Bathinda, May 12
Fearing stern action from the Election Commission in the Lelewala firing incident, the Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda, Rahul Tewari, who is the returning officer (RO) for the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency and SSP Ashish Chaudhary, today filed their explanation within the stipulated time frame.

The replies have been filed through fax to the EC and as well as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Punjab, this afternoon.

It may be mentioned that the EC had sought explanation over three questions about the incident: Why former SAD (B) minister Bikram Singh Majithia, despite the presence of a large force, could not be traced as a number of verbal complaints had been lodged on his unchecked movement in the district? Why was the registration of the FIR delayed for a couple of hours after Majithia was accused of opening fire? How could some protesters be allowed to hold the ECI observer, ARO and polling party hostage? 

In their replies, both the officers explained their position in detail while pleading that there was no intentional lapse at any point. 

SSP Ashish Chaudhary, narrating the incident in a sequence, mentioned that he received the information about the firing at Lelewala at around 4:50 pm. After a few minutes, the DSP Talwandi Sabo reached the spot and informed him at 5:40 pm that the crowd was out of control, hearing which he himself left for the spot.  

He added that at 6 pm, the District Electoral Officer (DEO) informed him that he too was leaving for the spot. The SSP reached the village at around 6:30 pm but it took 25 minutes to reach the spot as the place was overcrowded. He mentioned that the agitators alleged that Majithia opened fire but till that time it was too late as he had left the place.

After gauging the obstinacy of the unruly crowd, the DEO and the SSP both did their best to pacify the mob. After a couple of hours, the protesting leaders agreed to accompany the officers to the police station to lodge the FIR against Majithia for murder bid. It was 9.30 pm when the FIR process was set in motion and at around 11 pm it was completed.

After 10 minutes, the announcement was made and at 11.30 pm, the hostage staff were released and the officers reached Bathinda at 12.15 am.  

DEO-cum-RO Rahul Tewari, while narrating the incident, said there were only two ways to handle the unruly crowd: to pacify them with negotiations or use force but sensing the gravity of the situation, they opted for persuasion which took much time. 

Replying about the free movement of Majithia, he stated that there were a number of serious complaints coming from across the constituency in tackling which he did his best and there was no intentional lapse on his part.

About the officers being held hostage, Tewari replied that when the officers reached the spot, they were outnumbered by the large number of protesters.

To tackle the situation, just after receiving the information, both he and the SSP both had rushed to the spot. So there was no malafide intention. 

Meanwhile, sources in the EC and CEO’s offices confirmed having received the replies. 

Unwilling to disclose the facts, the DC and the SSP said that they had filed their replies and now it was up to the EC to decide the matter considering the facts.

Rampura Phul, May 12
During the two-phase polls in Punjab, residents of Haryana and Rajasthan having relatives here remained in high demand. Candidates of almost every party had taken their services to woo their relative voters.

Information gathered by this correspondent revealed that during the past few days hundreds of residents from the part of Malwa, where polls have been held, were also being taken to Faridkot Parliament constituency by supporters and campaign managers.

Besides the four constituencies of Malwa (Bathinda, Ferozepur, Patiala and Sangrur), where the elections were held on May 7, the practice is on in the Faridkot parliamentary constituency, to which the Phul assembly segment was added after delimitation.

Considering the fact that a sizeable population of Punjabis living in Rajasthan and Haryana has the capacity to influence the election results here, almost all contestants, particularly the bigwigs, had made special arrangements for using their services.

Sukant Sharma, a resident of Hanumangarh (Rajasthan), while leaving for his home town after spending two days for convincing his relatives living near bus stand here to cast votes in the favour of the SAD candidate said it was just to oblige a senior SAD leader.

Parkash Chander of Sangria had visited Rampura town yesterday to ask his relatives residing near grain market to vote for the youth candidate of the Congress.

A BJP leader of Bathinda said, “When Rampura Phul was in Bathinda parliamentary constituency, we had supported SAD (B) candidate, Paramjeet Kaur Gulshan. But as she is contesting from Faridkot constituency now, we are moving to Phul assembly area to arrange support for her.”

Reacting over the development, Sukhpal Singh, Prittam Singh and Jadev Kumar, taxi service providers, whose vehicles were hired, said, “We transported various people from Sangrur, Ferozepur and some from Haryana and even Rajasthan to Rampura Phul area. This ‘interesting’ practice of politicians provides us brisk business.”

Moga, May 12
With only hours left for the polls, the candidates and local leaders spent the day making personal contacts with people while the supporters distributed the 'voter slips' to the electorate in the urban and rural areas amid reports of violent clashes between Congress and Akali workers.

In Moga, the president of the Municipal Council and youth Akali leader Barjinder Singh Brar held a meeting with the councillors and loyal workers briefing them on setting-up of the party booths in the town. The local Congress MLA Joginder Pal Jain also held a separate meeting with his workers to give a final touch to his strategy.

Reports from the rural areas of Moga and Faridkot districts revealed that the workers of both the Congress and SAD were busy in door-to-door campaigning and organising group parties.

There were reports of violent clashes between workers of both the main parties from Faridkot, Muktsar and Moga districts.

A couple of incidents of violent clashes and firing between the workers of rival parties were also reported in this area. At least, four persons were admitted to the Kotkapura Civil Hospital.

At village Rania in Nihalsinghwala sub-division of the Moga district tension mounted when the SAD workers with the help of some policemen tried to remove the flags of the Congress party from the house of few dalit families. The district magistrate Satwant Singh Johal intervened into the matter and directed the SSP Ashok Bath to help the dalit families in restoring their freedom.

The Congress supporters' today gheraoed Kot Bhai police station in Muktsar district after the police picked-up three of their workers, residents of Lohara village. The Congressmen laid seize to the police station for more than two hours.

As per the details, three party workers Amrit Singh Mann, Master Gurdev Singh and Gurdittan Singh were taken into custody by the police allegedly at the behest of the SAD leaders on charges of luring the voters by unfair means.

The Congress workers alleged that even as the case was registered under simple bailable offence but the police refused to release them on bail forcing them to gherao the police station. They also raised slogans against the local SAD MLA and Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. 

Faridkot, May 12
All arrangements, including security, have been completed for voting in the Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency.

The Returning Officer VK Meena said polling parties had been dispatched with EVMs today for the polls at their respective polling booths. There are 12,82,885 voters in this constituency, out of which, 6,12,504 are women voters. There are 1,369 polling stations at 672 locations in the constituency, out of which, 293 are sensitive and 214 are hyper-sensitive polling stations. The maximum numbers of sensitive and hyper-sensitive polling stations are in Gidderbaha assembly segment identified as 26 and 103, respectively.

In Moga district, there are 667 polling booths. More than 50 per cent of the polling booths in the district had been declared sensitive and hyper-sensitive in accordance with a report prepared by the police. Out of the total of 667 booths, 302 have been declared as sensitive and 42 others as hyper-sensitive, said Satwant Singh Johal DM of Moga.

Moga, May 12
With just few hours left for polling to the Lok Sabha elections, the craze of polls dominated on the campuses of many colleges in the town throughout the day, today. A general round of few institutes revealed that the attendance was little less and most of the youths were busy discussing poll issues.

It appeared to be that the youth in the town were all geared up to play their roles as responsible citizens of the nation. "This is the right time to exercise our right to choose leaders and we must display wisdom in our selection. We must make sure incompetent and corrupt people do not take charge of our existence," said Rakesh Kumar, a student of DM College. Another student Mamta said that it was easy to say one vote doesn't make a difference but the truth was every vote counts. So it was important for the youth to realise the power of its mandate, she said. "The ball now is in our court and we should ensure the best candidate goes to parliament," said the first-time voter.

While a group of youths was discussing the personality and vision of each candidate, the other group was seen discussing on the track records of the candidates. No matter, a divide among few groups of youths on party lines was also visible in the colleges but a majority of them were favouring independent thought based on the qualities of the candidate and the works done by their respective political parties or the governments.

Naresh Kumar, a student of engineering, that his priority would be to look into the clean image of the candidate, besides, a strong academic background with the talent of solving the problems of the common people.Harinder Singh, another student of engineering said, "I am keen on development and policies framed by the ruling governments at the Centre and in the State than politics in its true sense."

A local resident Jaspreet Kaur who is studying law at Chandigarh and had especially come to home to cast her vote for the first time said, "I am looking forward to a government that will focus on health, poverty and unemployment. We are not keen on who is standing from which party." There was also a common feeling among the youths in the town that the old horses should give way to the younger generation. A government with young blood would make a lot of difference. 

Bathinda, May 12
Bathinda is already reeling under the problem of fly ash and now a new problem has added to the worries of the residents here; the ash generated by stubble burning. Though the state government has imposed a ban on the practice it goes unchecked every year and this year is no exception.

The practice poses serious environmental and health hazards. Children as well as adults have already started flocking the rural dispensaries complaining eye and respiratory problems.

Agricultural experts and environmentalists warn that the process destroys the minerals in the soil and has a bad effect on public health besides creating environmental hazards. Still, there is no check on the practice. The smoke so generated is dangerous for asthma patients.

A rural doctor said he was getting patients complaining of bronchitis, laryngitis, distress and difficulty in breathing. He says that since children have smaller respiratory passages, they are more prone to distress and respiratory problems.

Even the private medical practitioners observed that 40 to 50 per cent of the patients visiting them during this time of the year displayed symptoms like cough, wheezing and allergies.

Rural doctors said that NGOs, doctors and the government has to work together to eradicate certain means of pollution, which could be easily controlled and stubble burning was one of them.

“Laws are already there that ban stubble burning. If someone is caught doing so, he can be fined and a case registered against him. However, the irony is that these laws are not being enforced in letter and spirit,” Dr Aslam Parvez of the Rural Medical Service Association said.

Bathinda, May 12
The Punjab State Education Board (PSEB) got Class V Boards conducted by secondary teachers this time which gave around 80 per cent result as compared to the earlier results which used to be more than 80 per cent. Seeing this, the director-general of education, Punjab, passed orders for giving a chance to a re-appear to those students of Class V who failed in one subject.

It was reported earlier that the secondary education teachers were asked to conduct the exams because cases of primary teachers passing Class V students to get good reports had surfaced. Already a relaxation of taking 15 per cent as pass marks in one subject was given by the DG, Education. There are a total of five subjects in Class V in Punjab Education Board comprising two languages, English, Maths and environmental sciences.

According to the orders of the Board, a child has to score 33 per cent for passing in each subject. If he scores less than 33 per cent in two subjects but in one subject the marks are more than 15 per cent, then he would be considered to have passed in that subject and he can avail his chance of re-appearing in one subject. However, it should be noted that the chance to re-appear is applicable only in one subject.

The students who failed in one subject were provisionally admitted to Class VI. Whether they would be allowed to continue in Class VI or not depends totally on their performance in the re-test. The re test would be held on July 6.

According to Dr Gurdeep Singh Sandhu, science supervisor, schools should fill up the applications and send them to the education office’s room No. 448 by May 15 by 5 pm.

Sandhu said that around 20,734 students had appeared for Class V exams and 80 per cent students had passed. The number of students appearing for the re-test would only be ascertained once the filled up application for the test reaches the education office.

Bathinda, May 12
The first phase of the five-phase training of Asha workers began at the meeting hall of the civil surgeon, Bathinda, on Monday, which was inaugurated by Neelam Bajaj, the civil surgeon.

The Soch Sabha (SOSVA), an NGO, is sponsoring the programme. Those attending the training programme would get an incentive of Rs 100 per day.

Sources said various experts come to train these workers on various aspects of health like issues related to HIV and pregnancy. The field work would begin tomorrow at Kotshamir. The training is on till May 16.

Fazilka, May 12
The Municipal Council, Fazilka has filed an objection petition before the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), Chandigarh, today against the auction of its 53-acre prime land by the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) on April 16 this year.

The land was auctioned for Rs 2.51 crore as the civic body failed to liquidate the debt raised by it after mortgaging the property.

The Executive Officer, Municipal Council, Tilak Raj Verma said that the council had in objection petition stated that the auction was illegal because the set procedures and norms were not followed at the time of auction. In the petition, it has also been stated that there was only one bidder Naresh Bansal of Muktsar at the time of auction. His bid was accepted.

Verma disclosed that the council had further stated in the petition that the civic body intends to clear the entire loan with interest very shortly.

“The Council will not allow this precious land to fall into any other hands at a throw away price under any circumstances," says MC president Anil Sethi. 

Bathinda, May 12
With cotton sowing at its peak, the Government Railway Police (GRP) nabbed two persons accused of running an illicit trade in fake Bt cotton seeds with the seizure of 100 empty packets from the railway junction, here today.

According to details available, the GRP arrested the accused Shamsher Singh of village Deon and Sukhwinder Singh of Guru Nanak Pura Mohalla in Bathinda, when they alighted from the Bathinda-Ahmedabad train here this morning.

It may be mentioned that the train, from which they alighted used to be called “Bt Express.” The train is well-known among farmers of Malwa for purchasing cotton seeds from Ahmedabad. Despite the best efforts of the administration to check such activities, all appears to be going as usual.

The accused were reportedly running an illegal trade in fake seeds of Bt cotton for a long time. For such trade, they used to go to Ahmedabad from where they purchased empty packets of seeds of noted brands. After filling the packets with fake seeds and with their sealing intact, they would sell it, presenting it as the original brand, at the cost of around Rs 650-750 per packet.

Acting upon a tip-off, the GRP staff today searched the accused and recovered 100 such packets from their possession. The representatives of the specific brand, when called on the spot, denied that the packets were original ones.

The GRP did not inform the agricultural officers saying that the packets were empty, so there was no need to call the agricultural officers.

Confirming the details, SHO GRP, Bathinda, Kuljit Singh said, “The accused have been booked under section 420 of the IPC along with some sections of the Trade and Merchant Act.

It is pertinent to mention that hundreds of farmers of this region have earlier been duped of huge amounts in the fake seeds racket which could never compete with the certified ones.

Abohar, May 12
An alleged attempt to make a gang rape victim scapegoat over the recovery of a female foetus in the maternity ward of the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here has been foiled. The female foetus was reportedly found in the toilet attached to the maternity ward of the hospital, sources said.

As per information, a patient on Monday morning noticed the blood stained foetus as she entered the toilet and raised an alarm. This put the doctors in a quandary as no pregnant woman was under treatment in the maternity ward as per the hospital record.

A similar situation had developed last year also and the mystery remained unsolved as the hospital authorities had allegedly discharged a patient after pointing an accusing finger on her. She later died as proper treatment was not provided, sources said. Some NGOs had challenged the version of the authorities but none cared.

In this case, the Khuyiansarwar police booked seven persons, including a former employee of the revenue department on the complaint of a minor girl who alleged she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in border village Bakayanwala, 21 km from here on the Hindumalkot road. The girl, aged about 17 years, said her family from UP was working as farm workers in Bakayanwala. Continued on page 18

Sriganganagar/Abohar, May 12
Nursing students and paramedics working at different institutions across the twin districts Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh today celebrated International Nurses Day, which marks the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of nursing as a profession, and the creator of the original system of nursing practice based on epidemiological data which she collected and analysed.

Zila Parishad chief Prithvi Raj Meel was the chief guest of the function held in Civil Hospital at Suratgarh. NRHM Nursing Association president Anil Godara and Rajasthan Nursing Association representative Topan Dass jointly lit the lamp to inaugurate a blood donation camp on the occasion.

About 51 units of blood were collected during the camp. Meel said every single day, nurses and their colleagues dedicate their lives to helping others and striving to make a real difference to the wellbeing of those that they care for.

Celebrating Nurses' Day is an opportunity for everyone around the world to remember the valuable contributions that nurses make to the society, he observed. Nursing students in Hanumangarh took pledge to serve the ailing humanity with all professional fairness and humanity. — OC

Mansa, May 12
The CPI (ML) and Mazdoor Mukti Morcha (MMM) have been organising an agitation for the land rights of labourers and proper implementation of NREGA. For this purpose, a big rally would be held in Mansa on May 19.

State secretary of Mazdoor Mukti Morcha Bhagwant Singh Sammaon and state secretary of CPI (ML) Rajwinder Singh Rana informed that in about 12 villages, the labourers had occupied the Panchayat lands of their share to construct houses. They said that the SAD-BJP government had promised to provide land to the labourers to build houses but this promise was not fulfilled.

The leaders of the two outfits said that the rally of May 19 would be the beginning of agitation for the rights of labourers. — OC