Jalandhar, March 17
Though Surjeet Singh Rakhra-led PIMS Medical and Education Charitable Society is all set to start OPD services, the PIMS authorities have failed to set up a BPL cell in the institute which would provide free treatment to patients belonging to the below poverty line (BPL) families.

The five-member steering committee of PIMS, which is an apex body responsible for the implementation of important decisions, is still indecisive about the installation of a BPL cell in PIMS.

The matter is still confined to the meetings of the governing body and the steering committee. The issue of a separate BPL cell was put up in the 22nd meeting of the governing body on November 11 last year.

However, the governing body forwarded it to the steering committee for “appropriate decision”, a meeting of which was held on February 9.

Instead of taking a firm decision, even the steering committee remained indecisive and recommended the subject to be taken out of the purview of the steering committee.

The committee again sent the issue to the governing body, citing it as an internal matter of the governing body.

The BPL cell has to facilitate poor patients with free treatment by paying treatment charges directly to the institute management. Generation of a corpus fund with a yearly input of Rs 10 crore was also proposed for the purpose.

The unavailability of such a cell will leave poor patients with no other option but to pay full charges of the treatment.

“No representative of the PIMS authorities is in the hospital to identify BPL patients. In the prevailing circumstances, such patients will not get free treatment,” said an officer.

As per article 18 of section II of the Concession Agreement, a BPL cell has to be set up in the institute which would be responsible for identification, verification and reimbursement of the cost of treatment to the BPL families.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary S.C. Aggarwal said the amount, which was to be paid for the treatment of BPL families, was already with the PIMS authority. However, he said he couldn’t comment further on the issue.

PIMS Director Dr A.S. Padda said the issue was part of the agenda of meetings and would be resolved in the coming days.

Jalandhar, March 17
The son of a retired postmaster has been booked for the “murder” of his father and drugging of entire family on Thursday last.

Unsuccessful in his attempt to loot his own father, he had himself later consumed sedatives to concoct a story of theft in the house.

Postmaster Gurdip Singh (62), a resident of Basti Peerdad here, died of food poisoning, done by his son Harvinder, alias Babbu. The accused had been deported from Muscat about a year and a half back, after which he had started furniture business at Rahon. To start the business, he had taken a debt of Rs 3 lakh from Raju to whom he was paying monthly instalments of Rs 12,000.

Babbu perhaps wanted to get rid of the debt at one go as he tried to lay hand on his father’s money, which he had got after his retirement just a day back. A wise man, his father, had not kept the money at home, making the attempt unsuccessful.

The son drugged his mother as well his wife by adding sedatives to the green gram cooked that day. He left home before the dinner and returned late. By the time he returned, everyone in the family seemed to be in a state of unconsciousness. He searched the house till 12.30 am, after which he himself consumed a small quantity of the drug and sat in a chair. Before that, he even opened a door on the first floor of his house to make it seem like a case of theft.

Police officials said they suspected his role from day one because of the posture in which he lay. The fact that certain costly items, including mobile phones, wrist watches and wallets, had remained untouched further made them suspicious of the role of an insider.

The family members have recuperated but preferred to stay mum on the issue, said the SP (City-2), who is investigating into the incident. Babbu has been arrested and booked under sections 460 and 328 of the IPC. The chemist from whose shop the four strips of the drugs had been purchased has been rounded up. A report of the sample of food, which had been sent to PAU for testing, is yet awaited.

Amritsar, March 17
A girl in her twenties today alleged rape by a boy after a short-term tele-friendship. On the other hand, the accused reportedly blamed it to be a conspiracy against him and claimed himself to be innocent.

Mehak (name changed), a resident of Gurbax Nagar, said she came in contact with the boy a month back at a mobile phone shop where she had gone for a recharge card for her phone.

“As soon as I revealed my mobile phone number to the shopkeeper, the boy, who was standing there, noted it down. Thereafter, he started chasing me while giving me frequent calls on my phone. That’s how he managed to develop relationship with me,” she alleged in her complaint to the police.

In the complaint lodged with Gurbax Nagar police chowki, the girl stated that on March 3, the accused, Maninder Kumar, took her to his friend’s shop near City Centre on the pretext of court marriage. During the 10-day stay, he made sexual relationship with her and whenever she asked him about the marriage, he delayed the matter on one excuse or another, she alleged.

On March 13, she said, he left her in the Bakar Mandi area. She said when Maninder did not return for a long time, she came back home and narrated the incident to the family members who persuaded her to file a police complaint.

The police has arrested Maninder and his friend in this connection and registered a case under sections 366, 376, 120-B of the IPC. A medical examination of the girl and the boy was conducted at the Civil Hospital here today.