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To fill seats, PTU allows direct admissions in second semester
State goes the corporate way, seeks appraisal of its depts
Moga MLA to join SAD tomorrow
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SAD scouting for new face to head Gurdaspur unit
From corporate honcho to seer: The saga of Satguru Uday Singh
Task force constituted to boost community policing
Punjab, UT form tribunals to implement Senior Citizens Act
Delimitation of police stations irks villagers
Oil firms act against consumers with dual LPG connections
490 cancer cases in Ropar district
Shaheedi Jor Mela begins today
Majithia seeks apology from Rana Gurjit
Amritsar
Improvement Trust land scam
SAD leader on the run in fraud case
Eve-teasing accused ‘attack’ police for second time
Bank employee cheated of Rs 3 lakh
Chargesheet filed in Faridkot kidnapping case
Jewellery, cash worth Rs 11 lakh stolen in Ropar
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To fill seats, PTU allows direct admissions in second semester
Jalandhar, December 24 As per the new policy, the colleges will be able to admit students directly in the second semester. Such students will cover the courses of the first semester during summer break after the second and fourth semesters. The university has allowed the colleges to hold admissions by January 22 at their own end. It has also directed the affiliated colleges to put up their vacant seat status on their websites so that applicants could respond accordingly. PTU is thus targeting students who have cleared their compartment exams with various school boards. Justifying the move, Dr Buta Singh, Dean, Academics, said: "The system is not new. Thapar University is following the same trend. Foreign universities too have been following it. We are also contemplating that in case the response is good, the first semester classes for newly admitted students will be held separately on a common campus. Initially, we have allowed it for three courses. But we may follow the system for all courses from next year." Dr Anshu Kataria, chairman, Aryans Group of Colleges, Mohali, said: "The first semester is not dependent on the second semester. The students will not lose any aspect of studies by directly joining the second semester. Those joining will be able to save one precious year of their academic career". Owing to a large number of vacant seats, PTU colleges are reaching out to students even in North-Eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir. Insiders revealed that new private universities in the state have eaten into the share of PTU which earlier had a monopoly in technical education in the state. Besides new colleges, several well-established constituent colleges of PTU too have vacant seats. Giani Zail Singh Campus at Bathinda has sought applications for a seat in B.Tech (textile engineering), 18 seats in MCA and 36 in MBA. Interestingly, while the counseling was conducted by PTU in July, it had even allowed admission in the first semester till October 31, barely a fortnight ahead of the examinations to accommodate the maximum number of students.
changing rules
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State goes the corporate way, seeks appraisal of its depts
Chandigarh, December 24 The departments have been asked to submit their Results Framework Document (RFD) in respect of achievements for 2011-12 and targets for 2012-13. The RFD has been designed to evaluate the performance of departments by the government under guidance of the Performance Management Division (PMD) of the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA). In a communication to all departments, the office of the Principal Secretary, Governance Reforms, stated: "Failure to submit the RFD by the revised stipulated date will be reported to the high powered committee headed by the Chief Secretary". The communication says the PMD has completed its task of training the nodal officers. It also mentions that a number of departments have still not submitted their RFDs. During the 2011-12, systematic training was given to nodal officers in the use of software designed for the RFD. A secretary said: "Performance appraisal by an individual department can be a very effective tool in self-evaluation. It can help in reworking the deployment of staff". Another officer said: "I am not sure if the programme will prove effective or serve any practical purpose. A large number of departments are short of staff while there may be a few having more than the required number of employees. Before shifting, staff will have to be trained to meet the requirements of the job at the new place". The official communication on "Performance Management in Governance" is a step in line with the process of governance reforms. It reads: "The Chief Secretary has desired that Financial Commissioners, Principal Secretaries and Administrative Secretaries should oversee the preparation of the respective RFDs and review the progress regularly".
taking to task
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Moga MLA to join SAD tomorrow
The Congress legislator left for Delhi today and is slated to meet Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in the late evening today or early tomorrow morning. Sources said according to the agreement arrived at with the SAD; the Congress legislator would resign from the Congress and then be nominated as the SAD candidate from Moga in the forthcoming by-election. The sources said Jain had requested the SAD President to give him a ministership considering the “drastic” step he had taken. However he might settle for some other post, including a Chairmanship also. Meanwhile, Jain disclosed that the Pradesh Congress had approached him to reconsider his decision, but he had rejected the overtures. “I told them it was too late “, he said adding he had told the Pradesh Congress representatives to look into their hearts and tell him if the party had treated him well. “I told them the SAD realised my worth while the Pradesh Congress did not even have any time for me”. Senior Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira has urged Jain to reconsider his decision, saying he is likely to be betrayed. Khaira gave the example of Raja Malvinder Singh, Bir Devinder Singh and Gurcharan Singh Ghalib who he claimed had been betrayed by the SAD. The Congress mla also claimed that Jain’s defection was a result of intimidation as there were many criminal cases pending against him. The SAD’s decision to induct Jain into the party is likely to have an adverse impact on the political fortunes of former Director General of Police (DGP) P S Gill who had been given the party ticket in the last assembly elections and had lost the seat to Jain. Gill is at present the ‘halqa incharge’ of Moga. Besides Gill, the induction of the Congress leader into the SAD is also likely to affect the chances of the family of former minister Tota Singh which was also eying this seat. Gill, however, when questioned on the issue, said he was a loyal party man and would stand with any decision taken by party President Sukhbir Singh Badal. He said his family would continue to remain with the SAD. Sources feel SAD President Sukhbir Badal is keen to have an absolute majority in the State assembly to achieve which it is one legislator short. In case Jain joins the SAD and wins the ensuing by election, the SAD will have 57 legislators. Two independent mlas – the Bains brothers Simranjit and Balwinder are already associate members of SAD. Having 59 members in the 117 member Punjab assembly will ensure the SAD would not be dependent of the BJP, which is its coalition partner, at all. The SAD is peeved with the BJP for taking stands contrary to the SAD on a host of issues.
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SAD scouting for new face to head Gurdaspur unit
Gurdaspur, December 24 At present, out of the nine assembly seats in the district, five are represented by the Congress, thereby undermining the influence of the SAD-BJP combine. Besides, the present incumbent SS Langah is being dogged by several scams that took place during his tenure as a Cabinet minister from 2007 to 2012. An insider says if Langah, who has been SAD district unit president since 1988, is not considered, the onus may fall on former Cabinet minister SS Sekhwan to head the district unit. Sekhwan's father, Ujagar Singh Sekhwan had remained president of the SAD from 1987 to 1989 when Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was in jail. Sekhwan is considered close to the Badal family. This is evident from the fact that the Chief Minister personally campaigned for him during the Kahnuwan byelection in 2009. Gurdaspur MLA GS Babbehali is also in the fray. But the insiders reveal that since he has been adjusted in the government as a Parliamentary Secretary, the party may not oblige him again. Former Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon has been ruled out due to health reasons while Batala halqa incharge LS Lodhinangal is seen as a weak candidate. Moreover, the leadership is not too happy with the way Lodhinangal installed his "blue-eyed man" Jatinder Kalyan as president of the Batala Municipal Committee. The sources say Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia holds the key in taking a decision in this regard. "Even though he does not directly interfere in the Gurdaspur constituency, his writ runs large so far as major decisions are concerned," said a senior party leader.
in for a change
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From corporate honcho to seer: The saga of Satguru Uday Singh
But, the crowning also a controversy attached to it. Another claimant to the top post after the death of Satguru Jagjit Singh was Thakur Dalip Singh who, in an unprecedented gesture, wants the crown to go the former head's widow Mata Chand Kaur. Interestingly, Mata Chand Kaur herself had named Thakur Uday Singh as the successor. Controversies apart, it is now Satguru Uday Singh who has been in command of the sect, members of which sport a white dress, including turbans. No Namdhari is allowed to remain without a turban. The sect that fought the British under Satguru Ram Singh is known for not only protecting and preserving Sahiwal breed of Indian cow but also in fighting social evils like dowry, female foeticide and drugs. "My job is to carry forward the social and spiritual crusades started by Satguru Ram Singh and continued by Satguru Jagjit Singh," says Satguru Uday Singh. His grooming into spirituality has been under none other than Satguru Jagjit Singh himself. It was in the early 80s that Satguru Jagjit Singh wanted Uday Singh to look after his farm of about 200 acres. "After a couple of years of traditional farming, we switched to seed production. Our most popular productions are sweet water melon and tomatoes, besides other vegetables and flowers. We are the largest producers of vegetable seeds in the country," claims Satguru Uday Singh. A graduate, he also looks after 1,000 acre seed farm in Andhra and Protective Seed Protection in Ooty. While classical music is in his blood, he has also been associated with the Namdhari hockey team that has produced three Olympians, including mercurial Sardar Singh and a score of national-level players. Satguru Uday Singh has also been one of the brains behind the super-speciality 300-bedded Apollo Hospital in Ludhiana. SEED to SPIRITUALITY
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Task force constituted to boost community policing
It has also decided to entertain online complaints at these centres as part of police reforms. A directive has been issued to all station house officers (SHOs) that they should not entertain any application till it had been recorded at the respective Sanjh Kendra. Any SHO doing so will face disciplinary action. According to reports reaching the headquarters here, the Sanjh Kendras are not functioning at their optimum level due to resistance from police personnel. The reports indicate senior superintendents of police (SSPs) at the district level and SHOs at the 'thana' level refuse to own the kendras due to which various community policing measures are yet to take off. Sources said the police station had to do the back-end work after a complaint or application was forwarded to it by the respective Sanjh Kendra after tagging an identity number on it. The police station had to give the report to the Sanjh Kendra which supplied it to the applicant. They said there is resistance at the police station level as munshis and SHOs were still used to the old system of "sifarish" and in some cases even bribes to deal with all kinds of cases. The state police has constituted a task force under Additional Director-General of Police SK Sharma. The task force comprises experts from Panjab University and eminent citizens who will tour Mansa, Bathinda, Faridkot, Tarn Taran, Amrtisar, Batala, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar on December 26 and 27 to check the functioning of these centres. Sharma said the task force had been formed to make community policing effective by ensuring delivery of services in a timely manner. He said the task force, which would also ensure the involvement of various SSPs in the reforms process, would submit its report to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. Online filing of complaints soon The state police will soon provide the facility of filing of complaints online. Complainants will, however, have to appear in person at the time of registration of an FIR. The state police community affairs division will monitor the online complaints after categorising them
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Punjab, UT form tribunals to implement Senior Citizens Act
Chandigarh, December 24 Among other things, the Act says a senior citizen or parent, unable to maintain himself or herself, can move an application for maintenance before the maintenance tribunal against his children. In case of a childless senior citizen, the application can be filed against the
relative inheriting the property. The tribunal can also initiate proceedings for maintenance suo motu. The matter then goes to a conciliation officer before he holds meetings with the two parties and comes out with a report on a settlement formula, if any arrived by him. If the settlement formula is not reported, the Tribunal has the authority to pass an order for maintenance. As the issue came up for hearing before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, the states of Punjab and Haryana along with the UT Administration informed the court that relevant rules, “in exercise of powers
conferred by Section 32 of the Act”, have been framed, tribunals constituted and conciliation officers appointed. Taking on record the assertion, the Division Bench asserted: “In view thereof, we close the present matter. It has served its
purpose”. Before parting with the order, the Bench added: “However, we would only expect the authorities to give the due publicity to the promulgation of the rules as well as the constitution of the tribunals so that necessary awareness
is brought to the notice of the senior citizens to have access to the tribunals”. The High Court had earlier taken cognisance of the news-report in Chandigarh Tribune dated September 21. The report was on the plight of an 85-year-old woman left to survive on the mercy of others, although she had eight children, including five sons. The Bench observed: “The police had come to her rescue and sent her to old-age home to live without any family support system, which she required at such an advance age. For this reason cognisance was taken by this court.” The Bench had added Parliament had enacted the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, but “the anxiety of the court was
the enforcement of the provisions of the Act in the states of Punjab, Haryana and UT
Chandigarh”.
Relief in sight
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Delimitation of police stations irks villagers
Faridkot, December 24 Many villages, which had a police precinct at a distance of three to five km prior to the delimitation of police stations, are now attached to police stations situated 20-35 km away. Kaler, Dhudi, Bhana, Chand Baja, Chameli, Dhurkot, Misri Wala, Mand Wala, Dhillwan, Punjgrain Kalan, Bageana, Chahal and Kameana are among the villages that have been at the receiving end post reorganisation of police stations. The needy victims at these villages end up spending a substantial time in approaching the police station of their jurisdiction. Before the boundaries of the police stations were redrawn, Kaler, Dhudi, Bhana, Chand Baja, Chameli, Dhurkot, Misri Wala, Mand Wala, Kameana and Chahal were under the jurisdiction of Faridkot Sadar police station situated at a distance of six km. But now, these villages fall under the jurisdiction of the Kotkapura Sadar police station, which is situated over 20 km away. Similar is the case with Bageana, Punjgrain and some other villages, which were under the jurisdiction of the Kotkapura Sadar police station earlier. Now, these villages are attached to the Bajakhana police station. The distance between the police station and these villages has increased to nearly 35 km. On the contrary to what was expected, there have been several incidents when cops reached the spots of crime late due to the increased distance, said a senior police officer on the condition of anonymity. "We know the reason for this re-drawing of the jurisdiction map of police stations. It is all for political reasons," said another police officer. After a notification (No. S.O.47/C.A 2/1974/S. 2/2010), last year, all police stations now have jurisdictions as per the assembly constituencies in the state. Instead of attaching a village to the closest police station, all villages of an Assembly constituency now fall under the police stations (Sadar or City) situated in the constituency. "It is believed that the motive behind redefining the jurisdictions of police stations was to address the persistent demand of some ruling party leaders, who were facing problem in prevailing upon the police officers of a police station in another leader's constituency as some of the villages in their Assembly constituency fell under the jurisdiction of a police station in the constituency of the other leader," said the officer.
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Oil firms act against consumers with dual LPG connections
Led by Indian Oil Corporation, almost 1840 dual gas connections have been terminated while 51,200 such subscribers have deactivated their connections across Punjab and Chandigarh. This has been done after the oil marketing companies launched a verification drive of all their customers and started with a due diligence (know your customer forms) of those customers suspected of having dual/multiple LPG connections. There are around 59.1 lakh registered LPG connections as against 54.09 lakh households in the state. Information available with The Tribune shows out of 53.90 lakh LPG customers of Indian Oil Corporation, 10.70 lakh customers were suspected to have dual/multiple LPG connections. Of this, 9.57 lakh customers were getting subsidised LPG on the same address, although in different names. But 1.13 lakh customers were getting subsidised LPG on the same name and same address. The oil marketing companies have already completed the due diligence in respect of 8.24 lakh customers. Official sources said they were now asking all LPG customers, suspected of having multiple connections, to fill the KYC forms. The customers were also being asked to submit details of their Aadhar numbers (UID numbers) to the agent as the government planned to start the direct transfer of LPG subsidy to the bank accounts of the customers. Officials said It was three months ago that the government launched the “one household one LPG connection”. Consumers were initially issued an advisory by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to surrender any additional LPG connections they have as part of the government’s efforts to stem the burgeoning under-recoveries of the oil marketing companies. It is suspected that there are over 30 lakh consumers having multiple LPG connections. The oil marketing companies are not just disconnecting any multiple connections that a consumer has, but such consumers also face permanent disconnection, and penal action under the Essential Commodities Act.
verification on
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490 cancer cases in Ropar district
Ropar, December 24 The state-wide survey was started on December 1. Sources say the survey would help in preparing policies for providing medical assistance to patients. The civil surgeon said the teams visited 1,06,398 houses, during which 1,357 suspected cases of cancer were also found in the district. Sood said 884 deaths had been reported in the past five years. The survey has been completed at Ropar, Morinda and Nangal and is on at other parts of the district.
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Shaheedi Jor Mela begins today
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 24 Ludhiana Range DIG MF Farooqui, SSP Hardial Singh Mann and other senior police officers reviewed the security arrangements in the shrine complex and at the site opposite to the complex, where Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal will address a conference on December 26. Farooqi said no vehicle would be allowed to enter the area from Jyoti Sarup Gurdwara to the railway track on the Bassi-Pathana road for the convenience of devotees. He said posters with pictures of pick-pockets and other anti-social elements active in the state have also been put up at various places in the complex to warn the devotees. SGPC interim committee member Karnail Singh Panjoli said more than 400 ‘langars’ (community kitchens) have been set up in the town by various religious and
village committees across the country. He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would visit the
shrine tomorrow to pay obeisance. Meanwhile, other political parties including the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) have also made arrangements for political conferences to be held on December 26.
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Majithia seeks apology from Rana Gurjit
Ludhiana, December 24 Majithia said, “The Congress has always adopted a dual stand on law and order. The Punjab Government has taken immediate action in both the crime incidents that took place in the state recently, which included the Faridkot kidnapping case and the ASI murder case in Amritsar. Both these issues were raised in the Vidhan Sabha and we clarified about it.” He said that in both these cases, the Congress allegedly adopted a dual policy.
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Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam
Mohali, December 24 With the receipt of Punjab and Haryana High Court orders in this connection, the next hearing in the case would take place in the court of RS Rai, Additional District and Sessions Judge (Senior Division) on January 2.The High Court had issued orders on December 14 on the application of Capt Amarinder Singh in which he had pleaded the court to transfer the case out of the state. Meanwhile, during today’s hearing in the court of Rajinder Aggarwal, Additional District and Sessions Judge (Special Judge), Capt Amarinder Singh, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, Nachattar Singh Mawi and Vicky Sharma did not appear. Those who joined today’s court hearing included Jugal Kishore Sharma, former chairman of Amritsar Improvement Trust, Mahesh Khanna, Rajinder Sharma, Ashwini Kale Shah, Tara Singh, Gurcharan Singh Khara, Krishan Kumar, Rajiv Bhagat, Baljit Singh, Subhash Chand, Parminder Singh Tung and Daljit Singh. The framing of charges is under process in the court. Notably, an FIR under Sections 420, 467, 471 and 120-B, IPC was registered against Capt Amarinder Singh and others on September 11, 2008 in this case.
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SAD leader on the run in fraud case
Patiala, December 24 A case was registered on December 18 against Baldev Singh Bathohi, who is Sanaur block samiti chairman, on the complaint of Balwinder Kaur, a resident of Rajomajra village. Sanaur is part of Samana constituency, which is represented by Cabinet Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra. Balwinder alleged that Baldev Singh had promised to sell 42 bighas of his land to her. She alleged that the accused, however, did not turn up for registry and even refused to return the token money. The inquiry was referred to the Economic Offences Wing, which found out that the accused did not own the land that he had promised to sell. The FIR in the case was registered on the basis of the report filed by the Economic Offences Wing. Though the case was registered a week ago, the police has failed to arrest him allegedly due to political pressure. Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Gill, however, said there was no pressure on them to go soft on the accused and that he would soon land behind bars.
Dishonest deal
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Eve-teasing accused ‘attack’ police
for second time
Muktsar, December 24 The police claimed that ASI Ram Singh, whose turban was tossed in the air yesterday, again sustained minor injuries today when he along with other policemen had gone to arrest the accused from a dera near Bhalaiana village in the district. The police also claimed that three out of six accused who were nabbed today had even tried to flee by jumping out of a moving police vehicle. They also sustained multiple fractures on their wrists and hands. Senior
Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh said, “Following a tip-off,
we arrested all the six accused today. But in the process, they again
attacked policemen, two of whom sustained minor injuries.” However,
relatives of the arrested accused alleged that the police had
concocted the story. They even assembled outside the Kotbhai police
station. They claimed that the police had arrested the accused last
night and one of the youths, Sherbaj Singh, a kabaddi player, was not
even involved in the crime.
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Bank employee cheated of Rs 3 lakh
Patiala, December 24 “The accused asked me to deposit Rs 3 lakh in his relative's account in HDFC bank and once I deposited the amount, he withdrew the amount immediately,” she said. Station House Officer (Civil Lines) Ranbir Singh said they had traced the call to Bihar and the money was also encashed in that state. “A case under
sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered,” he said.
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Chargesheet filed in Faridkot kidnapping case
Faridkot, December 24 The incident of alleged rape and kidnapping had happened on June 25, 2012, but the minor girl had succeeded in escaping from the clutches of the accused on July 27. But as there was no action against the accused for over three months, the girl was kidnapped again on September 24 by Nishan. The chargesheet that was filed today was in connection with the June 25 kidnapping case.
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Jewellery, cash worth Rs 11 lakh stolen in Ropar
Ropar, December 24 Pradip Singh, the owner of the shop at Bhai Lalo market, said he came to know about the theft only after he opened the shop in the morning as the locks on the shutter were intact. Instead, the burglars had demolished a part of the shop's wall from the adjoining shop, which was lying vacant, to get entry into the shop.
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Chandigarh, December 24
Chandigarh, December 24
Chandigarh, December 24
Chandigarh, December 24