The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Cong workers clash; two injured
Mahesh Sharma

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 1
Disagreement among members of two factions of the Congress at Bhaini Arora village in Ludhiana district resulted in a group clash, leaving at least two persons injured seriously.

The sharp-edged weapons were used freely by both groups. The Dehlon police, supervised by the Dakha Circle Officer reached the village to check the situation from deteriorating further. The injured were shifted to Civil Hospital, Pakhowal and Ludhiana.

Two groups consisting of about 10 persons each and led by a Congress leader Jagdev Singh, husband of Ms Surinder Kaur, sarpanch, on one side and Malkiat Singh another Congress leader on the other side, clashed after some women from both parties had a tiff over some trivial issue in the afternoon today.

The male members got incited and clashed with each other, leaving Jagdev Singh and Malkiat Singh injured seriously. Other suspects fled from the scene before the arrival of the police and it could not be confirmed whether they had received injuries or not.

According to Mr Raghbir Singh Sandhu, DSP, Dakha, Malkiat Singh and Jagdev Singh had received injuries with sharp-edged weapons and were shifted to Civil Hospital, Pakhowal. Jagdev Singh received injuries in the abdomen and Malkiat Singh received multiple injuries, including those on the head.

“Though use of sharp-edged weapons, by members of both groups has been confirmed we are still to probe if gun shots were fired by any of the parties,” said Mr Sandhu while talking to the Ludhiana Tribune. Referring to information collected by Mr Rashpal Singh Dhindsa, SHO, Dehlon, the DSP disclosed that the clash had followed a tiff among women of both the groups.

As the incident took place in the residential area of the village and women and children could have been hurt in the incident, the police has taken serious notice of the clash. The DSP directed the SHO to depute extra force at the village and in the surrounding areas.

Though the police claimed to have reached the spot swiftly, no arrest could be made from the village. Investigations further revealed that the police had apprehended a clash and had presented some suspects in a court from where they had been bailed out.

Boycott Indian leather, says PETA
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 1
Leather manufacturers and traders feel threatened as the People for Ethical Treatment to Animals (PETA) today relaunched its campaign to encourage retailers and consumers worldwide to bycott Indian leather.

The decision comes after the alleged "total lack of enforcement of animal welfare standards that were promised by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and late Minister of Commerce Murasoli Maran, a refusal by the Council for Leather Exports to stop its members from supporting illegal slaughterhouses and the council's failure to take sincere and significant action to alleviate the suffering of animals killed for leather".

PETA said in a press note issued today that it's seven years' investigations had revealed that Indian animals used for leather were transported in poor, crowded conditions that frequently resulted in bone fractures or death due to suffocation en route to slaughterhouse.

"The animals are dragged cruelly and illegally mishandled. At all municipal slaughterhouses, they are slaughtered in full view of each other, which is illegal," PETA alleged.

According to the welfare body, even as CLE claims to have an Animal Welfare Reform Programme, it refuses to initiate any action to prevent leather businesses from obtaining hides and skins, even from unlicensed and illegal slaughterhouses.

It alleged that the export council's programme for animal welfare lacked vigour and follow-through which would be required for concrete and longlasting improvements to be made in animals' lives.

In a letter to M.M. Hashim, chairman of the CLE's Core Committee on the welfare programme, PETA Europe Director Poorva Joshipura pointed out that the CLE's modus operandi was to try keeping PETA campaign at bay while Indian leather exports continued to profit from the illegal abuse of animals without making real improvements for animals.

"The Indian Government has done nothing to stop illegal abuse of animals in leather trade," said PETA India co-ordinator of campaigns and legal affairs N.G. Jayasimha.

Woman jumps into canal with 8-yr-old son
Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 1
A woman tied her eight-year-old son to her waist and jumped into the Sirhind canal at Jandali bridge today morning. A number morning walkers were present there at that time. One of them jumped into the canal and tried to save the woman and her son, but his attempt failed as the woman resisted help. She, along with her son, drifted away with the water current.

The suspectedly drowned duo was identified as Pinky, wife of Krishan Kumar of Hargobind Nagar village in Ludhiana district, and her son, Shivam.

Kin of the woman, including her parents, said she had been mentally disturbed and had attempted to commit suicide by jumping into the same canal earlier also.

The police supervised the rescue operations and focused its attention at the grills near Kanganwal micro hydroelectric plant where Pinky and Shivam were seen whirling in the canal water by members of the family.

“We focused our attention on the rescue operation immediately after receiving information through members of family who, along with Mr Jatinder Bhola, President Municipal Council, came to the police station in the morning,” said Mr Jaswinder Singh, SHO (City).

The incident took place around 6 am. The members of the family said Pinky might have left home before sunrise. How she managed to carry her son for such a long distance (4 km) is still a mystery.

“She must have carried Shivam without waking him up and the passers-by might have construed that she was going for a walk,” said Sat Pal and Rishi Pal, father and brother of Pinky.

Rishi Pal said Pinky had been suffering from a psychological disorder and was getting treatment for the same. “We apprehended that she would do this some day, but we did not anticipate the fate of her son,” said Rishi Pal and Sat Pal.

Kuldip Singh, who jumped into the canal to save the two, said “I could not fish them out as she, instead of accepting my help, resisted me and was carried away by the water current.”

Pinky and Shivam were seen whirling in water near the steel grill at Kanganwal Micro Hydroelectric Plant about two hours after the incident. The plant is situated at a distance of around 4 km from the spot where incident took place.

Parma Nand Morewal, general secretary of the Sangrur district unit of the Dhanak Samaj, said members of the family had seen Pinky whirling in water near the plant around 8 am.

Krishan Kumar, husband of the woman, is deaf and dumb and works as a labourer with a commission agent in the town. Two more daughters of Sat Pal are married to brothers of Krishan Kumar.

Contract killer rearrested
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 1
The police today claimed to have arrested a contract killer and proclaimed offender who was wanted in two murder cases. Jagdev Singh alias Jagga had been lodged in Ludhiana jail for trial but had not returned after parole.

A resident of Gill village under Baghapurana police station in Moga district, he was arrested yesterday from near Bharat Nagar chowk by a police party from division number 5 police station.

Following a tip-off, the police succeeded in arresting him. Addressing a press conference here today, SP (City II) Dinesh Pratap Singh said Jagdev Singh had allegedly committed two murders, one in Moga district and the other in Ludhiana.

The SP said Jagdev Singh was a contract killer and had committed both these murders after taking supari.

Dinesh Pratap Singh said the police had recovered one motor cycle, one mobile phone, one countrymade pistol, along with two cartridges and fake currency worth Rs 800 from Jagdev Singh.

The SP said from investigation the police had come to know that he had come to the city to take money for having committed a murder.

“We are also questioning him about the man on whose directions he had committed the murder in Ludhiana in 2001,” SP said adding that further investigations were on in this case.

Mayor assures ward 2 residents on amenities
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 1
Mayor Nahar Singh Gill today visited Ward 2 on the Jassian Road and listened to the grievances of the people. He had been called by the shopkeepers association of the area.

A majority of the problems were those concerned with the civic body with sewerage topping the list. The people told the Mayor that the area had inadequate sewerage system which remained choked for most of the time. Mr Gill discussed the problem with the officers accompanying him and directed the SDO and Xen to get the problem rectified at the earliest. He also assured the people that the MC would solve their problems one by one.

The Mayor sanctioned Rs 4 crore for the purpose. He also promised to review the development of the project on a weekly basis. He was accompanied by Mr Malkit Singh, Secretary, PPCC, and the area counsellors.

Mr Gill said the civic body was committed to making Ludhiana an ideal city with all the modern facilities for the populace. He said the people should come forward to highlight any shortcomings to his notice. This would help it take remedial measures so that the citizens were not put to any inconvenience, he added.

He also appealed the public to join hands with the government to make Ludhiana more clean and green.

Gurmel Hara to be honoured posthumously
Our Correspondent

Gurmel Singh Hara

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 1
Recognising his contributions in the field of sports and organised struggle for the rights of the downtrodden, office-bearers of various sports associations and social organisations have decided to honour Gurmel Singh Hara posthumously. His bhog ceremony will be held at Nand Pur near here on Tuesday.

Referring to the decision taken at a joint meeting of various organisations, Balwinder Fidda, Arjuna Awardee, Kabaddi player, and Surinder Singh Toni, an international coach, said it had been decided to institute a Gurmel Singh Hara Memorial Running Kabaddi Gold trophy. He would be remembered for promoting sports in general and kabaddi in particular in the rural areas.

“Besides recognising outstanding players of the area, a special fund will be set up to provide diet and technical know-how to the needy and deserving aspirants,” they said. Lalli Butahri, another kabaddi player, said Gurmel Singh had promoted many kabaddi teams during his youth. Besides contributing in the field of sports, Gurmel Singh played an active role in defending rights of the downtrodden.

	Training camp on social evils Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 1 Leaders of the Indian Youth Congress today resolved to eliminate various social evils like female foeticide, dowry and drug addiction from the society. Addressing a one-day training camp organised by the District Youth Congress here today, the leaders expressed grave concern over these evils which were spreading fast in the state at an alarming rate. Speaking on the occasion, the secretary of the All-India Congress Committee and a former president of the Indian Youth Congress, Mr Manish Tiwari, said it was the responsibility of the youth of the country to rise against all these evils. He pointed out, the Congress had a rich tradition of fighting against the social evils like the caste system and communalism. IYC president, Mr Ashok Tanwar, exhorted upon the workers to spread out the party programme among the masses. He claimed that the Congress government in the state had performed exceptionally well and it deserved a second chance. He said, the people were quite happy with the performance of the government. The Education Minister, Mr Harnam Dass Johar said, the youth Congress workers had a greater responsibility towards the nation, the party and the society. The Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Surinder Dawer, congratulated the District Youth Congress for organising a successful training camp for the workers and spreading awareness about the performance of the government. Prominent among those present on the occasion include president Punjab Youth Congress Raminder Amla, Mayor Nahar Singh Gill, general secretary. Pradesh Congress Committee Ashok Pappy Prashar and others.
	Rotary Club holds installation function Our Correspondent Ludhiana, July 1 At a glittering function held two days ago awards for excellent work done by the members of the Rotary Club, here for the year 2005-06 were distributed at Rotary Bhavan here. Office-bearers for the year 2006-07 led by President Rtn Er Sarbjit Singh were installed. Rtn S.P. Sethi, District Governor Rotary District 3070 which comprises of Punjab, J& K and Himachal Pradesh, was the chief guest. Other dignitaries who attended the function were incoming District Governor (2006-07) Rtn Romesh Rana, PDG J.K. Sethi, PDG Suresh Choudhry and a number of district level senior Rotarians, including District Counsellor Rtn S.N. Chopra and Asstt Governor Rtn Subhash Bajaj. In his opening remarks, outgoing president Rtn Dr A.S. Bindra welcomed the chief guest and other dignitaries and thanked the members of the club for their cooperation throughout the year. In his report, outgoing secretary Rtn S.P. Karkara mentioned various community projects undertaken as well as outstanding achievements for this year particularly record collection for the Rotary Foundation, donation of Rs 1 lakh for the construction of earthquake-damaged schools building in J & K, finalisation of project for setting up an advanced eye care centre in Guru Tegh Bahadur Charitable Hospital with total outlay of Rs 22 lakh and completion of a water harvesting project at Rotary Bhavan at the cost of Rs 68,000. He also mentioned that not only this club had been adjudged as the best club in the Rotary district, a number of other individual awards i.e. best president and best secretary of the district, etc had been won by the club. After that district awards, the Rotary Foundation Awards and club awards were given to a large number of Rotarians. The District Governor then installed the team for the next year by decorating the incoming president Rtn Er Sarbjit Singh with presidential collar followed by exchange of seats and pins by the outgoing and incoming presidents and secretaries. The following are the members of the Board of Directors for the next year: Sarbjit Singh president, Kanti K. Behal secretary, B.D. Sharma president elect., S.P. Karkara —vice-president, Vijay Bhandari-joint secretary, Maj S.S. Khosla-treasurer, Er Balbir Singh — Sgt — at-arms, Dr A.S. Bindra-director, club service, Romesh Sood-director international service, M.N. Sharma, director community service, Aditya Soni-director, vocational service, Dr K.P. Singh-Director, special committee, Dr Prabhjot Kaur-Director community projects.
	Rishinagar welfare body meeting held Our Correspondent Ludhiana, July 1 A core committee meeting of Rishinagar F-Block Welfare Association was held here at Thaman’s Holistic Healing Centre, Rishinagar, under the chairmanship of Dr S K Thaman with the participation of various members to discuss the reasons why there was a delay in preparation of votes of New colonies such as Rishinagar, Ashok Vihar, KVM colony, Surya vihar, Mandeepnagar, New Kitchlunagar, etc when almost a year back voter forms of approximately 700 were submitted in election office by the area councilor of Ward No-45. The members requested that the Election Commission of India and state Electoral Officer intervene in the matter so that public could cast their votes in the coming elections in February, 2007.
	BKU to protest against diesel price hike Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 1 The Bharitya Kisan Union, Punjab, has decided to stage statewide protests at district headquarters against the hike in the prices of diesel. The decision was taken at a meeting of the union presided over by the president, Prof Manjit Singh Kadyan. The union observed that the state and the Central governments had failed to address the issues concerning farmers. It pointed out, the hike in the prices of diesel had hit the farming community of the state the most. The union also reiterated some other demands, including the waiving of loans of the farmers. It said, the farmers in Punjab were facing the most difficult times as input costs of the production had increased mainfold.

Ex-services League defends Calcutta
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 1
Col Chanan Singh Dhillon (retd), president, Ex-services League, Punjab and Chandigarh, has come out in support of Prof Darshan Singh, former Jathedar of Akal Takht, and Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta, Akali leader who has been served with a show-cause notice by the disciplinary committee of the SAD.

Col Dhillon said in a statement here that he agreed with Prof Darshan Singh and Mr Calcutta that Akali politics had become self-centred and self-serving without any social or political aim which had been enunciated by the Gurus.

He felt that the SAD had become irrelevant because the leadership had been drawn into the vortex of the RSS that “does not believe in plural culture.” It will be difficult for the Sikh community to come out of the web unless people like Prof Darshan Singh and Mr Calcutta took the lead.

He regretted that these Akali leaders, after remaining at the helm of affairs of Sikh politics, had not learnt to speak “courteously” with the people.

“They continue to bully and use foul language in gatherings in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib. They have also forgotten the spirit of tolerance and forbearance taught by the Gurus,” he said.

Col Dhillon called upon Sikh leaders to take note of the sentiments of the community as spoken by Mr Calcutta and Prof Darshan Singh.

Police remand for opium smuggler
Our Correspondent

Jagraon, July 1
Ms Jatinder Walia Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate, Jagraon, sent a person in police custody for two days. Inspector Amarjit Singh Khehra, incharge Anti-Narcotic Cell, arrested Vijay Kumar Sharma of Parbatia colony, MID, police station, Sarangoo, district Faridabad, from the area of Hissowal and recovered from his possession 1 kg of opium. The Sudhar police has registered a case under Section 18, 68 and 85 of the NDPS act.

Two held with poppy husk: Satpal Singh of Chuhar Chak and Om Parkash of Rohtak, were intercepted by ASI Davinder Singh in Kothe Khazuran, Jagraon area. The police recovered 20 kg of poppy husk which they were carrying on a scooter. The Jagraon police has registered, a case under Section 15, 25, 29, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act. The police has also impounded the scooter.

In another incident, ASI Jasmer Singh intercepted four unknown scooter-borne persons in Talwandi Khurd village area. However, all the four accused managed to flee leaving behind their scooters. The police recovered 85 kg of poppy. The Dakha police has registered a case under Section 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act.

SBI Home Line launched
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 1
The State Bank of India (SBI) introduced SBI Home Line, a personal loan scheme, to mark the celebrations of its 51st foundation day here today. “The hassle-free personal loan is a especially designed for home loan borrowers who are maintaining a long-term relationship with the bank.

It will be available with longer repayment period at an interest of 50 basis points more than other home loan rates,” said Mr R. Karthikeyan, deputy general manager of the bank, adding that, “the product will also be available for take over of home loans from other banks.”

The main branch at Civil Lines also organised a free medical check-up camp in association with SPS Apollo Hospital. Free consultation to senior citizens and customers of the bank was provided by Dr Chetan Sharma, cardiologist, Dr Anureet Gill, medicine, and the hospital also distributed free medicines and provided free ECG on the occasion.

Around 100 customers were given free medical check-up at the camp organised by the Link Road branch of the SBI to celebrate the day. Mr S.P. Gupta, chief manager, inaugurated the camp.