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Sunday, November 18, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Stamp duty worth crores evaded PGIMS a hotbed of intrigue ‘Victimisation’ of Cong leaders decried
Mining mafia still active Minister orders action against youth for false complaint |
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Preliminary test for astronomy olympiad Sushma for value-based TV programmes Inter-state gang leader eludes police IN FOCUS KALKA
DIARY 2 Town Planning Dept officials arrested Pension hike not implemented, say freedom fighters Historic tomb in neglect Board to auction houses in 14 towns AIATF to honour
Shabana, Javed 
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Stamp duty worth crores evaded Hisar, November 17 The government has specified deemed prices for properties in the municipal areas all over the state to rule out chances of undervaluation in a bid to attract lower stamp duty. Under the rules even if the buyer and the seller agree to sell and buy a particular piece of land at a lower price, the deed will be registered at the government specified rates only. Inquiries by The Tribune reveal that government officials, in addition to falsifying the location of the property, are showing the buyers and sellers as blood relations and allowing transfer of land through a decree. Documents in the possession of The Tribune show that land measuring 44 kanals and 18 marlas located within the municipal limits was sold on December 16, 1993, by Ms Vidya Devi wife of Mr Hari Singh Saini, for Rs 42,09,375 by paying a stamp duty of Rs 5,26,190. The khasra numbers are 6470 to 6477 and 6480. The land was sold to Nand Ram Saini. The same land was then sold by his widow, Ms Chandrawali, to Mr Ram Niwas on July 22, 1999, for only Rs 5,80,000 by paying a stamp duty of Rs 72,500. The trick was that this land was shown in the sale deed as being located outside the municipal limits of Hisar. The sub-registrar who registered the deed accepted the plea. It is learnt that the prevailing rates in the area on that day were over Rs 5 lakh per acre. Ms Chandrawali also sold her adjoining lands measuring over 100 kanals on the same day to Ram Niwas and others at similar ridiculously lower rates. All these deeds show these lands as located outside the municipal limits. The total stamp duty paid amounted to about Rs 2.5 lakh compared to Rs 5.26 lakh paid for only 44 kanals in 1993. Thus the government was effectively deprived of stamp duty worth over Rs 20 lakh. Inquiries also reveal that the same trick is being used in other parts of the state, causing a loss of several crores to the government annually. In many districts it was found that mostly briefless lawyers, acted as stock witnesses in such cases. The other malpractice involves impersonation and falsification of the relationship between the buyer and the seller. The government had allowed the transfer of family property through decree by reversing the decision of the previous government. The farming community had been demanding this benefit ever since the government stopped this mode of transfer of property. In such cases, the buyer and seller pose as blood relatives. They obtain or forge certificates from the panchayat authorities for the purpose. It was found that in many cases only witnesses’ versions were accepted. This is the most common way to avoid paying stamp duty in the sale of agricultural land. The scandal involves officials from the patwari to the tehsildars and other registrars authorised to register the deeds. It was also found that even a genuine deed was hard to get registered without paying an “unofficial fee” to the officials. In case of non-compliance, the deed is put in the cold storage by raising illogical objections. |
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PGIMS a hotbed of intrigue Rohtak, November 17 As the government has failed to appoint a regular Director after the removal of Dr S.B. Siwach from the post, the institute has become a hotbed of intrigue. There is fierce infighting among the senior faculty and the adhoc administration appears busy settling scores with rivals. As a result, there seems to have been a deterioration in the standards of patient care, teaching and research. Essential drugs and other items are not available and patients are given long lists to buy these items from the market. Some of the departments have got cyclostyled the list of items to be purchased by patients before any operation, even a minor one. Gross indiscipline was witnessed in the institute on November 12, when students fought among themselves after celebrating Divali. A teacher (demonstrator) and the father of one of the students were also beaten up by certain students who had brought along gun-wielding goons. One of the outsiders with a gun was handed over to the police. Academic activities, too, appear to be suffering from neglect. No meeting of the Dean’s committee has been held during the past six months. A large number of thesis plans of PG students have piled up in the Director’s office awaiting clearance by the committee and onward transmission to the university for approval. The fully-equipped air-conditioned ambulance purchased in March has not been commissioned. Two new generators which were purchased by the PGIMS in April at a cost of Rs 15 lakh have not been commissioned as generator cables have not been laid. The order for a new CT scan machine were placed in March. It has not yet been installed and may take many more months as the construction of the building at the proposed site has started only recently. The quality of the CT scan done on the old machine is said to be poor. Although Dr S.B. Siwach was removed from the post of Director in May, the government has not appointed a regular Director till date. Dr S.P. Kaushik, who was selected by the selection committee appointed by the government, was not given appointment orders allegedly due to internal policies. Informed sources told this corespondent that a proposal had been submitted to the government to amend the Haryana Medical Education Service rules, suggesting that all posts should be filled by promotion instead of open selection as at present. The proposal is pending with the Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education, according to sources. If accepted, this would help the officiating Director to become a regular Director, although he had not applied for the post when it was advertised. This would also help an adhoc Professor to become regular Professor as the only post in his department which was advertised a few months ago was reserved for a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe candidate. Similarly, the appointment orders of the Dean, who was selected in December, 1999, have not been issued as yet and the officiating Director, Dr D.R. Yadav, is also officiating as Dean. Dr S.S. Sangwan, who was selected as Dean nearly two years ago, is working as Medical Superintendent. The reservation of seats in MBBS/for NRIs has failed to attract candidates. It is reliably learnt that of the 17 seats reserved for them, only eight have been filled. Sources said the remaining seats had allegedly been filled from the general category. The trauma centre building, on which Rs 4 core have been spent, is still unutilised. Earlier, it was decided to convert it into a mother and child hospital and later, in to a cardio-neuro centre. Its present status is not known. |
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‘Victimisation’ of Cong
leaders decried Ambala, November 17 It was stated by Mr Oskar Fernandes, general secretary, All-India Congress Committee (AICC) here today. He had come along with the All-India Youth Congress president, Mr Randeep Surjewala, to meet the former minister, Mr Nirmal Singh, against whom a case was registered by the Ambala police during Haryana bandh on November 2. Talking to mediapersons at the residence of Mr Nirmal Singh, Mr Fernandes said the party high command had taken the issue seriously and on the direction of party chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, he had come to see the party leaders who have been politically victimised in Haryana. He said he had also met the son of Mr Anand Singh Dangi who had been lodged in Ambala jail for the past several months. He said he had also received the reports that several Congress leaders were tortured by the police. He said the matters of atrocity on Congress leaders in Haryana would be taken to the Human Rights Commission. He said reinduction of George Fernandes in the Cabinet and the POTO issues would also be raised in the Parliament session. When asked whether the Congress will oppose the POTO in the session, he said there were enough provisions in the IPC to curb terrorist activities and even then the ruling party had come up with the POTO. Mr Fernandes said the government should have invited an all party meeting and also the Chief Ministers’ meeting before issuing the ordinance. He alleged that the BJP led government had been adopting double standards. He said several communal forces were being allowed to spread communal tension in the country. On the occasion, Mr Randeep Surjewala said the ruling party in Haryana had victimised the Congress leaders since they were raising the public issues. He said former minister Anand Singh Danngi along with Nirmal Singh and several other Congress leaders had been falsely implicated. He said the Congress would face the challenge and would launch a statewide agitation in that regard. He said Union Ministers whose names had figured in corruption cases should quit their offices. A former Haryana minister Chattarpal, the Haryana Youth Congress President Satwinder Singh Timma, general secretary of the HPCC Kiran Bala Jain and the District Congress President Balwant Gupta were also present on the occasion.
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Mining mafia still active Haiderpur (Gurgaon), November 17 The mafia is reportedly indulging in illegal mining, causing a loss of several crores to the state government and the Income Tax Department. “Rori”, a construction material, is being extracted from the mines here. Elsewhere in Gurgaon and Faridabad districts, both “Rori” and Badarpur sand is being extracted. Thousands of trucks can be seen around the quarrying sites. Illegal mining is on at several centres in South Haryana, especially Gurgaon and Faridabad. According to an estimate, the state and the Centre is being defrauded to the tune of about Rs 50 crore each day on account of illegal mining. The government’s new policy to check fly-by-night operators by going in for public auctioning of the mines has rather added to the problem. The government did auction some mines in Gurgaon and Faridabad districts. The policy of the government is that the successful bidders can not start mining operations until they get the mandatory environmental management plan (EMP) for the mines concerned approved. However, mining is taking place without environmental safeguard mechanisms being adhered to. Technically, in the government’s book no mining is taking place. Inquiries reveal that two persons who won the bids claim to be close to the eldest son of Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala.
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Minister orders action against youth for false complaint Rohtak, November 17 An order to this effect was passed at the monthly meeting of the District Grievances Committee held under the chairmanship of the minister at Vikas Sadan here today. A youth of nearby Chandi village had registered a complaint against his brothers that they beat up and raped his wife. The DSP, who investigated the matter, reported to the minister that the complaint was found baseless. Taking a serious notice, the minister said the complainant has wasted the precious time of the committee by misinforming the police and deserved stringent punishment. He directed the action under Section 182 of the IPC be taken against the offender to warn people not to indulge in such unethical and illegal practices. Deciding another complaint, he directed the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr T.K. Sharma, to probe the alleged irregularities in a land deal near Gohana road here. Residents of Ward Number 8 had complained that 15 cases of theft were reported in the locality during the past three years and in most cases, jet pumps were stolen. The minister directed the SSP, Mr A.S. Ahlawat, to make adequate security arrangements for the people. He also directed the officials of the Irrigation Department to ensure proper supply of water to the tail end and check the leakage of the Gudhan miner following a complaint of the gram panchayat. As many as 16 complaints were received at the meeting and a majority of them were settled on the spot. |
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Preliminary test for astronomy olympiad Kurukshetra, November 17 Addressing mediapersons here today, the project coordinator of the Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Centre, Mr S. Kumar, said as a part of this programme, the centre would organise a preliminary test to shortlist students from various schools of Kurukshetra and nearby areas to participate in a qualifying olympiad test in astronomy (QUOTA) to select the participants of the fourth National Astronomy Olympiad. Mr S. Kumar said the olympiad would be open to students in two groups — Group I for those born after January 1, 1987, and Group II for those born after January 1, 1985. He said the students who would appear for Class XII before January 2002, would not be eligible. The preliminary written test to select the students to appear in QUOTA would be held at Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Centre on December 16, 2001. The students would be tested for their proficiency in physics and mathematics. The test will be conducted in English and some knowledge of astronomy would be beneficial. Mr S. Kumar said the schools who were interested in sending the students for participating in the contest could contact the centre for further details. |
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Sushma for value-based TV programmes Kurukshetra, November 17 She was speaking after inaugurating the Doordarshan metro relay centre constructed at a cost of Rs 77 lakh. With the commissioning of this centre, the programmes of metro would be available without cable within a radius of 30 km. This is the
sixty metro relay centre in the state and has been completed in a short span of two months. Ms Swaraj informed that the programmes telecast by DD-1 were covering about 85 per cent viewers of the country, while DD-Metro was limited to only 25 to 30 per cent. She said DD-Metro was an exclusive entertainment channel. The minister said DD-1 was showing different programmes on education, entertainment and information, which was a unique combination. Ms Swaraj disclosed that DD-Metro had received an award for making good programmes. She said already 15 relay centres of DD-1 were working in the State, while three more were being set up in Narnaul and Hisar would have DD-Metro and Hodal DD-1. The Haryana Transport Minister, Mr Ashok Kumar Arora, urged her to get the Hisar Doordarshan centre completed soon. She said the spread of DD network in Haryana would play a great role in not only reviving the cultural values of the region but will also provide employment to the artists. Ms Kailasho Saini, MP, said moral values were degrading due to the impact of western culture. She also demanded that the relay centre of Kurukshetra be upgraded to a full-fledged Doordarshan Kendra. Mr R.K. Gupta, Chief Engineer Doordarshan, said that with the commissioning of this relay centre about 6 lakh people of the neighbouring areas of Pehowa, Nilokheri, Barara, Ladwa, Shahabad will be able to watch the DD-Metro programmes without cable connections. A colourful cultural programme was also presented by the artists of Delhi Doordarshan centre on the occasion. |
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Inter-state gang leader eludes police Panipat, November 17 The main objective of the notorious inter-state Pardeep gang, which is said to be active in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, seems to be to terrorise the police. The gang members have been involved in stealing cars at gunpoint and daylight robberies at petrol stations. The latest incident of car theft was at Nangal Kheri village, near here, by Pardeep and his accomplice on the night of November 15. After taking away a car (HR-60-0505) from Anil, Prem, Vicki and Jaswinder, residents of Model Town, Samalkha, at gunpoint outside the Mazar of Pir Baba at the village, Pardeep, who has an award of Rs 25,000 on his head, gave the slip to the police yet again. This was the fourth such incident in the past over a month by the gang which is involved in about 12 crimes in the three states in the past three months. Pardeep reportedly regrouped the gang after the death of its leader, Rohtash who was killed in an encounter with the police in Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh about three months back. The modus operandi of Pardeep and his gang members is interesting. He stops car and takes it away at gunpoint. But before escaping, he asks the car owner to tell the police that it has been stolen by Pardeep. On the night of November 15, Pardeep is said to have broken through the police cordon in front of the Samalkha police station. The car stolen by him was reportedly spotted at the nearby Rakseda village but Pardeep could not be nabbed even though the police had received a tip-off from villagers. Though the police has been able to arrest at least two of his accomplices the criminal has eluded the police. Last month, one of the gang members, Jaswinder, was arrested by the Panipat police after an encounter and a stolen Indica car recovered from Titana village, near here. The then SP, Mr P.R. Deo, had claimed that the police had obtained vital leads regarding the Pardeep gang and that he would be arrested soon, However, Pardeep has continued to play hide-and-seek with the police. Only last week, Pardeep escaped from the police dragnet yet again. One of his close accomplices Karamvir, was arrested following an encounter with the Jind police. Subsequently, he was handed over to the local police for his involvement in the theft of a Santro car belonging to a Delhi trader and certain other crimes. Karamvir was remanded in police custody for five days by the Duty Magistrate, Mr Raj Gupta, yesterday.
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Inter-state
gang of dacoits busted Sirsa,
November 17 The district police chief said here yesterday that the CIA wing of the police arrested Julficar Ali of Chakjhurianwala village in Rajasthan and on his disclosure recovered a car, four jeeps, a colour TV and a VCR, etc. The police chief said the other members of this three-member gang had also been identified. One of them was involved in a murder case and is lodged in a Rajasthan jail whereas the third had been killed in a police encounter in Rajasthan. According to the police, Julficar Ali had confessed to involvement in various acts of theft and dacoities in Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi and also disclosed the details of his accomplices.
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IN
FOCUS Ambala This chapter began with only two members but the membership has been increasing steadily over the past few months. It is a fellowship of men and women who share their experiences and hopes with one another so as to solve their common problem to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. “There is no membership fee. It is not aligned with any sect, denomination, politics or institution. We neither endorse nor oppose any cause. Our purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety,” said a founder member. Regular weekly meetings are held in a primary school opposite the Central Telegraph Office in Ambala Cantonment. Often, the first signs of an alcoholic’s desire to stop drinking show in a period desperation and hopelessness. It may be the remorse of a hangover or it may be precipitated by a crisis. This group helps alcoholics regain a grip on their lives. They feel the impact when they get back the love of their families, regard of their friends and respect in society. An AA member who has left drinking points out: “It is not how much you drink, how often you drink, when you drink or what liqour you drink. Alcoholism implies compulsive drinking. If you drink when you dot not want to drink, you are an alcoholic. You have crossed the line from normal or social drinking to alcoholic drinking. There is, however, an alternative and that is complete sobriety.” An alcoholics Anonymous meeting usually consists of three parts— a talk on alcoholism, an autobiographical story and questions and answers. “No question pertaining to drinking or stopping drinking is silly or irrelevant. Whatever your personal problems or experiences with alcohol may have been, you will find someone in AA who has faced similar situations. Here we learn from questions and answers. We learn by exchanging our thoughts and our experiences with one another.” The Ambala chapter of AA is also helping drug addicts. Once the number of persons keen to leave drugs goes up, they will form a different group which will help other drug addicts.
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KALKA
DIARY A company launching competition was held by the students of plus one and plus two commerce stream of DAV Public School, Surajpur, during which tactics used by companies to publicise their products and make them popular were highlighted. The objective of the competition was to apprise the people of the problems one faces while launching a new product. *** Company launching, which forms part of the curriculum of commerce students, was effectively presented by the students. The ‘products’ launched by two ‘companies’ were confectionary items biscuits, sweets, cakes, ice creams, candies etc. Students of the plus one class launched their ‘company’ under the name Canooz Pvt Ltd. Products of the company were advertised through hilarious comic skits. The audience was amused to see a weak and weary “Virappan” turn into a stout and sturdy man after consuming “Canooz” and “Osama Bin Laden” surrender for the sake of “Canooz”. The plus two students entertained the audience with advertisements and skits. Their ‘Criss Berry Company’s’ confectionary under the name “Hunger Buzz” was highlighted through a skit in which “Saas-Bahu” become friends after taking “Hunger Buzz” and “Veeru” of today opts for “Hunger Buzz” instead of “Basanti”. The programme was convened by Dr Renu Sood, and presided over by the Principal of the school, Mr PL Chopra. Mrs Rakesh Sachdeva, Principal of DAV Senior Secondary Model School, Sector 15, Chandigarh, was the chief guest. *** The president of Haryana BJP and MP from this area, Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, inaugurated a cooking gas outlet of Bharat Petroleum here. Talking to media persons, he said that the BJP would start a special development campaign in Himachal Pradesh which would be inaugurated by the Prime Minister. Regarding the new house tax policy of the state government, he said that he had already met the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, and urged him to withdraw this policy.
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2 Town Planning Dept officials arrested Chandigarh, November 17 V.K. Gupta, who was produced in court today, was sent to judicial remand up to November 29. According to the press note, A.S. Kundu has been sent to Central Jail, Ambala, and he will be produced in court on Monday. The press note said that the case (FIR No 2, dated, Feb 9, 2001) u/s 406/409/418/420/120B, IPC, and 13(1)(c)(d) PC Act, was registered against the officers concerned of the Department of Industries, Commercial Taxation and Town and Country Planning, Haryana, for causing wrongful loss to the state government to the tune of more than Rs 54 crore from 31.8.1995 to 22.6.1998. The loss took place due to illegal monetary benefits extended to 416 industrial units of Karnal and Panipat by way of sales tax exemption in the controlled area without the permission of change of land use, loss of CLU fees, not charging external development fees from the units etc. V.K. Gupta, who was the District Town Planner of Karnal during the period under investigation, was among the officials accused of “ cheating, fraud and misuse of power”.
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Pension hike not implemented, say freedom fighters Sirsa, November 17 Speaking to this correspondent, the veteran freedom fighter welcomed the increase in the pension, lamented that the managers of most of the banks were taking an apathetic view of disbursing it to them. He said the few freedom fighters alive had become too old to follow their cases repeatedly. He added that in Kaithal district the freedom fighters have not received the last two hikes in their pension. He demanded that keeping in view their old age, their pension and other facilities should be provided to them with full honour at their doorstep.
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Historic tomb in neglect Sonepat One such monument is Sultan Sayyad Khizar’s tomb situated in Jatwara Mohalla. Though the administration has been launching various schemes for the beautification of the city, this tomb has been ignored. It was built in the year 1400 by the son of Sultan Sayyad Khizar who crossed the border of Afghanistan and occupied the Delhi throne, after the death of the last ruler, Sultan Mohammad of the Tuglaq dynasty. At that time he was the Subedar of Multan, now in Pakistan, and was considered loyal to the Tuglaqs. In 1421, Mongols invaded India. Sultan Sayyad Khizar fought bravely but was killed. His son got the tomb built in his memory in the area where he was killed. The original tomb had the graves of Sultan Khizar, his wife and two children. The Archaeological Survey of India had been maintaining this historic monument. However, no special repairs have been undertaken to preserve it. The tomb is now surrounded by wild growth and the area has be come a haven for anti-social elements as well as a resting place for stray animals. A former Deputy Commissioner, Mr Sudhir Rajpal, had set up a society for the beautification and preservation of the monument, but after his transfer the district administration shelved the project. |
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Board to auction houses in 14 towns Sonepat, November 17 The auction at Palwal, Faridkot, Karnal, Dharuhera, Bahadurgarh, Rohtak and Ambala City would be held on November 26 whereas the houses in Gurgaon, Panchkula, Bhiwani, Sonepat and Panipat would be auctioned on November 27. The houses in Jind would be auctioned on November 28 and in Kurukshetra on November 29. Official sources said that the houses of Low Income Group (LIG), Medium Income Group (MIG), High Income Group (HIG), Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Duplex categories would be auctioned on an as-is-where-is basis. |
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AIATF to honour Shabana, Javed Rohtak, November 17 Stating this here today, Mr Satish Bansal, general secretary, national unit of the Front, urged all political parties to show solidarity against terrorism. He demanded that the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) be made more strict. He sought that special courts be set up to decide cases relating to terrorism and a terrorist be sentenced to death. He said Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar would be honoured by the front on November 19 as they had opposed the recent announcement of Jehad by the Shahi Imam of Delhi even though they were Muslims. Mr Bansal announced that a “jan jagran” champaign would be launched from Srinagar to Kanyakumari to make the people aware about the dangers of terrorism. |
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Man booked for father’s murder Kaithal, November 17 |
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College alumni
hold function Ambala, November 17 The Principal, while welcoming the members of the association, highlighted the features and importance of this association. He stressed that the relationship of the college and its alumni was not to be closed, but to be continued and refreshed. Dr Neelam Luthra explained the aims and objectives of the association. The alumni also presented an entertainment programme.
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Cong men raise slogans outside jail Ambala, November 17 Among others, Congress leaders, including the general secretary of AICC, Mr Oscar Fernandes, Indian Youth Congress president Randeep Surjewala, former MLA Chattarpal, former ministers Nirmal Singh and Phool Chand Mullana, general secretary, HPCC, Kiran Bala Jain and district president Balwant Gupta were present. The activists began to raise slogans after they were not allowed to meet former minister Anand Singh Dangi.
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Seed sale centre inaugurated Sonepat, November 17
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Constables’ recruitment
from Nov 27 Ambala, November 17
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Youth gets burns in LPG leakage fire Rohtak, November 17
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