-The Hindu A top official in the Haryana government’s land registration department was transferred hours after he initiated a probe into all the land dealings of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in four districts of the State neighbouring Delhi, The Hindu can disclose. The transfer order came on October 11, 2012 — even as the country was still digesting the allegations made by India Against Corruption of a nexus...

-CNN-IBN Kolkata: After Haryana ministers and Khap panchayats, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday gave her 'bizarre' reasoning for the increasing rape cases in the country. Mamata said that rape cases are on a rise in the country because men and women interact with each other more freely now. "Earlier if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded but now everything is...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: A khap panchayat in Haryana's Jind district has blamed consumption of chowmein behind the growing incidents ofrapes in the state saying it leads to hormonal imbalance. "To my understanding, consumption of fast food contributes to such incidents. Chowmein leads to hormonal imbalance evoking an urge to indulge in such acts," said Jitender Chhatar, a resident of Jind's Chhatar village and thua khap panchayat leader. "You also know the...

-The Hindu It is not unusual to hear people talk of fighting fire with fire, but is it appropriate to recommend fighting crime with crime? Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala apparently thinks it is. Endorsing the regressive views of some khap panchayat leaders in his State, Mr. Chautala suggested that the growing incidence of rape be addressed by relaxing the laws relating to child marriage (an offence under Prohibition...

-The HIndustan Times There is concern again about missing persons and bodies found in canals in Haryana. Surfacing of such bodies in Punjab’s canals has figured in media reports for years. But neither Punjab nor Haryana police take interest in retrieving the bodies, as the recovery involves reporting it, then attempting to identify it and locating the kin, cremation and maintenance of a record. Pushing bodies downstream eliminates all this bother. But...