Jalandhar, July 14
Those aspiring to join Punjab Technical University for engineering and pharmacy courses have a reason to cheer now as it has been raining colleges for the university this year.

A record number of 18 engineering colleges and five pharmacy colleges have been sanctioned by the PTU in 2008, increasing the existing number to 61 and 32, respectively.

While 10 engineering and three pharmacy colleges have been granted approval before the CET counselling, consent for another eight engineering and two pharmacy colleges had been received recently.

Though the issue has raised concerns over checks on standards of education, technical education principal secretary Tejinder Kaur, who also holds the additional charge of PTU vice-chancellor, has a different opinion.

Supporting her view, she said, “The initiative would give a chance to all those who wish to become engineers and pharmacists. We all know that ultimately it would be the survival of the fittest only. Let the market forces decide their fate. Some may move abroad, while others would join government offices or private firms. Besides, those with good financial background can even become entrepreneurs.”

The eight new engineering colleges that have been granted approval are Swami Vivekanand Institute of Emerging Technology (Banur), Baba Farid College (Bathinda), Sri Sai Institute (Amritsar), Aman Bhalla Institute of Engineering and Technology, Global College of Engineering (Anandpur Sahib), Sukhjinder Singh Engineering and Technical College (Gurdaspur) and Patiala Institute of Engineering and Technology (Patiala), Swami Parmanand Engineering College (Dera Bassi) and CT Institute of Technology (Jalandhar). The new pharmacy colleges added to the list are GHG College of Pharmacy (Raikot) and Sri Sai College (Amritsar).

Interestingly, it is learnt that the stakes in the new colleges were quite high with involvement of politicians and other bigwigs.

Kapurthala, July 14
Had the police acted in time, the kidnapped NRI’s son could have been saved. This is the view of several residents of the Model Town locality from where special police officer (SPO) Manvir Singh had abducted NRI Sukhwinder Singh’s seven-year-old son Puneet Pal Singh on Friday.

A neighbour of Sukhwinder told The Tribune that PCR was immediately informed about the incident. Though the PCR incharge Husan Lal Bhatti and SHO of city police station concerned Kewal Krishan Sharma reached there, they delayed in setting up nakas at entry and exit points of the city. “The cops were of the view that since the boy had been taken away by a family friend, he would bring him back after some time,” he said, adding that the statement of Puneet’s sister Mehakpreet was also not taken seriously.

At around 10 pm, SP (detective) Sukhwinder Singh reached the spot and woke up Mehakpreet to get the details, the neighbour further claimed. Had the police not wasted precious initial hours, Puneet could have been saved, he opined.

“The callous approach of the police can be gauged from the fact that accused first kidnapped the boy and then after murdering him abducted a Czechoslovakian woman along with her car. It was by sheer chance that the SPO was apprehended,” said another neighbour. Also it is being alleged that the cops did not take fingerprints of the accused from the NRI’s house.

DSP Sukhdev Singh Chhina denied that the police did not act properly in the case. He claimed that a police party had chased the accused to Chintpurni. Meanwhile, the accused has been remanded in three-day custody of Jalandhar police.

Jalandhar, July 14
Convicting two persons in a rape and murder case, additional district and sessions judge B.K. Mehta sentenced Daljit Singh and Rakesh Kumar, residents of Dhina village, to life imprisonment.

The accused were arrested by the police for murdering a 16-year-old girl after raping her.

The victim was the daughter of a head constable of the Punjab police and was murdered by the duo after they raped her at her home when she was alone.

In his complaint to the police, the girl’s father Baldev Singh said the body of his teenaged daughter had been found in the kitchen.

The duo had fled from the village after committing the crime. Suspecting their involvement in the murder, the police had registered a case of rape and murder against them on May 4, 2008.

They later confessed to the crime during questioning.

Amritsar, July 14
Agitated over the police “inaction” in a murder case, residents of Baba Deep Singh Colony held a protest on the Fatehgarh Churian road here today. The protesters also disrupted traffic for more than an hour by keeping the body of the deceased on the road.

Relatives of deceased Sawinder Singh alleged that the police was not registering a case against the accused.

Deceased’s wife Kulwant Kaur said on July 9 Sawinder went with Sukhdev, Raja and Ramu to the Baba Rode Shah fair and did not return. When she asked the three about her husband, they failed to give a satisfactory reply.

On the intervention of some elders, the three claimed that Sawinder had drowned in a canal while having a bath. Later, his body was found in the canal near Heir village, falling under Rajasansi police station.

The residents approached the Rajasansi police for registration of a case against the accused, but the police asked them to go to Majitha as Sawinder had drowned in that area. However, the Majitha police sent them back on the pretext that the body was recovered in the Rajasansi police area.

It was on the intervention of DSP Balkar Singh that the protesters lifted the blockade. The officer directed the Sadar police to register a case in the matter.

Jalandhar, July 14
Former Congress minister and MLA, Phillaur, Santokh Singh Chaudhary has accused the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of harassing panchayat samiti members of his constituency.

He alleged that the ruling SAD-BJP alliance had postponed the meetings for declaring vice-chairmen and chairmen for the third time. He said since the Congress had won 14 out of 23 panchayat samiti seats in Phillaur, the SAD was deliberately delaying the meetings.

Chaudhary claimed that the returning officer had postponed the meetings saying that the elected members of the SAD did not reach his office, while the elected members of the Congress reached his office thrice.

He alleged that the Akalis were threatening the Congress members to join them so that they could increase their numbers to come in majority. — TNS

Hoshiarpur, July 14
The imposition of around eight-hour intermittent power cut during day time daily has not only made the life of people here miserable but has also badly hit the medium and small-scale industries in the district. As a result, the small-scale industrial units are facing a financial crisis.

There are more than three dozen printing presses in and around the town. Owner of a local printing press Rajiv Kumar said the PSEB authorities were imposing power cuts from 5 am to 6 am, 9 am to 11.30 am and 1 pm to 5 pm daily.

Besides, power also remained shut due to faults in service lines and transformers. On account of power cuts during day time, all their skilled and unskilled workers remained idle throughout the duty hours.

On account of a hike in labour charges and cost of paper, printing raw material and prevailing power cuts, there had been a slump in their sales. Moreover, there was a competition in the printing trade. Their production had come to a standstill. On account of these circumstances, some of the resourceful printing press owners were now shifting their units to the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh where there was no power shortage and cheaper power was available.

Rajiv Kumar urged the state government to make arrangements for regular power supply, failing which there was no other option to the owners of small-scale industrial units except switching over to other trades.

PSEB superintending engineer Harbans Pal said, “Due to the demand exceeding the supply, not only the town but the entire state is reeling under power crisis. We don’t have much option.” 

Hoshiarpur, July 14
Providing relief to a widow of Devi Dass village, the district consumers forum headed by P.D. Goel has directed the United India Insurance Company (UIIC) to pay Rs 5 lakh to Paramjit Kaur.

The forum has also asked the company to pay the amount along with 9 per cent interest from the date of filing the complaint and litigation expenses of Rs 1,000.

In her complaint against the UIIC’s Dasuya branch and its head office, Paramjit said her husband Avtar Singh had the company’s Janta Personal Accident Insurance policy and had appointed her as the nominee.

She said her husband met with an accident and succumbed to injuries for which an FIR was lodged at Dasuya police station. When she applied to the UIIC’s Dasuya branch for accidental benefits, the company demanded the original policy and raised an objection of being informed about the accident late. The plaintiff said she had informed the company that her husband had received a severe head injury and remained under treatment for about six months. Besides, he was not in a position to speak and she used to accompany him everywhere. She said she came to know about the policy in question after her husband’s death and the insurance company failed to settle the claim despite legal notices.

The UIIC took the plea that Paramjit had failed to give information about her husband’s accident and death on time which was violation of the terms and conditions of the policy. She also failed to prove that her husband died in the accident. The consumer forum held that the insurance company had not rebutted the intimation letters sent by the complainant and there was negligence on the UIIC’s part. — OC

Hoshiarpur, July 14
The deputy commissioner-cum-district electoral officer N.K. Wadhawan has fixed July 23 as the date for the elections of president and vice-president for the Hoshiarpur municipal council (MC).

He had deputed additional deputy commissioner-cum-deputy district electoral officer to conduct the elections.

In the 31-member house, the BJP had secured 10 seats, the SAD nine, the Congress six and the independents five during the elections.

Jalandhar, July 14
The Jalandhar Municipal Corporation Contractors Association today held a dharna in front of the offices of mayor and commissioner, municipal corporation, alleging an attempt to benefit the office-bearers of labour and construction cooperative societies in allotment of tenders.

The members said a corrigendum regarding allotment of works of an estimated cost up to Rs 15 lakh to the societies had been issued with malafide intentions in a short notice of 24 hours.

In protest, the association members also offered to execute works (excluding electrical and paver works) valuing up to Rs 15 lakh at 20 per cent less rates.

Even as all senior officials were away today, SE (B&R) Wadhwa said he was simply following the directions issued to the department.