Jalandhar, August 31
Three motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly assaulted a grocery shop owner with iron rods and later shot at him with a country-made pistol near Valmiki Gate on Saturday night.

The incident occurred at about 10.30 pm when Madhu Sudan, owner of a grocery shop located in the Imam Naseer locality, was riding back to his home on his scooter after closing his establishment. The motorcycle-borne assailants stopped him and attacked him with iron roads causing him head injuries.

As the victim collapsed on the ground, the assailants searched his bag for money and decamped with important documents. Before fleeing from the spot, the assailants also fired a shot at Madhu Sudan, causing him bullet injuries on the shoulder.

The injured shopkeeper managed to trudge for some distance and cried for help, hearing which some passersby came to his help and rushed him to a private hospital.

According to the police, the assailants had fired at Madhu Sudan with a .12-bore country-made pistol. A case has been registered under section 394 of the IPC against the unidentified assailants on the complaint of Madhu Sudan.

SP (city-I) S.K. Kalia said the police had flashed a message and nakas had been set up to nab the assailants. The police had also tightened security at all exit and entry points in the city, besides seeking help from the neighbouring districts in nabbing the assailants, he added.

Nawanshahr, August 31
Taking cognisance of a complaint filed by an NGO activist regarding the alleged highhandedness of the Banga police which caused humiliation to an NRI family in Phagwara this year, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has asked the SSP Nawanshahr to submit a report by October 22.

Divulging details, Parvinder Singh Kittna, who is associated with NGO Human Empowerment league of Punjab (HELP), said on April 27 this year, when the marriage of NRI Manjit Singh’s younger brother was going on, DSP Banga Pushkar Sandal along with other police personnel reached the venue and asked Manjit to accompany him. When latter’s relatives and friends intervened and inquired cops about the reason, the DSP started abusing them, he alleged, adding that the NRI was taken to Phagwara and interrogated for over two hours. He was asked to deposit his passport but the police refused to give him any receipt, claimed Kittna.

"The Banga police had registered a case against Manjit Singh in 1988 for sheltering anti-social elements, a charge vehemently denied by the NRI. The case against him was withdrawn by the state government on the basis of the report submitted by Justice Ajit Singh Bains,” said Kittna.

DSP Sandal denied the allegations of police highhandedness and causing humiliation to the family. “Some facts are being concealed by the complainants,” he maintained.

Hoshiarpur, August 31
According to the data available with the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCFSK), more than 10 lakh men and women are still lifting dirt on their head in the country which is a slur on the Indian society. Stating this at a press conference here today, NCFSK chairperson Santosh Chowdhary asserted that according to her information the number of manual scavengers was much higher than the figures available with the commission.

She had already written to the chief ministers of different states to get a fresh survey of the manual scavengers in their states carried out to ascertain their exact number so that scavenging could virtually be eradicated by 2009.

She had recently written to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for waiving of loans totalling Rs 500 crore of SCs, STs and landless persons and the case had been recommended to the union finance minister. The minister had agreed in principle to waive the said loans and initiate proceedings in this connection, claimed Santosh Chowdhary.

Loans totalling Rs 53,88,64,264 of 16,248 marginal farmers in Hoshiarpur district had been waived by 28 local bank branches under the central government-sponsored scheme. Following the efforts of the commission, for the first time, the minimum wages for safai karamcharis had been revised and fixed by the Union ministry for labour on August 7, 2008. The cities in the country had been divided in A, B and C categories. Daily wages of Rs 180 for A category, Rs 150 for B category and Rs 120 for C category cities had been fixed and implemented from August 8, 2008. — OC

Kapurthala August 31
A Nakodar-based tailor allegedly killed a woman at her house at Saidpur village under Sultanpur Lodhi police station with a sharp-edged weapon on Sunday.

The police suspects illicit relations as one of the reasons behind Anita Rani’s murder.

Anita’s husband Ramesh went to a Gulf country a few months back and she was living with her four children in the village.

According to police sources, accused Sarabjit Singh, alias Sonu, was running a tailoring shop at Nakodar. He reportedly used to visit Anita’s house from time to time to give her stitching work.

The accused came to Anita Rani’s house on Sunday morning and asked her daughters to prepare breakfast for him.

When her daughters were cooking breakfast, he allegedly attacked Anita Rani with some sharp-edged weapon and fled. Anita was reportedly lying on the bed when she was attacked.

An FIR has been registered under section 302 of the IPC.

Kapurthala, August 31
With the arrest of a person, the police claims to have busted a two-member gang of vehicle-lifters active in the area. Three vehicles have been recovered from the accused. A police team had laid a naka near Fattu Dinga village on Sunday. When it noticed two suspected persons proceeding towards the checkpost on a motorcycle, policemen asked them to stop.

Instead of slowing down, the duo tried to flee towards the nearby fields after abandoning their motorbike. The police personnel nabbed one of them after a brief chase. The accused has been identified as Lakha Singh. His accomplice Nirvair Singh is still at large. During preliminary interrogation, the accused confessed to have stolen several two-wheelers from different parts of the city. A master key was seized from Lakha. A case has been registered. — TNS

Jalandhar, August 31
BJP state president Rajinder Bhandari welcomed the agreement between the Amaranth Sangharash Samiti and the Jammu and Kashmir administration over the issue of transfer of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board.

In a press note issued here on Sunday, Bhandari said the prevailing tension in Jammu and Kashmir would defuse after the mutual understanding over the land row.

Appreciating the samiti for its commitment, he condoled the deaths of devotees during the agitation.