Gurmeet Ram Rahim, head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, is no regular godman.
As government-issued guidelines in many places banned large congregations and setting up of fairs or food stalls, the torching of effigies was restricted to very few venues than usual. The Ramleela Maidan at the iconic Red Fort where every year the Dussehra festivities are attended by dignitaries including the prime minister and the President apart from hundreds of common people, was deserted this time as the annual celebrations were cancelled.
Among the other prominent faces for the ruling BJP who tasted defeat in the elections was its state president Subhash Barala.
Masterminds of kidney stealing racket, Amit Kumar and Upender Kumar have been sentenced by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula to undergo seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 60 lakh each.
Culling of chickens and ducks began on Tuesday in parts of Kerala to contain the H5N8 strain of bird flu, while Jammu and Kashmir sounded an alert and started collecting samples from migratory species after Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh reported cases of the avian influenza.
In a major breakthrough in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case, the National Investigation Agency arrested Rajendra (Pahalwan) Chowdhary, suspected to have planted bombs in the Pakistan-bound train, from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.
The losses caused to property due to violence and arson by the followers of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh will be recovered from Dera Sacha Sauda, the Punjab and Haryana high court ruled on Fridayy, according to a senior government lawyer.
Hooda, who as the chief minister was the ex officio chairman of the Haryana Urban Development Authority, has been accused of illegally transferring land to Associated Journals Ltd, which published the newspaper, at Panchkula in 2005.
Senior Haryana Indian Administrative Service officer Ashok Khemka, who stirred a political storm by alleging irregularities in the Robert Vadra-DLF land deals, on Friday said he had got two threat calls within a fortnight and accused the police of not taking any action.
Senior Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who is in the news following the recent controversy over land deals involving Robert Vadra, has received another threat call and Panchkula police have begun an enquiry into the matter.
The third and final leg of the Indian Grand Prix, scheduled to be held on April 13, has been postponed due to clash of dates with the Annual General Body Meeting of the Athletics Federation of India.
In the second arrest in as many days in the Samjhauta Express blast case, Dhan Singh, a prime suspect, was on Monday arrested by the National Investigation Agency from Madhya Pradesh. The arrest came even as the NIA told a Panchkula court that Rajender Chaudhary alias Pehalwan, who allegedly planted a bomb in the Pakistan-bound Samjhauta Express in 2007, played a key role in the entire operation.
The National Investigation Agency on Monday told a court Rajender Chaudhary alias Pehalwan, who allegedly planted a bomb in Samjhauta Express in 2007, played a key role in the entire operation, claiming he was instrumental in preparing and procuring the explosive devices.Pehalwan, in his mid-30s, was arrested by the NIA on Saturday night from Nagda, 50 km from Ujjain, where he was living under an assumed name.
A special court in Panchkula on Friday declined the application of National Investigation Agency seeking further custody of Kamal Chauhan, a disgruntled Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker arrested by the investigation agency, in connection with the Samjhauta Express blast.
Senior Haryana Indian Administrative Service officer Ashok Khemka, who stirred a political storm by alleging irregularities in the Robert Vadra-DLF land deals, on Monday said he feels there is no need of security being provided to him and he wants a fair and quick investigation into the threat received by him.
Kamal Chauhan, a disgruntled Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker arrested by the National Investigation Agency, had planted bombs on board Samjhauta Express in 2007 after undergoing training in arms and explosives in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, the agency claimed on Tuesday.
The National Investigation Agency on Thursday sought permission of special court in Panchkula to allow Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory experts to take material evidence collected in Samjhauta train blast case to Hyderabad facility for examination and comparison with samples collected in other terror attacks.
Jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's adopted daughter says she is "devastated" by allegations that she incited the Panchkula violence.
Kamal Chauhan, a disgruntled Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker arrested by the National Investigation Agency, had planted bombs on board Samjhauta Express in 2007 after undergoing training in arms and explosives in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, the agency claimed on Tuesday.
The Haryana advocate general has alleged that criteria had been tweaked for allotment of 14 industrial plots in Panchkula to the "near and dear ones" of the then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and recommended their cancellation.
Protesting farmers owing allegiance to different farmers' bodies blocked state and national highways at several places on Saturday, causing inconvenience to commuters.
Capping four years of probe, the National Investigation Agency on Monday charged Swami Aseemanand and four others with triggering explosions in the cross-border Samjhauta Express in 2007 that left 68 people dead.
Aseemanand, a member of right-wing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat, has been in jail since December 2010.
A local court on Friday rejected the application of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in several terror cases, to turn an approver in the Ajmer Dargah blast after he claimed the plea was filed under the pressure from investigating agencies.
The court has now posted the matter for further hearing on May 15.
A court in Panchkula, Haryana on Thursday extended the judicial custody of Swami Aseemanand till June 7 after the National Investigation Agency assured the judge that a chargesheet will be filed against the Samjhauta blast case accused before the next date of hearing.The hearing in the case took place through video-conferencing, with the accused lodged in a central jail in Ambala.
Honeypreet, in her thirties, accompanied Ram Rahim Singh when he was brought to the special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula for the pronouncement of the verdict in the 15-year-old rape case on Friday.
Congress leader sought stern action against the BJP MP.
Associated Journals was allotted 3,478 sq m of land by the Maharashtra govt in 1983 for building a Nehru Memorial library and a research centre.
Despite the presence of legendary sprinter Milkha Singh, cricketer Kapil Dev and Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, the Queen's Baton Relay for the Commonwealth Games received a cold response in Chandigarh, on Saturday.
Utsav Sharma, who inflicted grievous wounds on murdered teenager Aarushi's father Rajesh Talwar, was on Wednesday remanded in judicial custody till February 8 by a local court in Ghaziabad.
Swami Aseemanand, the main accused in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, was on Thursday remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a court in Panchkula, Haryana.The counsel for the right-wing group Abhinav Bharat member said the National Investigation Agency told the court that it did not require further custody of the accused as it has completed its investigation.
The Central Bureau of Investigations's closure reports in two of the three fresh cases against disgraced ex-DGP SPS Rathore by family of Ruchika Girhotra, triggered a controversy with a man claiming that his testimony to the agency was not incorporated by it.
Ten days, 6 deaths and after scores were injured, controversial godman Sant Rampal was arrested on Wednesday night from his ashram - Satlok Ashram in Hisar, Haryana.
Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday agreed to grant adequate time to the counsel for disgraced former director general of police SPS Rathore to argue his petition seeking anticipatory bail in two fresh first investigation reports levelling serious criminal charges against him in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case.
The father and brother of Ruchika Girhotra, who was molested by Haryana's former director general of police SPS Rathore, on Tuesday demanded the registration of fresh FIRs against him and others, in connection with the post mortem proceedings and booking of her brother in false cases.Subash Chander Girhotra and Ashu, father and brother of Ruchika, submitted their complaints to Panchkula Superintendent of Police Maneesh Chaudhary.
SPS Rathore's counsel on Wednesday told a court in Chandigarh hearing his plea challenging his conviction in the Ruchika molestation case that Aradhana, the prime witness in the case, was planted against the former Haryana director general of police due to rivalry between two lawn tennis associations of Panchkula.
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Stating that evidence was being collected on fresh charges filed against former Haryana director general of police S P S Rathore, the Panchkula police on Wednesday said any further action in the Ruchika molestation case would be taken only after a detailed investigation was completed.
The company is hopeful of acquiring 600 acres of land by January 2010.
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