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J A L A N D H A R E D I T I O N

Now, Cong wants case against Majithia for poll code ‘violation’
Amritsar, May 17
The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) here on Saturday complained to the chief election commissioner (CEC) against Bikram Singh Majithia, minister for information and public relations and DS Jaspal, principal secretary, for their undue interference and brazen violation of the model code of conduct in the Amritsar South Assembly constituency by-poll to be held on May 22.

Forum Order
Dealer to refund price of faulty washing machine
Jalandhar, May 17
The district consumer disputes redressal forum has directed the Kolkata-based IFB Industries and its local dealer Sunny enterprises to refund Rs 24,750 as the price of defective washing machine to a complainant, pay Rs 3,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as cost of litigation.

False cases slapped on Cong workers: DCC
Hoshiarpur, May 17
A deputation of Congressmen lead by member of Rajya Sabha and district president of the DCC, Hoshiarpur, Dharam Pal Sabharwal today met the deputy commissioner here and apprised him about the registration of false cases against party workers during the recent elections of zila parishad and block samitis.

EARLIER STORIES

	Finally, some progress in Rita Bawa case May 17, 2008
	Leader ‘attacked’, Cong workers stage dharna May 16, 2008
	Ruling combine accused of widespread rigging May 15, 2008
	Kidnapped LKG girl found murdered, villagers protest May 14, 2008
	65 pc polling in Doaba amid stray violence May 13, 2008
	Reduction in reserved seats irks Buta May 12, 2008
	Khalsa college boy murdered on highway May 11, 2008
	‘Inflation to move downhill’ May 10, 2008
	Civic body poll: 136 of 548 polling booths ‘sensitive’ May 9, 2008
	Help cops nab dreaded criminals and get rich May 8, 2008

	Now, Cong wants case against Majithia for poll code ‘violation’ Sanjay Bumbroo/TNS Amritsar, May 17 The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) here on Saturday complained to the chief election commissioner (CEC) against Bikram Singh Majithia, minister for information and public relations and DS Jaspal, principal secretary, for their undue interference and brazen violation of the model code of conduct in the Amritsar South Assembly constituency by-poll to be held on May 22. Bir Devinder Singh, chief spokesman PPCC, in a missive to the CEC, alleged that Majithia had called the meeting of of the officials of the public relations department of Punjab, including Jaspal, convened by SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal in a private hotel on Friday. The meeting had been called to discuss the strategy of the media campaign for the poll and also the advertisement campaign of candidate Inderbir Singh Bularia who was put up by the SAD for Amritsar (south) assembly by-election. He alleged that the official vehicle of Jaspal remained parked in a parking lot of the hotel for hours, whereas the principal secretary was busy attending the meeting. The PPCC spokesman demanded that a criminal case against the minister and the principal secretary should be registered under the relevant provisions of the conduct rules for violating the directions of the election commission of India and their entry may be banned in the the city till the election process is completed.
	Forum Order Dealer to refund price of faulty washing machine Deepkamal Kaur/TNS Jalandhar, May 17 The district consumer disputes redressal forum has directed the Kolkata-based IFB Industries and its local dealer Sunny enterprises to refund Rs 24,750 as the price of defective washing machine to a complainant, pay Rs 3,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as cost of litigation. In his complaint, Varinder Singh, a resident of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, had said he had purchased a 6-kg washing machine on May 18, 2005. At the time of the purchase, the dealer had given him a warranty for a period of two years. The washing machine was producing an unwanted noise from the first day and became a source of nuisance. The complainant said a mechanic of the company’s service centre came to repair his machine but failed to rectify the fault. Company officials and dealer, however, said there was no manufacturing defect in the machine and the sound was due to overloading of the machine. Since no one appeared on behalf of the company at the time of evidence, the forum initiated ex-parte proceedings. No arguments were advanced by the opposition parties, the forum observed. Varinder Singh produced a record of complaints which showed that he had been charged Rs 1,000 by the IFB within the two years warranty period and that there were inherent defects in the machine. The forum represented by Surinder Mittal and Rakesh Kumari, thus, directed the company for refund. Sole trouble: Bata told to pay up In another case, the forum has asked a Bata Shoes store and Bata India Ltd to pay a consumer Rs 3,000 as the price of shoes, compensation and the cost of litigation. The consumer, Gurdial Singh of Pandori Nijaran village, said he purchased the shoes on April 10, 2007, for Rs 999 from the showroom where he was told that these were the best quality shoes and that there were would be no problem for a year. The consumer said within two months, the sole of shoes started breaking and developed cracks. He asked for replacement or return of money of the shoes.
	False cases slapped on Cong workers: DCC Hoshiarpur, May 17 A deputation of Congressmen lead by member of Rajya Sabha and district president of the DCC, Hoshiarpur, Dharam Pal Sabharwal today met the deputy commissioner here and apprised him about the registration of false cases against party workers during the recent elections of zila parishad and block samitis. The members of the deputation alleged that at the behest of the leaders of the ruling parties, majority of the government employees openly acted against some of the Congress nominees due to which a lot of resentment prevailed, not only among the party workers but also the people. Quoting an example, they alleged that the family members of Harbhajan Kaur who had been elected on Congress ticket from Jalowal were being harassed by the police after the declaration of result. In a press release, Dharam Pal Sabharwal stated that a complaint in this regard had been made to the chief election commission, Punjab. — OC
	Panchayat poll: 17,450 file papers Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, May 17 With the completion of the filing of nomination papers, the first phase of panchayat polls has been completed in the district. Deputy commissioner cum district electoral officer, Hoshiarpur, N K Wadhawan told today that as many as 17,450 candidates including 6,424 general, 3,952 women general, 4,169 SC, 2,069 SC women and 836 BC have filed their nomination papers for 7,707 panchayat members in 1,347 panchayats of 10 blocks in the district. There are 85,3188 electorates in all the panchayats for which 1,596 polling stations have been set up, out of which 168 have been identified as sensitive. The last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is May 19, 2008 and the election symbols to the candidates would be allotted on the same day, said NK Wadhawan, adding that elaborate arrangements have been done for fair and peaceful polling on May 26, 2008.
	Papers go ‘missing’ Tribune News Service Phagwara, May 17 SDM-cum-electoral officer Amarjit Pal has asked tehsildar Amanpal Singh to probe into the allegations levelled by Congress panchayat candidate Sohan Lal that his nomination papers were missing. Sohal claimed that he had filed his papers in front of the returning officer concerned. Earlier, a Congress deputation met the SDM and submitted a complaint in this regard.
	CBI probe sought into Rita Bawa case Our Correspondent Nawanshahr, May 17 Expressing dissatisfaction over the investigation by the police in Rita Bawa murder case, the Principals' Association of Non-government College (Guru Nanak Dev University) has demanded a CBI inquiry. The organisation has urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to intervene into the matter and hand over the case to the CBI so that the culprits could be booked. This was stated by association chief Nirmal Pandhi and general secretary Dr Jaspal Singh Randhawa in a press release issued here today. They lamented that even after five months the police had been groping in dark to solve the murder mystery. Dr Randhawa said, “It seems that the police has allegedly been leaking different stories on the basis of the hearsay to the press instead of investigating the sensitive high profile case,” adding that the casual approach by the police was tarnishing the image of the deceased.
	Tearful adieu to city youth killed in Manila Dharmendra Joshi Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 17 The kin of Paramjit Singh Sunny, who was shot dead in Philippines on Monday, bid him a tearful adieu at the Basti Bawa Khel crematorium on Saturday. Hailing from the Raj Nagar locality on Kapurthala road here, Sunny’s father Kulwant Singh, his mother Navinder Kaur, his younger brother Jeenu and maternal uncle Jasbir Singh were among the family members present at the time of his cremation. His body had been flown to India from Philippines and reached Raja Sansi Airport in Amritsar on Friday evening. One of Sunny’s friends brought the body from Philippines to India. From Amritsar, the body was brought to his native place in Jalandhar by his relatives.
	Mehndi releases ‘300 Saal Guru De Naal’ Jalandhar, May 17 On the occasion of 300 years of Guru Gaddi Divas of Shri Guru Granth Sahib, famous pop singer Daler Mehndi released an album “300 Saal Guru De Naal”. Talking to mediapersons here today, Daler said the album was produced under his music record label “Pop Industry” and mobile ringtones, ring back tones and images were available on “Go Bindas,” a Delhi-based VAS company. Company director Nishant Gupta said the company gave a complete insight into the VAS industry. He said VAS and music on mobile contributes to one-third of the entertainment in the mobile industry. — TNS
	Man alleges kidnapping, torture Amritsar, May 17 A property dealer has alleged that he was kidnapped and beaten by Surinder Singh Jolly and his accomplices. In a press conference here today, Joginder Singh said Jolly and his accomplices made a land deal at Manawala with some persons who were known to him. “Just because I knew the dealing party, Jolly and his men accused me of fraud.. They started demanding money from me which I had never taken,” he claimed. In an affidavit to cops, Joginder alleged that he was kidnapped March 25. SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh said an inquiry had been marked into the incident. — OC