MLA granted bail in murder case
CHANDIGARH, Oct 8 — Mr Nafe Singh Rathi, MLA from Bahadurgarh constituency, was today granted bail by a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising Mr Justice J.L. Gupta and Mr Justice V.M. Jain in a murder case.

Two killed in road mishap
FARIDABAD, Oct 8 — Two persons were killed and one was seriously injured last night when their motor cycle was hit by a truck near Goodyear Chowk on the Delhi-Mathura national highway.

Teachers' salaries not paid
YAMUNANAGAR, Oct 8 — Teachers of privately-aided schools have not been getting their salaries for the past 18 months. Dr M.C. Sharma, former President of the Haryana Aided School Teachers Union, said here today that the Haryana government had not released grant-in-aid to these schools.

10 constables suspended
HISAR, Oct 8 — Ten constables of the Haryana Police were placed under suspension on the charge of being absent from their duties, according to police sources here today.

Haryana tops in speed post earnings
AMBALA, Oct 8 — The Department of Posts, Haryana Circle, has topped in the country in speed post revenue earnings by achieving 106 per cent growth during 1998-99. This was disclosed by the Chief Post Master General, Haryana Circle, Mr T.R. Sharma, at a press meeting on the eve of the World Post Day here today.

Development Kataria's priority
AMBALA, Oct 8 — The newly-elected MP from the Ambala parliamentary constituency, Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, has said his priority will be the all-round development of the constituency.

Gang decamps with cash, valuables
ROHTAK, Oct 8 — About 10 members of a gang struck near Jhajjar town, about 30 km from here, and decamped with cash and valuables worth Rs 15,000, last night.

Haryana JD (U) to meet on Oct 17
SONEPAT, Oct 8 — The executive committee of the state unit of the Janata Dal (U) will meet on October 17 at Bhiwani to review the post-poll political situation in the state.

Officers worried over possible transfers
From Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service

GURGAON, Oct 8 — Uncertainty prevails among officers of the administration over their possible transfers.

A survey of the scene in various departments over the past two days revealed that their heads in the district headquarters and juniors were often found to be less interested in their duties. They were not sure of their stay at the station, the general impression being that large-scale transfers will be effected across the board in the state immediately after the constitution of the 13th Lok Sabha.

It is believed that the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will be preoccupied with the developments in the national politics and formation of the government at the Centre.

Although the present government has already effected transfers in several departments, many in the government circles feel that the exercise has only been cosmetic. The feeling of insecurity has been accentuated by Mr Chautala’s statements against a section of the officers in the state, immediately after he took charge. On three occasions, he had alleged that certain officers were close to Mr Bansi Lal. He had gone to the extent of saying, that this section was working in a way to defame and discredit his government.

According to sources in the government, the Chief Minister will complete the exercise of transfers and postings in the entire state by October 23.

The present state of affairs has given rise to a piquant situation. Reports have it that the senior officers were hesitant to take any major decisions. Even in the case of directives on routine matters, they were sometimes ignored. The office of the Deputy Commissioner was no exception to this.

Also, there is another angle to the situation. There are a number of local and influential leaders of the ruling party who have differences with one another. They often approach the officers for various works. The officers, however, are wary of favouring one leader and earning the displeasure of others. Also, the BJP is an ally of the ruling party. The officers do not have clear cut directive or indication on how much weightage they should accord to the approaches and recommendation of its leaders.

Stalwarts of the INLD in Gurgaon are reported to be daggers drawn with senior BJP leaders.

The Chief Minister publicly made a statement in the recent past that his party workers would help the officers in running the administration. He had further stated that in case the administration and the authorities were in a "slumber", his INLD cadre would "wake" them in the interest of the people.

Diesel price hike anti-people: CPM
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Oct 8 — The hike in the price of diesel has evoked sharp and widespread criticism here and the demand of its withdrawal has picked up.

The state unit of the CPM in a statement here described the hike as "anti-people" and "disturbing". It said the decision to increase the price of diesel by 35 per cent just after the polling and before the outcome of the results had been anti-democratic. It said the BJP did not believe in democratic system of governance and did not want to take the approval of the new Lok Sabha.

The party said the decision would hit the national economy and especially the farm sector would be bearing its brunt.

The spokesman of the party said the farmers of state like Haryana had already been facing drought in the state and their crops had suffered an irreparable loss and the hike in diesel would make the farmers suffer. The party had asked the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) which was the ally of the BJP to reconsider its stand of extending support to the BJP at the Centre in the formation of new government. It said if the INLD ignored this point then its claim of being a farmer-friendly party would stand exposed and it would left with no moral right to seek the support of the farmers in the state next time.

The state unit of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) described the decision to favour the capitalists and the companies having monopoly in various fields. The activists of the party staged a protest demonstration in the town on the issue.

A former president of the Kisan Cell of the Pradesh Congress, Mr Raj Singh Hooda, has also criticised the steep hike in the price of diesel. Mr Hooda demanded the immediate withdrawal of the increase so that the farmers were not forced to launch an agitation in this regard.

Similarly various political leaders and representatives of the Bharatiya Kisan Union have also made a similar demand. The other leaders who have expressed concern over the hike include Mr Hawa Singh Saini, member of the executive committee of the HPCC, and a former Haryana Minister, Mr Krishan Murti Hooda.

Mauritius Minister’s Haryana connection
Tribune News Service

HISAR, Oct 8 — For Mr Dhanpat Lall Bhima, Defence Minister of Mauritius road to Adampur is never too long. He pays at least one visit in a year to his ancestral place.

Mr Bhima was here today to attend a reception organised by the Dayanand College to honour him. He studied in the Dayanand College here from 1955 to 1959. He has fond memories of the college, which he can "never afford to forget". These memories give him strength.

Mr Bhima’s roots are deep in the soil of Adampur. He feels pride in having studied in Hasar. "When the entire world was looking towards west for the higher education, I preferred to study in India and in Hisar only", he recalled with pride and joy.

Mr Dhanpat Lall Bhima was born and brought up in Mauritius. It was his father Mr Jeevan Lall Bhima who had been recruited by the British in early 20th century as a prison guard and posted in Mauritius. By dint of his sincerity and dedication, he retired from rank of service as class I officer in 1945. Mr Jeevan Lall Bhima was the only prison guard who was honoured with the highest gallantry award by the British.

Mr Jeevan Lall is 98 and stays pretty comfortably in Mauritius. Having started from a scratch their family has thriving business. Mr Jeevan Lall, has no regrets having left India. For him Mauritius is his home, but he too remembers India like his son. But the old age does not allow him to move frequently.

Mr Dhanpat Lall Bhima became Defence Minister of Mauritius in 1998. He is a respected political leader of Mauritius. He does not feel much of a difference between India and Mauritius. There are a good number of people of Indian origin there.

Mr Bhima was here on way to Mukam in Rajasthan to attend the annual congregation of Bishnois organised every year in memory of Guru Jambeshwar, founder of the sect.

Mr Dhanpat Lall recalled his Hisar days. He stayed for four years in a rented house near Double Phatak. He recalled his days with deep nostalgia, "although I can feel a great change in the city in the past 40 years, yet everything seems to me same as it existed then".

Besides being good in at studies, Mr Dhanpat Lall was an outstanding sportsman. Addressing the faculty and the students of the Dayanand College, he said, "education in India has become the basis of my success and I take pride in having studied in India". The memory of the college continues to remain fresh in my mind, wherever I go, my heart goes back to my roots", he said.

Earlier, principal of the college Subash Sharma felicitated him on behalf of the college.

Haryana move to stem sexual harassment
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 8 — The Haryana Government has directed all heads of departments to constitute without any delay the departmental "complaint committees for sexual harassment of women at work places" in their departments to safeguard the dignity of women.

Each such committee should be headed by a woman and not less than half of its members should be women. To prevent the possibility of any undue pressure or influence from senior levels, such complaint committees should involve a third party, either non-government official or anybody familiar to the issue of sexual harassment.

They have also been asked to include two more members in such committees. One of them should be a female from a non-governmental organisation like social workers' organisation, women activist or lawyer or well versed in cases of sexual harassment. The other member should be a male gazetted officer.

The findings of the complaint committees will be followed by a charge-sheet, disciplinary action and no other preliminary enquiry would be held by the competent authority.

The committee will also adopt its own methodology for conducting an enquiry into a complaint speedily. It will maintain confidentiality and ensure that victims or witnesses are not victimised or discriminated against while dealing with complaints of sexual harassment.

MLA granted bail in murder case
By Our Legal Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Oct 8 — Mr Nafe Singh Rathi, MLA from Bahadurgarh constituency, was today granted bail by a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising Mr Justice J.L. Gupta and Mr Justice V.M. Jain in a murder case.

Rathi and eight others were convicted by the Sessions Judge, Mr R.K. Bishnoi on May 15, 1999, and life imprisonment in a case (FIR No. 386) on September 18, 1993, under Sections 148/149/323/325, 302 of the I.PC. for murdering one Jai Raj son of Ram Kumar. Earlier the legislator was on parole.

Dy Director's arrest stayed

The arrest of Mr Baljit Kulharia, Haryana Deputy Director, in the Food and Supply Department, posted at Chandigarh, who claimed to be a close relative of Mr Bansi Lal, former Chief Minister, was stayed today by Ms Justice Bakshish Kaur of the High Court.

Mr Dharam Singh Mann, District Food and Supply Officer, had filed a complaint against him on the allegation that Mr Kulharia demanded Rs 50,000 from him for giving him a posting of his choice. After investigating the complaint, the D.S.P (Vigilance), Mr Avtar Singh, filed an FIR (No. 462) on September 24, 1999, against Mr Kulharia under Sections 7 and 13 (1) (A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

However, Mr Kulharia stated in his petition for anticipatory bail that he had been falsely implicated in the case at the instance of Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala, being a close relative of the former Chief Minister, after Mr Bansi Lal laid down office. Alleging malafide, he stated that a false case had been lodged to harass him.

Two killed in road mishap
Tribune News Service

FARIDABAD, Oct 8 — Two persons were killed and one was seriously injured last night when their motor cycle was hit by a truck near Goodyear Chowk on the Delhi-Mathura national highway.

The deceased have been identified as Ramphal and Puran. While Puran died on the spot, Ramphal succumbed to his injuries at B.K.Civil Hospital.

The deceased were dragged for several metres by the truck as the motor cycle got entangled with it while the third, Shiv Lahiri, was thrown off the motor cycle and received multiple injuries.

Teachers' salaries not paid
From Our Correspondent

YAMUNANAGAR, Oct 8 — Teachers of privately-aided schools have not been getting their salaries for the past 18 months. Dr M.C. Sharma, former President of the Haryana Aided School Teachers Union, said here today that the Haryana government had not released grant-in-aid to these schools.

He said the employees of these schools had appealed to the government to release the grant-in-aid immediately so that their salaries could be paid. He added that the colleges pattern should be adopted for these schools.

10 constables suspended
From Our Correspondent

HISAR, Oct 8 — Ten constables of the Haryana Police were placed under suspension on the charge of being absent from their duties, according to police sources here today.

Those suspended are Inderjeet, Rajender Singh, Prem Singh, Balwant Singh, Maya Ram, Dilbag Singh, Gulshan Kumar, Suresh Kumar, Rajinder Singh and Ved Parkash.

Haryana tops in speed post earnings
From Our Correspondent

AMBALA, Oct 8 — The Department of Posts, Haryana Circle, has topped in the country in speed post revenue earnings by achieving 106 per cent growth during 1998-99. This was disclosed by the Chief Post Master General, Haryana Circle, Mr T.R. Sharma, at a press meeting on the eve of the World Post Day here today.

Mr Sharma said six more post offices at Bahadurgarh, Jind, Jagadhari, Karnal, Narnaul and Sirsa were proposed to be linked with VSAT for transfer of money through satellite. The department had also decided to open two sub post offices and 15 branch offices in the state during 1999-2000. Sub account, delivery and account branches of the Head Post Offices at Faridabad, Jind, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Hisar were proposed to be computerised during this year. The saving operations in the Head Post Offices at Ambala Cantonment, Ambala City, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Hisar, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Rohtak were being computerised, he said.

He disclosed that from October 16 onwards, the UPSC application forms would be sold at the Head Post Offices at Ambala Cantonment, Ambala City. Bhiwani, Bahadurgarh, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Hisar, Jind, Karnal Kurukshetra, Narnaul, Panipat, Rohtak, Sonepat and Jind.

Development Kataria's priority
From Our Correspondent

AMBALA, Oct 8 — The newly-elected MP from the Ambala parliamentary constituency, Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, has said his priority will be the all-round development of the constituency.

Talking to mediapersons here today, he said he would pay special attention to the development of the metal industry in Yamunanagar and the science industry in the cantonment.

When asked if he would support the demand of the Chief Minister to withdraw the hike in diesel prices he said. "I will raise this issue on the proper platform of the party but as a loyal worker of the party I will abide by the decision of the party."

Meanwhile, victory processions were taken out here.

Gang decamps with cash, valuables
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Oct 8 — About 10 members of a gang struck near Jhajjar town, about 30 km from here, and decamped with cash and valuables worth Rs 15,000, last night.

According to the police, the miscreants intercepted a car and forced its occupants to come out. They tied the persons to nearby trees and threatened to kill them if they raised the alarm.

They allegedly took away cash and other valuables, including gold rings and wrist watches, and fled in a vehicle parked nearby. A case has been registered.

Haryana JD (U) to meet on Oct 17
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Oct 8 — The executive committee of the state unit of the Janata Dal (U) will meet on October 17 at Bhiwani to review the post-poll political situation in the state.

President of the state party unit Ved Parkash Vidrohi in a statement here today, said early assembly elections in the state looked likely if the various concessions announced by the ruling INLD President and Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala were any indication.

He said the meeting would decide about the strategy of the party towards the state government.