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Disqualification looms large over Amarinder, others
New Delhi, June 4 The state Governor has referred complaints against the Chief Minister and 36 MLAs on complaints by the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP of holding office of profit. Punjab leads the table of having the maximum number of MLAs against whom
complaints have been filed in the country. The poll panel after perusing the complaints had asked for additional information from the complaint, which have been duly submitted to the constitutional body, EC sources said, adding that the Commission, after considering the additional information submitted by the complaint, would decide whether to issue notices to the opposite party or not. Chief Ministers against whom allegations have been made include those of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh,
Orissa, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as also Leader of the Opposition in Nagaland, several ministers in these states. Capt Kanwaljit Singh of Shiromani Akali Dal and Prashant Kumar of the BJP had filed a complaint to the state Governor against 37 MLAs for holding office of profit. Apart from the Chief Minister, those named by the complaint were Joginder Singh Mann, Shavinder Singh Kathunangal, Ms Aruna Chaudhary, H S Thekedar, Ram Lubhaya, Randeep Singh, Surinder Dabur, O P Soni, Gurjant Singh Kuttiwal, Romal Chand, Dr Mohinder Kumar Rinwan, Ashok Sharma, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Jasbir Singh Gill, Ravinder Singh Sandhu, Kanwaljit Singh Lalli, Ms Gurkanwal Kaur, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Prakash Singh Bhatti, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, Malkiat Singh Birmi, Dr Harbans Lal, Ms Harbans Kaur Dullon, K P Singh Rana, Prakash Singh, Dr Raj Kumar Verka, Ms Razia Sultana, Sandhu Singh Dharamsot, Sukhhjinder Singh Randhawa, Sunil Jakhar, Ashwani Sekhri, Hans Raj Josan, Rakesh Pandey, Gurbinder Singh Atwal, Raghunath Sahai Puri and Randeep Singh Nabha. The EC had disqualified Samajwadi Party leader Jaya Bachchan as member of Rajya Sabha for holding office of profit with retrospective effect. Observers wondered that if the order of the poll panel in the Jaya Bachchan case is taken as a precedent, then the disqualification of so many MLAs ,including Chief Ministers could throw up a constitutional crisis across the country. The poll panel’s order had put the Rajya Sabha secretariat in a quandary as it had to delete all the proceeding where the SP leader had participated and the Bills she had initiated. Rajya Sabha Secretary General had sought the opinion of the Law Ministry to deal with the tricky situation. Observers are at a loss what would happen to the decisions taken by the Chief Ministers, if they are disqualified with retrospective effect. Or, will the EC wait for the monsoon session for the dust to settle down on the issue, they added.
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51 brick-kiln labourers face starvation
Hoshiarpur, June 4 Mr Isham Singh son of Hari Ram of Ambehtayakubpur village, Shamli Tehsil (Muzaffarnagar) UP a labourer of the above said families, escaped from the kiln and reached the office of the Dalit Dasta Virodhi Andolan (DDVA), Phillaur and narrated the tale of woe of all labourers of the kiln to office-bearers of this NGO. He requested them to get their fellow workers and families freed from the clutches of owner of the kiln. Mr Jai Singh, general secretary of the DDVA, met the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur, on June 2, and submitted a representation to him to rescue the bonded labourers and their families and make arrangements for sending them to their homes. He also sought the prosecution of employer Vikram Seth allegedly for violating the provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Inter-state Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1979 and the Factories Act 1948 etc. Mr Jai Singh took media persons to Hakumatpur village adjoining Dhade village today to meet bonded migrant labourers . Isham Singh, Rishipal, Brahm Singh, Babu Ram, Raj Kumar, Karamveer, Parmod, Banarsidas, Shunder, Sukadh and Puppy, all labourers, told reporters that they were recruited by Jamadar Suresh of Kachhigarhi village (Muzaffarpur) to work for BSL
brick-kiln at Dhade village of Garhshankar subdivision of Hoshiarpur district on November 4, 2005. They alleged they were paid very poorly and not given minimum wages fixed by the state government. The wages were not paid in a prescribed, legal manner and only petty cash was provided for survival. The owner suggested a grocery shop located near the
brick-kiln for getting goods on credit. They did not have the freedom to buy ration from the shop of their choice. Seven of their children and two of their male members, who were suffering from various ailments were on the mercy of God as the owner of the kiln had not provided any medical aid to them. They said they were not allowed to approach the police or the administration for help. All 51 members are living in 12 small shanties in unclean conditions in fields. Mr D.K. Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur, said that on the representation of the DDVA, he had instructed the SDM, Garhshankar to depute a Tehsildar to go to the spot to rescue bonded labourers and their families. He said that if allegations against the owner of
brick-kiln were found to be true, action would be taken against him according to the law. Mr Vikram Seth, owner of the kiln, was not available for comments.
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Mumtaz’s story to be made into movie
Amritsar, June 4 An indication to this effect was given by Gurinder Makana, an Amritsar-based Hindi film actor, while talking to TNS, here today. This correspondent also met Sweet Kumar Gupta, a lawyer who provided free legal help to Mumtaz and her children. But Makana declined to disclose the name of the producer. He, however, said he himself would write the dialogues of the proposed film. Makana said the proposed film would be produced on the pattern of Veer Zara. In that movie, a Pakistani lawyer tries to break the barriers separating the two lovers. However, in case of Mumtaz, it was the Indian lawyer and his friends who came to her rescue after she was deserted by her Bangladeshi husband. Subsequently, she fell in love with Bihari Hindu migrant. Mumtaz, originally hailing from Pakistan, married Ibrahim some years ago. Three children were born to them. About one-and-a-half year back, Ibrahim, who hailed from Bangladesh, took Mumtaz and his children to his native place in Bangladesh, only to desert them for another woman, with whom he left for Saudi Arabia. Sweet Kumar Gupta claimed that he had received a message, to give a brief outline of Mumtaz’s case, on behalf of Yash Chopra, producer of Veer
Zara.
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Land grab case: protest against police, 12 booked
Bathinda, June 4 Sources said the police reportedly brought two tractors from the residence of Veerpal Kaur to the Balluana police post last night. When the villagers came to know about it in the morning they headed towards the police post under the banner of an action committee formed on the issue. They then staged a protest outside the police post and raised slogans against the police action. On the other hand, following a complaint from the other party, the police has registered a case against over 12 persons including Veerpal Kaur under Sections 379, 447, 427, 506, 148, and 149 of the IPC and Sections 25/27/59 of the Arms Act.
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History being flattened
Kotla, (Tarn Taran), June 4 The excavation has already confirmed the existence of an old civilisation that flourished here many centuries ago. It could have proved yet another “Harappan site”, had the department concerned shown interest following the discovery of precious archaeological items. Ardent antiquarians have already found many precious beads, made of gold, silver and baked earth. Some pots made of baked earth showed signs of the Harappan Civilisation. Other layers of the mound pointed to the existence of civilisation from the Kushan period till the Sultanate period. However, just out of sheer ignorance, most of the archaeological treasure has been drained to auction houses. Mr Dev Dard, an ardent numismatist and history lover, has urged the Department of Archaeology to preserve this mound otherwise it would be too late. With the shrinking of the mound, the remains of cluster of small houses, which were buried after some disaster, would be lost forever. Boundary walls of such houses can be seen with naked eyes after rain. Bowls of the period of the Kushans were also found from the mound. Interestingly, nearly a four-century-old idol of Guru Nanak, made from baked earth was recently found from this village . Idols of the Kushan period were also excavated by some archaeological lovers. However, the Department of Archaeology has not yet understood the importance of this site. The Tribune team, during a visit to the historical border village here, found that residents of this village have been selling the “treasure trove” for a song to outsiders who know the significance of such items. These items fetch them a high price in the international market. Mr
Dard, who is regular visitor to the site, told The Tribune team that beads made of precious stones like carnelian, agate, monga and silver, and gold coins of various periods, besides precious ivory bracelets, toys, pots and cartwheels were found from the mound during excavation. He has created a museum at his house in Amritsar.
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Pak summons meeting of Sikh representatives
Ludhiana, June 4 Mr Avtar Singh, president of the SGPC said here today that he had received an information regarding the meeting of June 6 from Mr Bishan Singh, president, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. The SGPC has received about 3,000 applications from devotees for visiting Lahore to participate in the observance of martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev in Pakistan. The SGPC has already sent a list of 2,500 devotees to the Pakistan’s High Commission for the grant of visa. The Pakistan government, he said, had allowed visas to 10,000 pilgrims for participation in Guru Arjan Dev’s martyrdom ceremony in Pakistan and the SGPC was told to send 6,000 devotees and the rest were to be sent from other states of the country. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee is also arranging participation of Sikhs in the martyrdom ceremony in Lahore.
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Salary hike for Punjab law officers soon
Chandigarh, June 4 In September, 2004, the Punjab Government had considerably reduced the salaries payable to the law officers. For example, while an additional AG in Punjab gets only Rs 15,000 per month and no other allowances, the lawyer manning the same post in Haryana draws almost Rs 50,000 per month if allowances are taken into consideration. A Senior Deputy AG in Haryana is entitled to salary in the scale of 18400-500-22400 plus Rs 600 as non-practising allowance, his counterpart in Punjab has to be content with just a fixed fee of Rs 25,000. The salary structure became more skewed if one considered the fact that Punjab has much more litigation than Haryana. Also, while Punjab has just 73 law officers, Haryana has 97. Incidentally, when the Punjab Government reduced the salaries of its law officers, strong resentment brewed among the law officers, with many of them refusing to join at reduced salaries. Even those lawyers who had joined openly expressed their anger over the huge cut in salary. The old salary structure was not resorted despite the recommendations of the then Advocate- General, Punjab, Mr Harbhagwan Singh. However, the situation changed with the taking over of Mr Rajinder Singh Cheema as AG. It is learnt that Mr Cheema strongly argued the case for better pay and perks for the law officers with the government, following which the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, himself cleared the proposal. "The file is with the Finance Department. We have suggested that the salaries of our law officers should be equal to those of law officers in Haryana," disclosed Principal Secretary (Home), Punjab, Dr B.C. Gupta. Sources in the office of AG also said the AG had also taken up the issue of late disbursal of salaries with the government and had sought removal of this anomaly. Punjab law officers seldom get their salaries on time, particularly because the sanctions to the posts are not issued in time by the Finance Department.
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Traffic blocked against ‘torture in police custody’
Dinanagar (Gurdaspur), June 4 The protesters sat on dharna on the national highway at about 4 p.m. and raised slogans against the local police and the Punjab Government. The dharna continued till about 6 p.m. paralysing traffic on the highway. The protesters accused the local DSP of picking Tarsem Singh and Sukhjinder Singh. They alleged that the accused had been tortured in police custody at the behest of the local MLA. The police officials had picked up Tarsem Singh and Sukhvinder Singh on the charge of preparing forged document to help some persons get recruited in the Army. A case under Section 420 of the IPC was registered against them. However, the accused were shifted to the Gurdaspur Civil Hospital with serious injuries. The BJP leaders alleged that they were tortured by the police officials. The police authorities have denied the charge. They alleged that the accused rammed their heads with the iron bars. When they were taken out they tried to commit suicide with broken glass pieces. A case of attempt to suicide has been registered against them. The BJP leaders, however, said the police story as fabricated. They alleged that story had been concocted to protect the police officials who tortured their workers. They demanded action against the police officials, including the DSP. The BJP workers threatened to intensify the agitation in case action was not taken against the erring
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Durgiana goldplating from tomorrow
Amritsar, June 4 The president of the Durgiana managing committee, Mr Harnam Dass Arora, said there had been a tremendous enthusiasm among devotees who had come forward during the last kar seva held in 2002 and donated a large quantity of gold for this historic
goldplating. He said the management committee would display all the jewellery pieces and the gold biscuits tomorrow for the public viewing at the Durgiana temple Mr Arora said the goldplating would be launched formally on the June 6 to commemorate the foundation day of the temple. Mr Arora appealed to the public to come forward in large numbers to participate in the historic occasion of
goldplating. The artisans engaged in the goldplating had been working round the clock to prepare the
platings.
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Blood collection short of requirement
Hoshiarpur, June 4 The seminar was organised to commemorate the 22nd death anniversary of former Principal of the college late Om Parkash Bagga who was gunned down during militancy period in Punjab. Ms Sharma said on account of regular killings of innocent persons by militants in Jammu and Kashmir, 42,000 units of blood were required in the hospitals of the state, but only 30,000 units were collected through voluntary blood donation. He emphasised the need of strengthening national integration through blood donation. Dr
J.G. Jolly, emeritus professor, PGI, Chandigarh, in his key note address said people should make blood donation a regular feature of their life and should donate blood on their birth and wedding days to save the suffering humanity. Dr V.K. Puri, Secretary, state branch of the Red Cross, who presided over the seminar, said blood donation was one of the noblest way for strengthening communal harmony and brotherhood. Principal Bagga Sadhbavna awards were given to eight prominent persons for their valuable contribution in the field of blood donation on this occasion. While paying rich tributes to late Om Parkash Bagga, Mr Kamal Chaudhry, former MP, said blood should not be shed in drains, it should flow in veins.
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Dalits burn Sidhu’s effigy
Patiala, June 4 The activists, who burnt effigies of BJP MP Navjot Sidhu, also demanded that the President of India should remove Mr Sidhu from membership of the Lok Sabha. The members also demanded that all vacancies of Scheduled Castes should be filled by the Punjab Government at the earliest and that reservations should also be made in the higher judicial services. They added that Class IV employees and those SCs living below the poverty line should be given free electricity and no sewerage and water charges should be levied on them. Meanwhile, in another press note, Mr P.S. Kainth, secretary of the Punjab BSP, said a criminal case should be registered against Navjot Sidhu. He added that Dalits having less than 10 acres of land should be given tubewell connections immediately.
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No clue to cop’s missing daughter
Phillaur June 4 He alleged the police had registered a case against three abductors and arrested one of them, but neither the other two abductors could be nabbed nor his daughter traced. He also alleged that the police was pressurising him for a compromise with the alleged abductors. However, Phillaur SHO Jaskaran Singh denied the allegations and said the entire matter was in the notice of senior police officials, including the SSP of Jalandhar. He said the arrested person was released on bail by the court and police teams were sent to Delhi to nab the other two culprits. The police teams had revealed that the girl had married one of the alleged abductors. Even the girl had sent a marriage certificate and alleged that her father wanted her to marry another youth.
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Harassment by SHO alleged
Amritsar, June 4 Mr Bhandari in a complaint to the DGP, DIG, SSP and human rights organisation alleged that Mr Manial had been defrauded by a travel agency. He said Manial approached him and he decided to help him. He said Mr Jagatpreet Singh, SHO, Civil Lines, instead of calling the accused had been calling him and Manial a number of times to the police station for investigation. He said on June 1 he was illegally detained and harassed.
— OC
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NTAS stages ‘Eh Jang Kaun Lare’
Patiala, June 4 The play has been written by Kuldip Singh Deep and directed by Mr H.S. Randhawa. The chief guest, Dr H.S. Chugh, a renowned homeopathic practitioner, lauded the efforts of the NTAS Director, Mr Pran Sabharwal, for maintaining their monthly theatre tradition of promoting values and providing training and incentives to artistes. On the occasion, Dr Chugh offered his premises for regular rehearsals and theatre shows.
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2 dowry cases registered
Hoshiarpur, June 4 According to the police sources, Ms Jasvir Kaur, daughter of Ram Nath of Duggal, stated in her complaint that she was married with Dr Harbans Singh of National Avenue, Rama Mandi (Jalandhar) on November 24, 1999. Soon after the marriage, she was maltreated by her in-laws family for dowry. They also demanded Rs 5 lakh from her for sending her husband to Canada which she refused to pay. Dasuya Police has registered a case under sections 498 A, 406 and 120 B of the IPC against her husband, father-in-law Tarsem Singh, mother-in-law Gian Kaur, sister-in-law Kamlesh Rani and brother-in-law Kulwinder Singh. In another complaint, Rajwinder Kaur, daughter of Sukhwinder Singh of Oharpur village, stated that she was married with Malkiat Singh of Tanda on January 10, 2004. She was ill-treated for dowry by Malkiat Singh, his father Mohinder Singh and sister Amarjit Kaur. Tanda Police has registered a case under sections 498 A and 406 of IPC against the accused.
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Booked for torturing wife
Hoshiarpur, June 4 Jasbir Kaur (22) was married with Inderjit Singh, son of Swarn Singh of Mugowal village, about a year ago. She alleged that soon after the marriage, Inderjit Singh started torturing and beating her for dowry. Later, he demanded Rs 10 lakh from her parents for starting a business. When they did not oblige him, the relation between husband and wife became more
strained. On May 31, 2006, the husband and wife exchanged hot words and threatened to commit suicide. Inderjit allegedly sprinkled kerosene on his wife and compelled her to commit suicide. Jasbir Kaur, who was already angry, set herself on fire due to which she was seriously burnt. She was admitted in a private hospital at Mahilpur from where she was shifted to the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar.
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Minor raped
Abohar, June 4 The victim reportedly told the police at the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here that her parents had gone to Jaitu. A woman in the neighborhood asked the victim and her younger brother to take shelter in her house as it was unsafe for them to stay alone. As some children in the same locality had been kidnapped, raped and killed in the past, the girl accompanied the woman. During the night the woman, allegedly, put a piece of the cloth in the girl’s mouth and her husband raped her. Around midnight, the elder brother of the victim returned from his job. Finding no one inside the house he went looking for his siblings and when he noticed that his sister was being raped, he rushed to her rescue but the accused thrashed him badly. Residents of the locality woke up on hearing the noise and took the victim and her brother to the civil hospital. The accused couple is absconding.
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Fraud in salary withdrawal
Hoshiarpur, June 4 Joga Singh, son of Ajaib Singh of Kukowal village, complained to the SDM Garhshankar against the above said persons that watchman Surinder Pal died in December 2003. The above said persons fraudulently withdrew his salary of lakhs of rupees for 21 months after his death.
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Woman dies in accident
Ropar, June 4 The
mishap took place when the driver of the car (CH-03-D-8244) in an
attempt to negotiate a turn collided with a truck coming from opposite
direction. Labh Kaur died on the spot while another person sitting in
the car sustained minor injuries.
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Patiala government school students shine
Mohali/Patiala, June 4 Stating that the results were prepared before the notification for the creation of the new district, the Controller of Examinations, Mrs S.S. Saroya, today while issuing the merit list of the examinations pointed out that next year SAS Nagar district results would be separate from Ropar results. While Patiala students have excelled in the state in the examinations, Ropar students have shown average performance. Nearly 30 students from Patiala are among the 323 students of the state who have bagged the top 35 positions in the state. Interestingly, government schools in Patiala have done remarkably well. Nishant Kinger, a science student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Patiala, has topped the district with 401 out of 450 marks while he is seventh in the state. Isha Chopra of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Power House Colony, Patiala, is ninth in the state and second in the district. Kanchanpreet Kaur of Modern Senior Secondary School is 16th in the state and III in the district. Harpreet Singh of Government Multipurpose Senior Secondary School and Gaurav Garg of Government Senior Secondary School for boys are on 19th position in the state. They are followed by Harneet Sethi and Mamta Bhatia of Government Girls Multipurpose Senior Secondary School, Satinderpal Singh of Khalsa Collegiate Senior Secondary School and Smriti of Bhai Ram Kishan Gurmati Public Senior Secondary, Chaura. Gagandeep Kaur of Swami Shivananda Sarvhitkari Senior Secondary School Morinda is first in Ropar district and 16th in the state. Aakriti Gupta of Himalaya Senior Secondary Public School Mujafat is second in the district and holds 21st position in the state. Harnek Singh of the same school is 28th in the state and fourth in the district. Amanpreet Kaur of Paragon Senior Secondary School, Sector 69, Mohali, is third in Ropar district and 22nd in the state. They are followed by Sachin Jain of DAV Public School, Ropar, Sonia of Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Sohana, Amanpreet Kaur of Sant Isher Singh Senior Secondary School, Sector 70, Mohali, Hardeep Singh of Government Senior Secondary School, Noorpur Bedi, and Mangal Singh of Government Senior Secondary School, Phase 3B1, Mohali.
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PU declares BCom II result
Chandigarh, June 4
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