Cong Appointments
Sekhri challenges Kaypee’s authority
Chandigarh, February 16
Punjab Pradesh Congress president Mohinder Singh Kaypee’s authority to make appointments in the organisation during the ongoing election process has been challenged by former Minister Ashwani Sekhri, who has termed today’s appointment of Fateh Jang Singh Bajwa as party spokesman as “null and void”.

Top social scientists for UT conference
Chandigarh, February 16
Eminent Sikh scholars and social scientists from Canada, England and India will participate in a two-day international seminar on “Religion and Social Identity in Punjab”. The seminar, to be organised by the Department of Sociology, Panjab University, on February 18 and 19 will feature among others Dr Anne Murphy, Chair, Sikh Studies of University of British Columbia and Dr Navtej Purewal of University of Manchester.

BKU (Ekta) leader killed, 5 hurt
Amritsar, February 16
Assailants killed a leader and injured five members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta) at Bhindi Aulakh village under Ajnala subdivision, near here, today.

Chandigarh, February 16
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called for an explanation from the CBI as to why there has been so much delay in the filing of chargesheets in the cases that involved Sajjan Kumar and others.

Acting on a complaint filed by SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal, the commission has in an order of February 10 asked the CBI to submit a report giving details of the offences for which Sajjan Kumar has been prosecuted in the 1984 riots. The commission has further directed the CBI to ensure that investigation of the pending cases is expedited and the status of the investigation is reported to the commission within four weeks.

Sukhbir Badal and 14 others had approached the commission with the grievance that the government was showing no interest in bringing to justice the culprits of the 1984 riots. Four cases had been registered against Sajjan Kumar in 2005 on the basis of recommendations of Nanavati Commission but the CBI had been sitting over the cases and had not filed the chargesheets.

Sukhbir Badal’s representation had pointed out that though the CBI had sought the sanction of the government to prosecute Sajjan Kumar even though no prior sanction of the government was required for prosecuting someone in a case of murder. Similarly, another case was registered against Jagdish Tytler but the CBI had conducted a faulty investigation and had filed the closure report.

Following this representation, the commission had asked the Chief Secretary, Government of NCT of Delhi, to look into the allegations and submit a factual report. Notice was also issued to the Director, CBI, calling upon him to submit the status report of the various criminal cases registered in the matter.

The CBI submitted a status report of January 5, 2010, to the NHRC, stating that it had asked for prosecution sanction under Section 196 of the CrPC for launching prosecution under Section 153-A, IPC, against Sajjan Kumar in four cases and the chargesheet was still under preparation. In two other cases, the final report had been filed in the court. Interestingly, the CBI said that in one case, the investigation was still in progress, 26 years after the incident!

The commission noted that the status report filed by the CBI did not give details of the nature of offences for which the accused were being prosecuted. “The withholding of the charge sheet on the pretext of obtaining sanction for the minor offence punishable under Section 153 (A), IPC, which is punishable with three years’ rigourous imprisonment, appears to be highly unjustified and only an excuse for not filing the charge sheet to prosecute for the principal and major offence of murder,” states the commission’s order.

Chandigarh, February 16
Punjab Pradesh Congress president Mohinder Singh Kaypee’s authority to make appointments in the organisation during the ongoing election process has been challenged by former Minister Ashwani Sekhri, who has termed today’s appointment of Fateh Jang Singh Bajwa as party spokesman as “null and void”.

Sekhri was till now the “chief spokesman” of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC). Fateh Jang Bajwa is the brother of Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa and had recently contested and lost the Assembly byelection from the Kahnuwan constituency.

Sekhri, who was till now considered a well-wisher of Kaypee, has not only contested the appointment of Fateh Jang but also of other appointments made by Kaypee recently. Talking to TNS, Sekhri said no appointment could take place in the PPCC when the election process was on without the prior approval of the party high command.

Sekhri said since Kaypee had not taken the approval of the party high command for appointing Fateh Jang party spokesman, the appointment was “null and void”. He said similarly a number of persons had been appointed secretaries by the PPCC president recently, which was sending the wrong message in the field. “We are constantly embarrassed as we regularly see new faces who have secured appointments without even our knowledge”, he said. The former Minister said even in the case of Fateh Jang’s appointment, he had been kept out of the loop despite the fact that he had travelled with the PPCC president yesterday.

Kaypee was not available for comment. Fateh Jang, when questioned about the objections being raised against his appointment, said it was the prerogative of the PPCC president to appoint the party spokesman. “I feel honoured that I have been given this opportunity to serve the party”, he said, adding it would be his duty to take everyone along with him in this task. Fateh Jang, who is known as an articulate and persuasive speaker, said he would do his utmost to raise appropriate issues in the media.

Congress sources maintain Fateh Jang’s appointment could give him more leverage in the Gurdaspur area from where Sekhri also hails. This, they said, was something which might not be to the liking of Sekhri; hence the opposition. 

Amritsar, February 16
Assailants killed a leader and injured five members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta) at Bhindi Aulakh village under Ajnala subdivision, near here, today.

The deceased was identified as Sadhu Singh Takhtupura, organising secretary of the union, while the injured were taken to hospital.

According to members of the union, their members were campaigning in villages to mobilise support in favour of their protest against the death of a farmer, Sukha Singh, of Channa village in police custody nearly a month ago, when the attack took place. The protest was scheduled to be held at Ajnala on February 17.

Meanwhile, some persons arrived in some vehicles and assaulted them with sticks and sharp-edged weapons.

Following the custodial death, SHO of Lopoke police station Rashpal Singh was placed under suspension and a judicial inquiry was under progress in the case.

SSP (Rural) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said preliminary investigations showed that about 12 persons arrived in a car, a jeep and a motor cycle and carried out the attack. He asserted that no firing took place and only sticks were used by the assailants.

Chandigarh, February 16
Punjab will hold its next Cabinet meeting on February 23 to draw up an agenda for the coming Budget session. A decision to this effect has been taken and all departments have been asked to submit the proposals of items on which they want to get the nod of the Cabinet.

It has been proposed to hold the Budget session from March 4 to 26. The Cabinet is likely to approve these dates at its next meeting.

If these dates are accepted, this will be one of the longest sessions during the current tenure of the SAD-BJP government. The recently concluded 15th All-India Whips’ Conference held here has recommended longer and meaningful Assembly sessions. Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon is a strong advocate of a longer session and has been encouraging more participation in the House.

Punjab’s fiscal health is also likely to be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting. Punjab Bhawan here has been selected as the venue of the meeting. The Cabinet is expected to give its nod to various decisions that remain to be approved from the Sukhbir-Kalia committee recommendations that aim at mopping up an additional Rs 4,000 crore. Several ordinances already promulgated are likely to take the shape of Bills. These include the Bill on VAT, hiking it from 4 to 5 per cent.

The Budget session will be Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil’s first Assembly session. His speech highlighting the policy of the ruling party will spur at least three days’ debate. A senior government official said, “Since we have written a letter today to all departments asking them about pending issues that need to be taken to the Cabinet, it will take another two or three days before we hear from them”.

He said the Cabinet was also likely to discuss and give formal approval to the powers vested in the newly appointed police commissioners.

Punjab Congress Legislature Party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has announced that the party will highlight the problems being faced by employees of the Ranjit Sagar and Shahpur Kandi Dam Project in the Budget session. The Congress is also working out a strategy to corner the government on its “deteriorating fiscal health” and “poor law and order situation”.

Though the Budget is unlikely to levy any new taxes as the Sukhbir-Kalia report has already taken care of additional revenue accumulation, state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has announced that he was hopeful of presenting an Annual Plan in the state Budget of over Rs 9,000 crore along with a non-Plan of Rs 3,000 crore. Last year’s total outlay for the Annual Plan was Rs 8,625 crore, while this year it is expected to be slightly higher.

Ludhiana, February 16
The Punjab Police claims to have solved the mystery of explosives found near Nabha and Halwara last month. The Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) is alleged to be behind planting these explosives to create panic around January 26.

Huge explosive materials, including urea, petrol and RDX, were found from two places near Nabha earlier this year and another consignment of about 10 kg of urea, 5 litres of petrol and some RDX were found lying near the auditorium of the IAF station, Halwara, in Ludhiana on January 25.

The police authorities had been working on the mystery and have finally come to the conclusion that it was the handiwork of BKI militants. However, the attempts failed as the police detected the explosive material lying on roads and took the same in custody.

The police interrogated a number of suspects and some hardcore militants lodged in jails. It has also detained some youths in this connection. It is learnt that the BKI is under ISI’s pressure to activate some youths in Punjab. However, the attempts to recruit youths in the task have not met with much success, resulting in the failure of the motive.

Intelligence sources claim that there are still militants in Pakistan who are active in Punjab and a few of the leaders have moved to Germany, which is an epicentre of activities of Punjab militants. Intelligence reports also suggest that the ISI is trying to create a nexus between Babbars and Lashkar-e-Toiba to have joint operations in Punjab.

During militancy days in Punjab, militants had also targeted the Indian Oil Depot located near Halwara, which was set on fire and the same has since been closed. 

Ludhiana, February 16
The city apparently is not safe for working women at night. This seems to be the overwhelming view of working women, who have now petitioned the Chief Minister to not change the labour laws to meet the demand of the industrial sector that wants to start night shifts for them.

The working women feel the city’s work environment is still not conducive for them to do night shifts. Besides the issue of safety, women feel they might also face objections from their men folk. Veerman, a Nepalese woman, says customs in her house do not permit women to go out during the night. Veerman works in a hosiery unit in the industrial area.

Another woman worker, Sukhminder Kaur, who works in a garment unit in the Focal Point area, says some women might be ready to work at night but they should be given a comfortable work environment besides a dedicated transport facility.

Heeding such appeals, the Working Women Forum has written to the Chief Minister saying it would be “incorrect” on the part of the government to change the labour laws to facilitate night shifts for women in factories.

Forum national convener Amarjit Kaur, while talking to The Tribune from Mumbai, said it was difficult to provide adequate safety and security to women in industries. Condemning the request made by the industry, Amarjit Kaur said, “We have no objection if women work late night in hospitals, airlines or the telecom sector as these are organised sectors. However, we oppose night shifts in factories,” she added.

Forum convener in Ludhiana, Dr Narjit Kaur, said so far night shifts were permitted in a few sectors only where the employers provided the transport facility and other security measures. She said barring a few industrial houses, there was no such facility in most factories. She cited recent events at Dhandari and other areas in the city where workers were looted, robbed and even killed by robber gangs. She said industrial units could increase the women in day shifts and run night shifts for male workers to increase production, if needed.

Meanwhile, Vardhman Group of Industries Chairman SP Oswal feels night shifts for women could become a reality in Ludhiana in case guidelines laid down to ensure their safety and security were followed by the employers. He said women themselves needed to shed their inhibitions on this score. “If they want equal rights they have to take equal responsibility also, he said, adding he was sure if society accepted the move with openness, women would become more self-reliant and confident. Nobody will be able to exploit them,” he added.

Jalandhar, February 16
The BJP MP, Navjot Singh Sidhu, today said that even Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was taken aback to know that Punjab was growing at the slowest pace in the country. Punjab is projected to grow at a pace of 5.9 per cent, the lowest figure as compared to other states in the country, during the current Five-Year Plan.

Sidhu, who had a lengthy meeting with Mukherjee late last evening in Delhi, told The Tribune on the phone that he urged the Finance Minister to announce a special package for the development of the border belt including Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur on the pattern of hill states.

Resumption of the compensation scheme for farmers owning land across the fence on the Indo-Pakistan border in Punjab was also sought. “I have sought that farmers owning land across the fence should be given Rs 4,000 per acre as compensation because there were certain restrictions on them with regard to the agriculture crops,” said Sidhu. “Earlier the NDA government used to give Rs 2,500 per acre but the UPA government had stopped it in 2004,” he added.

Sidhu said his purpose of meeting Mukherjee before the Budget was to request him to think about Punjab, which had been feeding the entire country for the past several years, but now facing problems in the absence of a manufacturing sector. “The youth in Ferozepur, Amrtisar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran districts look for jobs but these are not available because no one sets up industries in that belt,” said Sidhu.

The issue of giving heritage status to Amritsar city was also taken up with the Finance Minister. “As the Finance Minister is to allocate funds to the Urban Renewal Mission, he is in a position to give special consideration to Amritsar, which is already covered under the mission scheme, to include it in a category in which the state government will have to make only 10 per cent contribution for development projects to be taken under mission schemes.”

Abohar, February 16
A local family was allegedly terrorised to uproot itself from the town to seek safety by a group of goons known as the Swami gang.

Satpal Yadav’s family, which has been living in the town for the past 60 years, had to shift to Delhi clandestinely for the sake of safety about two days ago after it was attacked repeatedly by a gang of goons led allegedly by Bantu Swami and his accomplices. The local police allegedly failed to protect the family.

“My mother, wife and sister along with other members of the family were beaten up mercilessly in my house with baseball bats and other weapons by the members of the Swami gang about a week ago. However, the local police has failed to arrest the main accused so far,” alleged Yadav, while talking to The Tribune on the phone.

Interestingly, a case against the goons was registered at the police station concerned when a large number of residents of the Bhagwanpura locality staged a dharna in front of the house of the local DSP. Though two of the accused were arrested immediately, the main accused, who is running the gang, is still roaming freely.

Instead of being protected by the police, Yadav has been receiving threats from the goons to withdraw the FIR registered against Bantu Swami and his goons in the city police station. The three attacks on him and members of his family, including two brothers, coupled with the “blatant insincerity” of the police had forced him to shift to Delhi for safety, he alleged, pointing out that the police was not touching the Swami gang due to political patronage enjoyed by them.

Deepak Kumar Dimpy, who helped Yadav to approach the local police after the attack, had also started receiving threats and he was allegedly forced by a police official to make a statement in favour of the accused so that the case registered against them could be cancelled.

However, on Dimpy’s complaint, lodged with the district police chief, SPS Parmar, in connection with the alleged threat held out to him by assistant sub inspector (ASI) Vinod Kumar, immediate action was taken and Vinod Kumar was sent to the police lines.

Parmar said he had spoken to Yadav on the phone and was told that Yadav had gone to Delhi for the treatment of his mother and not left the city due to being a victim of terror. 

Moga, February 16
In a reply filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh today, Moga SSP Ashok Bath stated that the police was not harassing chemists who were running drugs stores as per the law under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

The SSP was summoned by the court in person on a petition filed by Parwinder Singh, Ranjit Pal Singh, Lajpal Singh, Apar Singh and Kuldip Singh, who had alleged that they were being harassed by the Moga police and cases under the NDPS Act were registered against them.

Talking to The Tribune over the phone, Additional Advocate-General of the state Rajni Gupta said the SSP had also given a detailed report of the cases registered against the petitioners and investigations made against them. He had assured that the police would not create any hurdle in opening their shops.

One of the petitioners, Apar Singh, was recovered from illegal detention of the police by a HC warrant officer a couple of months ago and an inquiry was initiated against Inspector Satnam Singh, the then in-charge of the CIA staff of the town.

The petitioners had also alleged that other than Satnam, other local police officers were pressurising them to withdraw the case and were also not being allowed to open their shops.

Satnam was also summoned by the court seeking a reply from him, but he sought more time for it and the court granted him nine days. The court has fixed February 25 as the next date of hearing in this case.

Meanwhile, the district association of the chemists today given a representation to District Magistrate Satwant Singh Johal alleging that the police was unnecessarily harassing them. They had requested the state government to intervene in this matter.

Chandigarh, February 16
Hours before the departmental selection committee set up by the state of Punjab was to meet for interviewing selected and serving science mistresses (medical), the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered stay on its further proceedings. The affected teachers have been serving since 2001.

The significance of the directions can be gauged from the fact that as many as 109 affected teachers had moved the high court against the meeting. In their petition, Jasmeen Kaur and 108 other petitioners had earlier sought directions to the state of Punjab, the chairman of the departmental selection committee and other respondents against interfering with their appointment and service. Directions had also been sought for quashing the Lokpal’s May 2002 report in the matter.

Going into the background, the petitioner asserted the Lokpal on May 21, 2002, had held that the selection of 100 candidates by the state-level selection committee under the chairmanship of Muktsar district education officer Raj Singh Deol for the posts of science mistresses (medical) had not been made on merit. The Lokpal had also recommended the constitution of a state-level selection committee.

On November 26, 2008, the state issued a notification to constitute a committee to review the selection of 200 science mistresses. Again on January 13, the state issued a fresh notification to constitute a new committee to review the selection in 2001 to the post of science mistresses. A month later, on February 13, an advertisement was issued calling the selected and serving science mistresses for interview.

Taking up the matter, Justice Surya Kant asserted: “It is inter alia contended on the basis of the allegations contained in the complaint that Lok Pal has got no jurisdiction to entertain or probe the same.

“It is also urged that the selection process, which culminated into appointment of the petitioners in 2001, has been condemned by the Lok Pal and the state government without even hearing the affected candidates like the petitioners”.

Issuing notice of motion for March 29, Justice Kant asserted: “Meanwhile, further proceedings before the departmental selection committee (teaching) shall remain stayed”. 

Chandigarh, February 16
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today declined an NRI’s prayer for probe by the CBI into the allegations of his implication in the murder of DGP PS Gill’s father Nachhatar Singh Gill. Justice Gurdev Singh has directed the issuance of a seven-day prior notice in case the police required NRI Jagdev Singh in some other matter. The case will now come up on April 22.

Additional Advocate General Naresh Kumar Sanghi said the investigations were on and a three-member team has been constituted for the same.

Jagdev Singh had earlier alleged that he was being implicated in the cases. In his petition for CBI probe into two cases registered against him for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy; and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Jagdev Singh had claimed the DGP himself was interested in the cases.. Currenty lodged in Moga sub-jail, Jagdev Singh said he and his family were implicated in the false case of Gill’s murder registered on September 29,1991.

Petitioner’s father Joginder Singh was picked up by the police then and his whereabouts are still unknown. His mother Pritam Kaur and brother Hardev Singh were granted regular bail on April 24, 1993. Jagdev Singh said apprehending threat to his life he went abroad, but returned to India in 2003 and secured police clearance certificate for gaining citizenship of another country on January 3, 2004.

On his visit to India last year, the petitioner came to know that the case pertaining to Gill’s murder was pending against him and he surrendered before the court on April 4.

Chandigarh, February 16
Justice MMS Bedi has directed the Centre to specify by February 26 as to why Pakistani national Mohammed Sharief continues to be detained in Amritsar jail even though he had completed his sentence in 2007. Sharief had illegally crossed the international border without travel documents.

The directions came during a resumed hearing on a petition by World Human Rights Council through its chief Ranjan Lakhanpal. Sharief had sent a letter to Lakhanpal seeking his intervention in his release and return to Pakistan.