29 city residents hurt in accident
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 16
Twentynine persons from Ludhiana were injured, two of them seriously, when a bus full of devotees met with an accident near Tarn Taran yesterday. A majority of the persons travelling in the bus belonged to Dugri Colony and had left in the morning to participate in the celebration of 400 years of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib in the Golden Temple.

Fifteen injured persons were shifted to DMC Hospital today morning. The devotees had started off in two buses, one of which met with an accident. The injured persons revealed that the steering of the bus had come off, following which the bus swerved out of control, skidded and overturned after hitting a tree.

The injured persons got immediate help as the second bus was following it. The injured were shifted to a hospital in Tarn Taran.

The news of the accident caused a great deal of anxiety in Dugri. The residents got some relief after learning that no one was killed.

Those injured are Ajit Singh, Charanjit Singh, Daljit Singh, Inderjit Singh and Ravinder Singh, Ujwal Singh, Joginder Singh, bus driver Balwainder Singh, Gurmail Singh, Jaydev Singh, Dalip Singh, Manmohan Singh, Harbans Singh, Pritam Singh, Gurminder Singh and Amar Singh.

The injured women are Gurdeep Kaur, Ajit Kaur, Gurmeet Kaur, Nirmal Kaur, Mohinder Kaur, Rajwinder Kaur, Swaran Kaur, Mohinder Kaur, Surjit Kaur. Two children who were injured are Prabhjot Singh (7) and Manpreet Singh (4).

Politics mars bhog of train collision victims
Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 16
Petty politics took the centre stage at the twin functions organised to pay homage to four children, who were killed in a train-school van accident at an unmanned level-crossing on May 5.

Two parallel functions were organised to pay homage to the children killed in the accident. But sensing public ire, politicians belonging to different parties sought to make amends by participating in both functions.

However, a number of city-based bureaucrats attended the function organised by the Sarpanch of Baba Deep Singh Nagar (belonging to the Congress) only. The official explanation was that the bureaucrats had received invitation for that function only. This left the residents of Himmat Singh Nagar, organisers of the second ‘akhand path’, quite bitter.

Four children, Rupali, Simardeep Singh, Twinkle and Geetanshu Sharma, had died in the accident. People of both colonies have been demanding a manned level-crossing here for the past couple of years. The residents had decided to organise an ‘akhand path’ to pray for the departed souls.

Mr Parmail Singh and Mr Parmeshwar Singh, residents of Himmat Singh Nagar, claimed they were the first to announce the holding of an ‘akhand path’ and the Congress leaders led residents of the other colony into following suit.

Mr Parmail Singh and Mr Parmeshwar Singh claimed they had sent cards for the ‘bhog’ ceremony to the district civil authorities. However, the officials chose to attend the function of the other group only, they said.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anurag Verma, and the SDM, Mr Malwinder Singh Jaggi, attended the function held at Baba Deep Singh Nagar and distributed cheques of Rs 50,000 each to the parents of the deceased children.

Mr Malwinder Singh Jaggi said they had no information about the ‘akhand path’ organised by residents of Himmat Singh Nagar. He said political leaders were present at the function held at Baba Deep Singh Nagar only and the parents of the deceased and injured children were also present there only.

Mr Malkit Singh Dakha, MLA, assured the gathering that he would sort the problem of unmanned level-crossings in the city. He later went to pay obeisance at the ‘akhand path’ organised by the other group. Mr Bikramjit Singh Khalsa and Mr Darshan Singh Shivalik, Akali leaders, also attended both functions.

SAD leader booked for defrauding mother-in-law
Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 16
An SAD leader has been booked under Sections 420, 406, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC for allegedly defrauding her mother-in-law, who is a widow. After exhausting all avenues to get justice, the woman has approached the state police chief seeking justice.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune here Ms Hasmate (70) accused her son-in-law, Mehar Din, SAD leader of Malerkotla, of defrauding her by disposing of her property worth lakhs on the basis of fake documents.

The complainant said her husband Khushi Mohammad had died in 1984, after which Mehar Din started looking after family affairs. “As, Abdul Satar, my son, was a minor at that time, I allowed Mehar to manage our family affairs. Instead of watching the interests of my family, he started pocketing a major portion of our income for his own family and gaining political mileage.”

The widow and her son were shocked to learn that the accused had disposed of a major portion of their property on the basis of power of attorney, purportedly prepared by her in 1980, whereas she had acquired the land from her husband through a decree in 1983. The complainant apprehended involvement of the revenue staff at Malerkotla in allegedly preparing fake documents.

Narrating her tale of woes, Ms Hasmate said, “When I asked Mehar Din to give at least a part of the sale proceeds of the property in question, he threatened me with dire consequences and implicated my son in a false case. I had to approach the Director-General of Police only when the Malerkotla police refused to initiate any action against Mehar Din, and other persons involved in the fraud.

The DGP referred the case to Senior Superintendent of Police at Sangrur, who directed the DSP to investigate the matter. Mr Gurdial Singh Dhillon, SSP, Sangrur, on receiving report from the investigation officer, directed Malerkotla police to register a case under Sections 420, 406, 465, 467, 468 and 471 and 120-B of the IPC. No arrest has been made so far.

Action sought for discrepancies in voters’ list
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 16
In the wake of massive discrepancies in the electoral rolls with thousands of names of bonafide voters missing from voters’ lists, several bodies including consumer rights groups, have demanded strict action against district officials concerned who were responsible for the preparation and updating of voters’ lists in the district.

In a communication to the Election Commission of India, the National Consumers Awareness Group, National Forum for Consumer Rights and several other social bodies have called for thorough checking and revision of the existing electoral rolls, which did not include names of a large number of voters from almost every part of the district, thereby making them unable to vote in the Lok Sabha elections.

At the same time, the officials deployed for the publication of electoral rolls should be held accountable and responsible for mistakes in voters’ lists, and suitable action be taken against them, the consumer rights groups pleaded.

According to functionaries of these bodies, many genuine voters, possessing voter ID cards, could not exercise their franchise because their names were missing from the lists, whereas others, whose names figured in the lists, were refused permission to vote for not carrying any proof of identification. In many cases, the voters concerned were unable to trace their names in the electoral rolls for varied reasons like wrong name, wrong address and wrong gender mentioned in the lists. Similarly, discrepancies in the voter ID cards also led to the denial of voting rights to several in the city and elsewhere.

Those who couldn’t vote

Ludhiana, May 16
The following residents of Rajguru Nagar here found their names missing in the voters’ list during the parliamentary elections: Santokh Singh and Rupinder Kaur, 240-B; Shahana Rang and Dr Allah Rang, 236-B; S.B.S. Brar and Amanpreet Brar, 166-B Dr Jaswinder S. Bedi and Amrinder Kaur Bedi, 170-B; Rajinder Grover and Rachna, 169-B; Baljinder Kaur, Baldev Singh, Randeep Kaur and Jasdeep Singh, 235-B; Gurjit Singh Rattan, Inderpreet Singh and Sukhjit Kaur, 155-B; Naranjan Singh, Jatinderpal Singh and Preet Kamal, 7-A; Jagdeep S. Grewal, Harbaksh Kaur, Jasdeep S. Grewal and Navdeep Grewal, 8-A; Raj Kumar Dhingra, Rajesh Dhingra and Monika Dhingra, 10-A; Dalip Singh, Kanwaljit Kaur, Khushwant Singh, Ramandeep, Jagmohan Singh, Amrita, Reenoo, Roma, Man Bhadur, Dil Bhadur and Sheetla, 33-A; Niranjan Singh, Gajinder Singh and Paramjit Kaur, 30-A; Harbans Singh Sandhu, Inderjit Kaur, Upminderjit Singh, Amandeep Kaur and Rupinderjit Singh, 2-A; Gurpreet Singh and Gurinder Kaur, 11-A; Baldev Singh Gill, Balvinderjeet Gill, Gurbinder S. Gill and Paramveer S. Gill, 13-A; Dharminder Singh, Gurmeet Kaur, Gurnam Singh and Jaswant Kaur of 27-A; Ashwani Lamba, Aruna Lamba, Sonali Lamba and Sourabh Lamba, 25-A; Daljit Singh Bakshi, Jagjit Kaur Bakshi, Dilpreet Singh Bakshi, Ramanpreet Singh Bakshi, Harleen Kaur and A. Kaur Bakshi, 40-B; Col H.S. Mansahia, Jatinder Mansahia, Iqbal Singh Mansahia, Harjinder Mansahia, Simrat Singh Mansahia and Chitto Rai, 41-ZB; Raj Bansal and Anu Bansal, 44-B; Krishan Lal, Raj Rani, Alok Singla, Anita Singla and Sonika, 46-B; Harminder Kaur, Jasmail Kaur, Davinder Singh, Hardyal Singh, 54-B; Gurpreet Kaur and Jasbir Kaur, 53-B; Bipundeep Kaur and Balbir Singh, 49-B; Jaswinder Kaur, Gursharanjeet Singh, Rupinder Kaur, Harsharnjeet Singh and Navdeep Kaur, 70-B; Lakhwinder Kaur, Ajeet Singh and Navdeep Kaur, 31-B; Milkha Singh, Amarjeet Kaur, Preetinder Kaur, Kamaldeep Kaur, Lalita Mehta, S.M. Mehta, O.P. Mehta, Sanjeev Mehta and Sulakshan Mehta of 30-B; Charanjit Singh, Gurwail Kaur, Karminder Singh, Jaspreet Kaur and Harpreet Singh, 186-A; Vir Singh Mann, Harmohinder Kaur, Harpreet S. Mann and Gurpreet S. Mann, 297-B; Amarjit S. Bhullar and Rajinder K. Bhullar, 311-B; Daljeet Singh, Jaswinder Kaur and Parmjeet Singh, 278-B; Jagdish S. Majhot, Narinder Kaur and Gurinder Singh, 270-B; Dr Hardial Singh, 269; Tarlochan Singh and Gurdeep Kaur, 273-B; Dr Drvinder Singh, Maninder Kaur and Sanvir Singh of 276-B; and Yogesh Tandan and Sadna Tandon, 274-B.

COMMUNITY

Govt, employer blamed for worker’s death
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 16
The suicide by a sacked worker of the Hero Group here has come as a shock to the entire industrial work force that feels that the indifferent government and repressive employers, who had allegedly thrown thousands of workers out of work during the past two months, were responsible for the death.

Shambhu Nath, a resident of Sahnewal village on the periphery of the town and a former worker in Highway Cycles, a Hero Group company, had allegedly committed suicide on May 14. It is said he was frustrated over his inability to fulfil the needs of his family. He is survived by his wife, two sons and five daughters.

In a press note, the Moulder and Steel Workers Union and other trade unions said Shambhu Nath was employed in the packing department of the Highway Cycles. He had participated in a strike and approached the Labour Commissioner, Punjab, along with other workers, to demand wages and other incentives in accordance with the law. Following this, his employer sacked him.

The union alleged there were thousands of other victims of the highhandedness of industrial employers and repressive administration in the city. Having been sacked, these persons were also finding it difficult to survive.

Activists of the union called upon the government and the district authorities to book the guilty employer for creating circumstances that forced the workers to end life.

Goods worth Rs 60,000 stolen
Our Correspondent

Khanna, May 16
Goods worth Rs 60,000 were allegedly stolen by a couple from a house in Guru Teg Bahadar Nagar. According to a complaint lodged by the owner of the house, a couple had taken on rent an accommodation in his house 10 days ago. The owner’s family went out of town on Friday morning to attend a function.

When the family returned to their house on Saturday night, they found the door of the house open and Rs 12,000 and 70 grams of gold missing. The tenant couple was also found missing. The owner of the house said they had no knowledge of the identification of the couple. The police is investigating the matter.

Two booked for fraud
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 16
The Division Number 3 police on Friday registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Sham Sunder, a Gur Mandi-based trader, against Rajiv Puri, alleging that the latter had fraudulently used his sales tax number and was also producing fake goods in his firm’s name.

The Civil Lines police registered a case on the statement of Mr Gomat Manga of Urban Estate, Dugri, against Mistri Rakesh Chopra of Sutlej Road in the Civil Lines.

The complainant alleges that Mr Chopra had purchased mobile phone sets valued at Rs 2 lakh from him but had not made any payment for these.

Cases of assault: The Division Number 6 police on Friday registered a case on the statement of Ms Nishi Rani, of Vishwakarma Colony against Mr Rachpal Singh, Ms Nirmal Kaur, Kamal, Mr Ravinder Singh and Mr Datar Singh of Guru Amar Dass Colony.

The woman has alleged the five beat her up on Friday, causing injuries. She was admitted to the Civil Hospital, according to the complaint.

The Salem Tabri police has registered a case on the statement of Mr Davinder Singh, a worker at the Pepsi Foods depot, against Kamal Sharma, a resident of Azad Nagar, and one unidentified person accompanying him.

The complainant has stated that the accused carried away Ramu, a son of Hari Ram, a gatekeeper at the depot, to Bahadurke Road on Wednesday night, beat him up. On the statement of Mr Gokal Chand, a resident of Panj Dera in Talwandi Kalan village, the Sadar police has registered a case against Balwinder Singh, Rajinder Singh, Jagta, Balbir Singh, Amandeep Singh, Baljit Singh and Mohan Singh, residents of the same village. The complainant has alleged these persons attacked and injured with sharp-edged weapons on Wednesday night in the village.

Pistol seized: The Focal Point police has arrested Mukhtiar Singh, alias Darshan Singh, a resident of Jugiana village, and seized a country-made .315 pistol and three cartridges from his possession. He was arrested from Gobindgarh village on Thursday.

Biz Clips
Road show organised
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 16
Airtel organised a road show titled “Express Yourself” in Sarabha Nagar here yesterday. The young as well as the old danced to foot-tapping numbers. A dance troop “The Dazzle” also set the mood of the crowd by performing energetically. The show lasted for three hours. The participants of different games were awarded prizes.

Contractors meet: Asian Paints India organised a contractors’ meet at their local dealership Jaswant Enterprises in Nehru Sidhant Kendra Complex in Feroze Gandhi Market here last evening to apprise them of the latest technology and new generation colour world. More than 40 painting contractors attended the programme.

Mr Gurpreet and Mr Sanjeev Kumar from Asian Paints explained the features and advantages of the Colour World (computerised colour matching machine), saying the machine provided unlimited choice of colours and shades. They further said the company had introduced extra deep shades to meet the choice of customers.

Mr Tej Pal of CICO Technologies also interacted with the contractors. Mr H.S. Anand, managing partner of the host firm, welcomed the participants.

Anniversary bonanza: LG Electronics has planned a bonanza to mark its seventh anniversary. In a special offer for its mobile-phone customers, the company will offer an assured return gift, a free holiday worth Rs 3,000, one-year extended warranty and theft insurance.

In addition, the buyers of GSM mobile sets can also win a Maruti Alto car from among the bumper prizes of eight cars. The offer will be open till May 25.

Mr Vipul Shah, zonal head, said the company aimed at creating competitive value of building a premium brand in 1997 and had established a unified corporate identity that extended to all its marketing activities.