Phillaur, July 1
The police authorities on Sunday arrested Nurmahal SHO Shivdev Singh Kahlon after an inquiry report, submitted by SDM Pritam Singh, held him responsible for four deaths, including one in the police firing.

According to the report, the police officer had demanded bribe from Sukhdev Singh, alias Tara, who, along with his family members, committed suicide by jumping before a speeding train on June 8.

Sukhdev complained of being subjected to inhuman torture in a false case of elopement registered against him.

The SHO has been booked under sections 306/217/342 of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act. He will be produced before the judicial magistrate on Monday.The officer has already been placed under suspension.

Meanwhile, constable Kulwinder Kumar, who opened fire at the demonstrators without permission, has also been suspended.

Sukhdev along with his wife Binder, who was pregnant, and daughter Kusum (6), of village Uppal Khalsa, had committed suicide by jumping before a train. Surjit Kaur, a relative of Sukhdev, had alleged that SHO Kahlon had demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000 from the deceased.

However, when Sukhdev gave him the money, the SHO demanded an additional sum of Rs 40,000.

Fearing torture and harassment of his family members, the man killed himself along with his family.

The deaths created a widespread furore with hundred of villagers taking to the streets against the cops.

A massive demonstration was held in front of the Nurmahal police station. In order to disperse the protesters, the police opened fire, which resulted in death of a youth Balwinder Singh.

Jalandhar, July 1
With the arrest of three persons, district police on Sunday claimed to have solved blind murders of two youths of Dadulwal village, falling under Nurmahal police station here.

The bodies of Gurpreet Singh Gopi and Inderjeet Singh Manga were recovered from Chitti Bein, a rivulet, in February 2007. The accused, indentified as Amandeep Singh Amana, Kuldip Singh Rinku and Baldeesh Singh Deesha, belong to the same village.

In a release issued to the press, SSP Jalandhar, Arpit Arpit Shukla said an altercation had taken place between the victims and the three accused in the month of February. The trio were nursing a grudge against Gop and Manga. On February 15, they found the two youths in an intoxicated state. The accused took the duo along with them and made them consume some drug. Later, they killed them with some sharp-edged weapons and dumped the bodies in Chitti Bein. The badly mutilated bodies were found in the rivulet on February 24. An FIR under sections 302 and 201 of IPC was registered.

A special team, including SP City II Sarabjeet Singh, DSP Rural II Rajjit Singh and SHO Nirmal Singh probed the incident and arrested the accused.

Phillaur, July 1
Sixty-year-old Mohammad Ahmed is on a mission. To promote peace and national integrity, he has been cycling across the country. The Tribune caught up with the man at Phagwara on Sunday. “I started my journey seven years ago on Jan 1, 2000. My journey was flagged off by the then district collector, Pilibhit, Manoj Kumar,” says Ahmad, resident of 
Uttrakhand.

Talking about his journey, he said, “I have already covered Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Orissa, Kerela, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.”

“The idea behind this entire exercise is to make people realise the importance of peace, instill the feeling of nationalism and promote brotherhood, the qualities which are fast diminishing these days,” says the cyclist who has been holding talks and seminars to drive home his point.

The journey, he says, has enriched him immensely as an individual. “The experience has been wonderful,” quips the exuberant man who has pedalled more than 2 lakh kms. He is on his way to Jammu and Kashmir.

Nawanshahr, July 1
The Punsup Mulazam Union, Punjab, expressed concern over the decreasing wheat and paddy procurement by the government agencies, during a conference organised to mark the birth centenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh here today.

Addressing the conference, union’s state secretary Tarsem Singh Bains said, “A ban should be imposed on the purchase of the food-grains by the multi-national companies and big industrial houses of the country.”

During the conference discussion was also held on issues like scrapping of 73rd constitutional amendment, privatisation of public sector, introduction of pension scheme for Punsup employees on the pattern of Civil and Food supplies, filling up of vacant posts and starting process of promotions and delegating leave encashment powers up to district level. Following the conference, members of the district unit were elected.

The elected members include Rajesh Sharma (president), Jeet Singh Bhatia (vice president), Akshay Bhanot (secretary), Ram Dyal (joint secretary) and Ram Kumar Sharma (propaganda secretary).