Recovered DMCH employee admits conspiracy behind disappearance
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 23
Turning the tables in the ongoing conflict of the DMC employees union and the allied employees organisation, the district police today claimed that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy, hatched jointly by union leaders, doctors and some security guards, behind the disappearance of Gian Chand, an employee who had reportedly gone missing since July 13, the day of clash.

Gian Chand, who was brought to the city from Bassi Jalal village under Tanda Urmur in Hoshiarpur district by a team of the local police late last night, has made some sensational disclosures to the police regarding the planning behind the union-police clash on July 13 and about his or other missing persons’ disappearance. He has named union leaders Chander Mohan Kalia, Navraj Kaur and Rajwant Kaur as the main conspirators besides naming some doctors and security guards.

The inclusion of doctors and security guards is a sensational twist to the conspiracy as they were not on the union’s side till the clash. The police said they would disclose the name of the doctors and security guards after complete verification.

A press release issued by the police here this evening said an investigation by the police in the much hyped ‘missing drama’ revealed that Gian Chand was given Rs 1000 and told to pack off to some unknown place by some DMC union leaders, including Chander Mohan Kalia, Rajwant Kaur and Navraj Kaur. After he was gone, the DMC union leaders alleged that Gian Chand was killed in police firing and his body was allegedly cremated by the police.

The press release further said that Gian Chand also told the police that these union leaders were in constant touch with him and were keeping him abreast of all developments about the issue. He also gave vital clues about the ‘stage-managed disappearance’ of other employees of the union. Gian Chand was also informed by the conspirators that the union now enjoyed the support of certain doctors of the DMCH in this missing drama. Gian Chand also divulged the details regarding planning and execution of attack by the union members on a police party on July 13.

The release further said that with the arrest of Gian Chand the stand taken by the district administration was vindicated and established beyond doubt that the false propaganda of missing employees by the union leaders of DMC was an exercise to gain public sympathy and to exert pressure on the district administration to strike some kind of bargain.

Meanwhile, the DMCH Employees Union, reacting to the police claim termed the police story as doubtful. They said the union members would like to meet Gian Chand first and then believe whatever he would tell them. They said the police had hatched a conspiracy to weaken their movement.

Munjal meets CM to resolve stalemate
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 23
In a significant development, the president of the managing society of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Mr Brij Mohan Munjal, has met the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, seeking his intervention to resolve the crisis. A press note issued by the Joint Action Committee of the DMCH faculty has welcomed the meeting hoping that it would help in resolving the crisis at the earliest.

Mr Munjal has reportedly impressed upon the Chief Minister to take urgent measures which will help in ameliorating the hurt feelings of the employees and the doctors. The Chief Minister has also assured Mr Munjal that definite steps will be taken to resolve the crisis at the earliest, including the release of the employees from the jail.

The faculty has also appreciated the efforts of the Ludhiana police in tracing one of the missing employees of the DMCH. It has appealed to the police and the district administration to take similar steps to trace the other missing employees of the hospital who have not returned home so far and nothing is known about their whereabouts.

The faculty, while appreciating the steps taken by the managing society, appealed to all concerned parties that much was needed to be done to resolve the crisis and start the hospital at the earliest in the interest of thousands of patients. 

Adamant DMCH union to observe strike
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 23
Employees of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), not scared of threatened arrest by the police, have decided to hold a dharna for 24 hours, outside the hospital premises.

The employees have been on strike for more than a month now and they are adamant on their demands. The agitating workers said till the time all their previous demands were met, they would not call-off this strike. They had recently demanded that all union leaders in police custody should immediately be released.

Meanwhile, various other organisations and unions active in the district, have also expressed their solidarity with the DMCH employees. They said that the employees should be given justice as they were ‘treated in an inhumane manner’ by the management and district administration.

The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (Labour and Employment Cell) chairman, Mr Balwant Rai Kapoor, Dr Shiv Gupta, general secretary of the state unit of Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), in a joint statement issued here, appealed to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to order an enquiry into the affairs of the management and union of the DMCH as to how and under what circumstances the police resorted to heavy lathi-charge on the employees.

The leaders of veteran trade unions have condemned the management, who did not allow to have professional personnel department and human resources department which looked after the need-based requirements of the staff, their salary structure, promotion policy, training, motivation and organisational set up to induce productivity in any organisation.

The union leaders said that the management must stop contractual labour to exploit the staff who were paid genuine minimum wages as per Minimum Wages Act.

Meanwhile, the general body of the faculty in its meeting held today at old DMC passed a resolution that the deadlock between the management and unionists could be resolved in one day if top industrialists, political figures, noted personalities and educationists sincerely put together their heads.

The faculty urged the responsible citizens of Ludhiana to issue an appeal to the state government and district administration to release all employees in lock-up and withdraw all cases against innocent employees who had faced the police onslaught on July 13. ‘‘Only this can instill a sense of security among the anguished and suffering employees and restore a sense of decency befitting a civilised society’’, maintained the faculty.

The faculty also advised all those who had been involved in dealing with the situation arising out of the July 13 melee to desist from rumors and to display restraint and accountability that behoved responsible citizens.

The faculty affirmed that there was complete unity among its members with respect to its stands, policies and plans. The doctors demanded ‘‘to secure the release of employees, withdrawal of the flimsy cases against them and restoration of hospital services’’

The faculty offered its services to the hospital administration for conducting medical examinations of the new entrants to the medical college. Further more, it suggested that the respective Heads of Department could mark attendance of interns and residents in the old hospital.

Rise of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital 
K.S. Chawla

Ludhiana, July 23
It was an arduous and long journey for the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital to emerge as one of the leading medical institutes of the country. Set up as Arya Medical School in 1934, it was elevated to the degree level and named as Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in 1964. The Arya Medical School was offering only a diploma course in the allopathy system and Dayanand Medical Hospital was a part of the school. The diploma offered was known as LSMF. The first batch of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital passed out in 1969. The management committee running the institute was a registered society and was named as the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital Society (registered) with Mr Hans Raj Hans Dhanda, a philanthropist and doyen of hosiery industry as its president. Mr Inderpal Dhir, another hosiery industrialist was its secretary but he had to resign as there were allegations of misuse of funds against him. As a matter of fact, there were a few seats, including nine, which were as quota of the state and Central Governments and candidates were nominated to the same by the two governments. The management was also admitting some students with heavy capitation fee.

In early 70s, the DMCH faced financial crises and there was an agitation by the students with the tacit support of the faculty that the state government should taken over the institute. The agitators had almost succeeded in their mission when at the last minute, the move was sabotaged by the management with the support of the then Finance Minister Hans Raj Sharma in the Zail Singh government. The agitation was then led by Dr Arun Mitra, now a CPI activist. After the death of Mr Dhanda, Mr Brijmohan Munjal, chairman, Hero group of Industries became the president. Mr Prem Nath Gupta succeeded Mr Inderpal Dhir as secretary of the managing committee in 1976. Dr N.K. Dubey remained principal of this college for 18 years.

On January 1, 1986, that Dr L.S. Chawla, who was professor and Head, Department of Medicine, succeeded Dr Dubey as Principal of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital.

It was in 1978 that the first super speciality was set up in the DMCH-first nephrology unit in the Punjab state. It was only the PGI, Chandigarh which had a nephrology unit in this region and was headed by Dr K.S. Chugh who had inaugurated the DMC nephrology unit.

With the joining of Dr Chawla as Principal, Dr S.B. Khurana as Medical Superintendent and Mr Prem Nath Gupta as secretary, the trio then planned for the improvements in the hospital and a number of super specialist departments like gastroenterology, neurology and facilities like endoscopy were introduced.

Dr Chawla remained principal for nine years and during this period, he recruited 19 DM and MCH super specialists. They were taken from the PGI, Chandigarh and the CMC Hospital, Ludhiana.

During this period, the management also started admitting NRI students and 10 seats were reserved for them with a fee of Rs 2 lakh for each seat. This brought finances to the institutes and it started flourishing.

Later following the Supreme Court Judgement, when the number of NRI seats was raised, the seats in the Dayanand Medical College were divided into paid and without fee seats and this also helped in bringing in money for the college. The budget of the DMCH was Rs 78 lakh when Dr Chawla became the principal and when he retired after nine years, it was Rs 18 crore. The number of seats for the MBBS course were also raised from 50 to 70.

Now 15 per cent of the seats are meant for the NRI students who have to pay $75,000 (US) as tuition fee for the course and the remaining seats are paid with a fee of Rs 1.50 lakh every year.

After the retirement of Dr Chawla, Dr S.B. Khurana took over as Principal and he, along with Mr Prem Nath Gupta, made efforts to continue the process of development.

The plans for the establishment of the heart centre were made and construction of the same was launched during the tenure of Dr Khurana. However, Dr Khurana made one blunder when he shifted the office of the principal to the hospital from the college premises. This gave a handle to the management to have more say in the affairs of the management of the college and the powers of the principal were gradually eroded.

Dr S.C. Ahuja succeeded Dr Khurana as Principal but he could not resist the interference by the management with the result that the Secretary Management Mr Prem Nath Gupta concentrated all powers with him. He had made a tremendous contribution in the making of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital as one of the leading medical institutes of North India and this is now the biggest institute after the PGI, Chandigarh in this part of the country. But later Mr Gupta took charge of all affairs of the institute which was resented by the members of the managing society.

There was resentment in the faculty also against centralisation of powers in one hand and promotion of certain favoured persons with the result that many senior faculty members left the institute in disgust and started their own institutes.

The construction of the Hero DMC Heart Institute — a state-of-art institute — brought glory to the DMCH but it also brought with it many woes for the management and the employees as well. The Hero DMC Heart Institute became a bone of contention between the management and the employees. The management decided to employ doctors and other staff for the heart centre on a contract basis while in the DMCH, employees were employed according to the government service conduct rules.

The trouble between the management and the employees had been brewing for past some time as the employees had been demanding that the heart centre should be made an integral part of the DMCH. But the management was reluctant to do so. The management even appointed an expert committee of consultants from Delhi to sort out the issue of the heart centre as a separate entity. The report of the committee had since been received and it was discussed and not implemented. The experts were understood to have recommended that the heart centre should be kept as an integral part of the DMCH. The experts further made a very signification recommendation that the management should allow the younger persons to come forward and allow to run the administration. They observed that the present management consists of the men in their 70s.

The employees had also been demanding that facilities, which were available in the DMCH, should be provided in the heart institute too. But the argument of the management was that the treatment in the heart centre wa very costly and it was not possible to provide all those facilities to them in the heart centre.

The growing unrest culminated into an agitation when the management decided to shift the gastroenterology department to the building of the Heart Institute.

The events of the July 13 have brought disgrace to both the employees and the management. A damage control exercise has to be undertaken with a spirit of give and take and sacrifice are required on part of both the sections in the larger interest of the institute and the suffering humanity in particular.

Four of Ludhiana village killed in USA
Tribune News Service

Abbuwal (Ludhiana), July 23
A pall of gloom descended on this village today when the news of the death of four persons of this village in a road accident near California, USA, yesterday, reached here. Three among the dead belonged to the same family.

The deceased have been identified as Jaswant Kaur (38), her brother Bahadur Singh (48), her daughter, Neha (6) and her family friend Gurdev Kaur (60). Four other persons were also seriously injured in the accident. They are under treatment in a hospital in California. Husband of Jaswant Kaur is among those injured in the accident.

While Gurdev Kaur was a resident of California, Jaswant Kaur and her family had gone there from Canada for attending the function. While returning from the wedding, their car developed some snag on a highway near California and turned turtle.

Four persons died on the spot, while the rest were seriously injured. Those killed were the natives of this small village near Gurusar Sudhar and had migrated to Canada and America some years ago.

There was gloom all round in the village when a Ludhiana Tribune team reached there. The three children of Gurdev Kaur, who are staying in this village, were thunderstruck when they got the news that their mother had been killed in an accident. Mr Beant Singh, son of Gurdev Kaur, said he had got the news today afternoon only. Some relative had called him up and broken the sad news.

He said he did not believe the news and wished that it was false. “I wish she is not dead. We cannot know anything sitting here. Nobody is picking up the phone there. How can I come to know about the true story? Had it happened to her in this country we would have reached to her in minutes. But now we are helpless,” he said.

While there was nobody in the Bahadur Singh’s house as, according to villagers, the entire family had migrated to Vancouver (Canada), Mr Major Singh, his cousin, said he got the news from another relative based in Canada.

He said Harminder Singh, husband of Jaswant Kaur, was said to be in an intensive care unit. He was also a resident of a nearby village, Gahaur.

Streets stink after operation clean-up
Kamal Kishore Shankar

Ludhiana, July 23
The main wholesale hosiery markets in the old city have virtually become a dumping ground after the recently concluded Municipal Corporation’s operation drainage clean-up in these areas. People living in the area are fortunate because the monsoon is about two weeks late and a heavy spell of rain can make their lives a hell.

The hosiery season is going to start in a couple of weeks and if these areas are not cleaned properly, their businesses will be hit badly. Those who come here to place their orders have to bear the smell and sullage lying along the roads. The accumulated dirty water in open nullahs have become perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

One can easily witness huge piles of filth taken out of nullahs heaped in streets after every 10 to 20 feet. These huge piles of sullage have not only left these areas stinking but also created traffic problems.

The areas facing acute problem due to the negligence of the MC, include Wait Ganj, Dal Bazar, Chawal Bazar and Purana Bazar. After desilting the nullahs, the MC workers have to clear the sullage. But when this correspondent morning, they were told by the residents that nobody had come to clear the stinking mess from the streets.

One hosiery wholesaler of the area, Mr Sanjay Jain, said: “Generally MC officials leave the sullage on the roads and clean it only after being obliged.” He said: “The MC workers know that the season of hosiery wholesale will start next month and they have to agree to their “off the record” demands. No businessman wants to see a huge piles of filth in front of his shop”.

Mr Jain said: “The other major problem that they have to face would be created by mosquitoes.” “During monsoon, the nullah overflows and the sullage enters houses and shops. No solution to the problem has yet been found by the MC”, he added.

While talking to Ludhiana Tribune, the president, Wait Ganj Beopar Mandal said: “They have been facing the problem of piling of sullage along nullahs for some years now”. 

LUDHIANA CALLING

The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, once again failed to keep his date with Ludhiana. It was for the second time that he did not turn up here on a fixed date. While on July 17, he could not come here because of rain in Chandigarh which did not let his plane to take off, on July 22 some people attributed entirely different reasons (read political) to the cancellation of his visit.

The CICU president has since denied any political affiliation arguing that the chamber is concerned with business only and it has nothing to do with politics. And interestingly at the same time the local Congress leaders have also denied that they were against the Chief Minister’s visit to Ludhiana at CICU’s behest. Who is speaking the truth!

Unceremonious exit

While the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital controversy still remains unresolved despite over a week-long stay of the president of its managing society, Mr Brij Mohan Lal Munjal, in the city, it has, however, claimed one important head. Mr Prem Nath Gupta, secretary of the society, was shown the door within no time. Mr Munjal, however, says that he (Mr Gupta) had tendered his resignation one year in advance and it was only accepted now. Mr Gupta is credited with having raised the DMCH to the current heights. His critics have been alleging that Mr Gupta had adopted a dictatorial attitude and it was this attitude which let the things to drift to a position of no return. It was also said that nothing would move in the DMCH without Mr Gupta’s concurrence. But at the same time there are hundreds of admirers of Mr Gupta who acknowledge and appreciate the work done by him. All said and done, not many people are happy with the unceremonious exit of Mr Gupta and they feel that he deserved a better deal.

‘Sponsored’ sales

Getting famous in today’s world is no big deal. Even getting rich is not. The only condition is that you have to be ‘somebody’ known to ‘somebody influential’. And if it is the Chief Minister himself, nothing like that. Recently a budding photographer organised a photo exhibition in the city. Although there was nothing exceptional about the photographs displayed at the exhibition, yet given the age and the connections of the photographer they were appreciated well. But unfortunately for the photographer, city residents are not known much for their aesthetic tastes or for their love for art and culture. Their definition of beauty is different. Noting, that at the end of the exhibition none of the photographs, priced in the range between Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000, had been sold, a senior official in the local administration used his ‘good’ offices and influence requesting (read directing) people to purchase one or two photographs. And at the end of the day, the photographer was reported to have sold about 50 of his artistic creations, some of which could be seen displayed in some of the office chambers also.

MC passbooks

The Municipal Commissioner, Ludhiana, Mr S.K. Sharma, is known for his innovative ideas. And he has brought a sea change in the functioning of the corporation. Recently he introduced a system of passbooks for all financial dealings the people had with the MC. The step has been welcomed by public. As it usually happened that people, on many occasions, were asked to pay outstanding dues of earlier years. Since they did not have any record with them, they had to pay it. Now this problem would not occur since there would be entries on the passbook itself which would remain with the residents.

High command!

In the Congress, everything seems to be done at the behest of the high command. At least that is what people are made to believe. And the leaders of all standings would attribute everything to the high command, even the allotment of ticket for wards in the local bodies’ elections. But the matter did not end there. It went further. Recently a senior Congress functionary was asked about the party nominees for various committees in the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation. Not unexpectedly he replied, ‘Whatever the high command decides would be done’’. One wonders who or what this high command is all about! An abstract force that keeps the Congressmen going indeed.

Fashion fundas

Not a long ago, ‘fashion’ sounded like an alien term. Now it has already entered into the bedrooms thanks to the various television channels and more specifically the ftv. While umpteen number of institutions have come up claiming themselves to be imparting training in fashion technology, only a few of them are doing a good job. And from time to time these institutes organise regular fashion shows with unique presentations. Recently the JD Institute of Fashion TEchnology organised a fashion show in Ludhiana. The unique thing about it was the presentation of the outfits by small children which was highly appreciated by the audience. 

Philanthropist's death

Padmavati Jain, wife of Harikishen Jain, passed away recently. Not many people know about her. And in her anonymity was her greatness. Together with her husband Mr Harikishen Jain she would distribute alms to the poor and the needy. Besides the couple also published literature spreading noble ideas. Despite belonging to affluent class, the couple lived a simple life and shared the concerns of others. Hundreds of people have expressed their condolence to Mr Jain praying that he will continue with his great and noble mission he started along with his late wife.

Sentinel

Railway pensioners flay govt policies
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 23
The Northern Railway Pensioners Welfare Association has lamented the anti-labour policies of the Union Government and indifference towards the pensioners, which had led to widespread frustration and resentment.

A meeting of the association held here with Mr Sher Singh in the chair criticised the government for its failure to accede the genuine demands of the railway pensioners as recommended by the Fifth Pay Commission.

Focusing on the pending demands, Mr Sher Singh urged the government to restore commuted portion of the pension after 12 years against the prevailing period of 15 years, grant of one increase in pension to those employees who had put in more than 33 years of service, removal of anomalies in the family pension for those who retired before 1996 and providing medical allowance of Rs 100 per month to pensioners residing in the municipal limits where railway hospitals were located.

Mr K.L. Chitkara, general secretary of the association, regretted that the government had outrightly rejected the demand for restoration of commuted pension after 12 years due to paucity of funds whereas several state governments, which received grants from the centre, had already taken a decision to restore commuted pension after 12 years.

Rain fails to enthuse farmers
Tribune News Service

Baddowal (Ludhiana), July 23
The heavy downpour that lashed the district last night brought cheers for the city residents but it failed to enthuse the farmers who consider it to be inadequate for quenching the thirst of their parched land.

While the Ludhianvis had a respite from the blistering heat and dusty weather after a long time, the farmers feel that they were cheated by the weather gods who appeared to please them first but soon disappointed them. The farmers said after remaining elusive for so many days it rained for less than two hours last night. It would not ease the pressure on the underground water level as well as the power supply, they added.

A survey of various villages by Ludhiana Tribune revealed that as the weather had gone pleasant, the farmers were utilising the time in finishing various works including de-weeding and applying fertilsers to the crop.

Mr Gurdeep Singh, a farmer of Baddowal village, said he was waiting for a cool day to apply fertiliser on the crop as in hot weather it leads to diseases.

But farmers kept complaining about the inadequate power supply. They said with the conditions prevailing in the state, the government should forget about a bumper crop. “It is very difficult as in many villages the crop has turned pale. Moreover, the grain formation will also be affected as the health of plants is not very good this time,” said Gurcharan Singh of Mullanpur.

CITY SCAN
Survival of Sahiwal spirit

Seen in integration, the homo sapiens project sameness, applying differentiation, each one is different. Earth is an integrated unit. Each region has local specifics. Punjab could not be an exception. In the Eastern Punjab we had ‘jungals’, while in the western part a few ‘bars’. Nilibar is one of these. Mostly it runs parallel to Ferozepore along the right bank of the Sutlej spreading out to the Ravi. In local parlance it is known as Sahiwal.

Rousing welcome to Jainacharya
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 23
Jainacharya Dr Shiv Muni ji Maharaj was accorded a rousing welcome on his arrival in Civil Lines here yesterday in connection with his ‘chaturmas’ sojourn in the city.

The route from Shiv Puri , from where he started in the morning, to the Civil Lines had been decorated to welcome the holy man. Among the gathering assembled on the occasion were devout from far off places like Jaipur, Delhi, Patiala, Jalandhar, Sirsa, Udaipur, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir.

The ‘abhinandan samaroh’ began with the recitation of ‘navkar mahamantra’. Students of Jain School sang a ‘bhajan’ welcoming him. The flag-hoisting ceremony was performed by Mr Prem Sagar Jain. Others who spoke at the ‘samaroh’ included Sadhvi Divya Prabha Maharaj and Kaushalya Maharaj, Mr Ram Kumar Jain, president, Chaturmas Committee, Mr T.R.Jain, Mr Hira Lal jain, Mr Bhupinder Jain, Mr Vinay Jain, Mr Subhash Oswal and Mr Parmod Jain.

Present among the gathering of prominent citizens were Mr Janki Dass Jain, Mr Hajoori Lal Jain, Mr Ashok Sheetal, Mr Pawan Kumar Ambi, Mr Devinder Jain, Mr Ramesh Kumar Jain, Mr Tarsem Lal Jain, Mr Ajit Jain, Mr Subhash Jain, Mr Surinder Jain, Mr Jitender Jain, Mr Yogesh Jain, Mr Daya Sagar Jain, Mr Sher Singh, Mr Rakesh Jain, Mr Azad Jain, Mr Anil Jain, Mr Sanjiv Jain and Mr Munish Jain.

Acharya Shiv Muni, in his brief address to the gathering, said, “No religion could be pursued without acquiring humility. Meditation takes place in silence, not by speaking, he opined.

Shri Gyan Muni ji, ‘guru’ of the Dr Shiv Muni, also spoke on the occasion.

Meanwhile, a series of daily discourses of Dr Shiv Muni at Atam Darbar, College Road, Civil Lines, started today with a discourse from 8.15 am to 9.30 am.

Four booked for labourer’s murder
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 23
The Basti Jodhewal police has finally registered a case under Sections 304 and 34 of the IPC in connection with the death of Mohan Lal, a labourer living in Sharma Colony on the Kailash Nagar road, here yesterday .

The case was registered following public protests against the earlier post-mortem examination verdict, which indicated tuberculosis as the cause of death, after which another autopsy was conducted on the body. The case was registered on the statement of Babli, wife of the deceased, against Raju, Kulwinder, Nanda and Sharda.

The widow stated to the police that accused beat up her husband in front of her house. According to the information, Mohan Lal had spotted something suspicious outside his house after which he started hurling abuses against unknown persons and it was then that he was allegedly beaten up by the accused. Later he succumbed to injuries. However, no arrest has been made so far.

Clerk booked for corruption: Mr Parambir Singh Parmar, DSP, City-III, yesterday booked Parveen Kumar, a clerk working in the office of SDM, Ludhiana, and living in Joshi Nagar, Haibowal, under Section 7(13) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Division No 5 police station. Mr Shiv Lal, a resident of Lalton Kalan village, had complained to the police that the clerk had obtained an illegal gratification of Rs 950 from him. No arrest has been made so far.

Ransom case: The Division No 1 police yesterday registered a case under Sections 364-A, 342, 506, 452, 148 and 149 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Ranjit Singh, against Manjit Singh alias Neela, partner, Messrs Sewak Bus Service, Moga, and about seven of his cronies. The complainant had alleged that the accused, who were armed with firearms and travelling in two Zen cars, arrived at his office near Clock Tower and forced their way in and kidnapped him. The abductors later took him to Jaiton and demanded a ransom of Rs 4 lakh. He was got released from their clutches by his son, he said. No arrest has been made so far.

Scooterist held: The Division No 5 police yesterday arrested Kumar Gaurav, a resident of Haibowal, as he tried to flee after injuring a Punjab Home Guard Darshan Singh who was on duty at Mata Rani chowk. Injured Darshan Singh, on whose complaint a case under Sections 279, 337, 186 and 506 of the IPC has been registered against the accused, had stated that the accused was driving his scooter at a breakneck speed and when signalled to stop, the accused rammed his vehicle into him and the tried to escape.

Man beaten up: The Division No 8 police yesterday registered a case under Sections 323, 341, 506 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Yadwinder Singh, a resident of Ahmedgarh, against Ranjit Singh, a resident of Doraha, and Harpreet Singh Grewal, a resident of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar. The complainant had alleged that the accused intercepted him on the way and beat him up as a result of which he sustained injuries. The accused, who took the step out of old enmity, ran away from the spot , he added. No arrest has been made so far.

The Sahnewal police yesterday registered a case under Sections 341,323 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Parminder Singh, a resident of Baba Rurh Singh Nagar, Sahnewal, against Jassa, a resident of Kanech village. According to the complainant, the accused stopped him on the road and beat him up on Monday evening. No arrest has been made so far.

The Sadar police yesterday registered a case under Sections 323,341,506,509 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Ashok Kumar, a resident of South Model Gram, against Manwinderjit Singh, Davinder Singh, Kulwant singh and two other unknown persons. The complainant had stated that the accused intercepted him and his wife on the road and beat him up. The accused also teased his wife and threatened them on Monday. No arrest has been made so far.

SAHNEWAL
Driver beaten up: An autorickshaw driver was allegedly beaten by two people who were in the same profession on Monday evening. Parminder Singh, who runs an autorickshaw (PB1-AB-3317), has complained to the Sahnewal police that while he was coming from Ludhiana towards Sahnewal, he was beaten up by Billa of Kanech village and Jagga of Gurthali village. They abused him and also threatened, he added. Profession rivalry is said to be the reason of conflict.

A case under Sections 441, 323, and 34 of IPC has been registered against the accused.

Doubts over man’s involvement in robbery
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 23
An alleged robber caught by residents of Ghadiani Kalan and its surrounding villages two days ago has been identified as Harmesh Lal, a resident of Nawanshahar district, even as the district police remains confused over whether he is actually a criminal or an insane person.

He has been sent to Central Jail after a case of robbery was registered against him, ostensibly under public pressure, but the police is not sure if he is a member of a notorious gang of robbers active in the region and responsible for killing a woman during a robbery.

The confusion has been compounded by the fact that the accused is repeatedly changing his statements. Sometimes, he starts talking in an insane manner and sometimes he confesses his crime. The man’s relatives who reached the city yesterday have produced documents claiming that the man was insane and was under medical treatment. He had run away from his house a week ago.

Poppy husk seized
Our Correspondent

Jagraon, July 23
The Raikot police has arrested Sital Singh of Analu village near Bridge Canal Lohgarh and seized from his possession 27 kg of poppy husk. The police also arrested Prem Singh of Tajpur Road, Kulla Patti Raikot, in the area of Shehbazpur and seized about 27 kg of poppy husk from him. Both have been booked under Section 15/61/85 of the NDPS Act.

PNB’s extension counter upgraded
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 23
In order to provide better, efficient and customer-friendly services to the residents of the area, Punjab National Bank has converted its extension counter at A.S. College, Khanna, into a full fledged branch office, according to a communication of the bank received here today.

Mr A.K. Loomba, Senior Regional Manager, Ludhiana region, was the chief guest on the occasion. Mr S.C. Malhotra, Chief Manager, and Mr V.K. Sharma, Senior Manager from regional office, Ludhiana, and other managers and staff members of the bank were also present on the occasion.

Mr S.C. Malhotra highlighted the deposit schemes and other innovative schemes launched by the bank. Mr V.K. Sharma narrated the salient features of retail lending schemes.

Mr R.K. Manro, Principal of the college, also spoke on this occasion and appreciated the services being rendered to the customers by the bank.