Ferozepur, December 3
Even as five inmates including four aged about 70 years of the local Central jail, have died in different hospitals in the past about 16 days, the jail authorities have become worried over the plight of other elderly inmates, some of whom have been suffering from chronic diseases and undergoing treatment.

Labh Singh (83), an inmate, who died on November 26, in PGI (Chandigarh) could not be released from the jail even when the formalities in connection with his release from the jail under Premature Release Case (PRC) policy of the Punjab government had been completed by the local jail authorities in February and March and necessary documents were sent to the state authorities subsequently.

On the other hand,other inmates, who have died in the past two weeks or so included Makhan (75), Kashmir (70), Amarjit (72) and Gurcharan (40). Most of the inmates were undergoing life imprisonment.

After the death of four elderly inmates, falling in high-risk group, jail authorities are focussing on the health of remaining seven inmates, who are above 80 years of age.

Two of inmates, namely Harnam Dass and Nihal Singh, who are around 95 years of age, have been undergoing treatment in the jail hospital. They were sentenced to life in various murder cases.

Though the jail authorities have completed PRC formalities for the seven inmates about 9-10 months ago, their release orders are still awaited. The others inmates who have crossed 80 years, included Ved Parkash, Joginder Singh, Bikram Singh, Tara Singh and Waryam Singh.

Sources said only one doctor, three male and one female pharmacist are deployed in the jail to take care of about 1900 inmates. The capacity of jail is to accommodate 1136 inmates only.

The local jail has been receiving convicts from the jails based in Moga, Fazilka and Muktsar.

LS Jakhar, superintendent, when contacted, said the inmates were provided with proper medical facilities. They were also being sent to the local civil hospital, medical college (Faridkot) and PGI (Chandigarh) for treatment as well.

He said death cases of five inmates were being probed by the relevant agency. The National Human Rights Commission and Punjab State Human Rights Commission had been informed about the same.

Postmortem had been conducted by the panel of doctors to find out the fact whether the cause of death was natural or the inmates had died due to negligence of the jail authorities. 

Ferozepur, December 3
Once a popular and unique form of entertainment, ‘The Great Indian Circus’ with advent of satellite channels and penetration of new age communication mediums like internet is dying a slow death in modern era. While the concept of 'circus' is gradually effacing from the collective memory, the artistes are also struggling for a livelihood from whatever is left now.

With hundreds of circus artistes performing various daring aerobatic acts perfected after years of practice, the circus manages barely an audience. Even with tickets costing as little as Rs 40, the seats are almost vacant. Though the Indian circus seems to be barely surviving, still an interaction with the circus artistes reveal that they are motivated enough to risk their lives for hundreds of empty chairs, and many of them have spent a lifetime taking risks and entertaining others.

However, beneath their smiling painted faces are fears for their future and dreams for their children. It is show time and 20 years old and just 30 inches tall Ravi is busy painting on a smile for his audience. At 10, Ravi, who hails from Agra, was tired of being called a dwarf and the circus became his escape route to a respectable life.

While talking to the TNS, Ravi said, “I am happy here with whatever I get. At least, I make people laugh, which in itself is a great source of satisfaction for me.”

Anil Kumar Sahu, manager marketing, Asiad Apollo Circus, camping here for the last two weeks said, “Earlier, people used to respect circus staff. However, now we seem to have lost the attention.”

Artistes are paid anything between Rs 2,000-10,000, a month — depending on their skills and experience besides food and accommodation being taken care of. On being asked, whether they have any medical or health insurance, Akhtar Khan, who drives motorcycle in ‘Maut Ka Kua’' feigns ignorance about any insurance policy saying, “All our medical requirements are taken care of by the company.”

Shareef Khan, the elephant trainer said, “He was enticed by the circus since childhood. He works hard with the elephants and treats them like his family. Whatever I am today is because of the circus. I married off my daughter and even managed to buy a small plot back home in Lalitpur to build a house when I retire.”

“As long as there is strength in the body, we can work hard. However, once we are old, a circus artiste is an insignificant person,” he added. Though they have spent their lives here, all the artistes have kept their children away from the circus.

Sahu said, “Earlier, all three shows used to be houseful but now on an average, we have around 1000 people turning up daily, which is not enough to meet our expenses.” Most circus companies are suffering losses and many are just about breaking even. “Today, our condition is not good enough to invest money. It is difficult to maintain or even replace the torn tents as it involves an expenditure of Rs 10-15 lakhs.”

Sahu feels that their profession is no longer roaring with life because they are not permitted to keep wild animals. “Earlier, lions, monkeys, tigers, leopards and bears were instrumental in attracting crowds, but now in their absence with only elephants, horses, parrots and dogs at our disposal, we have to depend largely on human performances, for which, we have engaged artistes from Kenya and other countries, who are here on six months visa,” he said.

“We do not need many tigers, just two of them for showing them to the coming generation in small border town like this where kids do not have access to zoo, but stringent laws do not permit that, “ he pointed out, adding that they are going around in circles as far as the government is concerned.

Besides entertainment tax exemption and concession on railways, they have been offered little else. Grounds are usually on the outskirts, making circus inaccessible to a majority of the people, and at prime locations, they are simply not affordable. Circus artistes are not even recognised as skilled performers and as a result ,there is no formal training.

The law also does not recognise children in circus as junior artistes. Children under the age-group of 14 years are in fact termed as child labourers even if they are gymnasts or acrobats and with age, learning the tricks just gets tougher, the artistes rued.

Scarcity of funds, fading public interest, ban on animals and a decline in the quality of artistes are just a few of the problems that the circus is facing these days but as they say, “The show must go on.” 

Bathinda, December 3
Observing the World Disability Day at the Mahant Gurbanta Dass School for Deaf and Dumb here today, the District Red Cross Society distributed tricycles, blankets and sets of utensils among the physically challenged.

Three physically challenged persons, namely Satnam Singh from Tungawali village, Gurpreet Singh from Ballahar Mehma village and Harpreet Singh from Nathana village, were given tricycles while two blankets and a set of utensils each were given to 11 disabled persons.

On the occasion, free medical and dental check-up camps were also organised where over 150 students of the school were examined. Medicines were also distributed free of cost. Dr Neha said she examined about 120 students for dental diseases. Of them, about 50 per cent were found suffering from caries.

Deputy Commissioner Gurkirat Kirpal Singh was the chief guest while Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sukhchain Singh Gill was the guest of honour at the function.

Among others present on the occasion included secretary of the District Red Cross Society JR Goyal, Principal of the school Maninder Kaur and state president of the Akhil Bharatiya Viklang Chetna Parishad Gurmeet Singh Jeeda.

A ‘rangoli’ competition was also organised, in which students of the Red House of the school clinched the first position while the Green House stood second. In the wooden clay craft competitions, Class X secured the top position while Class VIII stood second.

Meanwhile, District Legal Services Authority, Bathinda, organised a seminar to mark the day at the Kusht Ashram near Hanuman Chowk here.

Assistant District Attorney Rakesh Kumar Soni presided over the seminar while a legal aid counsel of District Bar Association, Gurdev Singh Sodhi, was the key speaker.

Bathinda, December 3
The total number of dengue positive cases today rose to 343 in Bathinda district during this dengue season.

One case from Rampura Phul area tested positive for dengue at the Sentinel Surveillance Hospital, situated at the Civil Hospital here, today.

According to information available, Mac Elisa tests were conducted on eight blood samples from Bathinda, Faridkot, Muktsar and Mansa districts at the SSH here, of which four tested positive for dengue.

Two positive cases were from Muktsar district, one each was from Faridkot and Bathinda districts.

Out of the 343 positive cases from the district, 299 were from the Bathinda city alone while remaining were from following blocks of this district — Talwandi Sabo block (21), Bhagta (8), Sangat (6) and three each from Ballianwali, Nathana and Goniana blocks.

However, during this season, the district health authorities received information about 222 dengue cases of Bathinda district from DMC Hospital, Ludhiana, and 100 cases from the Civil Hospital, Bathinda.

Besides, the authorities have received information about 14 cases from the Apollo Hospital, Ludhiana, four cases from the CMC Hospital, Ludhiana, and three cases from Mohali.

District Health Officer Dr Raghbir Singh Randhawa said with the fall in temperature, the number of new dengue patients had started coming down nowadays. He expressed a hope that in the days to come, the residents of the city would certainly get relief from the dengue in a big way.

During 2008, as many as 359 cases, including 305 cases from the Bathinda city, were reported from the district while during the year 2009, only five dengue cases were reported from the entire district.

Bathinda, December 3
The three-day Virasat Mela organised by the Malwa Heritage Foundation (MHF) began here today with a colourful procession showcasing rich traditions and cultures of the Malwa region and other states like UP, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Artistes from Madhya Pradesh take part in the Virasat Mela in Bathinda on Friday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

After paying obeisance at a gurdwara and the Dargah of Hazi Rattan Sahib, Bathinda DC Bathinda Gurkirat Kirpal Singh and SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill, who are the honorary president and vice-president of the MHF, respectively, flagged off the procession. The procession passed through the city markets and culminated in Jaipalgarh village, which is set up particularly for the heritage fair, adjacent to the Sports Stadium here.

Decorated animals like elephants, camels and horses led a large number of jeeps, tractor-trailers and other vehicles, which were a part of the procession. Mare dances and the Sikh martial art, gatka, were attractions of the procession.

Activists of the Nehru Yuva Kendra belonging to Punjab, UP, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana showcased the culture of their respective states. An exhibition of pearl-embedded ‘juttis’, heavy embroidery-lased kurtas, ribbons and headgears was also organised.

Bathinda, December 3
Acting upon the directions of a local court, a board of doctors today conducted the medical examination of a youth, Gurpreet Singh alias Laden of Mandi Kalan village, who had accused the district CIA staff of torturing him in police custody. The accused was booked by the Balianwali police on November 28 under various sections of the NDPS Act as he along with three others was nabbed in possession of a sedative from a drain near village Mandi Kalan.

As all the accused had a criminal history, the interrogation was conducted by the CIA staff to ascertain related facts.

However, during his appearance before the judge in a local court on November 29, the accused Gurpreet Singh alias Laden not only refuted the allegations but also accused the CIA staff of assaulting him brutally. He alleged that police gave him electric shocks to make him admit to having committed the crime. Considering his allegations, the JMIC Kapil Dev Singla directed the police to get him medically examined on or before December 3 by a board of doctors. Meanwhile, the accused was sent to judicial custody.

Acting upon the direction of the court, police today took Gurpreet to the Civil Hospital, where a board of doctors conducted his medical examination.

Speaking to media, Gurpreet alleged that the police had implicated all of them in a false case just to satisfy an Akali leader of the village. On the other hand, in-charge CIA staff, Rajinder Kumar refuted the allegation of torturing the accused. Speaking on the issue, he informed that the accused Gurpreet Singh and three others, namely, Raghuvir Singh alias Titri, Gurtej Singh alias Bheema and Amrik Singh alias Kala, had criminal records. They used to pedal drugs and were also involved in various cases of snatching and robbery, he said. “Gurpreet Singh is just misleading the court and the media but is in fact a habitual offender, facing more than a dozen cases. Among others, two were already declared proclaimed offenders (PO),” he claimed. It may be mentioned that the medical report of Gurpreet had not been prepared till the filing of the news. 

Abohar, December 3
One person was killed while five others including the driver of a three-wheeler sustained injuries as it was hit by an unknown four-wheeler last night near village Nihalkhera on the Abohar-Fazilka road (NH 10), sources said.

Some of the victims informed the visiting media persons in the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital today that five of them had arrived here from Musapur (Haryana) by Rewari-Sriganganagar passenger train last night to visit their relatives at village Jhumianwali in this area.

They hired a three-wheeler but it was hit by an unidentified four-wheeler while approaching village Nihalkhera.

One Raj Kumar, son of Lal Chand, died on the spot while his sister Venita, daughter (Divya), nephews Ravi and Rahul sustained injuries. They were later shifted by the highway patrolling police team to the civil hospital here.

Rahul had to be shifted to Sriganganagar as his condition was stated to be unstable. After about two hours, the driver of the badly mangled three-wheeler was spotted lying in the nearby fields and was admitted to the hospital. A case has been registered, the local police said.

Barnala, December 3
In a bizarre incident a brother allegedly killed his sibling over a land dispute after hitting him with a sharp-edged weapon in village Farwahi here last night. Police have registered a murder case against the accused after the statement of the wife of the deceased, who alleged that her husband was killed by his brother.

As per the reports, Jeet Singh, son of Charan Singh of Farwahi village, used to run a tape-recorder repair shop at the local bus stand. On Thursday, Jeet Singh had a quarrel with his brother Bhola Singh that resulted in the alleged attack.

Jeet Singh died on Thursday. After the incident, family members of Jeet Singh inspite of informing the police tried to hush up the matter and even made efforts to perform the last rites of the deceased this morning.

However, after getting the information, DSP City (Barnala), Rupinder Bhardwaj and SHO city police station Palwinder Singh along with a team rushed to the spot. They after preliminary investigation rushed the body to the civil hospital (Barnala) for postmortem.

Gurdeep Kaur, wife of the deceased, in her statement said some months ago that her father-in-law had bought an acre of land. She reportedly told police that the dispute started within family over the division of money due to the selling of the bought land and also the other land available with the family.

Meanwhile, father of the deceased, Charan Singh also confirmed that the brothers had a fight but he maintained that Jeet Singh died because he fell on the floor and not because of some other reason. DSP City Barnala, Rupinder Bhardwaj said the police has registered a case against Bhola Singh, son of Charan Singh, after the statement of the wife of the deceased. 

Bathinda, December 3
The infamous Nandan Nagpal kidnapping case today took a new turn when the Thermal police in Bathinda brought one Manpreet Singh of Malout on transit remand from the CBI court (Ambala). Police is suspecting Manpreet Singh as the caller who sought a ransom of Rs three crore from Nandan’s father.

During the initial probe, police had ascertained that Manpreet Singh had old business relations with the Nagpal family of Malout. Being a financer, Manpreet Singh used to borrow money from Nandan’s father and owed Rs 20 lakh to him. According to information, the sleuths of CBI and Panchkula police had arrested Manpreet Singh on November 27 to ascertain facts related to some crimes in Haryana. However, during police custody, police found his links in the Nandan kidnapping case.

SHO, Thermal police station, Kuldeep Singh said, “During preliminary investigation, we have ascertained that Manpreet had made a call for ransom to the Nagpal family after Nandan was kidnapped.” “Though Manpreet claimed he owed no dues and had cleared all loans, we are probing whether he was the mastermind behind the whole incident,” the SHO informed.

However, the SHO did not confirm whether the ransom was paid stating that it was being investigated.

About the status of other six accused of whom, two men and two women had been arrested, the SHO said, “One Daljeet Singh of Aspala village in Muktsar had been identified by Nandan during the identification parade, while his wife Mandeep Kaur and his friend Kampal Singh of Sarava Bodla village refused to undergo the identification parade. Meanwhile, one Karamjeet Kauar, who was allegedly used as bait by kidnappers to trap Nandan was also in jail.”

Though the police claimed to have formed teams to nab Jasveer Singh of Maniawala village (Malout) and his driver Pavittar Singh of Shergarh, they were still at large.