Jalandhar, February 9
A city court has remanded the suspended assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Bhupinder Singh posted with 4th IRB (Indian Reserve Batallion) PAP HQ to police custody. He was held on the charge of stealing vehicles.

The ASI was produced in the court of judicial magistrate first class, Paramjit Kaur, here today. On a tip off, Kartarpur thana police had nabbed Bhupinder Singh from Baba Bohar Shah area near Sarai Khas on GT road falling under Kartarpur police station.

While two stolen vehicles, including a Honda city car and a motorcycle, had also been recovered from him, his accomplice Susheel Kumar is still absconding, sources added.

Kartarpur SHO sub-inspector Harjinder Singh told The Tribune the suspended ASI along with Susheel had been involved in lifting vehicles for the last three months. Both the vehicles recovered from him were stolen from PAU Ludhiana some time back, he said adding that they even got their fake documents prepared.

The police was also trying to get information about persons who were involved in preparation of fake documents. An FIR under several sections, including 420, 379 and 120 B, has been registered against the suspended cop.

Bhupinder Singh had earlier also been arrested along with Sarabjeet Kaur in 2005 by Model Town police for issuing fake certificates and degrees to different students from their office in Defence Colony, said the SHO.

The ‘tainted’ cop was suspended thereafter, he added. Bhupinder was also facing a case of cheating some persons in the name of sending them abroad, he added. 

Jalandhar, February 9
Members of the Lok Bhalai Party took out a scooter rally against female foeticide, drug abuse, dowry and other social evils through the city today. The rally began from the Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall. The activists carried placards against the evils and passed through various parts of the city.

Ramandeep Singh Bharowal, national general secretary of the party said, there was need to open a joint front to stem the rot in society.

“It is a matter of shame that wombs have become killing fields for girls and those born have to face dowry harassment or deaths. Such happening in the land of our saints and Gurus is nothing short of sacrilege,” he pointed out.

Drug lords have ruined an entire generation of youngsters for money, shattering state’s pride in the robustness of its youngsters, he rued. Eradicating such social evils by spreading awareness is a priority with us, he added. 

Amritsar, February 9
Taking a lead to provide jobs to the unemployed graduates, the Parkash scheme was launched in the holy city today by the cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Addressing the gathering at Guru Nanak auditorium, Sidhu exhorted the youth to come out of the academic inertia and asked them to acquire vocational skills for getting employment in the corporate sector. He said the service sector was growing at an alarming pace and was contributing 59 per cent to the GDP.

However, he maintained that Punjab was still lagging for providing jobs in the service sector.

Giving details of the scheme, Sidhu said, “Under the pilot project, 500 youth would be imparted a three-month specialised training from February 15 at ITFT institute in Chandigarh.” The training includes developing communication skills and mannerism.

Sidhu said he plans to train approximately 2,000 graduates from both the rural and the urban sectors of his constituency this year and would provide them placements. “I have already entrusted the job to conduct surveys to bridge the employability gap for the youth of this area,” he added.

He said the government has taken up the challenge to impart skills to more than 5,000 high school boys and girls, especially from below poverty line and SC families in this region.

Besides, the state government would ensure that these trained youth get jobs in the industrial sectors. “In fact, five agencies have been short listed to provide youth suitable skills in construction, plastic engineering and other vocations,” said Sidhu.

Among those who addressed, included MLA Anil Joshi, Amarpal Singh Bonny, mayor Shwet Malik, programme initiator Dr Gulshan Sharma and deputy commissioner K.S. Pannu. 

Hoshiarpur, February 9
A deputation of Amritsar residents met Punjab minister for medical education and research Tikshan Sud here today and urged him not to shift the Karam Singh Ward (Orthopaedic) Hospital to the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar.

The deputation led by Balbir Singh, Satnam Singh, Vinod Bhatia, Dinesh Mahajan, Jaspal Singh and Vijay Kumar said the Karam Singh and an emergency ward were working at their present place since 1960 and 1972, respectively.

They said both the wards were working well and were equipped with all infrastructures.

The delegation said that the hospital was 200-bed and was catering to needs of the poor. Besides, shifting of wards would cause inconvenience to the general public and affect around 300 shopkeepers who were earning their livelihood through the hospital.

They said the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital where the shifting of the said hospital has been proposed lacks basic facilities and had only one operation theatre and capacity of accommodating 35 beds only.

The delegation also alleged that the land of the Karam Singh ward (Orthopaedic) hospital belongs to Raghunath temple as per the revenue records and some businessmen and members of the land mafia have oblique motive to grab this land.

The minister assured the delegation that he would go through the proposal and would consider their demand.

Hoshiarpur, February 9
The centre and the state committees of the CPM have urged the Punjab government to increase the wages for labourers, semi-skilled and skilled artisans which were due since January 2006.

In a press release here today, party members Darshan Singh Virdi and Raghunath Singh have asked the state government to fix Rs 5,000 per month as the wage for the labourers, while Rs 6,500 and Rs 8,000 for the semi-skilled and skilled workers. The leaders demanded Rs 10,000 as the minimum wage for the skilled artisans. The leaders said the above wages should be made applicable from January 2006 and should be discussed in the advisory board meeting which is scheduled for February 12.

The leaders said, “According to the rule, the minimum wages for the labourers would have increased in January 2006. But the last Congress government and the present SAD-BJP government have left the issue to linger on.”

Demanding effective implementation of NREGA, the leaders said an official list of prescribed wages should be issued under the act and strict action should be taken against those who were exploiting labourers. The other demands included compensations for the farmers whose crops were damaged due to cold, withdrawal of water tax being charged from the Kandi area residents and provision of wheat and pulses for all under the Atta-Dal scheme. 

The opposition had raised the question regarding the participation of the ex-officio members in the election process.