Jalandhar, April 12
The Congress will contact the chairman of Punjab Small Industries Export Corporation (PSIEC), Raj Kumar Gupta, for persuading him to rejoin the party. Congress candidate from Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency Mohinder Singh Kaypee stated this in reply to a question during a function on Saturday where an independent councillor from ward number 8, Nirmal Singh Nimma, and SAD district vice-president Lakhbir Singh Kaura joined the Congress.

Kaypee, accompanied by a former minister Avtar Henry and a PPCC secretary Virendra Sharma, further said he had met Gupta and his councillor son Pawan Gupta on Friday itself to condole the death of the latter’s father-in-law but obviously no discussion on politics took place.

Trying his luck on the Jalandhar (SC) seat, Kaypee said the party would definitely persuade him and his councillor son to rejoin the Congress.

When contacted, Gupta, a former MLA, told The Tribune it was the right of every political party to contact politicians belonging to other parties to join them. On further queries, he said “I am now in the BJP and will remain in this party.”

It is pertinent to mention that Gupta, a former president of the Jalandhar District Congress Committee (DCC), had joined the BJP, along with his councillor son Pawan, right before the previous assembly elections, when he was denied ticket from the Jalandhar central Assembly constituency.

Amritsar, April 12
Ninetyfour-year-old Bharpur Singh, who as a four-year-old witnessed the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, said there was great need of conveying the message of martyrs of freedom struggle to people in this materialistic age.

Bharpur Singh, an NRI from Australia, who has come here along with his younger brother Daljit Singh, also an NRI settled in the USA, to pay tributes to the martyrs of the Indian freedom struggle, talking to The Tribune said it was necessary for the authorities that be to organise a large function to create awareness among the general masses, especially the youth, about the sacrifices made by the martyrs.

Bharpur Singh said though Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Trust would be organising a function, which would include patriotic songs by police band, reversal of arms by the police guard and silence for two minutes to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, however, the scale of the function should be more wider and inclusive.

Travelling down the memory lane, Bharpur Singh said he along with his grandfather and uncle had gone to the Jallianwala Bagh where the Congress had announced to hold a political meeting. As the authorities were opposed to it and with this in view General Dyer, with a posse of men, blocked the main entry to the ground, which was surrounded on all sides by houses. On the southern side there were small mud huts.

He said when General Dyer asked his men to open fire, being a four-year-child he was unaware of what was happening. He said he had only a hazy idea that there were gun fires and shrieks and cries of people who started running helter-skelter. He said his grandfather took him in his arms and ran towards the mud huts and they were lucky to reach their ancestral house nearby. However, his uncle broke his arm while jumping over the mud wall.

Meanwhile, members of the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front, wearing yellow turbans, paid tributes to the martyrs at the national monument on the eve of Baisakhi.

Amritsar, April 12
Former state Information Minister Bikram Singh Majithia today said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s comment on the withdrawal of Congress tickets allocated to Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar was an acceptance of Congress’ guilt regarding the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Majithia, who is also the Youth Akali Dal (YAD) patron, said the continuous patronage to Sajjan and Tytler by the Gandhi family was another strong plea in establishing the role of the family in the riots.

He said the “anti-Sikh” and “anti-Punjabis” Congress was responsible for the loss of more than 25 thousand lives during more than decade long militancy in Punjab.

He assured that the SAD-BJP would continue to fight till punishment was meted out to all those responsible for the killings.

Qadian: The SAD-BJP candidate from Gurdaspur, Vinod Khanna, alleged that Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar possessed the documentary evidence regarding the alleged role of Gandhi family in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and this was the reason behind the allotment of tickets to them by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The BJP MP, who is seeking re-election from this constituency for the fourth time, was speaking at an election rally. — TNS

Nawanshahr, April 12
Though former MP Charanjit Singh Channi has boosted the campaign of Ravneet Singh Bittu, Congress nominee from Anandpur Sahib, his entering into a ‘cold war’ with his cousin Parkash Singh might have an adverse impact on the vote bank of the party in the Nawansharh assembly constituency, which falls in Anandpur Sahib.

And the tussle is reportedly over regaining the legacy of Channi’s father and former Congress minister Dilbagh Singh in the Nawanshahr assembly constituency.

Channi succeeded in holding the legacy and was elected MLA from Nawanshahr in 1997. Later, he contested Lok Sabha elections from Hoshiarpur in 1999. At that time, Parkash represented Nawanshahr.

As Channi could not get the Congress ticket for the Parliamentary polls for the second time, now he is willing to return to his native assembly constituency, which had been nurtured by his father for the past many decades.

Parkash, former parliamentary secretary, who has been recovering from the serious illness, has been trying to promote his son Angad Singh, but his opponents within the Congress, have started promoting Channi to upset the plans of Parkash loyalists.

At a meeting convened by Channi for spearheading poll campaign of Bittu, Parkash even could not stop himself from manifestation of a glimpse of the on-going “cold war” in his speech, when he enumerated his achievements as MLA from Nawanshahr during the previous Congress regime in the state and dared his opponents for an open debate.

Hoshiarpur, April 12
More than 12 Congress workers led by District Congress Committee Vice-Presidents Sat Pal Jassi and Kulwinder Singh Rasoolpur have found a new way for campaigning in favour of Congress candidate Santosh Chaudhary, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Hoshiarpur constitutency.

They have been arranging nukad meetings in the villages and were stressing the electorate to vote in favour of Congress nominee for re-electing Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister of the country. Jassi and Rasoolpur claimed that they were getting positive response from the electorate in this connection. They had organised more than 75 nukad meetings in Chabewal constituency of the state assembly and would cover the remaining villages of the constituency within the next 10 days.

Amritsar, April 12
With the arrest of three persons, the district police solved a blind murder case of Kamlesh Rani, who was stabbed to death by unidentified persons on January 16. The accused also decamped with the jewellery after killing Rani, a resident of Ram Nagar Colony, Sultanwind Road.

The accused were identified as Neeraj Rana of Sarverpura, Rajbir Singh of Gali Murbe Wali, Tarn Taran road and Gurprit of Akal Colony, Sultanwind. The police succeeded to crack the case through the mobile phone of the deceased, which the accused took away at the time of incident.

The special investigation team led by Sukhwinder Singh, in charge homicide cell, during investigations, it was revealed that the culprits sold the mobile phone in liberty market, which was later recovered by the police. More than 50 suspected persons were questioned to trace this case registered on the statement of Subash Chander, husband of the deceased.

The weapons used in the crime --- one dagger and one dattar --- have also been recovered from the accused. Neeraj Rana, the mastermind in this murder had been working as an employee at the shop of the complaint.

He was also known to the deceased as he was working with her husband. Neeraj, who has a criminal background and had been facing about half dozen cases of snatching and theft registered against him in police station e-division, along with his accomplices hatched the plan to loot cash and jewellery knowing that the wife of the complainant was alone at her house.

Pathankot, April 12
The police arrested Sunny and recovered a stolen auto rickshaw from his possession here today. SP Harpreet Singh said a complaint of theft was lodged by Sunil Kumar on Friday, in which he said his auto rickshaw was stolen from his residence in the Rampura locality. The police raided Sunny’s house at Sunder Nagar and recovered the vehicle.

Meanwhile, the Gurdaspur police arrested one Vishal under section 356 of the IPC and recovered a purse containing cash worth Rs 2,000. He snatched the purse from Balbir Kaur when she was on the way to her residence on the BM School road yesterday. — OC

Amritsar, April 12
The police has arrested two persons accused of killing migrant Shama Charan. The incident happened on April 10 when Shama tried to intervene in a theft dispute between his son Munna and two accused, identified as Shambu and Ram Bhawan. In the process, Ram Bhawan hit Shama with a brick which resulted in his death.

Shama was rushed to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital where he was declared dead. A case has been registered against the accused, who hailed from Batwalia in Chhapra district in Bihar and were tenants in the house of Anoop Singh of Kherabad here.