Jalandhar, January 5
The Kapurthala Police have failed to submit a report on an alleged fake criminal case against a former member of the District Consumer Forum even as the Inspector General (IG) of Police, Jalandhar Zone, had sought it within seven days.

Taking a note of an application of Surinder Mittal, in which he had sought action against some police personnel for "falsely implicating" him in a criminal case, the IG had marked an enquiry to the Jalandhar DIG, who asked Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Inderbir Singh to investigate into the matter and submit his reply.

The SSP marked the application to his subordinate for compliance but that failed to yield results.

Singh, however, claimed that he was not aware of the latest status of the application and would be able to comment after verifying it from the officer concerned.

Mittal had submitted an application seeking action under Sections 166 and 167 of the IPC against Inspector Amrik Singh Chahal and his associates for dereliction in duty while being posted at the Phagwara police Station.

The complainant, who owns an IELTS coaching institute in Phagwara, was booked on a complaint of Sandeep Kaur, a resident of Naseerabad village. A case under Sections 294, 500, 506 and 509 of the IPC was registered against him in January 2009.

Mittal stated that after rounding him up, the Phagwara Police had registered another case against him under Sections 323, 406, 498-A of the IPC on a complaint (moved by his wife on December 30, 2008) without conducting any inquiry.

In his application, Mittal had stated that "due to the misconduct and unfair and false enquiry by SHO Amrik Singh Chahal, SI Gulzar Singh, head constable Harjit Singh, munshi Jasbir Singh and others posted at the Phagwara police station, he was framed in two false and frivolous cases".

He was later acquitted of the charges by the court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Mohit Bansal.

Jalandhar, January 5
Ten days after a middle-aged couple was found murdered in Kartarpur, the Jalandhar (Rural) Police is still groping in the dark for leads to track down the guilty. Though the police rounded up a number of suspects to gain clues, they have failed to nail the killers.

Initially, the police had claimed that the needle of suspicion was pointing towards some close relatives of the couple, which was in a live-in relationship for past couple of years. They had claimed that the murder could be due property issues. However, the police is yet to take action against anybody.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajinder Singh, however, claimed that they have gathered clues in this regard and the killers would shortly be in their net.

Jalandhar, January 5
In a rare gesture, members of the District Legal Services Authority and other civil society members helped in providing succour to an abandoned, mentally-challenged woman putting up at the city railway station for past few days.

On the orders of the district Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) , the girl has been sent to the local civil hospital for medical examination. She will stay there till the next date of hearing on January 7.

The plight of the woman first came to light when a railway passenger called up disability-rights activist Amarjit Singh Anand to get help for her. The caller said the woman was being exploited by some people.

Talking to The Tribune, Amarjit said, “The passenger called me and told me that she suspected that a woman wandering at the railway station was being exploited by some people.”

Anand sought the help of the Government Railway Police (GRP) and found the girl, who was found sitting on the floor of the waiting room of the railway station. She was taken to the civil hospital. The hospital staff asked him to take her to some other hospital as she was "not mentally sound".

“Later, with the help of the District Legal Services Authority, her case was referred to the Chief Judicial Magistrate,” said Anand.

The woman was produced before the CJM who ordered that she be taken to the civil hospital for examination.

Anand said the woman was very aggressive and had been shouting since morning. “She was refusing to accept food or water. She was dressed insufficiently in this cold weather and a blanket wrapped in polythene was found with her.”

“She has been asking people to leave her alone and hasn’t been able to tell her name or where she is from. She keeps asking to be left at Bangla Sahib or Darbar Sahib and says that her in-laws have left her,” Anand said. 

Jalandhar, January 5
AICTE Delhi regional officer SK Jena today said the progress of a country was strongly linked to quality education with values.

Jena said this while addressing the gathering on the concluding day of the national conference on 'Higher Education in India: The Changing Facets' held at the CT Institution of Engineering, Management and Technology.

He said, “It is necessary for the growth of technical education to undertake periodic review of the curriculum and subject content of technical programmes. It should be ensured that they are up-to-date, not outmoded or obsolete and they effectively fulfill the technological requirements of the country. The gap between industry and academia should be bridged. The industry-targeted educational curriculum should be formulated for pragmatic education. Formal, transparent and credible systems of education will help in guaranteeing a successful future of higher educational institutions.”

Around 600 scholars across India participated in the two-day national conference. Dr Buta Singh, Dean Academics, PTU, presided over the conference.

The session started with the lecture of Madhu Sudan, Managing Director, Business Development Explorers School, Bangalore, on the topic 'Bridging the Gap between Education & Work Space'. He stressed the need for knowledge, skill and exposure to fill the gap between education and professional life.

During a panel discussion, Dr Ajay Sharma, Dean, NIT Jalandhar; Kamna Raj Aggarwala, industrialist; and KG Mishra, Management Consultant; shared their views.

On the occasion, Dr Manoj Kumar, director, CT Group of Institutions, said, "Higher education systems, especially in the developing countries, are undergoing radical changes in recent times both to ensure quality and social accountability. The challenges are manifold. With the globalisation, achieving the goal of excellence in various spheres such as student performance and competitiveness, faculty qualification and promotion of research seemed to be the toughest challenge. However, with the competent efforts made by colleges and universities, there has been an unprecedented change in the scenario.”

He said, “Private institutions have been more responsive to the demands of the economy, the industry and the changing employment scenario. Due to such incremental steps, Indian education has gained world recognition. Many students from foreign countries are eyeing the country for gaining higher qualifications in such institutions. It highlights the significance of the inputs by the academia.”

Charanjit Singh Channi, chairman, CT Group of Institutions, said, "If we want to bring perfection in the sphere of education, there is a need to discuss issues concerning higher education on such platforms.” 

Jalandhar, January 5
Members of the Chamar Mahan Sabha today said there was an urgent need to create a gender-sensitive atmosphere at the grass-roots level to curb crimes against women.

Chamar Mahan Sabha president Paramjit Singh Kainth has given this suggestion in a letter to the JS Verma Commission, which has been set up by the Union Government to coin a stringent law to curb sexual crimes. He has stated that such an atmosphere should be created at the school level. The organisation has told the commission that a new law would not be enough.

Kainth said a number of existing laws were being misused as the implementing authorities were not thorough and fair in carrying out their job. “It is a well known fact that laws meant to curb dowry and corruption are being misused. The need of the hour is to create gender-sensitivity right from the very beginning," he said.

"We talk about economic growth all the time but our policy makers never talk about social growth. We have to be proactive. Our advice to the commission is that it should adopt a holistic approach,” Kainth said.

Jalandhar, January 5
In a crazy world where expletives sell, singers like him provide a constant solace to fans of older and grounded music by sticking on to strains which talk about our roots and traditions.

Even when most of the others hurried off to take the shortcut and belt out hit but offensive music, he chose to stick on to music that talked about Punjab. In Jalandhar to announce the launch of his brand new album Satrangi Peengh – 2, singer Harbhajan Mann is one of the few Punjabi artists who is looked up to, with a lot of respect.

Commenting on the recent controversy due to the objectionable songs of some of his contemporaries, he said, “From top to bottom, all of us are responsible. The singers, as well as the listeners. After all, these are the very songs which get millions of hits. Being hit, however, isn’t everything.”

“It makes me feel very bad that things came to a point where our women listeners had to take up cudgels against the wrong trend. The onus to promote good music will also have to be collective,” said the singer.

Talking about the steps that need to be taken to change the trend, he said, “Good music has to be sung and listened to. I also blame myself that I needed to have come out with more albums.”

Satrangi Peengh – 2 is Mann’s second album with younger brother Gursewak Mann and also the second album of the Satrangi Peengh series, the first, released some years ago, was also greatly loved.

Mann’s discourse on the occasion was marked by a passionate love for each of his songs and a great connect with the traditional values and aesthetics that Punjab has been associated with.

The poignant lyrics of the album have been given by Babu Mann and the brothers’ mentor and guide Shiromani Kavishar Karnail Singh Paras. He shared that in the album, the songs ‘pari parauni aai’, ‘phulkari’, Chahun Ku Din Da Mela and ‘Saheed Bhagat Singh’ have been sung by both him and his brother.

He shared that the song Saheed Bhagat Singh had been inspired by the kavishris that he and his brother had been singing since they were little kids with a dhad-sarangi. He said care had been taken that the mood of the kavishri should remain intact even in the way the song has been recorded.

The song is a take on the state and feelings of Amar Kaur (Sahhed Bhagat Singh’s sister) would sing as her brother is taken to the gallows. The song Punjab Boldan Han, in the album, he said, was similar to his famous ‘maa boli’ song which was loved by the people of the state.

Mann, who has been in the Punjabi music industry for the past 20 years, said his upcoming films are one with acclaimed director Manmohan Singh (his last film with the director was Mera Pind in 2008) slated for an August release and another with director Amitoj Mann (who directed Hawaayein). 

Jalandhar, January 5
As part of the road safety week celebrations, the traffic police today held a seminar to spread awareness about traffic rules among drivers of auto rickshaws and manual rickshaws near the railway station today.

The drivers were sensitised about the need to adhere to traffic rules and ways to prevent accidents.

ADCP Traffic Sukhdev Singh said a seminar to spread awareness on traffic rules would be held for students at KMV Sanskriti Public School on the Tanda road on Sunday. These initiatives are part of the special drive by the Traffic Police which started on January one.

The traffic police had organised a rally to encourage people to follow rules while driving yesterday. A number of students participated in the rally from Guru Nanak Mission Chowk to BMC Chowk.

A medical camp was organised for drivers of various vehicles, especially trucks, at Pathankot Chowk on national highway on Thursday.

A free pollution check-up camp and a session providing information about traffic rules for the general public were organised at Workshop Chowk on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Traffic personnel gave booklets on traffic rules to commuters passing through the busy BMC Chowk on day one of the Road Safety Week on Tuesday. Besides, reflectors were fixed on over 2,000 vehicles to minimise the risk of mishaps due to fog.

Tribune News Service
Anmol Rattan Singh Warraich, alias Harry, is a young polo player to watch out for as he comes with a bagful of promises of a stunning future in the sport.

Having started his riding career at the age of four, he won his first equestrian medal a year later to become the "youngest rider in the world" to do so. Any horse show Anmol went to there on, he brought home laurels.

Anmol got his passion for the sport from his family of horse lovers and polo players. His father, Col Tarsem Singh Warraich, is an international polo player.

After mastering his basic riding skills, Anmol took to polo in 2009 when he also won the Junior National Indian Polo Championship. The winning streak continued in 2010 and 2011. Having jumped three handicaps (from -2 to +1) in just two years, Anmol has created a niche in the Indian polo. He is known for his hard-hitting and aggressive mid-field plays.

Anmol plans to join the Army and aspires to win every polo tournament in the world for India. His Army background is evident from the way he names his horses. These are named Kalashnikov, Battle Cry, War Machine, Supersonic, RDX etc.

Though polo was his first love, Anmol is fond of listening to music, plays squash and basketball and considers Allen Iverson as one of the greatest sports personalities. He says his strength comes from his family.

"My aim in life is to join the Army and to win the Triple Crown of Polo," says Anmol, who has played with teams like the Navy, President's Bodyguard, 61 Cavalry, Army Riding and the Polo Club, Sona, Rissala Polo Club.