Phagwara, December 29
Eighteen members of three families, including women and children, from the nearby Chak Hakim village, were today hospitalised here after they complained of vomitting and stomach pain after consuming chapattis.
The condition of three of the children was stated to be serious.

Mr Ram Asra, whose son, daughter-in-law and grand-children were among the victims admitted to the Civil Hospital, Phagwara, and Kishen Das, a former sarpanch of Chak Hakim, told news persons that the members of the three families had purchased flour from the chakki of one Harjit Kumar in the village this morning.

The victims had used this flour in making chapattis for breakfast. However, after consuming the chapattis, some of them started vomitting, while others complained of stomach problem, they disclosed. Then all fell unconscious.

They were rushed to the local hospital, where doctors treated them in the emergency ward.

While some regained consciousness, others were still unconscious when this correspondent visited the hospital around noon.

It was also learnt that the victims had also consumed “daal” with the chapattis.

Meanwhile, samples of the flour were taken for examination by the health authorities.

Dr Yash Mitra, SMO, Civil Hospital, said while other patients were stable, the condition of three children was serious.

“We are monitoring their condition,” said Dr Mitra.

The local MLA, Mr Joginder Singh Mann, SDM Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, and ASP Sukhchain Singh Gill visited the hospital to enquire about the condition of those hospitalised.

They declared that a five-member committee, comprising DFSO, DHO, local SDM, ASP and SMO, had been constituted to enquire into the causes of the food-poisoning.

The chakki had been sealed, they added.

The owner of the chakki, Mr Harjit Kumar, could not be contacted for his comments.

Kapurthala, December 29
The son of a railway police officer killed himself with a pistol inside the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) campus here this evening soon after firing at the daughter of an RCF employee that left her seriously injured.

According to the police, the deceased, Harsimarjit Singh, shot at Mandeep Kaur, a BA (IInd year) student from the Government College here.

The Kapurthala SSP, Mr Rajiv Ahir, said that Harsimarjit reached the girl’s house at six in the evening after she had returned from a gurdwara, shot her in the presence of her parents and fled from the spot.

He then went to the gurdwara inside the RCF campus, bolted it from the inside and went to the roof, the SSP added.

The police soon reached the spot, broke open the door and found the body of Harsimarjit in a pool of blood, said the SSP.

A country-made pistol with three live cartridges was recovered from the spot, Mr Ahir added.

Mandeep Kaur was admitted to a hospital in Jalandhar.

The police has registered a case under Section 307 and 174 of the IPC.

Jalandhar, December 29
The Un-Employed Elementary Teachers’ Union and the Panchayat Union today declared that they had joined hands for fighting against the contract system initiated by the government.

Talking to media persons, the leaders of the unions condemned the yesterday’s lathi charge on ETT teachers in Amritsar and declared that they would step up agitation against the government.

The spokesperson for the Panchayat Union said that the government wanted the panchayats to hire teachers which was not possible in the wake of lack of funds.

The unions have decided to observe ‘black day’ on January 1.

Protests would also be staged in front of the residence of Surinder Singla, the union leaders said.

The government was misleading the people as the senior secondary schools had been upgraded but no teachers had been appointed, the spokesperson alleged, adding that the government was purchasing cars worth Rs 18 lakh for its MLAs and paying for their foreign tours, but was not willing to invest in the education system.

The leaders alleged that up to 700 schools in the state had to be closed down because teachers were not appointed.

Till now 35,000 posts of teachers were lying vacant, they added.

The Panchayat Union state president, Mr Sukhdev Singh Bareke, and the ETT Union president, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sidhu, addressing media persons said the union would hold protest in Bathinda holding black banners to observe “black day” on January 1. 

Phagwara, December 29
Coming in support of the five policemen who were transferred from the town in connection with the Sukha case, several Congress leaders, party officials, councillors and sarpanches today took up cudgels against their own colleagues and demanded that Punjab Transport Minister Mohinder Singh Kaypee be dropped from the cabinet for “shielding “a Congressman with “criminal record.”

They also demanded that the Jalandar Zila Parishad member Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukha, a protege of Kaypee, be declared a “persona-non-grata” in the town of Phagwara for his “involvement” in a manhandling case with an ASI on December 8.

Addressing a press conference here, the leaders said they were offended by the one-sided action being taken against the “honest” cops.
They also protested over the telecast of a CD by a private channel that showed the parishad member being thrashed by a policeman.

In another twist to the tale, sarpanches of 48 villages and half-a-dozen Zila Parishad members threatened to resign if the government failed to take any action against the police officer who had allegedly beaten Sukhwinder Singh.

Speaking at a press conference, Sukhwinder Singh said he was not satisfied with the action taken in the matter by the police authorities so far.

The IG Zonal, Mr Hardep Singh Dhillon, had recently submitted his report to the DGP, Mr S.S. Virk, after which the DSP of Phagwara was transferred to Jalandhar and five others first suspended and then transferred.

Jalandhar, December 29
Mushrooming of private colleges, gross inequities in payment of salaries to lecturers, under-qualified teachers and lack of transparency in higher education – all these issues came up during the 7th All India Conference of Principals (AICP) being organised at Doaba College here.

Private colleges were growing rapidly and the state was abdicating its responsibility so far as the funding of the higher education was concerned, said Dr G. Ramachandram from College of Arts and Commerce, Mumbai.

“It is an open secret that private educational institutions have become commercialised profit-making bodies that flout rules at their convenience. The exploitation of teachers in many of these colleges is rampant,” he said, while reading his paper “Be informed: Be empowered”.

He also alleged that the government, the UGC and NAAC were not able to check the mushrooming of sub-standard educational institutions. “The NAAC assessment and accreditation no longer commands credibility,” he added.

The university education, too, came in for criticism during this conference on “Restructuring of higher education in India”.

Principal M.S. Kurhade from DTSS College of Commerce, Mumbai, said that the present administrative set-up in the universities was “monotonous and inflexible”. “There are not only vested interests entrenched within educational institutions, but also there is a distinct lack of co-ordination in various departments of universities and affiliated colleges. The rigid rules regarding admissions, selection of courses and evaluation of students compound the problem,” he added.

Marketing of higher education, entry of foreign and private universities, distance and online education were among the challenges to higher education,said the principals.

Dr S.G. Palsodkar, president, AICP, said it was regrettable that India could provide higher education to less than six per cent of those eligible for such education. Principal Subhash Brahmbhatt, vice-president, AICP, spoke on the need for accountability in higher education. Dr T.J. Purani discussed the role of a teacher vis-à-vis quality education.

About 120 principals and 50 delegates from various parts of India are attending the conference that would conclude tomorrow. Among those present on the occasion included college Principal, Dr R.P. Bhardwaj. Mr Avtar Henry, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, inaugurated the programme. 

Jalandhar, December 29
The police has arrested one person on charges of smuggling smack from the Amrik Nagar area of the city.

According to the SP City, Mr Surinder Kumar Kalia, the accused Kumar was arrested at a naka in Lama village on Thursday and around 240 grams of smack had been recovered from his possession.

He said the accused was on his way to deliver the drug to a customer when he was caught.

In another incident, the police on Thursday seized eight caskets of illicit liquor in Mau.

In yet another breakthrough, the police arrested a woman for allegedly running a brothel from her residence.

The police raided her residence in Upkar Nagar area and arrested the woman and her clients. The police has registered a case under the Immoral Trafficking Act. 

Jalandhar, December 29
The army authorities today claimed that the “Jazzy B with Faujis” function went on smoothly on the night of December 27.

They said that “some individuals who were wanting to gatecrash under the grab of journalists were prevented from doing so, as they were not carrying valid Identity Cards.”

The authorities, however, did not deny that misbehaviour with some journalists had taken place and that mobile phones of some of them had been also stolen during the programme.

Reports were carried in a large section of the English and vernacular media about the incidents during the function.