Jalandhar, March 26
The daughter of a local Congress leader has landed herself in a soup for allegedly making her cousin appear as an examinee on her behalf in class X Punjab School Education Board examination conducted today at one of its affiliated schools here.

While the impersonator has been booked by the police, the examinee faces cancellation of her candidature by the board. The education department here has also forwarded the reports regarding the superintendent, deputy superintendent and supervisor to the board for suitable action against them.

Twenty-year-old Ludhiana-based Charanpreet Kaur was reportedly writing the Punjabi paper this morning on behalf of Navpreet Kaur Multani, who is daughter of Kamaljit Kaur Multani, a former district Congress Mahila Morcha president, at board’s centre in Shivalik Public School, Urban Estate, Phase-I, when she was caught by the flying squad of the board.

Meenakshi Bhardwaj, principal of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Fantom Ganj, led the flying squad and the matter was reported to the education department and the police. A case under section 419 of the IPC was registered at police station division number 7 on a complaint lodged by Bhardwaj.

DEO (S) Harinder Sahni said he had sent an unfair means case (UMC) to the board along with the impersonation report. He said he was not clear whether Navpreet was a regular student of the school or a private candidate.

He said reports regarding superintendent Pushp Kumar of Adampur school, deputy superintendent Lily Sobti of Jamsher Khas boys’ school and supervisor Gurdeep Singh of Badshahpur government school too had been sent. Sahni pointed out that it was the duty of the three officers to remain vigilant on their duty.

“It, however, remains doubtful whether they had connived with the students or were just unaware of the presence of a proxy candidate. They were supposed to verify her signatures on attendance sheet and check her semblance with the picture on the roll number slip she had produced at the time of entrance in the centre,” he explained.

Kamaljit Kaur Multani said she was not aware of the act of the girls. She said she would not try to shield them in case they were wrong.

The leader had been in news last year for her alleged physical clash with former Congress minister Gurkanwal Kaur publicly.

Hoshiarpur, March 26
Paramjit Singh, an attendant of Punjab Roadways diesel filling station, who had been evading arrest since registration of a case in a diesel scam worth lakhs of rupees, was nabbed by the police in the Tanda bypass area here on Wednesday evening.

Talking to this correspondent, SSP Sukchain Singh Gill stated that Prem Sagar, diesel pump in charge, Amarjit Singh, Pawan Kumar and Paramjit Singh; all diesel pump attendants of the roadways filling station, made entries of two diesel tankers of 12,000 litres each on January 7 and one on January 9 in the diesel receiving register. Both the entries had first been overwritten and later they allegedly tried to remove those pages from the register.

As many as 17 diesel tankers had been received during January 2008, but diesel from only 14 tankers had been filled in the pump reservoir tank.

Thus conspiring together, the above said employees allegedly embezzled 36,000 litres of diesel worth Rs 10.46 lakh.

It may be recalled that after knowing about the embezzlement, minister for transport Master Mohan Lal, along with the deputy commissioner, the SSP of Hoshiarpur and the director, transport department, raided the office of the Punjab Roadways depot and got a case registered against the culprits under sections 409, 420, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471, 201 and 120-B of the IPC at Model Town police station.

Prem Sagar, Amarjit Singh and Pawan Kumar were arrested, while Paramjit Singh had absconded.

Jalandhar, March 26
Following publication of a news-item in The Tribune on Tuesday, the police today booked the occupants of two vehicles with same number on the charge of cheating and other relevant sections.

While neither DSP (rural II) Rajjit Singh nor Kartarpur SHO Harjinder Singh could be contacted despite repeated attempts, sources said a first information report (FIR) was registered against two SAD workers, Harinder Dhindsa and Rana Sheetalpur, reportedly close to Kartarpur MLA Avinash Chander.

The FIR was registered under sections 420, 427, 279 and 506 of the IPC and section 27 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1987, on the statement of additional SHO Ram Pal with whom the duo also allegedly misbehaved on Tuesday.

While neither of the accused was reportedly nabbed, the sources said the police might also gather information to whom the registration number PJN 6 was issued by the district transport office.

It may be recalled that a Maruti 800 car and Ford Endeavour SUV bearing the same registration number (PJN 6) were seen at the same place near Magnolia Tourist Complex on the national highway at Kartarpur on Tuesday.

Not only general public but also several policemen, including additional SHO of Kartarpur SI Ram Pal, was surprised to see the two vehicles with the same numbers.

When he asked Harinder Dhindsa, the man who was driving the SUV, about the same numbers, he claimed his closeness with Punjab chief parliamentary secretary Avinash Chander, MLA from Kartarpur.

Dhindsa told the additional SHO, “I am Avinash’s nephew. The sticker of MLA is also pasted on the windscreen. Who are you to ask me this question? It’s our government in Punjab, who can stop us to do whatever we want.”

Dhindsa also misbehaved with the additional SHO, the latter clearly stated everything in the daily diary report (DDR) number 12 registered by him at Kartarpur police station soon after the incident at 12.30 pm.

Batala, March 26
As many as 361 graduate and postgraduate students were conferred degrees at the convocation of Baring Union Christian College (BUCC) here on Wednesday.

Health and family welfare minister Lakshmi Kanta Chawla presided over the function.

In her convocation address, Chawla exhorted the degree holders to awaken themselves to the challenges being faced by the country. She asked them to remember the glorious past of India and the sacrifice made by freedom fighters.

She expressed her anger over the westernisation of the lifestyle of Indian people. The impact of her argument against wearing black gowns by the degree holders was so strong that more than 350 students received degrees without the ceremonial robes.

BUCC Association secretary R.M. Choudhary read out the prayer. College principal S.K. Kakkar shared the achievements of the college with the gathering.

The minister announced a grant of Rs 2.5 lakh for the development of the college and Rs 1.51 lakh for the upgradation of the college library.

Kapurthala, March 26
The Kapurthala Bachao Action Committee has given a call for Kapurthala bandh on Thursday against the proposal of shifting the district courts complex (DCC) and the district administrative complex (DAC) from its present place in the town to Nurpur Dona village.

Committee convener Jaswinder Singh Batra, also chief of the SAD, Kapurthala unit, said if the DCC and the DAC were shifted, it would ruin the business of thousand of shopkeepers.

A programme of laying the foundation stone of the DCC has been fixed for April 4.

Batra said he along with a delegation would meet Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal against the proposal of shifting the courts and administrative complexes.

Hoshiarpur, March 26
A three-year-old boy, Harjodh Singh, son of Harwinder Singh of Jandu Janda, was crushed under the wheels of his school bus (PB-07G-6698) near his house here on Wednesday.

According to police sources, Harjodh Singh, a student of Swami Vivekanand Public School, Nasrala, was returning home in the school bus. When the bus reached near his house, Harjodh suddenly slipped out of the door of the bus and was crushed under the wheels of the bus. At the time of the incident, there was no conductor in the bus and the doors of the moving bus were open. The body of Harjodh Singh has been sent to the civil hospital, Hoshiarpur, for a post-mortem examination.— OC

Jalandhar, March 26
A farmers’ delegation from Pakistan was accorded a warm welcome by members of the Confederation of Potato Seed Farmers (POSCON) at Sangha Farms here today.

Led by Farmers Associates of Pakistan (FAP) vice-president Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi, the eight-member delegation was welcomed by POSCON chief Sukhjit Singh Bhatti.

The visitors are here on the invitation of the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh, and were on their way back home after a two-day session with Punjab technocrats and government officials.

POSCON general secretary Jang Bahadur Singh Sangha said the delegates evinced keen interest in green houses, tissue culture and plant pathology labs at the farm. They also discussed seed production techniques and the model adopted by the farmers in the region.

Speaking on the occasion, Gardezi stressed the need for greater cooperation between the people of both countries and exchange of ideas between intellectuals, media, traders, businessmen and other sections of society.

Bhatti extended an invitation to the FAP to bring potato growers from Pakistan during their next visit so that they could see the agricultural practices, crop quality and health of seed being produced by the farmers here.

Earlier, Sangha briefed the members on total mechanisation of farm operations and the use of technology and the benefits of replicating it in Pakistan.

He also showed the Pakistani maize production method being followed by the farmers that had increased the yield manifold.

Later, the delegation visited the Central Potato Research Station where Dr G.S. Kang, station head, briefed them on the variety development programme being undertaken by them.

The members also visited Bhatti Farms and saw the cold storage facilities and grading being done. They were shown the various varieties of potato being grown in this area.