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Honour killing: Teenager killed by stepfather
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, June 29
In what could be another case of honour killing, an 18-year-old girl, Amritpal Kaur, was allegedly killed by her stepfather for having an affair with a boy who was not of their caste.
The police has arrested Mehtab Singh, stepfather of Amritpal, and registered a case at
Cantonment police station.
According to information, Amritpal Kaur, who belonged to a Jat Sikh family, had an affair with Lakhwinder Singh of another caste in Belgium and Mehtab Singh was against their relationship. Mehtab brought the whole family to Amritsar on June 26 and allegedly poisoned her to death. Mehtab hurriedly cremated the girl at the local cremation ground. This aroused suspicion in the minds of the relatives of the girl here who approached the police and also informed Lakhwinder Singh in Belgium. Lakhwinder also talked to the city police in this regard. As per reports, Amritpal Kaur did not have cordial relations with her stepfather. Mehtab Singh was brother of her father, who had died in an accident. The family had married her mother Rajbir Kaur to Mehtab Singh after the death of her father. Police Commissioner Varinder Kumar said preliminary investigations had aroused strong suspicion that the girl had been killed.
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All-India Bar exam: City lawyers oppose BCI decision
Dharmendra Joshi
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, June 29
Lawyers practising in Jalandhar today expressed their views against the recent decision of the Bar Council of India (BCI), asking fresh advocates to clear the All-India Bar examination (AIBE) before they are allowed to practise in courts.
A day after the resignation of Punjab and Haryana Bar Council Chairman Partap Singh from his post in protest against the BCI decision, the president of the District Bar Association (DBA), Jalandhar, Ashok Gandhi said, “The implementation of the AIBE is not going to enhance the standard of legal education. Rather the BCI should lay stress on regular appraisal of the standard of legal education in law institutions.” Gandhi further said an all-India entrance test for getting admission in law courses may be conducted on the lines of AIEEE and other such examinations to enhance the standard of legal education. Echoing his sentiments, senior advocate K.K. Arora said instead of starting AIBE, the BCI should check the standard of legal institutions at the first level to ensure quality education to law students. The Centre as well as the state government concerned and the BCI should minutely check not only at the time of allowing any institution to start law classes but also at regular intervals whether it followed set norms for providing quality legal education. It should also be checked whether the required teaching staff and the proper library were in place in these institutions or not, he added. Similarly, former DBA general secretary Ashok Sharma said there was no need to conduct AIBE. On the contrary, steps should be taken to close those infamous legal institutions which were issuing degrees for money. Sharma further said the BCI should perform its duty postulated under section 7 of the Advocates Act regarding promoting and laying down the standards of legal education.
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Exorbitant toll: Anti-Toll Committee resumes highway blockage
Bipin Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service
Kathgarh (Nawahshahar), June 29
Members of the Anti-Toll Committee, Punjab, today resumed their protest against the toll plazas at various highways and roads in the region. Up in arms against the state governments, the committee members staged a dharna at the local toll collection barrier for hours, demanding winding up of toll plazas in the state.
Coming heavily on the state governments run by Capt Amaninder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal, committee patron Darshan Singh Mattu alleged that both the Chief Ministers, during their tenures, diverted funds released by the Union government for the construction of roads to some other ends. Instead of providing roads and other infrastructure to the general public, the governments allocated toll plazas at different highways and roads to private companies. The companies have forced commuters to pay heavy tolls, he said. Another committee patron Tarlochan Singh claimed that the land for laying of roads was given free of cost by their forefathers. Neither the Centre nor the state government had any right to impose toll on these roads, he said. Committee president Harish Khosla claimed that the committee had been fighting for the right of the general public since 2007 and demanding that toll should be imposed at every entry point on the pattern of Himachal
Pradesh. Vehicles carrying people’s ashes to be immersed at holy places such as Hardwar and Kiratpur Sahib should be exempted, he demanded. The committee members have threatened to hold protests at different toll plazas on the Chandigarh-Jalandhar-Amritsar, Chandigarh-Ludhiana, Ludhiana-Jalandhar, Balachaur-Dasuya and other highways in the coming days.
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31 ETT teachers resign
Boycott of Education Dept
Nawanshahr, June 29
As part of the decision of boycott of the Education Department taken by the ETT Adhiyapak Union, Punjab, as many as 31 ETT teachers working under the Zila Parishad in the district, led by its president Baljinder Singh, submitted their resignations from the assignments given to them as BRP, DRP, CMT, BMT, etc. to the District Education Officer here today.
The decision has been taken in protest against the non-acceptance of their demand of bringing them under the purview of the Education Department. “As the ETT teachers have been functioning under the Zila Parishad they would neither do the duties assigned to them nor send the dak directly demanded by the Education Department. From July 1, the ETT teachers would attend their respective schools for teaching children and would only follow the instructions of the Zila Parishad instead of the Department,” said Baljinder Singh, adding that the ETT teachers had also decided not to show any records to the officials of the department if they were not accompanied by officials of the Zila Parishad. Besides, the ETT Adhiyapak Union has also decided to boycott those ETT teachers who had not submitted their resignations in compliance with the decision of the union. Later a deputation of the union submitted a memorandum to the ADC and the Secretary, Zila Parishad. The copies of the resignations have also been sent to all the block development officers and block primary education officers.
— OC
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2 held for murdering woman in 2007
Pathankot, June 29
The police today took two persons into custody for their alleged involvement in the murder of 44-year-old Usha Khanna, a customer care executive in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Pathankot, who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances from the busy market on July 22, 2007.
The police had recovered her badly decomposed body from a wooden box wrapped with telephone wires along with her clothes dumped in shrubs along the Jammu-Jalandhar road near Mirthal, about 30 km from here, 22 days after she had gone missing. Wife of Rakesh Khanna, a local businessman, resident of Jodha Mal Colony, Usha had gone to attend a function in the locality but had not come back. Her family members found her Moped parked near Patel Chowk. The police then declared it a blind murder as it failed to find any clue or motive behind the murder. The police today took two persons, identified as Sudhit, alias Lucky Mahajan, and Vijay Kumar, both residents of the town, running an offset printing press on the Kali Mata Mandir road, into its custody.
— OC
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