J A L A N D H A R

Ex-servicemen need not pay toll tax
Jalandhar, October 18
At the quarterly meeting of the District Sainik Board, deputy director Sainik Welfare Lieut-Col Manmohan Singh today informed the ex-servicemen that they were exempted from paying toll tax at barriers anywhere in India on the production of their ex-servicemen identity cards.

Rice Loading
Truck union chief causing trouble: FCI contractors
Nawanshahr, October 18
The ongoing row between the FCI contractors and the Balachaur Truck Union today took a new turn. FCI contractors Rakesh Kumar and Vijay Kumar accused Balachaur truck union president Nand Lal of causing hindrances in the loading of rice in trucks hired by them for transporting the produce to Ropar railway station.

Murder bid: Forensic report disputes complainant’s claims
Batala, October 18
The forensic experts’ report has punched holes in the claims of a complainant in an attempt to murder case. According to sources, a person, Surinder Pal, had complained to the police that president of Batala shopkeepers’ association, Gulzar Singh Aulakh, had fired at him with his revolver after a quarrel took place between the duo on August 26 this year.

Temple row: DCC chief booked
Jalandhar, October 18
In the ongoing controversy over the control of the management of the Geeta Mandir in Model Town, an FIR has been lodged against district Congress committee (urban) president Arun Walia, a former DCC chief Vijay Khullar and some others on the complaint of Ajay Chadha.

LPG shortage: Residents disrupt traffic
Hoshiarpur, October 18
Inhabitants of Garhdiwala town, led by local BJP president Raju Gupta and BJP zone Ambala Jattan chief Avinash Dhugga, staged a dharna and blocked traffic near Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Garhdiwala, 28 km from here on the Hoshiarpur-Dasuya highway.

Ex-servicemen need not pay toll tax
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 18
At the quarterly meeting of the District Sainik Board, deputy director Sainik Welfare Lieut-Col Manmohan Singh today informed the ex-servicemen that they were exempted from paying toll tax at barriers anywhere in India on the production of their ex-servicemen identity cards. The deputy director said though the central government had passed a notification in this regard in 2003, they were unaware of the provision. He said the vice-president of the sainik board, Brig K.S. Dhillon, laid hand on a copy of the notification by sheer chance when he was surfing one of the websites trying to cull some official information.

He said that almost all the ex-servicemen were unaware of the fact and they had been paying the amount for the past four years despite a notification in their favour.

At the meeting, a proposal was also mooted for re-employment of ex-servicemen on toll barriers. The deputy director said most toll barriers had men who used foul language and were unable to man these. He stressed that ex-servicemen were better trained to handle such situations.

The issue of allotment of one-marla land at Tandan village, near Mehatpur, for setting up a memorial to Sepoy Jeet Singh, a 1971 martyr, was also taken up. President of the board-cum-DC Ajeet Singh Pannu asked the department concerned to move the proposal for allotment of land from the village common land. Martyr’s daughter and NRI Salwinder Kaur donated Rs 51,000 for the forthcoming Flag Day collections.

Rice Loading
Truck union chief causing trouble: FCI contractors

Nawanshahr, October 18
The ongoing row between the FCI contractors and the Balachaur Truck Union (BTU) today took a new turn. FCI contractors Rakesh Kumar and Vijay Kumar accused Balachaur truck union president Nand Lal of causing hindrances in the loading of rice in trucks hired by them for transporting the produce to Ropar railway station.

They said goons hired by Lal damaged windowpanes of a number of trucks besides brutally beating up a truck driver Sukhwinder Singh of Khanpur village. Sukhwinder, who received injuries on his head, was admitted to a local hospital.

Rakesh Kumar and Vijay Kumar said they hired as many as 70 trucks from Amloh, Mandi Gobindgarh and Phagwara to carry rice from the FCI godown, Balachaur, to Ropar railway station to load it on to the special train. But, the president of the truck union, with the help of hired miscreants, started threatening the truckers and caused about 40 trucks to flee. However, SSP B. Chander Shekhar, along with DSP Gurmukh Singh Cheema, reached the site and the police controlled the situation. The FCI contractors expressed apprehension that the truck union president might create further problems.

The DSP, when contacted, said the police had written to the FCI officials, FCI contractors and other parties to furnish them lists of the trucks in question so that adequate security could be provided to them in advance, but they did not pay heed to it. A case had been registered with respect to the attack on truck driver Sukhwinder Singh, he added. However, Nand Lal denied the allegations being leveled by the FCI contractors. — OC

Murder bid: Forensic report disputes complainant’s claims
Balraj Mahajan

Batala, October 18
The forensic experts’ report has punched holes in the claims of a complainant in an attempt to murder case. According to sources, a person, Surinder Pal, had complained to the police that president of Batala shopkeepers’ association, Gulzar Singh Aulakh, had fired at him with his revolver after a quarrel took place between the duo on August 26 this year. The police, after registering a case under section 307 of IPC at city police station, took into its custody Gulzar’s revolver and five live cartridges. These items along with the ‘bullet removed from Pal’s shoulder’ and his shirt was sent to forensic science laboratory ( FSL), Chandigarh for further investigation. In its report, the FSL said the bullet recovered from Pal’s body does not match with the other bullets of the revolver. The experts also pointed out that the shirt with ‘bullet perforation’ did not have the remnants of any explosive powder.

The report has come as a blow to the police investigation. SSP RN Dhoke said further investigation would be carried out in the case. Notably, Gulzar had filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for shifting of rehri market from Leakwala tank area here.

Temple row: DCC chief booked

Jalandhar, October 18
In the ongoing controversy over the control of the management of the Geeta Mandir in Model Town, an FIR has been lodged against district Congress committee (urban) president Arun Walia, a former DCC chief Vijay Khullar and some others on the complaint of Ajay Chadha.

Interestingly Chadha was already booked on Wednesday in a case of beating up the head priest of the Geeta Mandir in Model Town, Som Nath Pathak, and his sister-in-law Raj Rani Pathak. Walia, Khullar and some of their supporters were booked under sections 323, 506 and 34 of the IPC at police division number six. — TNS

LPG shortage: Residents disrupt traffic

Hoshiarpur, October 18
Inhabitants of Garhdiwala town, led by local BJP president Raju Gupta and BJP zone Ambala Jattan chief Avinash Dhugga, staged a dharna and blocked traffic near Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Garhdiwala, 28 km from here on the Hoshiarpur-Dasuya highway for more than three hours today in protest against the owner of Sandhu Gas Agency Mohinder Singh allegedly for not booking and delivering LPG cylinders to consumers even after 21 days. The commuters had to face a lot of inconvenience. — OC