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Rs 20 lakh in 15 minutes
BJP bandh paralyses normal life in city
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Bandh hits essential services
Protest march held in Barnala
Counselling session for students
Purity tests conducted
Woman found dead, husband held
Defying all odds, the show goes on!
Untreated canal water supplied in Abohar
Congmen block traffic in Fazilka
Baba Farid Institute to start engg, management colleges
Co-operative society embezzlement case
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Rs 20 lakh in 15 minutes
Bathinda, July 3 The trio armed with two revolvers and a knife, entered the bank premises during the lunch break around 2.45 pm and locked all the inmates in the strong room. About a dozen staff members and four customers present inside the bank were so frightened that they did not offer any resistance. The robbers snatched the keys from the cashier at gun point and collected the entire cash from the chest and decamped without releasing the locked staff. The sensational ‘operation loot’, which was over in just 15 minutes, was smooth and without any bloodshed. The frightened staff locked in the strong room was left speechless as the miscreants opened the chest and decamped with the entire cash. The robbers, described by eyewitnesses as two Sikhs and a non-Sikh were casually dressed in pants and shirts and were speaking in Punjabi, bank staff said. The miscreants did not cause any harm to any employee or customer and one of the customer, Mithu Ram, carrying cash amounting to Rs 2.50 lakh was not even touched and was greatly relieved that his money was safe. Sherry, a woman employee was so scared that she fainted but strangely, one of the miscreants offered her water. There was no security guard in the bank and the manager Jagdish Chand justified the bank’s decision not to have a guard, saying that the total retention limit of the bank was Rs 5 lakh and as such, services of security guards were not needed. Over Rs 20 lakh was looted from the bank, he added. The bank is located in a busy area of the town but the markets being closed due to bandh today, the miscreants took full advantage of the situation and made a foolproof plan for swift action, carried out with great precision. The police was informed a bit late and the miscreants got sufficient time to escape without any resistance. There was no clue so far about the mode of transport used by the miscreants for coming to the bank and fleeing the place after committing the crime. SSP Naunihal Singh said a red alert has been flashed and a massive manhunt has been launched to nab the culprits. The forensic experts have been called to minutely examine the crime spot and investigations are in progress. A case has been registered under section 392 of the IPC and sections 25 and 59 of the Arms Act and all exit routes have been sealed to prevent any attempt by the robbers to sneak out of the district. There has been sudden spurt in crime in Bathinda and surrounding areas of late but the sensational bank robbery is the first of its kind in the town.
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BJP bandh paralyses normal life in city
Bathinda, July 3 Normal life was paralysed as the city and its adjoining areas remained inaccessible due to a day-long blockade and bandh, on the call of the BJP, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena and VHP demanding the land transfer. Traffic was blocked in the morning on all the state highways, including Bathinda-Chandigarh, Bathinda-Mansa and Bathinda-Muktsar roads and the protesters blocked exit points to the city. Activists of Hindu organizations ransacked a bakery and the office of a vernacular daily for not downing its shutters. Some stray incidents of stone pelting on opened shops had been reported in the city. The police also rounded up four persons for hooliganism and forcing the shopkeepers to close their shops. Activists in groups took out processions and staged dharnas and demonstrations in different parts of the city against the rescinding of land order. All business establishments and shops remained closed to support the agitation but educational institutions remained open. Gita Rani, a Shiv Sena activist, sat on fast-unto-death, demanding an early transfer of land to the SASB. SSP Naunihal Singh claimed that the law and order situation was under control and the bandh was peaceful. |
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Bandh hits essential services
Abohar, July 3 Two police vans were also behind them but preferred not to intervene even when the miscreants targeted some shops besides people standing there, for not obeying the bandh. Elders said they had earlier witnessed such a bandh on March 8, 1990, a day after the militants had gunned down 34 innocent citizens in the Sadar Bazaar and adjoining streets. They further said that bandh was spontaneous and not forced-one like the today’s one. The organisers were very selective in assigning the task to youth and minor boys of two localities to make the bandh a grand success. It was assumed that essential services would be exempted from the bandh but the miscreants, while shouting slogans against the UPA government and Congress-led J&K government for revoking the transfer of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, forced clinics, chemists, vegetable and milk sellers, tea stalls to pull their shutters down. After 11am, the shopkeepers resolved to return to homes but a four-hour power cut added to their woes. Sources in the PSEB agreed that consumption due to the bandh had reduced by 25 per cent but expressed helplessness as the headquarters forced the cut. |
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Protest march held in Barnala
Barnala, July 3 Raising slogans against the J&K government, the activists passed through the Handiaya Bazar, Sadar Bazar and K.C. Road. Ved Parkash Sekhe Wale, a BJP leader, criticised the Congress-led UPA government for playing with the emotions of the Hindu community. He alleged that the government was afraid of losing its Muslim vote bank. Meanwhile, the bazaar bandh call given by the BJP failed to evoke the desired response in the city and surrounding areas. |
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Counselling session for students
Bathinda, July 3 About 40 students got tips and about various career-oriented courses, including the upcoming courses in various disciplines, during the one-day programme. About a dozen teachers of the school participated in the counselling and acquainted the students about the scope of various courses. A large number of students from predominantly rural background had good exposure and got valuable information about several courses. Principal of the school, Rajinder Kaur, said that it was beneficial not only to average students but also meritorious ones, who were confused about choosing a career. The mediocre students were clearer and had better idea of the course they intended to pursue, she added. |
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Purity tests conducted
Bathinda, July 3 At a camp organised by the Dairy Development Department in Model Town, only eight out of 55 samples were pure and the rest were adulterated with as much as 10 to 33 per cent water. This is not an isolated camp where milk samples had failed the purity tests. A year ago, a similar camp organised in Navi Basti had startled the residents with 80 per cent samples reporting high urea . According to Sampuran Singh and Gurpreet Singh, inspectors in the department, the milk samples brought by the residents to the camp were mostly bought from milk vendors, who supply milk from door to door. It was better that in today’s camp no urea content was detected. Many samples had one-third of water. The consistency of the milk samples was so thin that it was even visible to the naked eye. “We have asked the residents to warn their milk vendors or stop taking milk from them. This will send a message across the vendors that people are aware and they will not tolerate any adulteration,” they added. Both the officials urged the residents to buy good quality milk and invited them to get the samples tested from the department on a regular basis to keep a check on the purity. The test is done free of cost at the office in Model Town. Samples of milk, which is not boiled, are tested for best results. The inspectors said they would give the report to the director of the department and he might direct some action against milk vendors to prevent any such incident from taking place in the future.
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Woman found dead, husband held
Moga, July 3 The police arrested her husband and father-in-law in this regard, after registering a criminal case under sections 304-B and 34 of the IPC, while two others involved in the alleged murder were still eluding arrest. SHO of Fatehgarh Panchtoor police station, Nachattar Singh, told The Tribune that Rajvir Kaur was found lying dead on a bed, when the police team reached on the spot. He said that a piece of cloth was recovered from near the body that could have been used to strangulate her. The post-mortem of the body had been conducted, however, the examination report was still awaited, he said. The SHO revealed that a maternal cousin of the deceased, Kuldip Singh, lodged a complaint with the police that her husband and in-laws murdered her sister. The brother of the deceased also stated that her husband and in-laws used to force her for dowry from her parents, due to which, she was mentally disturbed for quite some time, added the SHO. The police official further said that Rajvir’s husband, Mahavir Singh, and his father Rajwant Singh, named in the FIR, had been arrested by the police. They were presently under police remand for investigations. The other two persons named in the FIR, Kulvir Singh, brother-in-law and Gurnam Kaur, mother-in-law, were still eluding arrest, when the news report was last written, confirmed the SHO. In reply to a question, the SHO said that the exact cause of death of the woman was yet to come out since the medico-legal report was yet awaited, even as, preliminary findings had confirmed visible marks of strangulation on her neck. “We have asked the medical officers to take viscera of the deceased as there can be a possibility of giving poison to her before concocting the story of hanging so as to justify that she has committed suicide,” he said. The police was looking into every aspect of the case, leaving nothing to chance, added the SHO. |
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Defying all odds, the show goes on!
Bathinda, July 3 Flashback! The people queue up to get into the canvas tent to see the real heroic stuff by the jugglers and acrobats apart from the entertainment offered by the hilarious clowns and the animals trained for discipline. “The show must go on,” replied Satish Sharma the promoter of the Asiad Circus, when asked why you run the event if it is not viable. Those associated and employed with circus would go out of job if it was to cease operation, he added. Sharma was addressing a press conference today on the inaugural day of the circus that would be on for a month here. “We are still a happy lot if we don’t earn profit as long as the salaries to the artistes could be paid and the animals could be fed from the sale of tickets. It is fine with us. Most importantly, we can keep the decades-old tradition alive,” said Sharma. Another reason that the official pointed out for the end of their glorious days was the shortage of and ban on engaging wild animals. They have to bring animals from abroad and train them to entertain the humans. Around 40 animals are part of the circus in the city, including Australian parrots (Macaw) and Arabian horses. As many as 275 men are on the staff of the Asiad Circus. Horrifying feats by the daredevils are the USP of the show besides performances by Russian gymnasts. “We have artist as young as 14 years old and as old as 50 years,” informed the promoter. Lexicon says circus is a travelling company of entertainers, including trained animals, which visit different cities, set up an arena consisting of an oval or circular area enclosed by tiers of seats, and perform to regale the spectators. |
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Untreated canal water supplied in Abohar
Abohar, July 3 A consumer movement deputation led by its chairman Sat Pal Khariwal met the officials today at 8.30 am to complain against the supply of stinking raw water. The officials reportedly explained that the alum that was to be used to bleach the water was out of stock for the last one week. The municipal council had last month released only Rs 2.5 lakh, which was utilised for purchasing 16 qtl of alum. The consumption in the water works was 3 qtl per day and the PWSSB was forced to increase hours of water supply due to municipal elections, so the entire stock got exhausted in five days. The council made no payment for further purchases. The deputation later met sub-divisional magistrate N.S. Brar, who also holds the additional charge as administrator of the council. Khariwal said the samples taken in the past had failed but no remedial steps were taken to ensure supply of potable water for drinking. Hundreds of citizens had been suffering due to water-borne diseases due to impure water as well as failure on the part of health department to check the sale of adulterated soft drinks, candies and other eatables here. The SDM reportedly asked the executive officer of the council to provide Rs one lakh immediately to the PWSSB to purchase alum. |
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Congmen block traffic in Fazilka
Fazilka, July 3 The protesting workers, led by former Congress MLA Mohinder Kumar Rinwa, also blocked traffic for about an hour. While addressing party workers, Rinwa alleged that the SAD-BJP alliance achieved majority by booth capturing with the support of civil and police administration. He further alleged that the democratic norms had been flouted to achieve majority. He maintained that the ruling party would have remained in minority, had the elections been fair. The agitating workers including women raised slogans against Punjab government, police and civil administration. On the other hand, Punjab BJP vice-president and local MLA Surjit Kumar Jyani described the protest by few Congressmen as a political drama. He said that the Congress party had been protesting out of desperation following its crushing defeat in the civic body polls. Jyani alleged that it was not the ruling BJP-SAD combine but the Congress, which had been involved in hooliganism during the polls. He remarked that it was the time the Congress’s rank and file must not forget their own highhanded acts during municipal polls of 2003, when they had allegedly indulged in assaulting women candidates and “won” the municipal polls at gunpoint in Fazilka. |
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Baba Farid Institute to start engg, management colleges
Bathinda, July 3 To start with, the institute would start courses in computer sciences, electronics and communication, information and technology
and civil engineering with 60 seats in each discipline. The management college would run courses in human resource development, marketing, finance and international business with 60 seats each to start with. General secretary and administrator of the institute, Gurmeet Singh Dhariwal, told media persons that the engineering and management college is approved by the AICTE and notified by the Punjab government and admissions would be made through an entrance test for engineering courses, while the entrance test pattern of Amity would be followed for admissions to the management college. All classrooms, laboratories, library and other buildings would be air-conditioned and best faculty would be invited, irrespective of cost, Dhillon said, adding that the twin colleges would be first in the Malwa region, equipped with such unique facilities. Further, every hostel student would be given a cubical room with attached bathroom and healthy environment, conducive for academic pursuits, he added. He said that students excelling in academics and sports at the national level, brilliant students obtaining over 90 per cent marks in qualifying examination, and outstanding students from poor families, would be given free education. |
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Co-operative society embezzlement case
Barnala, July 3 The society had passed a resolution against the secretary, Darshan, alleging embezzlement following which he was suspended. Meanwhile, the executive committee of the cooperative society transferred the rights to Karnail Singh, another member of the society. Karnail Singh said the society had raised the matter with the higher authorities and had written to DIG, Patiala range, demanding an independent probe into the matter. He said the society members had apprehended that the accused had shown fake bills of feed purchased by the society and unnecessary expenses of other items, thereby misappropriating funds to the tune of Rs 9 lakh. For the payments of fake bills, Darshan allegedly used documents with forged signatures. Acting on the request of the society, the DIG marked the inquiry to the police, which found Darshan guilty. The accused was arrested after a case was registered against him.
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