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Robbery case solved, 5 held
Victims’ kin keep police on toes
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Those 30 minutes saved his life
Hope diminishes as wait gets longer
ESI sets up helpline for victims
Probe team seeks PSIEC help
From colleges
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Robbery case solved, 5 held
Jalandhar, April 20 The police has arrested five members of the gang following exchange of fire between the CIA staff and the robbers near Fateh Jalal village. The police has also recovered Rs 12 lakh, a .12 bore country-made pistol, a 7.65 bore mouser, two sharp-edged weapons and the car used in the crime. The Senior Superintendent of Police (Rural) said that Nachhatar Singh, a resident of Dheer Pur village, had planned the robbery. He had hired Parmveer Singh, alias Rinka, a resident of Mehtabgarh, Jaswainder Singh, alias Neeta, of Saidowal, Jaspreet Singh, alias Jassa, of Rurka Kalan and Gurchetan, a resident of Mahla, for Rs 3 lakh for the purpose. One of their accomplices, Harpreet Singh, alias Happy, The SSP said Balbir Singh, a resident of Mokhey village near Kartarpur, had agreed to sell a chunk of land to Nachhatar Singh, but he backtracked. He, however, agreed to sell the land at a higher price. This infuriated Nachhatar and he hatched a conspiracy against Balbir. Nachhatar called his henchmen to the Tehsil Complex during the sale deed registration so that they could identify their target. When Balbir Singh and his son Anoop were on their way home on a motorcycle after selling the land, an Indica Car (PB-10AS-5824) chased them and its occupants attached the duo with sharp-edged weapons leaving them critically injured. |
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Victims’ kin keep police on toes
Jalandhar, April 20 Fumed over the rising death toll and terming the rescue operation slow, a day before yesterday, scores of labourers had also gathered near the factory sight and raised anti-district administration slogans. The police has also set up barricades near the factory collapse site so the relatives of victims do not create hindrance in the rescue operation. For the first three days of the tragedy, the police had not allowed relatives of victims to gather near the factory site. A volunteer of the rescue team said: "If we allow labourers to gather near the sight, they will not allow us to work smoothly. Every minute, a relative of the victim asks us of about the status of trapped victims which hinders the rescue operation." Navjot Singh Mahal, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Headquarters) said: "Now, we are allowing relatives of the victims to stand near the sight and identify the bodies and they are cooperating." Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti said all bodies have been kept at the mortuary of the Civil Hospital and people have been told to visit the mortuary to identify their relatives. In case no one comes to identify the body, the district administration would publish the photographs and the detail of the deceased in newspapers. Sources, however, said not even a single unidentified body was lying at the mortuary.
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Those 30 minutes saved his life
Jalandhar, April 20 “This is how one can define the miracles of the almighty,” said a virtually lost Suchit Paswan, who had gone to the factory on Sunday night to get his salary. Standing in front of the debris and recollecting the sight of the building, Suchit, a driver in the factory, said: “Whenever I look at the rubble, I end up thanking the almighty for saving me. Then at times I feel sorry for those trapped or who died in the collapse,” he said. The disaster took place around 11.15 pm and Suchit left the factory premises at 10.45 pm as he had not received his salary. “The moment I reached home, I received a call that the factory had collapsed and the workers were trapped inside. I rushed to the factory site just to see rubble and dust everywhere and fellow labourers rushing to save their relatives and friends. Now I understand the importance of time in life. Those 30 minutes saved my life,” he added. A resident Gopalganj in Bihar, Suchit has been residing in Jalandhar since 2001 and was working as a driver with Shital Fibres. “Considering Jalandhar as my base, I shifted my family here, but now I feel like leaving Punjab forever. There is no work as all the units of Shital Vij are closed and to add upon it we lost our friends,” he said. Like many other labourers, Suchit has been roaming without any work and a bleak future. “This disaster has shattered me. Since Sunday night, I have been watching the rubble everyday and hearing the loud cries and wails of my friends,” he said.
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Hope diminishes as wait gets longer
Jalandhar, April 20 After hours of anxious moments, these labourers finally got to know that one of their co-workers, 16-year-old Kareeman, from Aara village in Bihar has died under the debris of the factory. While the labourers somehow mustered the courage to pass on the information of the death of 16-year-old Kareeman, the women on the other side were left wailing loudly and cursing the almighty for this disaster. Devender Sahay from Muzzafarpur in Bihar said: “I spent the entire Sunday night sitting in front of the debris trying to locate my 15-year-old nephew Sulender by calling on his mobile phone. On Monday morning, my nephew gave me a call and I immediately responded, just to hear his choked voice.” “His body is yet to be recovered and I hope that he is still alive. I end up rushing around the debris every time there is information that a body has been dug out,” Devender added. Another labourer Joginder Yadav was seen sobbing and trying to talk to his family about the disaster in which his brother, Rahul, was trapped under the debris. He said: “I have been praying before the almighty to save my brother. Nothing could be worse than seeing your loved ones die unnatural death in front of your eyes.” “There were around six boys from our village, Aara, who came to work in the city. We find it difficult to face the family members of those trapped under the debris,” said Amarjit Singh, a labourer. Prepared for the worst, the labourers said the chances of survival of those trapped under the debris were bleak as there were 12 machines weighing 2 tonnes each on the second floor of the building and around 200 beams of 2 quintal each. “The workers were working on these heavy machines when the tragedy struck and one can easily imagine the condition of those trapped under the debris of the four-storeyed building,” said a group of labourers, waiting for their loved ones to be rescued.
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ESI sets up helpline for victims
Jalandhar, April 20 Offering aid to those affected by the catastrophe, the ESI invited victims’ families to present their claims at the ESI offices in Jalandhar and also issued phone numbers of ESI officials. “Those who present their claims will be liable to the benefits as per the ESIC norms, depending on their cases,” said joint director of ESI sub-regional office in Jalandhar Jaswinder Singh Dhand. The notice stated that the relatives of employees affected in the mishap could present their claims from 9 am to 5.30 pm at the respective offices of the ESI. The claims could be presented to Surjit Singh, branch manager, ESI, Focal Point, Jalandhar, and Jaswinder Singh Dhanda, joint director, sub-regional office, ESI Hospital Complex, Shaheed Uddham Singh Nagar, Jalandhar. The notice also informed the management of Shital Fibres that the requisite (insurance) documents of those injured/deceased be sent to the ESI offices at the earliest so their claims could disposed of without delay. Earlier, the ESI had issued two show-cause notices to Shital Fibres under the general regulations of the ESI Act, 1948.Probe team seeks PSIEC help n Sends samples of construction material for test
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Probe team seeks PSIEC help
Jalandhar, April 20 Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Navjot Singh Mahal, who is heading the police committee constituted to probe the tragedy, today submitted a 10-point charter to the Managing Director of the Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation limited (PSIEC). In the charter, the ADCP has demanded copies of letters relating to licence and safety measures issued by the department to the proprietor for Shital Fibres. Mahal said the shift manager of the industrial unit has also been asked to submit details of workers deployed in the unit those on duty when the mishap occurred. He said samples of construction material from the mishap site have also been collected and sent for examination to a forensic laboratory in Chandigarh. The repost will help find out the standard of material used in the construction, he added. “We are working on various other theories and are collecting samples and evidences that may prove helpful in investigating the reasons of the mishap,” Mahal added. |
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From colleges The CV Raman Science Society and Chandrayaan Vipnet Club of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya celebrated World Earth Day on the college campus. Over 200 students participated in the celebration. Students were sensitised to the growing menace of environmental degradation through a lecture on "Environmental degradation and human health" by Dr Jagbir Singh from the department of zoology and environmental science, Punjabi University, Patiala. He stressed the need to ban polythene bags and also asked farmers to minimize the use of pesticides. KMV students shine
A total of 12 students of KMV Collegiate School won gold medals in international English Olympiad. Sakshi a student of Class XI and Shreya Sharma of Class XII qualified the examination with school rank 1 and won special prizes along with school whiz medals. |
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Jalandhar, April 20
Jalandhar, April 20
