Chandigarh, September 16
After taking on the BJP for “insult” to the people of the state for booing the Chief Minister at a public rally at Kaithal, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today fired another salvo, this time targeting his second political opponent- the Indian National Lok Dal, by serving a legal notice to senior party leaders Abhay Chautala and his nephew and Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala seeking a public apology for “levelling false allegations” of corruption.

The Congress is locked in a multi-cornered political contest with the BJP, INLD and other parties to form the next government in Haryana for which the state would witness polling on October 15. With each passing day the political tempers in Haryana are on the rise.

Hooda had last month sought a public apology from the INLD for what he called “a bundle of lies” in their 140-page memorandum submitted to Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki. Calling it a “chargesheet”, the INLD had accused the Hooda government of being involved in scams worth Rs 8-10 lakh crore. Since no apology has come from the INLD, the Chief Minister today served a legal notice.

The legal notice reads: “Unbridled hunger for power and consumed by your desire to achieve political success in the forthcoming elections at any cost, you have launched a malicious campaign..........by levelling completely false, wild and unsubstantiated allegations against my client knowing such allegations are per se defamatory”.

The legal notice has further pointed out that “the figures in the allegations are fluctuating so widely that it is absurd and baseless”. The legal notice names several newspapers and mentions that the allegations have been repeated in the electronic media and on the Internet. The notice calls upon Abhay and Dushyant to “tender an unqualified apology” within four weeks of the receipt of the notice failing which the duo will be liable to civil and criminal consequences.

The chief minister had on August 17 said: “The INLD has levelled false allegations against me and should forthwith tender a public apology or face a suit for defamation”. After almost a month, with no apology coming from the Chautalas’, Hooda today sent a legal notice through a Supreme Court lawyer.

It is important to mention that the Chief Minister, who has been claiming that the Congress would form the government for the third time in Haryana, is not taking any attack on himself, his family or his party lying down. At the Panipat rally, Hooda asked people of Haryana to avenge his insult by BJP workers who booed him when he went to attend a function to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hooda has now come out harshly against the INLD, saying that “people who are lodged in jails (read Chautalas) after being convicted of corruption are now trying to level allegations of corruption against him and his family. “I will not take this falsehood lying down”, he said.

Chandigarh, September 16
The INLD today demanded the removal of 14 officials rehabilitated by the Haryana Government after retirement.

In a complaint to the Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad, INLD national general secretary RS Choudhary alleged that the continuation of the 14 officers in their present positions would “create bias in favour of the ruling party and negate the process of holding free and free elections”.

Those whose removal have been sought are IAS officers Krishna Mohan, KC Sharma, Yudhvir Singh, KS Bhoria, Saroj Siwach, TK Sharma and Mahender Kumar; IPS officers RS Dalal and PV Rathee; HPS officer Jag Pravesh Dahiya; HCS officers MS Yadav, Lajvir Singh and PK Sharma, and Shadi Lal Kapoor.

In another complaint, the INLD has demanded that the recruitment process for clerical posts in the Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, should be put on hold. The test for recruitment of clerks was held on September 14, two days after the imposition of the model code of conduct. The aim was to select candidates close to the ruling dispensation, the complaint alleged.

Chandigarh, September 16
The Haryana Government is upbeat about BJP’s loss in the bypoll results that were declared today. State unit chief Ashok Tanwar, said, “Today’s results are only a trailer. The election results in Haryana and Maharashtra will complete the picture of public disillusionment with the BJP.”

“It is for the first time in the history of the country that the government at the Centre has lost its credibility among the people within three months of coming to power. The downfall of the BJP, which began with Bihar and Uttarakhand, has spread all over the country and manifested itself in an anti-BJP sentiment. The results have added credence to our claim that we will form a government in Haryana for a third consecutive term,” Tanwar claimed.

Even as the Congress is yet to declare candidates for any of the 90 seats in Haryana, sources said the party maybe the last to come out with its list even though some names have been cleared by the central election committee.

Sources said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is of the view that the party should declare its candidates only after all other parties have announced theirs. The idea, insiders maintain, is to implement a kind of social engineering whereby the party declares a candidate, who can benefit from the untapped votes in a particular constituency, and consolidate these even though he may not belong to the majority community.

While the party has finalised the names for nearly half the seats, Tanwar and Hooda do not see eye to eye on a few seats, including those of MLAs who “merged” into the Congress from the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), at the beginning of the second term of the Congress rule in the state.

Sources said while there is complete clarity on some seats, candidates for a few seats are still being considered and deliberated. “It is at these seats, nearly a dozen of them, where we want to know the candidates fielded by other parties. Based on the decision of the rivals, we will give our ticket to a candidate, not necessarily from the dominant caste, so that they can utilise the division of votes among rival parties to his advantage. We are likely to declare our list only around the date of notification of polls i.e. September 20,” a party leader said, adding that the bypoll results have come as a boost to the party fortunes in Haryana.

Ambala, September 16
Haryana Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president Ashok Arora said the result of the by-elections in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat indicated that the Modi magic is over and it would not play any role in the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls too.

While addressing party workers’ meeting in Ambala city today, he said the Modi Government had failed to control price rise and implement the Swaminathan Committee report — which were the main agendas in the party manifesto. He said the hike in rail fares and price of diesel had affected the common man.

While criticising the ‘Maha Gathbandhan’, he said it was an alliance of “groundless” leaders and people would not support it.

He said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had “promoted corruption, unemployment and price rise” during his tenure. People would “teach him a lesson” in these Assembly elections, he said.

Talking to mediapersons, he said Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would be the star campaigner of the Akali Dal-INLD alliance in the upcoming Assembly elections. Other senior leaders of the Akali Dal would also actively participate in the campaign, he said.

Replying to a question, he said the INLD would not forge any alliance with the BJP at any cost, even after the elections. Regarding the Ambala city seat, he said the Akali Dal would decide the candidate.

Jind, September 16
Besides increasing crime, lack of jobs and basic amenities, voters in this area have a unique grievance: paucity of brides. With 827 girls born for every 1,000 boys here — much lower than the state figure of 843 – there is an acute shortage of marriageable girls.

“I am in touch with many unmarried youngsters. I am waiting for campaigning to pick up pace and will definitely ask all politicians to unveil their plans to solve our problem of shortage of brides,” said Abhishek of Nirjal village, while sitting in the Kunwara Union’s local office.

During an interaction with residents of various villages in Jind, Safidon and Uchana constituencies, parents appeared anxious about the marriage of their young sons, as every village has a considerable number of unmarried youngsters. The forced bachelorhood is not confined to the poor and illiterate youngsters. Many educated youth with agricultural land also find it difficult to land a match.

“Though we don’t have the exact number, but you won’t find a single village without unmarried youngsters. The primary reason is the skewed sex ratio. It is possible to find a bride outside the state, but all are not keen on it,” said Pardeep Singh, founder member of Kunwara Union, Jind. Though Pardeep is married, he helped form the union in 2009 after his friends could not find suitable girls to marry.

Several families duped by gangs on the pretext of arranging a match for their sons have already approached politicians in recent months by. “Many families have lost lakhs to these gangs and now they have been asking politicians to either get their money back or arrange for a bride for their son if they want votes,” said Somvir, a farmer from Aleva.

Haryana Khaps have already said they would support political parties in arranging brides for state’s bachelors. The khaps had met on July 27 in Jind with Bihar Jat leaders and formed a committee.

“It’s a serious problem and all politicians will definitely face this issue. All parties must include this issue in their election manifestos while we are already working to solve this problem,” said Tek Ram Kandela, president of Kandela Khap and national convener of Sarv Khap Panchayat.

Skewed gender ratio to blame The skewed gender ratio has resulted in a shortage of marriageable girls in the area Unmarried youngsters and their parents are planning to ask politicians to arrange girls for their bachelors Khaps have already said they would support political parties in arranging brides for bachelors

New Delhi, September 16
Congress leaders involved in screening candidates for the upcoming elections in Haryana are in a fix as top guns from the state are seeking tickets for their sons.

In the penultimate round of screening held in New Delhi today, the major issue was whether the party should consider sons of veterans for tickets at a time when winning each seat counted.

Top leaders who want their sons as candidates include Haryana Congress Legislature Party leader-cum-Haryana Congress Campaign Committee chairman Capt Ajay Yadav, Haryana Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chattha and Technical Education and Food Supplies Minister Mahendra Pratap Singh.

Former Haryana Congress president Phool Chand Mullana and sitting Badshahpur MLA Rao Dharampal are also demanding tickets for sons. While Mullana is not a sitting legislator, the party was interested that he should contest elections. He is learnt to have declined to fight and has sought the candidature of his son instead.

Capt Ajay Yadav is pushing for the candidature of his son Chiranjeev from Kosli Assembly constituency, putting Congress in a fix. Top sources involved in the screening process said Congress president Sonia Gandhi would take the final call on these contentious issues when she holds the Central Election Committee meeting on September 19.

Kosli is currently held by Rao Yaduvendra Singh, who is former Congress MP Rao Inderjit’s brother. “Inderjit left the Congress but Yaduvendra stayed. Being a sitting MLA, there is no way he can be ignored from Kosli. We need to figure out whether these veterans’ sons could be potential winners. The matter will be discussed in the CEC,” sources said.

Six-term MLA Capt Ajay Yadav has already been renamed the Congress candidate from Rewari with sources saying, “Being a top leader’s son is no guarantee for attaining a ticket, the ability to win is. We are discussing all these seats.”

HS Chattha, sitting MLA from Pehowa, has told the party that he would not like to contest the upcoming elections and would prefer if his son is given the ticket. Minister and MLA Mahendra Pratap Singh has demanded a ticket for his son from Badkhal, which he currently represents in the state Assembly.

Rao Dharampal, Congress candidate from Gurgaon in the last Lok Sabha polls, wants his son fielded from Badshashpur, the seat he holds in the state Assembly. Similarly, Mullana has demanded a ticket for his son from the Ambala area.

The Jindal tower, a milestone in the town. Photo: Bansi Lal Basniwal

The sitting MLA has been promising to develop the town on the lines of Paris, but her rivals ridicule her claims, stating that they would not promise to make Hisar a Paris-like city but a decent city to start with.

HJC challenge for Cong

The HJC — which got 67,452 votes in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Hisar segment, reducing the share of Congress nominee Sampat Singh to a mere 5,032 — is likely to be the main challenge for Jindal. BJP nominee Kamal Gupta is considered a “lightweight” against Jindal. The INLD is yet to announce its candidate.

The city had been the home town of former Chief Ministers Bhajan Lal and Om Prakash Chautala and had witnessed planned and disciplined development in the past. Though the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government too claimed to have contributed in the city’s growth, the Opposition refuted its claims and accused the government of adopting a biased attitude towards Hisar.

Traffic congestion has been a major issue as no new flyover has been constructed in the town despite a huge demand to ease the flow of vehicles. To make things worse, the city faced the problem of stray cattle which caused road mishaps, many of which were fatal. The crime graph too witnessed a surge in the past one year.

Caste factor significant

The caste factor too plays a significant role in the outcome of the elections here. In this urban seat with over 1.55 lakh votes, the Punjabi (28,000 votes) and Bania (23,000 votes) communities hold the major vote share. The backward community of Sainis (15,000 votes) too can tilt the scale in anybody’s favour. The caste equations had ensured that Bania candidates won from this seat more than any other community nominee.

With the exception of Om Prakash Mahajan (1982 and 1996), who won as Independent, and Hari Singh Saini, who won in 1987 on the Lok Dal ticket, the seat has always been represented by a Bania. Hisar became a personal fiefdom of the Jindals after the family joined the politics in 1991, when OP Jindal contested at the behest of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal and won the poll. While OP Jindal won in 1991, 2000, 2005, his widow Savitri Jindal got in his shoes after his demise in 2005. In the 1996 Assembly poll, the seat went to the BJP as per the seat-sharing formula with Bansi Lal and OP Jindal was elected MP from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat.

Main issues A spurt in crime, traffic congestion, cattle menace, poor sewerage system Segment scan In this urban seat with over 1.55 lakh votes, the Punjabi (28,000 votes) and Bania (23,000 votes) communities hold the major vote share. The backward community of Sainis (15,000 votes) too can tilt the scale in anybody's favour. The caste equation have ensured that Bania candidates won from this seat more than any other community nominee. Legislatorspeak The work on the shifting of high tension power cables from colonies has started. The ~5-crore drainage project has also started between Krishna Nagar and Delhi near Sector 15. Development work worth Rs 600 crore has been carried out in the town in the past decade Savitri Jindal, cong mla Oppositionspeak The MLA has failed to ensure basic infrastructure and facilities. Congested roads, cattle menace and spurt in the crime have failed to draw her attention. She also fell short on ensuring clean drinking water and a sewerage system. She remained inaccessible to the common man as she was busy in her business affairs Gautam Sardana, hjc leader

Sirsa, September 16
An FIR has been lodged against Congress leader Naveen Kedia for violation of the model code of conduct.

A case under section 126 of the People’s Representation Act, 1951, has been registered against Kedia for holding a roadshow without permission from the authorities.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Jogpal, who is also returning officer for the Sirsa assembly seat, said that during a routine patrol, Balbir Singh, flying squad officer for the constituency, found that Kedia was holding a roadshow without seeking permission from the authorities.

When the flying squad officer demanded an authorisation letter for the procession, the organisers could not show any.

Taking it as violation of the code of conduct, the returning officer ordered the registration of an FIR against Naveen Kedia.

Naveen Kedia, a serious contender for the Congress ticket, is considered close to state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar. 

Chandigarh, September 16
Senior state functionaries, including the Chief Minister and other ministers, would be unable to use their official vehicles outside Chandigarh, as the poll code is in force for the October 15 Assembly elections.

According to an order issued by the Office of the Chief Secretary, it has also been decided to withdraw the second official vehicle to senior state functionaries. Besides the Chief Minister and ministers, these orders would also be applicable to ministers of state, chief parliamentary secretaries and Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Haryana Assembly.

On the directions of the Election Commission, the state government has also decided to withdraw official vehicles of the media adviser and political adviser to the Chief Minister.

All non-official chairmen of boards and corporation of the state government would also not be able to use the official vehicles outside the state headquarters. Sources said these orders had been issued as part of the model code of conduct to provide a level playing field to all candidates contesting the elections.

Ambala, September 16
The Haryana Akali Dal may opt for a local INLD leader for the Ambala City seat to ensure victory for the alliance.

As part of the agreement, Ambala City and Kalanwali seats have been allotted to the Shiromani Akali Dal while the remaining 88 are to be contested by the INLD.

State SAD president Sharanjit Singh Sotha has sent a panel of claimants of the party ticket from Ambala City to the party high command. The list includes the names of Sukhdev Singh Gobindgarh, Ajit Singh Sonda, Gurdeep Singh Bhanokheri, Harpal Singh Rimpi and Balbir Singh.

Some of these Akali leaders have met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal in this regard but no decision has been taken so far.

INLD leaders of Ambala City Makhan Singh Labana and Balwindar Punia have also been lobbying for the SAD ticket. Labana recently met Sukhbir, Prem Singh Chandumajara and other Akali leaders in this regard. Meanwhile, Punia too met Om Prakash Chutala and some Akali leaders a few days ago.

In the 2009 Assembly elections, the SAD had given the ticket for this constituency to Charanjit Kaur Malor. She could not win the seat but secured around 33,885 votes while BJP candidate Sanjay Sharma got only 12,741 votes. Later, Jasbir Malor joined the BJP. Vinod Sharma had secured 69,435 votes. — OC

Faridabad, September 16
Digvijay Chautala, younger son of Ajay Chautala and national president of INSO, the INLD’s student wing, today said INLD was the best placed among the three main parties in the fray in the Assembly polls.

Addressing a meeting at Fatehpur village on Tuesday while reviewing preparations for the party’s September 25 rally, Digvijay said both the ruling Congress and the BJP had failed to come up to the expectations of the people.

“Putting my grandfather and father in jail was a political conspiracy but it has made the INLD emerge stronger and it is on the verge of sweeping the polls. While the Congress is on weak ground, the BJP will not be able to exploit the ground situation because it is a leaderless party. They have no one who could be projected as CM material,” said Digvijay, as he dared the BJP to declare its CM candidate. —TNS

Chandigarh, September 16
With less than one month remaining for the crucial Assembly elections in Haryana, two main parties— the Congress and the BJP—are yet to release their manifestoes. While the INLD, HJC, JCP and the HLP have come out with their manifestoes the two national parties are yet to spell out their vision for the state in the shape of the manifestoes.

Ram Prakash, chairman of the Manifesto Committee of the Congress, said the manifesto had been approved by the high command and it would be released shortly. Similarly, a senior BJP leader claimed that the manifesto would be released later this month. Sources in the Congress and the BJP said the first priority was to finalise the candidates for the 90 assembly segments. The manifesto would be released only after the candidates were finalised.

Chandigarh, September 16
With a view to facilitate political parties and candidates contesting the Assembly elections in the state, 'single window system' will be implemented in all constituencies and it will be headed by returning officers at the district level. A helpline number will also be launched to assist them.

This was stated by Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad while presiding over a meeting of representatives of various political parties here on Monday. He said with the setting up of this system, the political parties and the candidates would be able to get certain permissions such as for vehicles, loudspeaker and route under a roof.

He said for the first time in the history of Haryana, the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) system would be implemented in six Assembly segments of Rohtak, Gurgaon, Panipat, Sonepat, Thanesar and Karnal. As a result of the system, the voters would immediately receive an acknowledgement confirming the candidate with the election symbol they have voted for.

The Chief Electoral Officer said all political parties had been directed to ensure the strict compliance of the model code of conduct. Besides, they have been directed to furnish timely information regarding their election expenditure. While filing the nomination papers, the candidate would ensure that not even a single column was left blank, he said. — TNS

Fatehabad, September 16
Former MP Sushil Indora, who has floated Jansewa Lok Manch, today announced that he would contest the Assembly elections from Fatehabad.

“I have called a meeting of my supporters in Ram Sewa Samiti Dharamshala here on September 21 to assign them poll duties,” he said.

Indora is a Dalit, but has chosen a general seat to contest the elections “to send across a message of social integrity”.

He had unsuccessfully contested the recent Lok Sabha elections from Sirsa on the HJC ticket. He quit the party last week, a day after former Adampur MLA Renuka Bishnoi inaugurated HJC candidate Dura Ram’s office in Fatehabad on September 8. — TNS

Karnal, September 16
Sushil Kumar Malik , SDM, along with Civil Lines SHO Lalit Kumar and other officials raided a shop last night and seized around 12,000 pamphlets that did not have the name of the printing press.

Sources said the pamphlets contained material depicting anger against an outsider candidate.

Chandigarh, September 16
Less than a month after the Municipal Commissioners and the Deputy Commissioners of Faridabad and Gurgaon were directed to “immediately stop” unauthorised constructions within the prohibited zones near the Air Force stations, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the issuance of contempt notices to the officers responsible for apparent failure to check the same.

The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Jaspal Singh also directed the officers to be present in the court on the next date of hearing. The directions came after counsel for the Union of India Onkar Singh Batalvi told the court that fresh construction was on despite the orders.

As the case came up for resumed hearing, Batalvi placed before the Bench letters written by the Air Force authorities to the officers concerned for bringing to their notice fresh constructions being carried out after the passing of the High Court orders.

In an attempt to support his contentions, Batalvi also submitted photographs of such constructions. He told the court that a vigil was being maintained from the watch towers and the authorities concerned in the district administration were being informed of new constructions. But reciprocal action was missing on the part of the officers concerned.

Describing the developments as “shocking”, the Bench in the open court directed the issuance of contempt notices and summons. The case will now come up for hearing on October 29.

On the previous date of hearing, the High Court had directed the Deputy Commissioners and the Municipal Commissioners “to immediately stop the unauthorised constructions, namely any construction for which no building plans have been sanctioned or cannot be sanctioned”.

Directions were also issued to the Gurgaon and Faridabad Commissioners of Police along with Gurgaon Range Inspector-General of Police “to provide adequate police force to the enforcement staff of the Power Corporation, municipal authorities and district administration, as the case may be, to stop the illegal and unauthorised constructions in the prohibited area”.

What the Bench said The municipal commissioners and the deputy commissioners of Faridabad and Gurgaon must be present in court on the next date of hearing The directions came after counsel for the Union of India, Onkar Singh Batalvi, told the court that fresh construction was on despite HC’s orders

Jhajjar, September 16
A day after the recovery of remains of several cows in Nimana and Majri villages here, villagers caught 17 persons from Rajasthan in Goyla Kalan village of this district late last night and thrashed them.

The villagers later handed them over to the police, which recovered several sharp weapons generally used for slaughtering cows. The police have booked the accused on charges of maliciously insulting a religion and circulating rumours to disturb peace on the villagers’ complaint.

The incident took place around 10 pm when some village youths spotted a group of suspicious-looking persons roaming outside the village. They immediately informed the other villager, who rushed to the spot and nabbed them on suspicion of their involvement in cow slaughter. The villagers thrashed the men when they could not answer questions about their identification, addresses and purpose of visit to the village. Later, villagers handed them over to the police while seeking stern action.

Taking a serious view of the incident, a panchayat of around 10 villages held in Badli village today resolved to undertake a ‘thikri pehra’ at night to check cow smuggling. The panchayat also constituted a committee to coordinate with the police to prevent the cow smuggling in the region.

“We have recovered some big scissors from the accused, who belong to various districts of Rajasthan,” said Randhir Singh, incharge of Bahadurgarh Sadar Police Station. We are probing why they came to the village. However, they have been booked under section 295-A and 505 of the IPC, he added.

Sharp weapons seized Some village youths spotted a group of suspicious-looking persons outside the village around 10 pm on Monday They informed other villagers, who rushed to the spot and nabbed them and thrashed them on suspicion of being involved in cow slaughter The police recovered several sharp weapons generally used for slaughtering cows from the arrested The remains of several cows were found in Nimani and Majri villages on Sunday morning

Karnal, September 16
Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) vice-president Didar Singh Nalvi today accused both the INLD and the BJP of opposing the Bill for a separate body in the Assembly and said it had hurt the sentiments of the community in the state.

He also attacked the SAD for resisting the separate committee for the shrines of the state and destroying the harmony of the state. Nalvi was here today to interact with community leaders ahead of the Assembly election.

Nalvi said the committee was supporting the Congress because it had kept its words and had respected the feelings of the Sikhs by constituting the separate committee.

“Leaders of the INLD as well as the BJP have opposed the separate committee several times at public meeting and have also said they would cancel the Act, if voted to power, which is against the sentiments of the community. We will oppose such a move,” said Nalvi.

He called upon community leaders to work hard for the Congress as it had constituted a separate gurdwara committee in the state. Attacking the Home Affairs Ministry for sending directions to the Governor and the Chief Secretary for cancelling the Act, he said it was unconstitutional.

Fatehabad, September 16
After a two-month-old child died and eight others took seriously ill on Sunday, after the Health Department administered pentavalent vaccine to them at Ratia town in Fatehabad, resentment prevailed against the alleged indifference of the department over the child’s death.

Taking up the issue, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded a high-level inquiry in to the incident and also demanded a check on the quality of vaccine administered.

Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria, district secretary of the CPM, alleged that the state of the Healthcare Department in the district was in shambles. He said his party had held demonstration against the functioning of the department on previous occasions too, but the things were far from improved.

A day before the two-month-old child died, a child from Jakhal town of this district had taken ill and developed symptoms of skin rashes after he was administered the vaccine.

The police had booked an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) and her attendant for negligence, on the complaint filed by the child’s father, but no arrest had been made so far.

Civil surgeon Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj today said the internal inquiry ordered by him had revealed there was no negligence on the part of any official, as the child had died due to asphyxia due to aspiration (inhalation of milk or water). He, later, admitted that the cause of death would be known only after receiving the report of the child’s viscera sent to the forensic lab for examination.

He also admitted that the department had not taken any samples of the vaccine and said the same vaccine had been given to other children too.

Naraingarh, September 16
Kulwant Kaur (55), who was critically injured in the Naraingarh bus accident on Monday, succumbed to her injuries at the PGI in Chandigarh today.

With this, the death toll in the incident has gone up to four. The body was handed over to her family members after a post-mortem examination.

RR Johal, Special Secretary, Transport, said a three-member team led by Deputy Director, Transport, had been constituted to conduct an inquiry into the incident. “The team today recorded statements of accident victims undergoing treatment at the PGI and Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh, besides other injured. The team will submit its report by tomorrow,” claimed Johal.

Talking to the Tribune, Mukesh Malhotra, Assistant Police Commissioner (ACP), Naraingarh, claimed that the driver of the bus, Surinder Kumar, had been arrested for rash and negligent driving.

A case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered against him in Naraingarh. During the interrogation, the driver said he had lost control over the vehicle due to a fault in the steering wheel. He was produced before a local court and was released on bail, the ACP said.

Three passengers, including two girls (Renu and Suman Kumari) and a boy (Maneet Kumar), were killed and over 45 others were injured when an Ambala-bound Haryana Roadways bus had plunged into the Begna river on the Naraigarh-Ambala road in Baragarh village on Monday morning.

Kuruksehtra September 16
The Kuruksehtra police on Monday night arrested Jaswinder, Sucha Singh and Anuj, while they were planning a robbery, and seized two country-made pistols and four live cartridges from their possession. During the interrogation, Jaswinder and Sucha Singh confessed to have taken a contract of killing somebody and Anuj confessed to be the one who brought the contract.

The police said, “Acting on a tip-off, a police team last night arrested Jaswinder Singh, Sucha Singh and Anuj from a room behind a building under construction at the Umri road. During their interrogation, Jaswinder and Sucha Singh made startling revelations, saying they had taken a contract from Bhupinder Singh through Anuj to kill Bhupinder’s younger brother Rishipal.”

“Acting on the information, we nabbed Bhupinder, who confessed to be the conspirator. All the accused were nabbed before they could attack the target,” said the police. Anuj is Bhupinder Singh’s brother-in-law. Bhupinder has been booked for hatching a conspiracy and hiring men to kill Rishipal.

In his statement to the police, Bhupinder said he had a property dispute with his younger brother Rishipal and that’s why he wanted to eliminate him. He said, “My father had eight acres of land, a factory and a godown. I got only two acres of land out of the total property while my father and younger brother kept the bigger share with them. So I decided to eliminate Rishipal.”

Bhupinder had struck a deal of Rs 50 lakh for the murder and had paid Rs 25,000 in advance to Jaswinder and Sucha Singh to purchase weapons, which they later got from Uttar Pradesh.

The police said the hit men had also confessed their involvement in some theft cases.

Sonepat, September 16
Residents of Sisana villagers today blocked the Sonepat-Rohtak road for about four hours to protest against the alleged molestation of village women last night.

The police led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ajit Singh reached the spot and persuaded the protesters to lift the blockade. But they remained adamant and demanded the arrest of the accused.

Subsequently, the police arrested four of the accused reportedly belonging to the same village. On the assurance that their accomplices would be arrested soon, the villagers lifted the blockade.

The villagers complained that a dozen miscreants entered the houses of some of them last night and molested women. On being confronted, they beat up their members of the families, injuring five persons, including a woman.

Protesters alleged that such incidents occurred earlier as well. Infuriated, villagers protested and miscreants were arrested, but the police failed to check the occurrence of such incidents. — OC

Karnal, September 16
The Karnal police have claimed to solve a two-year-old blind murder case, where Ashok Kumar (25) of Samalkha village was stabbed to death by two persons in a brawl on Hansi Road.

The Jundla police have arrested one of the accused while the second accused is still at large.

Satish Kumar, DSP (headquarter), told the mediapersons that Jagdish Kumar, in-charge Jundla police post, arrested Sunny of Aainchla village, with illegal weapons, yesterday.

During questioning, the accused revealed that his accomplice Dilbag and himself, killed Ashok on May 29, 2012, on the Hansi Road near Bhagwaria gas agency during a brawl, said the DSP.

He added both had earlier looted a home guard on January 21, 2013. “Police have produced the accused in court. We are yet to arrest his accomplice and recover the loot money,” said the DSP.