J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

Kidnapped boy rescued within 24 hours, 3 held
Jalandhar, September 26
Within 24 hours of the kidnapping of a schoolboy, Tajinder Singh, alias Kaka, a resident of Pratabpura village, for ransom of Rs 30 lakh, the Jalandhar police has not only rescued him safely

Tajinder Singh’s mother hugs him after he was reunited with his parents at Pratabpura village, near Jalandhar, on Friday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

Blood donation movement till Oct 14
Hoshiarpur, September 26
Keeping in view the shortage of blood, the Union government has decided to launch a voluntary blood donation movement up to October 14 throughout the country.

MC tightens noose on lawbreakers

Jalandhar, September 26 At a meeting held here this evening, the municipal corporation house gave a nod to certain unpopular, harsh resolutions, including imposition of fines for ensuring better traffic regulation, cleanliness and strict implementation of environment-friendly laws in the city.

Independent councillor Joginder Singh Tony and opposition councillors stage a dharna against the mayor in the MC house in Jalandhar on Friday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

Army jawan goes missing during transit
Jalandhar, September 26
Army jawan I.C. Mishra, who was en route from Barmer to Jalandhar cantonment, has gone missing since August 25, 2008. A resident of Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, he was posted to 4011 Field Ambulance unit, Jalandhar cantonment. The incident came to the fore when Mishra did not report at his place of posting on August 26.

Khatkar Kalan all set to get memorial to the martyr
Nawanshahr, September 26
“Rang de Basanti”, a mega function to mark the conclusion of the birth centenary celebrations of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh would be held at Khatkar Kalan, the native village of the martyr, on Saturday.

Army recruitment rally from tomorrow
Jalandhar, September 26
The Army authorities would organise a recruitment rally for the categories of soldier general duty, soldier clerk/storekeeper technical, soldier technical and soldier nursing assistant from September 28 to October 5 at Guru Nanak Stadium, Kapurthala, for the candidates belonging to the district of Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Hoshiarpur.

Man nabbed, revolver seized
Nawanshahr, September 26
The police has arrested Nishan Singh (50) of Gangreri village of Kurukshetra and seized a .315-bore revolver and five cartridges from him in the judicial court complex here on Thursday.

Kidnapped boy rescued within 24 hours, 3 held
Bipin Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 26
Within 24 hours of the kidnapping of a schoolboy, Tajinder Singh, alias Kaka, a resident of Pratabpura village, for ransom of Rs 30 lakh, the Jalandhar police has not only rescued him safely, but also arrested three persons, including a woman, at Samarai village early this morning. The fourth kidnapper, however, managed to escape.

The SSP, P.K. Rai, got details from the telecommunication department regarding the location of the mobile phone that was used by the kidnappers to make the last call to Tajinder Singh’s mother Amarjit Kaur. To nab the kidnappers, 20 PCR teams were pressed into service in and around Samarai village last night.

A team noticed a Honda City car parked in a street leading to a small house in Samarai Colony. Villagers told policemen that the car occupants were relatives of Gurdev Kaur, wife of Tarsem Singh, and had come last evening. Jasbir Singh Randhawa, in charge, PRC, revealed that two policemen Gian Chand and Trilok Singh got suspicious when they questioned Gurdev Kaur and her guest Sikandar Kumar, a resident of Amritsar.

The police interrogated Sikander Kumar, who was residing in Dhina village in a rented accommodation, following which he disclosed the location of Tajinder Singh. He also admitted to have kidnapped Tajinder Singh for ransom along with his accomplice from near Eklavya School at Pratabpura village early on Thursday morning.

The PCR men later informed senior police officials. Gurdev Kaur, Sikander Kumar and Tajinder Singh were taken to a police station. The police later arrested Sukhjinder Singh, a resident of Pratabpura village, after Sikander Kumar disclosed his involvement in the kidnapping. Their fourth accomplice, Amandeep Singh, a resident of Kot Sadique, is still absconding. The police has also seized the car and a toy revolver used by the kidnappers in the crime.

Narrating the sequence of events to The Tribune, Tajinder Singh, alias Kaka, said the car-borne kidnappers asked him about the way and when he went near them, they pulled him inside the car. “They threatened to kill me and tied my hands after blindfolding me. They also directed me to sit on the floor between the front and back seats of the car,” he recalled.

“Then they took me to the top floor of a house and even served me food on both days. They made me to call my mother and demanded money from her. They later switched off the mobile set,” he said.

Meanwhile, a wave of happiness descended on the village soon after the police handed over the boy to his parents.

The police has registered a case under section 304-A of the IPC.

Blood donation movement till Oct 14

Hoshiarpur, September 26
Keeping in view the shortage of blood, the Union government has decided to launch a voluntary blood donation movement up to October 14 throughout the country.

Stating this at a meeting of government officials and representatives of various NGOs here yesterday to chalk out a programme for launching the movement, deputy commissioner N.K. Wadhawan said 33.7 per cent blood donors were donating blood in the district against the requirement of around 7,000 units of blood annually.

An awareness camp would be organised at the ITI, Hoshiarpur, to motivate students for voluntary blood donation. A rally would be held at zila parishad on 
September 29.

A district-level blood donation camp and awareness seminar would be held at J.R. Government Polytechnic on October 1 and a candlelight rally would be organised at the local Government Senior Secondary School on October 4 with the help of NGOs and the Lions Club.

The valedictory function would be organised at Government College on October 14 where painting, poems, articles and slogan-writing competitions would be held. He appealed to the people to extend their cooperation for the success of the movement. — OC

MC tightens noose on lawbreakers
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 26
At a meeting held here this evening, the municipal corporation house gave a nod to certain unpopular, harsh resolutions, including imposition of fines for ensuring better traffic regulation, cleanliness and strict implementation of environment-friendly laws in the city. The house called for the imposition of a fine of Rs 200 on the owners of two-wheelers, Rs 300 for three-wheelers and Rs 400 for four-wheelers parked along the roadside in any of the three tow-away zones in the city.

Other decisions Rs 5,000 penalty per day for dumping building material and scrap outside their boundary walls Mandatory Rs 2 lakh refundable security from owners of a new commercial building for installation of rainwater harvesting systems Reduction of development charges from Rs 5,500 to Rs 2,500 per marla. Camps by officers in 300 undeclared colonies for collection of the charges Starting of single-window system for birth and death registration certification

The city’s tow-away zones include the GT Road from Company Bagh to the railway crossing, near Sadar police station, BMC Chowk to HMV College Chowk and Model Town road from Skylark Chowk to Masand Chowk (religious places and hospitals not included).

“More penalties would ensure better living conditions, the city’s beautification and rise in income,” mayor Rakesh Rathour tried to convince the 58 of the 60 councillors present in the house.

The mayor said in the house that a year back when he had taken over, the MC was facing a deficit of Rs 28 crore which, he said, had now come down to Rs 13 crore by ensuring collection of various taxes and charges. While some called for dropping the proposals, others favoured a committee to discuss the pros and cons. Congress councillor Balraj Thakur went ahead saying, “We have to face the public after these meetings. Kindly do not put such items directly on agenda without discussing with us.” But the mayor managed to convince everyone. The meeting began with a huge pandemonium as leaders of the opposition sat on dharna and called for an explanation on the violation of protocol during inauguration functions being held in the city wards.

The Congressmen stood for their party councillor Rajinder Beri of Ward 30 who was reportedly not even invited for a foundation stone-laying ceremony by the mayor recently.

“Instead, Amarjit who had lost on the BJP ticket, was allowed to steal the limelight,” they rued.

The chaos began with independent councillor Joginder Singh Tony straightaway sitting on the floor in front of the mayor’s chair and refusing to get up till he was promised that the three tubewells falling in his ward were repaired. The Congress councillors joined him. The situation went out of control for over 30 minutes during zero hour as BJP-Akali leaders also came forward and started demanding that the agenda with 138 items listed be passed straightaway with their majority in the house in view of the opposition’s protest. But the situation normalised as the mayor announced that there was some miscommunication and he felt sorry for Beri. He promised to take the councillors of all wards along while conducting any such ceremony. At this, all the Congress councillors resumed their seats.

Army jawan goes missing during transit
Kusum Arora
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 26
Army jawan I.C. Mishra, who was en route from Barmer to Jalandhar cantonment, has gone missing since August 25, 2008. A resident of Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, he was posted to 4011 Field Ambulance unit, Jalandhar cantonment. The incident came to the fore when Mishra did not report at his place of posting on August 26.

According to his brother H.C. Mishra, he boarded a train (9223) on August 24 for Jalandhar cantonment. During his journey he spoke to his wife from an STD booth at Ferozepore railway station, but did not respond after that. Though the family tried its best to trace him, it could not find any clue. 

Khatkar Kalan all set to get memorial to the martyr
Parmod Bharti

Nawanshahr, September 26
“Rang de Basanti”, a mega function to mark the conclusion of the birth centenary celebrations of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh would be held at Khatkar Kalan, the native village of the martyr, on Saturday.

Besides setting up a pandal for the main function, arrangements like parking of the vehicles, drinking water facility, etc. at the site have also been made. Special buses would ply from Nawanshahr, Rahon, Banga, Behram, Mukandpur, Aur, Garhshankar, etc. for facilitating the people to reach Khatkar Kalan.

His family members, including his nephew Abhey Sandhu, will attend the function. A galaxy of political leaders, including union minister of state for home affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal, union minister Ambika Soni, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his cabinet colleagues, Bollywood artistes like Manoj Kumar, Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam and Punjabi artistes Hans Raj Hans, Pammi Bai, etc. are expected to reach there to pay tributes to the martyrs.

To commemorate the birth centenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the central government is going to release coins in the denomination of Rs 5 and Rs 100. Besides, a plan to develop Khatkar Kalan as a patriotic tourist place would also be announced tomorrow.

The site plan and details of the plan to augment the present museum site into “Bhagat Singh Memorial” was displayed at the 
museum site today.

Statues of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev would be installed at the entrance to the memorial.

Army recruitment rally from tomorrow

Jalandhar, September 26
The Army authorities would organise a recruitment rally for the categories of soldier general duty, soldier clerk/storekeeper technical, soldier technical and soldier nursing assistant from September 28 to October 5 at Guru Nanak Stadium, Kapurthala, for the candidates belonging to the district of Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Hoshiarpur.

Candidates belonging to all the districts of Punjab can appear for the category of soldier clerk, storekeepers and nursing assistant. Candidates should have passed matric examination with 45 per cent marks for the category of soldier general duty and intermediate with maths in any stream with minimum 50 per cent marks for soldier clerks and storekeepers.

For the soldier technical category the candidates should have passed intermediate in science with English, math, physics and chemistry. The soldier technical category candidates should have passed intermediate in science with physics, chemistry, biology and English with minimum 50 per cent marks in aggregate for soldier nursing assistants.

The candidates should be 170 cm in height for the categories of soldier general duty, soldier technical and soldier nursing assistant, candidates from the Kandi area should be minimum 166 cm for soldier general duty and for soldier technical category should be 163 cm. The candidates should be minimum 162 cm for soldier clerks and storekeepers. The weight for all categories is 50 kg. — TNS

Man nabbed, revolver seized
Our Correspondent

Nawanshahr, September 26
The police has arrested Nishan Singh (50) of Gangreri village of Kurukshetra and seized a .315-bore revolver and five cartridges from him in the judicial court complex here on Thursday.

Giving this information, city SHO Raj Kumar said a police party led by ASI Surinder Kumar was conducting a routine check in the judicial court complex. The accused, who was sitting in the canteen there, tried to flee on seeing the police party. The police got suspicious and nabbed him. During the search, a revolver and five live cartridges were seized from him.

During investigation, it was revealed that his brother-in-law Balbir Singh of Mutton village was murdered some years ago. Yesterday the accused were coming here in connection with the case.

“It might be possible that the accused had come here with a revolver to take revenge,” said the city SHO, adding that the possibility of some more persons accompanying him could not be ruled out. A case under sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered.