Sat Singh & N Kalia

Tribune News Service

Bhiwani/Jind February 22

Captain Pawan Kumar Khatkar, who died in an encounter with terrorists in Kashmir on February 20, hailed from Jind district but it was in Bhiwani that he sharpened his skills to make it to the National Defence Academy while studying at BRCM Vidyagram School, Bahal. And despite the mayhem wrought by the Jat agitation, villagers were out in full force to give him a befitting farewell. The body was brought in an Army chopper to his residence in Urban Estate in Jind at 11 am because of the blocked roads, and was taken to Badhana, 20 km away.  Agitating Jats had cleared the way leading to Badhana to enable residents of Amarheri, Kandela, Shahpur and Nagura villages, who had lined up on roads, to pay tributes. The pyre was lit by his father and cousin. Capt Pawan, who was commissioned in 2013, had joined the elite 10 Para (Special Forces) last year. His mother Kamlesh Rani and father Rajbir are government teachers. He passed his Class XII (non-medical) exam in 2008. “My sole aim is to crack the NDA exam and become an officer. For this, I surrender myself to you,” Pawan Kumar would tell Sehdev Singh Shekawat, his favourite teacher. Sehdev Singh, a physical training instructor at the residential school, said Pawan had a passion for horse-riding and athletics.  Girish Kumar, the house master, remembered him as being “ever ready for sports”. “We are pained at the loss to the family but feel proud that our alumnus sacrificed his life fighting for the country,” said principal Parveen Masta.

Delhi link still snapped

3 die in Army bid to clear highway at Sonepat, Jats won’t relent

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 22

Adamant Jat protesters lay siege to National Highway 1 (NH-1), snapping link to the national capital despite stern measures by the security forces to get the road cleared. The Army opened fire to disperse  protesters at Larsauli in Sonepat today. Though official sources said three persons were killed, other reliable sources put the toll at five.Meanwhile, curfew was imposed in Kaithal after a mob vandalised a mall and looted shops. More than 500 persons were booked. The authorities have sought more forces for the district. At least 1,300 persons have been booked in Faridabad and 1,000 in Palwal for rioting.Much to the relief of stranded commuters, protesters agreed to lift blockades on National Highway 10 after a series of negotiations with the authorities at Rohtak and Hisar. Ram Bhagat Malik, spokesperson for the Akhil Bharatiya Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, said blockades on NH-10, that links Sirsa, Hisar and Rohtak with Delhi, had been removed.Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said 16 persons had died in the ongoing agitation, including three at Larsauli village in Sonepat. The deceased are Sunny of Ganaur, Rakesh of Shamri village and Sandeep of Pamcha village. Haryana Janhit Congress chief Kuldeep Bishnoi demanded a criminal case against former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in view of a CD on the social media showing his former political adviser, Prof Virender, instigating the Jats. Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said the government would get the CD examined. Hooda and his son Deepender Singh, Rohtak MP, were stopped at the Tikri border near Bahadurgarh today as they tried to enter Rohtak from Delhi. Protesters squatting on the Rohtak-Delhi road refused to budge, insisting that they be provided a copy of the government notification on Jat reservation. Later in the evening, they lifted the blockade at Sampla village (NH-10) after a delegation of Jat leaders met Principal Secretary AK Singh and Additional DGP BS Sandhu at the Police Lines, Rohtak.An Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti leader announced that they had decided to clear the roads in Hisar, Fatehabad and Bhiwani. Meanwhile, water supply to Delhi has been restored. In violence-hit Rohtak, curfew was relaxed for an hour today.

Bhagwat for apolitical panel

• Many people are demanding reservation. A committee should be formed to decide who are eligible for reservation. It should be apolitical so that there are no vested interests. —Mohan Bhagwat, RSS chief

REMAINS OF THE DAY

Not just Haryana, even Cabinet is divided

Naveen S Garewal,Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, February 22

These are no minor gashes. The ongoing Jat agitation in Haryana has caused deep wounds in the minds and psyche of its people and resulted in caste polarisation being firmly entrenched.What started as a “Jat versus non-Jat” conflict has ended up as a great divide.With no signs of the violence abating, statements of politicians have exacerbated the social divide that has manifested itself along caste lines. Initially, goons in the garb of Jat protesters attacked the affluent, looting and burning properties. In Rohtak, Jhajjar and Deswali, affluent Punjabis and other rich were targeted.The “Jat versus non-Jat” pattern soon turned into “have-nots versus haves” and “one caste versus the other”. That division has become apparent even in the state Cabinet, with Jat ministers trying to appease the protesters, forcing the government to announce compensation to those who have died along with government jobs to the next of kin, and a “veiled promise” to protect the arsonists from the rule of law. A move that was strongly opposed by the non-Jat ministers.The  Manohar Lal Khattar government’s image has taken a beating. The BJP came to power essentially at the  back of non-Jat voters on the promise of “good governance”. With the government failing to control the raging Jats for days, the non-Jat voter now feels betrayed and alienated.Questions are being raised over why the BJP first tried to appease the Jats by promising reservation and then allowed its MP Raj Kumar Saini to raise an anti-Jat reservation pitch.Health Minister Anil Vij and other non-Jat ministers  today asked for strict action against those  indulging in violence. Leaders of other parties have only added to the chaos with the INLD asking for a Vidhan Sabha session on the crisis and Congress’ former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda choosing to sit on a “fast”. A non-Jat leader now plans a counter-agitation, while some others want judicial and other probes.The state stands divided, and for what in the end?

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Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 22

The decision to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of “innocent” persons killed in the Jat stir met with stiff resistance from non-Jat ministers at the Cabinet meeting here today. Led by Health Minister Anil Vij, the ministers expressed annoyance over “rewarding arsonists”.The plea that compensation could placate the Jats and help end the stir was outrightly rejected by the non-Jat ministers, who argued that those who had died were involved in looting and arson and that there was no justification in “awarding” their kin.Though the matter remained unresolved, the government chose to announce the compensation.It was Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma who made the announcement and not Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Sharma initially announced that the Chief Secretary would appoint a nodal officer to assess damage and that the role of officials would also be ascertained. The form for filing claims would be made available online and at the office of DCs and money released within a month, he said. Oddly, it was after the conclusion of the press meet that Sharma returned to announce the ex gratia. The two Jat ministers, Capt Abhimanyu and OP Dhankar, were away for the cremation of Capt Pawan Kumar.