Jalandhar, June 24
The Sikh community, under the banner of Sant Samaj - a conglomerate of several Sikh organisations - will observe a rail roko protest from Amritsar to Delhi in favour of its demand for immediate arrest of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Sant Samaj had issued a three-day ultimatum on June 21 to the Union and Maharashtra governments to arrest Ram Rahim Singh.

Sant Samaj president Harnam Singh Khalsa, also chief of Damdami Taksal, had threatened on June 21 that if the dera chief was not arrested within three days, a rail roko protest would be observed on Wednesday by blocking rail traffic between Amritsar and Delhi from 
8 am to 7 pm.

Khalsa said the dera chief should be arrested after booking him for the murder of Balkar Singh in Mumbai on Friday and Karamjit Singh in Sunam last year.

While Sant Samaj would organise a dharna on the track near Madhopur village in Sirhind on Wednesday, different Sikh organisations would block the traffic in different parts of Punjab and Haryana.

As far as Jalandhar is concerned, Sikh protesters are planning to stage dharna at different railway stations, including Kartarpur, Jalandhar and Phillaur.

Meanwhile, railway sources said they would stop trains at the nearest railway station as soon as they would get the report of a dharna by the protesters.

Besides, elaborate security arrangements would also be made to avert any incident of violence.

On the other hand, the SAD (Amritsar) has given a call for blockage of road traffic for two hours from 11 am to 1 pm in Punjab to press for the acceptance of its demand of the arrest of the dera chief.

Several activists of former MP Simranjit Singh Mann-led SAD (Amritsar) are likely to stage a dharna near Chaheru in Jalandhar on the national highway 
to stop traffic.

Jalandhar, June 24
An emergency meeting of the Khalsa Action Committee (KAC) was held to take stock of the situation which developed due to the killing of a Sikh by bodyguards of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in Mumbai last week.

Those gathered under the leadership of Bhai Mohkam Singh came down heavily on the Congress regimes in Maharashtra as well as Haryana for encouraging and patronising the dera head. Both the governments were playing with fire, Bhai Mokham Singh warned.

“One fails to understand why the baba is being given VIP treatment when three criminal cases, including that of rape and murder, are pending against him,” he pointed out.

Outfit spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh said the present government had not learned any lesson from the past. Once again the Sikhs were being pushed against the wall, he said.

Squarely blaming the Congress for its anti-Sikh stance, he condemned the Central and Haryana governments for not delivering justice to the Sikhs.

“The wounds of the Sikhs are simmering post-1984 and here comes another instance of keeping the cauldron boiling. The state is acting in prejudice,” he alleged.

KAC co-convener Bhai Daljit Singh said instead of nailing the baba, the Haryana police had provided all-India arms licences to his private bodyguards, apart from providing a Z-security cover to him.

The heinous act of the baba had hurt the sentiments and beliefs of our religion. Hence, the demand of his arrest was within the purview of the Constitution, he said.

Former minister and KAC advise Manjit Singh Calcutta warned the Central, Haryana, Punjab and Maharashtra governments against testing the patience of the Sikhs.

The meeting resolved to carry on the struggle against gurudom to its logical conclusion.

A five-member team of the outfit would attend the bhog ceremony of Balkar Singh who was killed by the security men of the baba in Mumbai on Sunday. The KAC would hold his antim ardas and bhog ceremony at Manji Sahib Diwan Hall, Amritsar, on July 6.

In a bid to project the struggle against the “pseudo-baba” as that of the community, the KAC urged the SGPC to call a panthic convention at Teja Singh Samundri Hall before July 10 to chalk out a long-term plan and programme to nail the activities of the Sirsa dera. The KAC extended its support to the call given by Damdami Taksal for rail roko on June 25.

The prominent among those who attended the meeting were Harcharanjit Singh Dhami, Karnail Singh Panjoli, D.S. Gill, Gurdeep Singh Bathinda, Paramjit Singh Gazi and Dr Manjinder Singh.

Amritsar, June 24
The Civil Lines police has registered a case of fraud against seven persons of the Renu Sethi family who fled to Mumbai allegedly after defrauding about 50 kitty members of Rs 1.5 crore.

Those booked include the mastermind of fraud Renu Sethi, her husband Ashwani Sethi, daughters Shruti Sethi and Nidhi Sethi and son Gandharv Sethi and one Raman Kumar. The police has registered a case under section 420, 467, 468 and 471, IPC, on the statement of one Naresh Kumar Makhija, a resident of Basant Avenue here.

It is pertinent to mention here that Renu Sethi had allegedly masterminded Rs 1.5 crore frauds on city’s influential women living in the posh areas.

Interestingly, their whereabouts were found during the Shahrukh Khan-anchored quiz contest, “Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tej Hai” being telecast on Star TV recently when Shruti came to the programme as a contestant. The women members of the kitty group, who were duped by Renu, immediatly identified Shruti and recorded the programme. This has revived the hopes of the victims who had earlier lost all hopes to trace them and recover the money.

Incidentally, Shruti also disclosed in the programme that they lived nearby SRK’s house, Mannat unaware about the fact that they were caught on camera by the victims who had identified her and recorded the programme. — OC

Hoshiarpur, June 24
Providing relief to the family of Malta boat tragedy victim Jasbir Singh of Thoana village, the district consumer forum (DCF), headed by president P.D. Goel, directed the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to release Rs 1 lakh to the former's family forthwith with interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from the date of filing the complaint, along with litigation expenses worth Rs 1,000.

Jasbir Singh’s mother Gurmit Kaur and his daughters filed a complaint with the DCF alleging that the LIC illegally repudiated the claim of Jasbir Singh who died in the Malta boat tragedy on December 25, 1996.

The LIC took the plea that the claim was repudiated as the policy had elapsed due to non-payment of premium since February 28, 1997, whereas information regarding the death of Jasbir Singh was given on July 13, 2007.

The LIC also raised the defence that whenever the insured persons has not been heard of for seven years, he must be presumed to be dead, as such the claimant should be asked to produce proper and undisputed proof of death or a decree of the court.

The DCF held that registrar, birth and death, issued the death certificate of Jasbir Singh on the basis of the order passed by the Punjab and Haryana Hight Court from where it is evident that Jasbir Singh had died on December 25, 1996, in the Malta boat tragedy during the subsistence of the policy. — OC

Batala, June 24
Akali factionalism is a cause of concern in the municipal elections in Sri Hargobindpur. There are 13 wards in thr municipal council from where Capt B.S. Baath has been elected as MLA for three consecutive terms on the SAD ticket.

In the coming council elections to be held on June 30, 2008, Capt Baath got nomination for his men for all the 13 wards but this led to heartburning in a faction led by Youth Akali leader Balwinder Singh Nabha.

Nabha is supported by agriculture minister Sucha Singh Langah who also happens to be Gurdaspsur SAD district president.

Capt Baath, when contacted yesterday on his mobile phone, expressed his displeasure on the interference of Langah in his constituency. He stated that Langah’s recent visit in support of Balwinder Singh Nabha was against the directions of the party high command. He went on to say that he did not recognise Langah as district head of the SAD.

Langah could not be contacted for his comments des;pite repeated attempts today.

In the meantime SAD candidates from nine wards have filed their nomination papers against the official SAD candidates and they have the support of local leader Balwinder Singh Nabha and Sucha Singh Langah.

Baath went on to claim that all the rebel candidates proposed by Nabha and Langah were supported by the Congress. — OC

Nawanshahr, June 24
The Nigran Committee constituted by the ruling SAD to take stock of the progress of police action in nabbing the accused in the Sandeep murder case decided at a meeting held on Tuesday to postpone its Balachaur bandh call on June 26.

Giving this information in a press release, committee chairman Chaudhary Bimal Kumar said the committee decided to postpone its protest against the police inaction, keeping in view the assurance given by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and assigning the investigation into the case to the SSP of Hoshiarpur by the CM.