The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Western Union dealer shot dead, 1 held Our Correspondent Jalandhar, October 17 A Western Union dealer, Jasvir Singh, resident of Chitti village, was shot dead at Lambra village, near here, late this evening. Two motorcycle-borne youths barged into his shop, Mandeep Electronics, at 9 pm and asked him to hand them over the cash lying in the shop. When Jasvir tried to argue with them, the assailants, who were carrying pistols and other sharp-edged weapons, shot him dead, sources said. The sources said the assailants fired two gun shots, one hit his chest and other his head. Nearby shopkeepers took him to a hospital, where he succumbed to the bullet injuries. People present there caught one of the assailant, Manjinder Singh, alias Bittu, resident of Tagra village in Nurmahal, and handed him over to the police. The police also recovered the pistol used in the crime from him. The other assailant fled from the spot.
	Police Commissioner honours photojournalist for nabbing snatcher Nikhil Bhardwaj Jalandhar, October 17 After conceding to the demand of the local media fraternity to honour the photojournalist for his courage in nabbing a snatcher, the Jalandhar Police Commissioner today awarded the vigilant photojournalist who had caught a snatcher on Saturday night when the miscreant snatched the purse of his wife. Gaurav Yadav, the Commissioner of Police, while giving a bravery certificate to Harish here at Punjab Press Club, applauded his bravery in thwarting the attempt of the snatcher. The Commissioner said, this would give the clear-cut message to snatchers and they would think twice before committing such a crime in future. The Commissioner, who was accompanied by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Yurinder Singh and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Raj Pal Sandhu, urged the public to remain vigilant at all times and assured them that the Jalandhar police would always be with them in such circumstances. The incident occurred on Saturday night, when Harish along with his wife was trudging to Doaba Chowk from Sodal Road, and two motorcycle- borne youths who were carrying some sharp-edged weapons snatched the purse of his wife who was pillion-riding. Reportedly, the snatchers had been following the couple and were looking for a chance to commit the crime. After few minutes’ chase, Harish managed to capture one snatcher, while the other fled from the spot. Harish also sustained small injuries in a bid to catch the snatcher. Yadav claimed that as compared to Amritsar, Patiala and Ludhiana, the crime rate in Jalandhar was less and in the coming times, they were trying to improve the system of policing to ensure law and order in the town. He said, to relieve the cops from long hours of duty, the Department was mulling over the introduction of a shift system, thereby decreasing the working hours of cops. He also believed that public participation was a must to the crime rate.
	Gambling case: ‘No police official found culpable would be spared’ P K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 17 The newly appointed Director General of Police, Anil Kaushik today said that no police official found culpable in the gambling case would be spared. He was in the city in connection with the formal inauguration of the Community Policing Suvidha centres here. Talking to a section of the media before the inauguration of CPSC, he said that the incident is being investigated by R P Mittal, Commissioner of Police and after preliminary investigations the police have suspended an SHO and three ASIs in this connection. It is evident to mention here that a huge contingent of police raided a private resort where a charity organisation had conducted a dine-and-drink party where the police unearthed a major gambling party which was going on at that time. The Russian dancers were also alleged to be invited by the organisers of the party. Even as speculation was rife that the police had recovered more than Rs 1 crore from the spot, the police officials had claimed that only about Rs 7.50 lakh were seized by the police party. The police has registered a case against the who’s who of the city on charges of gambling. The incident hit the headlines and investigations by the senior police officials were initiated. The incident also brought a bad name to the department as many alleged that the cops had not acted diligently. “Whoever is found guilty in the fact-finding report in the case, would not be spared and action would be taken against them as per the law,” said Kaushik. When asked about his priorities after taking charge, he said, conducting the ensuing Punjab Assembly elections peacefully and in a free and fair manner would be among his priorities.
	Two snatchers held, scooter recovered Our Correspondent Jalandhar, October 17 The Jalandhar Division No. 6 police today arrested two snatchers and also recovered the scooter they had snatched from the owner. The accused have been identified as Navdeer Singh and Kamaljt Singh, both residents of Makhu in Ferozepur, the police said, adding that this morning they had snatched an Activa scooter (PB 08 BF 5012) of one Shamsher Singh of Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar here. The snatchers who were carrying sharp-edged weapons also threatened the victim with dire consequences, if he revealed anything to the police, the police said. After acting on the complaint, the police had installed a checkpoint this evening and after intercepting the registration number of scooter, the accused were captured.
	War for the party ticket hots up in Congress, BJP Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 17 The war among aspirants of party ticket from the Congress and the BJP for the Jalandhar (Central) Assembly seat,one of most prestigious seats in Punjab has started hotting up with prospective candidates going in top gear for hectic lobbying for tickets. The constituency is currently being represented by the former Punjab minister, Manoranjan Kalia. While, the frontrunner for the much-sought after Congress ticket is hotelier-turned-Congress leader, Gautam Kapoor. The veteran leader Raj Kumar Gupta who, had staged his re-entry in the Congress about three months back, has also started laying his claim to the Congress ticket vigorously. Gupta has asserted that he would not leave any stone unturned to corner the party ticket as he deserved it for his over 30 years work at the grass-root level in the constituency. Having been denied the Congress ticket in 2007, an anguished Gupta had joined the BJP in the run up to the poll. On the other hand, the former Improvement Trust Chairman Tejinder Bittu who, had cornered 28, 212 votes in the 2007 Assembly polls was still said to be making untiring efforts to land the Congress ticket from the constituency. Senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia had won the seat by securing 47, 221 votes in 2007, thereby defeating his nearest rival Bittu of the Congress. “Only time will tell who gets the ticket or who does not. I am the real grass-root level leader and the party high command knows everything about me and my hard work in the constituency. So, I will win the Congress ticket,” asserted Raj Kumar Gupta. At this point of time, Gautam Kapoor was being considered to be the “strongest” claimant to the Congress ticket this time due to his close proximity to the PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh. Like, Gupta, Bittu too was not likely to let go of his claim to the Congress ticket from the predominantly Hindu segment but, at the same time, he was said to have been trying more vigorously for the Jalandhar (Cantt.) seat where, the electorate was a mixed bag of Dalits, Sikhs, non-Jats, Hindus, Jats and Muslims. For getting the ticket from the Jalandhar (Cantt), Bittu will have to face former minister Gurkanwal Kaur, daughter of late Beant Singh. While, Manoranjan Kalia who, was facing a CBI case, was banking upon the support of senior BJP leaders, Sushma Swaraj and LK Advani, the Jalandhar Mayor Rakesh Rathore has emerged as a strong contender within the party as he is said to have the support of a powerful “cricket lobby,” in the party comprising MPs Rakesh Rathore and Navjot Sidhu. Besides, senior leaders like Arun Jaitley and the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal were also said to be patronising him. Rathore’s chances are seemingly bright as Kalia’s opponents within the party fold and the “cricket lobby” was likely to use the CBI’s “corruption case card” against Kalia in its bid to muster support and corner the party ticket for Rathore . It is a different matter that Rathore is hardly enjoying the tag of a “People’s man” and Kalia has been banking upon his “large scale development works,” in the constituency and on his seniority in the BJP set-up. Jalandhar (Central) constituency While industrialist Gautam Kapoor is a favourite, veteran Cong leader Raj Kumar Gupta cites his grassroot-level work to stake his claim for the ticket. Rakesh Rathour, the city mayor, is being backed by the powerful ‘cricket lobby while former minister Manoranjan Kalia had won from this constituency by trouncing the Cong candidate.
	Nambardars’ monthly honorarium doubled Our Correspondent Shahkot, October 17 Members of the State Nambardar Union today held a thanksgiving rally at Shahkot to extend thanks to the government for increasing the monthly honorarium of the nambardars of the state. The state government recently issued a notification and conceded to the demand of 33,500 nambardars of the state and announced the raise of the monthly honorarium of nambardars to Rs 1000 from Rs 500. Gurpal Singh Samra was also today elected as the president of the state unit. While addressing the gathering, he said, their union had organised numbers of protest rallies and organised dharnas to press the government to fulfil the promises made during the previous assembly elections. Besides the hike in monthly honorarium, few other demands were also conceded by the government, including exemption from government parking fees, seek priority for the kin of the nambardar after death and representation in the district-level committees constituted by the state government. Mahinder Singh Jahangir, the general secretary of the union said, now they had also put few more demands before the state government, including exemption from paying toll tax, construction of meeting halls at tehsil headquarters, issuance of free bus pass and Rs 10 lakh insurance for all nambardars on the pattern of the Haryana government.