The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Mystery shrouds death of 21-year-old woman Police begins murder probe; had registered a case of suicide PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 Mystery shrouds the death of Daljit Kaur (21), a resident of Dharar village. She worked in a reputed hotel here and was found dead inside her room in her flat in the B-block of Ranjit Avenue area here in the evening yesterday. She was alone at her house at the time of the incident. Her sari was found hanging with the ceiling fan. Scars were found on both sides of her neck raising suspicion that she may have been murdered. The Civil Lines police has registered a murder case against unknown persons on the basis of the complaint of Kashmir Singh, the father of the deceased. Kashmir Singh in his complaint stated that Daljit had been working in the hotel for past five months and was living in flat number 10, GE, B- Block, Ranjit Avenue, along with other staff members of the hotel. “I received a call from the hotel where she worked that my daughter had committed suicide. The whole family was in shock after hearing this. My daughter cannot commit suicide and was killed," Kashmir Singh told the police. Sanjiv Kumar, SHO Civil Line police station, said preliminary investigations have raised many doubts over the incident. "It appears that the girl was first killed and then hung to make it look like a suicide. It seems unlikely that she had committed suicide by hanging herself with the ceiling fan and that she was strangled to death," he said. Initially, the police had initiated proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPc but when suspicion arose over the circumstances leading to the death a case was registered under Section 302, 211 IPC. He said postmortem reports are awaited and action will be taken accordingly. “The ceiling fan with which she was shown to have hung herself has not got damaged," said a source. The police has rounded up several staff members of the hotel, including the roommate of the deceased for questioning. They were let off late in the evening. Official speak It appears that the girl was first killed and then hung to make it look like a suicide. It seems unlikely that she had committed suicide by hanging herself with the ceiling fan and that she was strangled to death. — sanjiv kumar, sho, civil lines police station, Amritsar I received a call from the hotel where she worked that my daughter had committed suicide. The whole family was in shock after hearing this. My daughter cannot commit suicide and was killed. — kashmir singh, father of the deceased
	25 ayurvedic dispensaries run out of medicines, staff Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 Owing to a disruption in the supply of medicines and acute manpower crunch, tall claims of the state government of promoting ayurveda seems to have fallen flat. Almost all 25 ayurvedic dispensaries are grappling with these two problems here, the ayurvedic department at Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital has failed to get a separate window for registration of patients interested in ayurvedic treatment started. This, despite its repeated requests to the district health authorities, doctors at the department say. In the absence of a separate window the patients are registered by the doctors concerned. For this patients have to reach the first floor of the hospital. Sources say the supply of ayurvedic medicines to all the dispensaries in the district was stopped almost two months ago. The shortage of medicines has also affected the performance of these dispensaries. An ayurvedic doctor said, "The number of patients visiting these dispensaries everyday has gone down by half. Earlier, each dispensary was had 90 or 100 patients daily. The number has gone down to 50-60 now." As the patients are reluctant to buy medicines from the market and expect that the dispensaries will provide the same, the performance of the dispensaries has been hit, he said. The shortage of staff can be assessed from the fact that out of the total of 25 sanctioned posts of dispensers (the same as pharmacists in allopathic hospitals) in Amritsar, 19 are lying vacant. Six posts of ayurvedic doctors are also lying vacant. Balkar Singh, a patient said, "It will be better if a separate registration and enquiry window is set up at the main entrance. Even the supply of medicines should be made regular as more and more people are opting for the ayurvedic system of medicine." In the absence of required manpower, the doctors available have to play multiple roles and work as clerks to sign the registration slips, dispensers to distribute medicine and treasurers to maintain the accounts, the doctors say. District Ayurvedic and Unani Officer Dr Surinder Singh could not be contacted. Civil Surgeon Avtar Singh Jarewal said, "Nobody has ever told me that the ayurvedic centres need a separate registration window. We would soon find a solution to the problem."
	house meeting Congress councillors serve ultimatum to commissioner GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 The Congress, which sits in the Opposition in the Amritsar Municipal Corporation, has served an ultimatum to the MC Commissioner to call a House meeting by Monday failing which they would hold a meeting themselves. The Congress councillors claimed that the meeting hasn’t been called for the past six months. The last meeting took place on April 6. The norms say if one-third majority of the members of the house demand to hold the meeting, the MC Commissioner can allow holding of the House meet. Out of a total of 65 wards, the Congress has 22 councillors. Rajat Aggarwal, Congress councillor for Ward 8, blamed that the House barely meets once or twice in a financial year, giving hardly any chance to the councillors to hold a constructive debate over the people's problems and various development works on which the ruling alliance has been claiming to spend crores of rupees. Though Ajaybir Pal Singh Randhawa, Senior Deputy Mayor, representing the SAD admitted that the House meeting of AMC was not conducted at regular intervals, he said there was no set pattern about holding the House meeting. “There are no such guidelines which stipulate any time-frame for holding the House meetings. Personally I feel that house meeting should be held after every two months which has not been done here,” he said. “In the current year, just three meetings took place and that was not enough. We are the representatives of residents in our respective wards, it is our liability to discuss their problems and find their solutions at regular intervals,” he said. Ajit Singh Bhatia, a Congress councillor for Ward 20, said wards held by Congress councilors are being discriminated against. Defying this, Ajaybir Randhawa said no discrimination of the sort is ever met to any councilor. “The opposition themselves should be blamed for this. They do not put forth their problems in a genuine way. Except for disrupting House meetings, they hardly take any initiative to find solution to the problem,” he said. official speak The House meet will be scheduled this month only. I admit that there are certain developmental programmes which demand thorough discussions. The exact date of holding the house meeting will be declared on Monday. Meanwhile, we are on the job to furnish all requisite formalities for the same. — dharampal gupta, commissioner, mc, Amritsar
	Two held with 50 bags of wheat Stock meant for PDS was being taken to be sold in the market PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 Wheat stock meant to be distributed under the Public Distribution System (PDS) continues to be siphoned out. The wheat meant for ration depot is ending up in the open market thanks to the unscrupulous ration deport holders, who in connivance with black marketers allegedly sell the same to the flour mills. The arrest of two persons with 50 bags of wheat today is another case in point. The wheat recovered was meant to be distributed under the public distribution system through the ration depots. Pardeep Singh, a resident of Ajmalpur, and a ration depot holder was caught by the anti-narcotics cell while he was going to supply more than two dozens wheat bags procured from ration depot holders at Gurdaspur to flour mills at Fatehgarh Churian road here. They were intercepted near Bal Kallan village at a naka. He admitted that he was going to sell the wheat to Gaurav of Devi Nagar at Fatehgarh Churian road. Following the information provided by him, the police raided the residence of Gaurav and recovered nine bags of wheat meant for the PDS from him. The police has registered a case under Section 420, 406, 411 of the IPC against the accused at Kamboh police station in Amritsar rural police district while more recoveries are also likely to be made. Pradeep, has reportedly confessed that had diverted thousands of quintals of wheat to various flour mills in the city from a number of depot holders in Gurdaspur. Vital documents have also recovered from the accused in this regard. Director, Food and Civil Supplies department Dr Rakesh Singla admitted that he had received a number of complaints of PDS wheat being diverted in the open market while adding that the department had taken every step to stem this problem. “We had recently suspended the licences of four ration depot holders besides issuing notices to several other finding discrepancies in their record. We have also issued notices to several officials of the department in this connection. We have constituted teams which are going through all the records of depot holders in the city,” he said. On the seizure of 40 bags of wheat from the accused, he said the police has not informed them about this till now. Moreover, as per reports it was being smuggled from Gurdaspur. As soon as the police authorities intimate us, we will take action accordingly, he added. The anti-narcotics cell authorities said investigations are being conducted on different lines and the police was trying to identify more ration depot holders whose names were figured in the documents recovered from Pradeep and Gaurav. Nobody will be spared who were found in pilferage of essential commodity in the open market, they said. official speak We had recently suspended the licences of four ration depot holders besides issuing notices to several other finding discrepancies in their record. We have also issued notices to several officials of the department in this connection. We have constituted teams which are going through all the records of depot holders in the city. — dr rakesh singla, director, department of food and civil supplies, Amritsar
	Man booked for abetment to suicide Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 The Sadar police has booked Bimal Gupta, a resident of Green Avenue area, in an abetment to suicide case. Gurdev Singh, the complainant and father of the deceased in a complaint to the police alleged that his son Rakesh Kumar, in partnership with the accused Bimal, had opened an embroidery factory. However, later the accused disassociated with him and gave only an embroidery machine. He did not return any cash to his son due to which his son used to be disturbed and allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance at his factory. The Sadar police has registered a case under Section 306, 506 IPC against Bimal in this regard. Sohan Singh, SHO Sadar police said a probe has been launched.
	body worship Central jail inmates to fight for pride GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 Inmates of Amritsar Central Jail will now run for pride, the pride of competing for a trophy in the discipline of body building named after martyr Bhagat Singh. For this the jail has also got another gym. The Central jail authorities today announced a trophy in body building to be conferred upon the winners from among the jail inmates. The trophy is named ‘Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Trophy’, the authorities revealed at the inauguration of the second gym in the jail. The 62-year-old jail, which houses over 2,700 inmates, can now boast of having two gyms equipped with the state-of-the-art fitness machines. The Central Jail-1 (CJ-1) already had a gym, which was introduced two years ago out of the funds under the MPLAD given by MP Navjot Singh Sidhu. Now inmates of Central Jail-1 (CJ-2) too can avail the same facility. To keep their spirits high the new gym has been aptly named ‘Chak De Health Club’, Jail Superintendent Tejinder Singh Maur said. This move will help make the inmates healthy and divert their attention from other vices like drugs and keep them away from indulging in clashes with fellow inmates. “The idea was to make them involved in positive activities. We had a gym but it was not adequate for all inmates because sometimes, due to security issues, the CJ-2 inmates were not allowed to go towards CJ-1. So, we decided to introduce a separate gym for them. This led to the move to introduce competitions between the CJ-1 and CJ-2 inmates in events like body building and stamina endurance. Therefore, a running trophy was introduced and whosoever team wins the overall events will be the recipient of the trophy,” he said. Deputy Superintendent, GS Bhullar, said the gym equipment cost oRs 1 lakh and the amount has been generated out of a welfare fund. “We have a welfare fund, which is generated from a proportion out of the profits incurred from the jail canteen. So, in a way it was our in-house funds which were used to open this gym,” he said. Dr Manjit Singh, jail doctor, said he will always be there to assist the enthusiasts coming to the gym in taking care of their health and diet needs. A visibly excited inmate, Sandeep Singh, said, “I used to sweat it out regularly when I was not in jail. Here my routine got affected, because it was quite cumbersome to seek permission to go to the gym, which was at the other end of the CJ-1. Having this facility in this part (CJ-2) of the jail will make it easy for us to exercise.” Endorsing similar views another inmate, Avtaar Singh, said, “It will be an asset to have an exclusive gym in our area because in the absence of such an activity, many like me here, were suffering from depression and were always occupied with negative thoughts. It will bring us good change besides keep us busy and in a positive frame of mind.” Harpreet Singh, another inmate, who has been entrusted with the task of upkeep of the new gym, said being in the defence services, he would be able to give tips to the aspirants interested in joining the gym. “We will register those who are interested in physical exercise. They will also be involved in the maintenance of the gym,” he said.
	Vivek Express gets poor response Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 Though general public stayed away from the Vivek Express, a train aimed at spreading teachings of Swami Vivekanand, which arrived at the local railway station yesterday, local schools took students for the exhibition. Talking to The Tribune, train manager Partho Sammder said, "The response we got on the first day was very poor. We had only 250 visitors during the entire day." He claimed that on that second day, as many as 1,200 visitors came to the exhibition. The train is in the city till November 19. Partho said, "Basically the train is aimed at reaching out to those who cannot visit Belur Math in West Bengal." He said famous Chicago speech of Swami Vivekananda delivered during a conference of World Parliament of Religions in 1893 is played for the audience on a DVD player. From Amritsar, the train would leave for Jammu. Balbir Singh, a visitor to the exhibition, said, "I entered the train out of curiosity but soon left as I could not read Hindi or English, the languages used on posters and pictures. Even the voice recording that was playing is in English." He added the Railways should have made efforts to include Punjabi language to draw more response in the state. The train manager admitted that in comparison to cities in South India, the cities in North India gave poor response to the train. The Railways had launched the Vivek Express to educate people on life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda on Janauary 12, 2010. The train has so far covered 15 different states, he said. The journey of the train would conclude on January 11, 2014, the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The centrally air conditioned train has two coaches. The coaches have 57 pictures and posters with teaching of Vivekananda printed on them. Even the sale of books on Swamy Vivekanand has so far fetched a meagre Rs 1,400 in the holy city.
	PSPCL engineers threaten to go on mass casual leave Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) engineers have threatened to hold state-level dharna in front of state headquarters at Patiala on November 22 if the government failed to accede to their demands. The engineers under the banner of PSEB Engineer’s Association also threatened to go on mass casual leave on November 30. Earlier, the engineers from Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur districts staged two-hour walkout from their work and carried out a zonal-level protest march against the management of PSPCL. Speaking on the occasion, various leaders of the association said they would be forced to intensify their agitation if the government failed to accede to their demands. JS Suchu, joint secretary of the association, alleged that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has given a nod to set up 1,320 MW thermal plant. Walkout The engineers from Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur districts staged two-hour walkout from their work and carried out a zonal-level protest march against the PSPCL management
	Black flags greet Sekhwan GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 The Punjab Education Minister, Sewa Singh Sekhwan, was greeted with black flags and anti-government slogans by agitating college teachers here today. Hundreds of teachers, under the banner of PCCTU, accompanied by non-teaching staff were protesting outside the gate of St Francis School, where the minister was to preside over the valedictory function of state science exhibition. The minister said, “Since elections are approaching, these teachers are adopting blackmailing tactics and enacting drama to create chaos. All the teachers, belonging to any category, have been paid their deserving dues well in advance by the government and there is no liability left unattended on the part of the state government,” he said. Dejected by the statement, the teachers announced to observe two-hour strike daily for a week from tomorrow. Nevertheless, the teaching and non-teaching staff of the non-government affiliated colleges observed complete cease work today. Addressing a rally at Bhandari Bridge, the state general secretary of the PCCTU Prof HS Walia flayed the state government for the unwarranted and inordinate delay in the acceptance of their demands. Prof Walia said the teachers were forced to take this route as two meetings with the minister remained inconclusive. “The minister always passed the buck to cabinet sub-committee instead of finding a way out. The government is solely responsible for any loss to the students due to agitation. The reasoning that there is financial crunch in the exchequer and our demands cannot be met is actually the shortsighted policy which was responsible for this,” he said. 19 models chosen for INSPIRE awards Punjab Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan awarded 19 students whose models chosen for the national level INSPIRE Awards.As many as 369 models, based on science and technology, were displayed at this exhibition. These 19 students, 12 from junior wing and seven from senior wing, would represent the state in the national-level exhibition to be held at New Delhi. Inderjit Singh, joint secretary of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, said INSPIRE awards, a programme conceptualised three years back by the Ministry of Science and Technology, has three components. First is to attract talent among students of Class VI and X. Each aspirant is given Rs 5,000 for preparing a science project. Secondly, there is a scholarship of Rs 80,000 to pursue higher education. In the third and final phase, there is an assured job opportunity for research career for five years. “The best 5 to 10 per cent entries from the district are selected for participation in the state level. Thereafter, the best 5 per cent entries from state level compete for the national level,” he said. 2-hour strike The teachers announced to observe a two-hour strike daily for a week from tomorrow.
	Stolen motorcycles recovered Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 With the arrest of one Heera Singh of Kot Mit Singh area at Tarn Taran road, the CIA staff today claimed to have busted a gang of vehicle lifters. The police has also recovered four motorcycles from his possession. A case under Section 379, 411 IPC has been registered at C-division police station in this regard. The CIA staff intercepted Heera Singh during a naka at Chatiwind Chowk and seized a motorcycle bearing the number PB-38-A-5885 from him. During investigations he admitted to have stolen three more motorcycles from various parts of the city, the police has claimed. Pistol, cartridges seized The Sadar police has arrested two snatchers and seized a .315- bore country-made pistol from their possession. The accused have been identified as Sukhmanpreet Singh of Police Colony, Lawrence Road, and Samuel of Tagore Avenue, Tungbala at Majitha Road. Sohan Singh, SHO claimed the accused admitted to have tried to snatch a chain from a woman of Lawrence Road side, but they could not succeed. They were caught at a naka. A case under Section 25/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered against them in this regard, the SHO said.
	9 Khalsa College students make it to university team Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 17 Having been the champion in the inter-college kabaddi championship for the last two consecutive terms, the Khalsa College’s kabbadi team received another boost when nine of its players were selected for Guru Nanak Dev University’s team for the upcoming inter-university games. College principal Dr Daljit Singh said it was an honour for the college to participate in the varsity team in such a large number. The team will play its first north zone inter-university match at Solan in Himachal Pradesh on November 25. Selected students are Anil Kumar (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Ranjit Singh, Rajbir Singh, Sandeep Singh, Sukhpreet Singh, Rupinder Singh and Maninder Singh.