river and made efforts to come out of it, but slipped again.

Jind, November 23
The Jind bypass has been hanging fire for three years, as the previous Congress government had failed to acquire land in a stipulated time.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had, in 2011, finalised and approved the construction of the 15-km bypass to be built for Rs 438 crore. The proposed bypass will pass through Amarheri, Haibatpur and Pandu Pindara villages. It was conceived to provide relief to city residents from the heavy traffic flow of the Amritsar-New Delhi national highway, as the city is located on it.

At present, all heavy and other vehicles enter the city, causing traffic jams and putting residents to inconvenience. “Long traffic jams are common in every part of the city. The sabzi mandi chowk, Safidon gate and bus stand road are the worst affected. Many people have lost their lives in accidents, as drivers of heavy vehicles never care for two-wheelers,” said Anil, a shopkeeper.

Surinder from the Safidon gate area claimed that traffic cops were absent from duty.

Residents alleged they had been hearing the announcements to construct the bypass since 1997, but no government took the initiative and offered only lip service.

Sources in the NHAI said they had been reviewing the project on priority basis and a decision on the project was likely soon.

The NHAI authorities are pondering whether to construct the bypass itself or should it float tenders for the project again and scrap the earlier tender given to a private company. The project’s cost is likely to increase if the tenders are floated again.

“The company that got the tender to construct the bypass could not as the previous government failed to acquire land in time,” said PD Jain, executive engineer, NHAI. A decision on the construction of the bypass was likely soon, he added.

Rewari, November 23
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today invited suggestions to improve the administrative and police system in the state. He said the government was ready to implement good suggestions to ensure speedy disposal of public grievances.

Khattar was addressing a meeting of district administrative officials during his first visit to Rewari today after becoming the Chief Minister.

“With a view to check corruption, we all will not only have to do away with the tendency to amass wealth, but also to evolve a fool-proof system. To achieve this, we will have to motivate people to follow high ideals and render selfless service to society,” said the CM, adding that the state government had been suffering an annual loss of ~6,000 crore due to theft of power.

Khattar said the government had decided to pay old-age allowance, widow and handicapped pension directly through their bank account from January.

He exhorted the officials to ensure that the benefits of the welfare schemes reach everyone.

“It is our priority to provide a responsive and transparent administration to the people. The officials should keep the people informed about various schemes being launched by the Centre and state governments,” he added.

Kurukshetra, November 23
Crafts Mela scheduled to start today has been delayed by a day. Now, the mela will be inaugurated with Saras Mela tomorrow (Monday). Ambala division commissioner Neelam Pradeep Kasni will inaugurate both fairs at Bhramasarovar at 4 pm.

The decision to postpone the event came three hours before the scheduled inauguration. The fair was scheduled to be inaugurated around 4 pm. Till 12:15 pm, there was confusion over who will open the fair. Around 1 pm, Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Vinay Pratap and Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vinay Pratap announced about the development.

About the reason behind postponing the fair by a day, the SDM and KDB CEO said since the Saras Mela was scheduled to be inaugurated on Monday, the authorities decided to inaugurate Crafts Mela with it. It was unreasonable to inaugurate both fairs separately, they said.

Sources, however, said preparations for Crafts Mela were incomplete. The craftsmen didn’t get their stall numbers on time. Only a few managed to set up their stalls by evening. The sellers will get their stalls tomorrow.

The lack of preparations disappointed several visitors and craftsmen. Anmol Singh, a local resident, said: “It is a state-level event and Crafts Mela is an important part of Gita Jayanti Samaroh. I came here with my family, but the fair is not ready for the visitors.”

Ahmad Ali, a Delhi-based artificial jewelery maker, said: “I was told that the mela will be inaugurated today and, thus, I set up my stall. It did not happen and no one even informed us (sellers) about it.” 

Mela melee

* Officials said since the Saras Mela was scheduled to be inaugurated on Monday, the authorities decided to inaugurate Crafts Mela with it

* Sources said preparations for Crafts Mela were incomplete. The craftsmen didn’t get their stall numbers on time

Palwal, November 23
Two members of a family, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed and four others injured in a road accident that took place on National Highway 2 Sunday morning.

The mishap took place around 6 am when the family of Bhavneet Kumar (44) of Ludhiana was on way to Vrindavan in Mathura district. The car, driven by Bhavneet, collided with a parked truck near Bamnikhera village.

Local residents took the injured to a hospital. The deceased were identified as Bhavneet’s mother Ashok Kumari (64) and son Joy (10).

Karnal, November 23
Two youths were killed when a truck hit their bike late last night on the Karnal-Assandh road near Assandh.

The deceased were identified as Jagat Singh (22), a resident of Nainital, and Bhanu (23), a resident of Almora, Uttarakhand. They were working as labourers at a restaurant on the Assandh-Karnal road and were returning to their room after completing work, said a police official.

Both died on the spot.

When they reached near a drain, a truck hit their motorcycle from behind. The truck fell into the drain and the driver of the truck escaped the spot, said the police. 

Fatehabad, November 23
Former minister and senior BJP leader Ganeshi Lal said today the BJP would enrol 30 lakh members in the state by March. He was addressing a function organised by Swatantar Bala Chaudhary, BJP candidate from Fatehabad. She had lost the recent Assembly election to Balwan Singh Daulatpuria of the INLD.

Ganeshi Lal said the BJP would recruit a record 10 crore persons as members in the country by March.

“The Communist Party of China has 8 crore members, the maximum in the world. The BJP would enrol 10 crore members to break the record,” he said.

He said the party would use all forums, including tea stalls, coffee houses, colleges and social organisations etc. for the membership drive. He urged people to enrol themselves as BJP members.

Ganeshi Lal said it was the achievement of the Khattar government that it accomplished “Operation Rampal” without harming anybody.

Ganeshi Lal said 20 years ago, Narendra (Swami Vivekanand whose real name was Narendra Nath Datta) had gone to the USA and raised India’s head with pride and now, another Narendra (Modi) had repeated the same. 

Gurgaon, November 23
Haryana Cabinet minister Rao Narbir Singh and Minister of State Vikram Thekedar on Sunday assured the local populace here of exemption from toll charges for their vehicles passing through Kherki Daula on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway.

Narbir Singh said: “We will ensure that people from villages near the Kherki Daula gate should be exempted from toll charges. We will speak to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar regarding this issue.”

and BJP MLA Randhir Singh Kapriwas echoed his sentiments. Local residents met the ministers at a function here.

According to the Millennium City Expressway Private Ltd. (MSPL), the firm that operates the expressway, nearly 25 per cent of the vehicles passing through the toll gate did not pay the levy, causing heavy losses to the operator. — IANS

Karnal, November 23
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will soon open its study centres in four districts —Kaithal, Jind, Rewari and Mahendergarh— underthe Karnal regional centre.

This was stated by VP Rupam, regional director, IGNOU Regional Centre, Karnal.

He said the Karnal centre caters to students of 15 districts of the state. With the expansion of the Karnal centre to four more districts, IGNOU wanted to help students, who had to travel other study centres to avail facilities such as filing of assignments, and receiving of study material etc.

“The centre will also provide the facility at Karnal, Bhiwani, Hisar, Kurukshetra, Sirsa and Yamunanagar jails. The process to open centres for inmates at Jind, Sonepat and Rohtak jails is on. The fee has been waived off for all programmes offered by IGNOU through distance education,” he said.

“The admission process is underway for the January 2015 session. The last date of acceptance of the form without a fine is December 1 and with the late fee of Rs 300 till December 15,” he said.

Karnal, November 23
Member of Parliament Ashwini Chopra said today the Sitamai-Brass village road would be named after Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Kuldeep Singh, who was shot dead on Friday in an encounter with carjackers near Pipli.

He said this today at the Karnal Club while inaugurating a health camp organised by Rotary Club. The MP said, “Kuldeep sacrificed his life in the line of duty and now it is our responsibility to recognise his valour.”

“I will urge the President to recognise his sacrifice on Republic Day. For this I will also approach the Prime Minister,” the MP said.

Two youths had carjacked an Eco Sport at gunpoint near Haveli in Ambala and were heading towards Kurukshetra on Friday. Two checkpoints were set up to nab the accused, but they crossed the first in Shahabad and reached Pipli. At the Pipli barrier, they opened fire on the police, killing Kuldeep Singh in the encounter.

Gurgaon, November 23
To motivate the Gurgaon police, newly appointed police commissioner Navdeep Singh Virk has decided declare best cops on the monthly and yearly basis in different categories. The recognition would make it to their service records, he said.

“There is no dearth of potential and every cop has his strengths. There is, however, a feeling that many in spite of their good work don’t get recognition from people. To ensure that their efforts don’t go waste, best cops will be awarded in different categories,” Virk said, adding that the recognition would help the force to critically review the performance of the personnel and motivate them.

Virk held an ice-breaking session with the entire force today, where he, according to sources, declared his zero-tolerance policy to corruption and flouting of norms. He asked the personnel to return to the basics of policing. “The idea is to create a people-friendly way of functioning by reestablishing the beat system.

“If we all stick to the basics of policing, controlling crime will become easy. There is a system which we ought to follow. People should be free to walk up to us and we should reach out to them to solve their problems and control crime,” the police commissioner said.

This is Virk’s second stint in the city. He was the Superintendent of Police here in 1999 and had then busted the notorious D-company gang in 48 hours.

Virk joined the Indian Police Service in the Haryana cadre in 1994. He was awarded the Police Medal for meritorious service on Republic Day in 2011.

Sonepat, November 23
State Social Welfare Minister Kavita Jain said today the BJP government in the state was committed to providing an honest and responsive government to the people of the state.

She was addressing public meetings at Raipur and Fazilpur villages. “It is for the first time that people have given a clear mandate to the BJP in the state and it is our duty to live up to their expectations,” she said.

Panchkula, November 23
Even after 14 years, the lone vegetable market set up by the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board on over 17 acres in Sector 20 has failed to take off.

Thanks to the indifferent attitude of the board officials for not giving a thought to develop it at the pattern of a grain market developed by the UT administration in Sector 26, Chandigarh.

Moreover, the government has failed to develop the market (located on the Shimla-Ambala National Highway) even as a transit point for agriculture and horticulture produce being transported from Himachal Pradesh to big vegetable markets in Delhi and other metro cities.

The market was developed by the Board in 2000 with a purpose to benefit the area residents besides facilitating farmers of this part of the state in selling their produce here.

The purpose for setting up of the market has failed badly revealed a senior official of the board.

Enquiries revealed that the market comprises of three markets- Grain market, vegetable market and apple market. Over 55 SCF's are still lying vacant while owners of a majority of the sold out SCFs are still non-operational.

The board has resumed three SCFs as their owners failed to abide by the rules and guidelines of the board, revealed JK Bansal, secretary, market committee.

Owners of the SCF's complained lack of basic civic amenities, besides poor connectivity with the Sector 20 general market. They alleged that the board authorities had hardly made any attempt to promote sale purchase activities in the shops.

The authorities have allotted sanitation works of the market to a private contractor on exorbitant rates, but heaps of garbage and solid waste keep piling in every nook and corner of the market.

A deep pit adjacent to the offices of the secretary, market committee, is being used as a dumping spot for the solid waste and water discharged by various shops. The stagnant water has been proving a breeding ground for mosquitoes here.

"There are just two safai karamcharis looking after the market. Instead of disposing off the garbage, they burn the leftover in market," alleged Varinder Garg, owner of SCF.

Jind, November 23
Despite widespread criticism, the Hindu Mahasabha Haryana Sunday hardened its stand on banning college girls from wearing jeans and T-shirts and carrying mobile phones.

It announced in Jind its decision to launch a campaign next week to pressurise the government for the acceptance of its demands.

Its leaders met under the leadership of state vice-president Dharmpal Siwach at the house of Pankaj Mittal. They alleged that western clothes were responsible for crimes against women.

The mahasabha called for a state-level executive committee meeting in Jind next week to announce the future course of action.

Siwach demanded that the government should enforce a dress code in all colleges to control incidents of crimes against women.

“Sporting jeans and other western clothes is dangerous for college girls. Incidents of crimes against them will decrease if the government makes it mandatory to wear salwar kameez,” Siwach said.

Leaders alleged that some politicians and their supporters had been opposing the demand of the mahasabha without any valid reason.

They alleged that Haryana could set a example by implementing a dress code in colleges and reducing occurrence of crimes against girls.

“Our culture is in danger because of vote-bank politics. Politicians are not ready to listen about new challenges. We are not scared of any leader” Siwach said.

“We will launch a special campaign throughout Haryana next week to pressurise the government to accept our demands,” he added.

Mahasabha leaders announced that they would start meeting ministers for the implementation of a dress code in colleges and planned to seek the support of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Some students demanded an immediate ban on activities of the mahasabha to avert any problem at any colleges in the coming days.

“Who are mahasabha leaders to issue such a diktat? We want the government to ban their activities lest they cause problems in colleges,” said a college girl on the condition of anonymity.

Rewari, November 23
To improve skewed sex ratio and educate masses against female foeticide, the district authorities have decided to celebrate birth of every girl child in this district.

Anganwari workers have been directed to organise a get-together with villagers in their centres and distribute sweets after the birth of a girl child to celebrate the occasion.

“The decision aims at educating masses against female foeticide and improve gender ratio in Rewari district which has 856 girls against 1,000 boys,” Rewari DC RC Verma told The Tribune.

He said the decision had been executed with immediate effect and anganwari workers had been told to inform villagers about the decision, besides encouraging them to participate in the celebration of girl children.

“Anganwari workers will not only distribute sweets, but also cut cakes in the presence of villagers to mark the birth of girl children. All expenses will be borne by the district authorities,” Verma said, adding that through this move, villagers would be motivated to play a positive role and take forward the concept of equality and equal opportunities for sons and daughters.

The Deputy Commissioner said the workers had been asked to promote century-old ritual of “kua pujan” in their villages in case of birth of girl child too.

On the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme, he said an action plan had been chalked out to execute the scheme efficiently, besides forming a task force committee to monitor the implementation of the scheme launched by the BJP government to improve the gender ratio in the state.