Bathinda, November 20
“There is no rule of law in the state and the integrity of officials has gone down. Still, nobody seems to be worried about the collapsing system,” alleged Justice Ajit Singh Bains (retd), chairman, Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO). He was here, accompanied by other dignitaries of the PHRO, to preside over a seminar on human rights awareness, which was organised at the Teachers’ Home today.

Speaking to The Tribune, Justice Bains said the judicial system of the state at large was facing constraints, which is dragging it into a number of controversies. “We all know that justice delayed is justice denied. But no step is being taken to check the problem. Aggrieved persons are at the receiving end while others throw all rules to the wind taking advantage of the weak system,” rued Bains.

“Unfortunately, people are not much aware about their rights. It is for this reason that they are being deprived of what they deserve. The entire system is being run on the sole discretion of politicians,” he added.

Bains alleged that even the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) was not functioning properly. The former justice alleged, “The PSHRC was formed for the protection of people’s rights. Ironically, the members who have a responsibility to uphold the law are proving to be ‘Yes Men’. They are helpless because only those in the good books of the leaders in power get seats in the commission.”

“Six High Court judges were found to be mired in corruption some time back, but it is a matter of shame that four of them belonged to Punjab. It is the ill fate of our state that people took it very lightly,” said Bains.

Speaking about the need for reforms, he said nobody should be entitled to use beacons atop their vehicles. Every politician and bureaucrat must understand that he has to serve people and not to rule over them. Once they adhere to it in principle, the plight of the common man would improve automatically, he added.

Bathinda, November 20
President of the Sobha Singh Memorial Chitarkar Society HS Sohal today urged the state government to set up a ‘Kala Kendra’, an art college and an art gallery in Bathinda city for promotion of art in a big way.

He also urged Baljit Singh Bir Behman, Mayor, Municipal Corporation, Bathinda, to allot space in the city where the local artists could work on their art and organise exhibitions.

Besides Chahal, a retired college principal, Jasbir Singh Sidhu, also asked the Mayor to construct a ‘Kala Bhawan’ in the city where artists and writers could do literary and art works. A provision should also be made for organising exhibitions there.

The demands came up during a painting exhibition of Sukhdev Singh Artist organised by the Sobha Singh Chitar Kala Vikas Society, Bathinda, on the premises of the Guru Nanak Dev Senior Secondary School, Civil Station, here.

SDM KPS Mahi inaugurated the exhibition while the Mayor presided over. In the inaugural programme, several art lovers and artists took part. Several paintings of the artist depicting Punjab’s culture, heritage and tradition, Indian culture and nature etc were on display.

Bir Behman assured the artists that he would take up the matter with the state government for setting up a ‘Kala Bhawan’ in the city. He said some of the paintings of Sukhdev Singh looked like photographs. He also released a book titled ‘Paintings of Sukhdev Singh Artist at a glance’, which carried several paintings of the artist.

At the programme, the SDM, deputy director of Employment Generation and Training, Bathinda, Harpal Singh, president of Sobha Singh Chitar Kala Vikas Society Tehal Singh, professor Navsangeet Singh and Gurpreet Singh Artist also expressed their views about the paintings.

Sukhdev Singh among several others was honoured with memento and ‘siropa’ on the occasion.

Abohar, November 20
The closure of blood bank in the 100-bedded Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here took 
its first toll with the death of a pregnant woman, a migrant from Uttar Pradesh, sources said.

Babli, wife of Vijay Kumar, a brick kiln worker, was admitted to a private hospital three days back. Finding her anaemic, the doctor reportedly advised her husband to arrange for blood. The family could not afford to take her to Fazilka or any other town. She had to be shifted to the civil hospital today but died as no blood could be made available. Several social activists gathered at the civil hospital and expressed resentment.

They lodged protest during a phone call to the civil surgeon KJS Kakkar and demanded action against the local authorities. The civil surgeon assured that four units of each group of blood would be made readily available from Fazilka at the local civil hospital. However the local hospital would not collect blood from the donors till the licence is renewed. A memorandum has been faxed by the NGOs to the health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla as well. — OC

Ferozepur, November 20
A loan scam amounting to lakhs, allegedly committed by the manager of the cooperative bank, Talwandi Bhai, two inspectors of cooperative society in Lalle village, some prominent residents along with the deceased secretary of said society, has surfaced here today.

Police sources said as many as 35 farmers hailing from Haraj village were cheated due to manipulations in their financial transactions.

Sources said Harchand Singh, who died on August 15, this year, along with other accused, managed to get chequebooks issued in the name of 35 farmers, loanee of the cooperative bank, without their consent and by forging their signature made on the applications moved to the manager of the bank for issuance of chequebooks issued in the name of account holders.

The cheque books were kept in his possession by Harchand Singh. Whenever, any farmer approached him for loan, he would get his signature on the cheque from him and fill more than the amount demanded.

The farmers lodged a complaint in this connection. The police is investigating the matter.

Gurmeet Singh, son of Harchand Singh, who lived in Manila, promised that he would give back money to the farmers by disposing of the land, which was owned by his father.

However, Gurmeet along with his sister Baljit Kaur, mother Amarjeet Kaur, village nambardar, Gurdev Singh and two other persons Kuldeep Singh and Jagroop Singh managed to get a fake will prepared in the name of deceased Harchand Singh and later got the piece of the land transferred, which was owned by Harchand Singh, in their name.

Later, Gurmeet fled to Manila.Police sources said a case under sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 477-A and 120-B of the IPC was registered at the Ghal Khurd police station. However, no arrests had been made so far. 

Ferozepur, November 20
Malkit Singh, a youth of Chak Somiya village of this district, has been left landless after he was cheated by five persons, who allegedly took lakhs of rupees from him on the pretext of sending him abroad about two and a half years ago.

He got a criminal case registered against Kulwinder Kaur, Jarnail Singh, Niranjan Singh (sister and brothers), Harjinder Singh and his wife Gurjeet Kaur, residents of Belgium. Police sources said Malkit sold his small piece of land and borrowed money from his kin to pay Rs 10 lakh as demanded by Kulwinder and her brothers. An inquiry found the five persons involved in the fraud. A case has been registered but no arrest were made yet. — TNS