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TRIBUNE ANALYSIS
Sukhbir, Majithia skip function |
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Re-totalling Scam
Amarinder urges Moga voters to reject Jain
Rail fare hike
Government changes mining policy; auction begins today
Bains appointed nodal officer
Encroachers, policemen assault NHAI manager
Eco nod for brick earth mining to be reviewed
Winds of change at Muktsar village
Rani, once a narcotic smuggler, runs a grocerry shop at Jhorar village in Muktsar on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma
Lunch with undertrial costs two policemen their jobs
SSP stands by his inquiry report
Patiala gang rape: Panel to submit report by tomorrow
Pak pilgrims rue restrictions
Punjab cadre war in UT continues
Power Corp inks power purchase agreement
ETO SUICIDE CASE
Jailbreak: One undertrial arrested
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TRIBUNE ANALYSIS
Chandigarh, January 9 Observers feel that the innocuous appeals by NRI representatives to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to step down in favour of his son and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal should be seen in the perspective of the power struggle within the Badal family.
They claim the CM’s hitting out at Revenue Minister and Sukhbir’s brother-in-law Bikram Majithia should also be seen in the same perspective. Badal, who is not known to reveal his mind, chose to “speak out his heart” to re-assert his importance, both in the party as well as the government. But concentrating power in his own hands will be a struggle for the CM, who, till recent years, was the unrivalled leader in the SAD who even staved off a challenge from the late Gurcharan Singh Tohra. In the present set-up, Sukhbir and his brother-in-law Majithia, who is entrusted with the Revenue, Public Relations and NRI Affairs ministries, have become all-powerful.The duo has come to dominate the party and the government and is increasingly behind all major initiatives, be it law and order, administrative reforms or revenue generation. With Badal receding into the background, so have veteran Akali leaders. Leaders like Balwinder Singh Bhundur, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, who used to have their own spheres of influence, have been marginalised. With Majithia seen to be working in conjunction with Sukhbir along with the latter’s wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the influence of other relatives has dwindled too. The most affected is Food and Civil Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Badal’s son-in-law. He chose to remain away from the recent NRI Sammelan. Kairon’s wife Parneet Kaur has a strong bond with her father. Her husband, though an introvert, is politically ambitious and is believed to be resentful of Majithia’s ascendency in the party. Sources say Badal chose to groom his son as his heir apparent. Sukhbir claims he is ready to wait to be made CM. But his close advisers are not so charitable. They feel their “boss” has learnt the ropes and after engineering two successive election victories (in 2007 and 2012), he deserves the top slot. The Sukhbir camp has been campaigning for his “coronation” for more than three years now, ever since he was appointed president of the SAD. They had even come out with dates for his elevation. By the end of 2010, all attempts to elevate Sukhbir came to a naught due to the rebellion by the then Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. Under pressure from Manpreet’s People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) and the increased realisation that Badal Senior was the most acceptable face of the party, the SAD was forced to announce him as its chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the assembly elections. Refuting allegations by the Opposition that this was only a temporary arrangement, Badal announced that if elected to power, he would continue in office for a full five-year term. Badal Senior is the CM, but Majithia is increasingly seen as the main mover in the government. A troubleshooter, Majithia has earned Sukhbir’s trust, say sources. Majithia has played a key role in stemming the after-effects of Manpreet’s rebellion. He took charge of the Youth Akali Dal (YAD) when it was on the downslide and turned it over to produce impressive results in the assembly elections. He led the party in the Majha region with good results despite poor projections. Majithia was in the thick “managing” Congress rebels during the assembly elections in January last year and was also instrumental in winning over the loyalties of some Congress leaders. But this “success” has come at a cost. There is a feeling within the party that Brahmpura, the seniormost Akali leader in the Majha region, saw defeat because he was not in the Majithia camp. Kairon too just about made it. There were allegations that a section of the SAD had worked against him. Majithia’s bloated YAD executive with persons who have little in common with the Akali ideology has become the party’s bane with some leaders taking law in their own hands and giving a bad name to the party. Majithia’s decision to speak on law and order (for which he was being targeted by the Opposition) on the floor of the House boomeranged on the SAD and embarrassed the CM with Majithia caught on camera hurling expletives at a Congress legislator. Sources said the CM, who was uncomfortable with these developments, hit back during the course of the NRI Sammelan organised by Majithia. Those who know the CM say he was riled by the manner in which NRI invitees coaxed him to retire and give over the reins of the state to Sukhbir. As the function was organised by Majithia, the sources said the CM felt that Majithia had orchestrated this campaign. Hence, Badal Senior, who was not slated to attend the second day of the NRI conference at Jalandhar, chose to do so. Before an international audience and live television coverage and Majithia standing by his side, he chastised the latter, saying: “Tusi kadi jail katti hai? Tuhanu tan pakki pakai mili hai. Hun tusi mere te vi kabza karen nun phirde ho.” (Have you ever been to jail? You have got the minister’s post on a platter. Now, you want to dislodge me too.) . The CM was apparently annoyed at Majithia chosing to stand by his side rather than being seated with the audience. He also sent out a message that he would continue to lead the government besides using the opportunity to stress that veteran party leaders, who had made sacrifices for the party, were relevant still and should be given “priority”. Badal’s assertion yesterday that his remarks about Majithia had been made in a lighter vein and had been twisted out of context does not cut ice. Badal is known to drop bomb shells in a lighter vein. This is his style. Majithia, however, has the solace of face-saving, reportedly at Sukhbir’s instance. Sources claim Majithia might be more circumvent in his dealings in future, but there is little doubt that he, along with Sukhbir, represent the new face of the SAD. The CM is, however, a guarding spirit and a master strategist. The merger of the strengths of the old and the new at CM’s insistence could further strengthen the SAD.
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Sukhbir, Majithia skip function
Kochi, January 9 The silver lining for Punjab was appreciation for its recently introduced privilege card by Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vyalvar Ravi, who promised to consider the possibility of replicating the card at the national level. Punjab's Principal Secretary for NRI affairs SS Chany, who presided over the session with the Inspector-General of Police, NRI Cell, Gurpreet Singh, mentioned a slew of initiatives announced by the state government, especially those for ensuring the safety of their investments back home. Sukhbir, who had attended the opening session yesterday, returned after he learnt of the cancellation of the exclusive sesssion for Chief Ministers. The organisers had expected six Chief Ministers to attend the session. Punjab is the only state to have set up the NRI Commission under a retired High Court Judge. It has made legal amendments in the Punjab Urban Rent Control Act, besides enacting the Compulsory Marriage Act and the Human Smuggling Act. The Union Minister said he was impressed by the initiatives like the setting up of of land records portal where the NRIs could block the mutation of their land online. Channy spoke of 10% quota for overseas Indians in Punjab’s residential and industrial estates. Gurpreet said there were 900 proclaimed offenders in the overseas Indian category. These cases were now being reviewed.
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Re-totalling Scam
Chandigarh, January 9 University Registrar Dr Ashwani Kumar Bhargava said the committee constituted for re-totalling had only counted the marks given to respective candidates. He said the University Vice Chancellor had allowed the declaration of the result as he did not have any other role to play in the case. The Registrar also claimed that Dr Loveleen had been relieved from the University following various omissions and commissions. The Ayurved University has also claimed that wrong facts were being submitted by the State Homoepathy Council. Homeopathy colleges in the State are also affiliated to the University. It contested a statement made by Council member Dr P S Ranu as well as a resolution passed by the Council members yesterday. It claimed that the Central Council for Indian Medicine (CCIM) had allowed the registration of students passed from the University in November 2011 and that internship of BAMS students was already on. It also claimed that University Grants Commission (UGC) had allowed to University to award degrees to the students in May 2012 and that the Association of Indian Universities had given provincial membership to the University.
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Amarinder urges Moga voters to reject Jain
Moga, January 9 He exhorted people to deliver their verdict against Joginderpal Jain, former Congress MLA who has joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Amarinder said he would camp here once the byelection was announced and would visit every village to campaign for the Congress candidate. Other senior leaders of the party, including CLP Leader Sunil Jhakhar, CWC member Jagmeet Singh Brar and MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and Public Relations Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia of having "trampled the democratic values to safeguard their personal interests". Amarinder said the Moga byelection would prove a turning point in the state's politics. He claimed the party would repeat its performance in the Adampur byelection when the Congress defeated the SAD despite the latter being in power. The PCC president said the ruling SAD should not assume that it would remain in power for full five years. "We have seen President's rule being imposed", he said, referring to the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state. He accused Majithia of "sheltering" the mafia and muscle power and urged the Chief Minister to "contain him". He criticised the "abusive" language used by Majithia against Rana Gurjeet in the state assembly and said such incidents reflected poorly on the Badal government. He expressed surprise over Badal's stand on the issue, saying one day he snubbed Majithia for eyeing his chair and the other day came out in his defence. Capt Amarinder said: "Jain had once said he was a businessman. He is now with the right people who are busy just watching their business interests". Brar said the Moga byelection would decide the fate of Jain. He expressed confidence that the people of Moga would teach a lesson to Jain. Jakhar ridiculed Jain's statement that he (Jain) had certain compulsions to join the Akali Dal. He said such leaders did not have any compulsions but only weaknesses that make them succumb to temptations. Those present included sitting legislators Arvind Khanna, Rana Gurjeet, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Surinder Dawer, Modhammad Sadiq, Amrik Dhillon, Gurkirat Kotli, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Punjab Mahilla Congress president Malti Thapar and Punjab Youth Congress president Vikram Chaudhry. To screen Majathia’s video
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Rail
fare hike
Chandigarh, January 9 In a statement issued here, the Chief Minister said the hike of 2 to 10 paise per km in the rail fares would burden the public especially the poor for whom the Railways was the only mode of economic and viable transportation. Badal said the people across the nation felt ditched and dejected despite assurance by the Union not to recommend any hike in the rail fares. SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the voters of the country must be "repenting" the day when they elected this government that was out to make every essential commodity out of their reach. He slammed the UPA for effecting the steepest ever hike in the rail fares in all categories.
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Government changes mining policy; auction begins today
Chandigarh, January 9 Official sources informed The Tribune the provision of capping the prices of sand and gravel, introduced in 2011 during the auction of 241 quarries, has been done away with. This decision has been taken after the government's decision to cap the prices of minor minerals extracted by those allotted the quarries was challenged by the contractors in the court. The contractors had pleaded that while the government had fixed a reserve price, they were forced to sell the minor minerals at low rates and only the lowest bids of quarry site rates (in a window of Rs 260 to Rs 300 per cubic feet) were allotted the contract. Following the provision having hit the legal hurdle, the state government has now decided to auction the 14 quarries in Hoshiarpur, three quarries each in Jalandhar and Kapurthala and one each in Ludhiana and SAS Nagar through an open bidding policy. This means that based on the high bid that a contractor puts for staking claim to mine the minerals, the rates of sand and gravel - the basic construction material - will remain high. As of date, sand is available to customers for Rs 2,000 per 100 cubic feet and aggregate for Rs 2,400 per 100 cubic feet. While the auction for the quarries in Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana and SAS Nagar will be held tomorrow, the auction of quarries in Hoshiarpur will be held on Friday. The auction for these quarries is being held after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had allowed the Punjab government to auction 23 quarries last month. The state government has already got the environment clearance to go ahead with the auction of quarries, which will be transferred to the highest bidder. Following this, the supply position of the minor minerals is expected to improve in the state and work on major infrastructure projects that had hit a roadblock following unavailability of sand and gravel will commence. This time round the state government has introduced many measures to ensure that excess mining is not done by the contractors. While each contractor will have to install a weighing bridge at the quarry and maintain a record of minerals mined, the timing for mining activity has been fixed between 6 am to 7 pm. Heavy machinery will not be allowed for carrying out mining activity and district level environment management cells, headed by the deputy commissioners concerned, will ensure that all these conditions are fulfilled by the successful bidders.
little relief
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UAE amnesty scheme
Chandigarh, January 9 In a letter to Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar
Ravi, the Chief Minister apprised him that Bains could be contacted at his office phone no. 0172-2742771 and 2749603 or email ID:
dhanbirbains@gmail.com. It may be recalled that the Indian Ambassador in the UAE had intimated that the government there had declared amnesty scheme from December 4, 2012 till February 3 this year. The Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, and Consulate General of India, Dubai, has been asked to ensure hassle-free return of Indians in the UAE seeking benefits of the scheme. The Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs had impressed upon the Punjab Chief Minister to nominate some authority as a single point nodal officer for this purpose.
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Encroachers, policemen assault NHAI manager
Jalandhar, January 9 The incident took place at about 8.30 pm just 50 m away from the Verka police post. NHAI manager Anoop Kulsherstha was on duty to take possession of land for the Dina Nagar bypass falling on the NH-15. He asked a fruit vendor to remove his illegal kiosk from the road. The vendor along with other traders and local residents allegedly dragged the manager out of his official vehicle and beat him up. Even as the official was accompanied by two more officials, the vendors, Rajesh Kumar and Kewal Kumar, assaulted him. The victim alleged two policemen posted at the chowk instead of rescuing him too tried their hands on him. After Vipnesh Sharma, project director, reached the spot, a complaint was lodged at the Sadar police station. The police instead of registering an FIR against the accused, including the two policemen, pressurised the victim for a compromise. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gurnam Singh claimed that the issue was not so serious. Investigating officer, ASI Jatinder Singh ruled out the involvement of the police in the scuffle claiming that the duo had rather rescued Anoop from the mob. The ASI said an FIR under sections 353, 355, 186, 148 and 149 of the IPC had been registered against Rajesh Kumar, Kewal Kumar and four other persons.
inaction alleged
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Eco nod for brick earth mining to be reviewed
Chandigarh, January 9 As the mining case came up for resumed hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, counsel for Union of India Onkar Singh Batalvi informed the Bench about the communication. Taking on record the letter placed before the Bench by Batalvi, Justice Rajive Bhalla has impleaded the Secretary, Ministry of Mining, as a party in the case. Justice Bhalla also made it clear that an early decision on the letter was required to be taken. The Bench also fixed January 22 as the next date of hearing in the case. The development is significant as many brick-kiln owners in this part of the region have not obtained environmental clearance due to the lengthy procedure.
Notice to state in kidnapping case
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice to the State of Punjab, its Home Secretary and another respondent on a petition filed by an NRI alleging police inaction in apprehending accused responsible for kidnapping her grandson. Justice Sabina issued the notice on the petition filed by Sawarn Kaur, presently residing in the US. In her petition, she stated one Sona of Nawanshahr city lured away his grandson Gurdeep Singh on July 27, 2012, just before he was to board a flight for the US. Sona, she alleged, was police informer and enjoyed the patronage of the Nawanshahr police. The petitioner added Sona had been assuring her relatives in Hoshiarpur district that Gurdeep Singh was with her and she would bring him to meet his kin soon.
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Winds of change at Muktsar village
Jhorar (Muktsar) January 9 There is no woman in the house. His wife Kaaki and mother Rajni are both behind bars for smuggling narcotics. There are several such families in the village whose women members are in jail. Once famous for producing the Jhorar cotton seed, this village has now earned notoriety for its women smugglers. However, helped by the police, the village is trying a turn around. After the Jhorar cotton variety gave way to finer varieties, the residents took to paddy. But that did not pay dividends and those with small farms took to drug peddling. With their men turning addicts or placed behind bars, women gradually turned to smuggling. Records procured under the RTI show that 50 cases of narcotic smuggling were registered against women belonging to this village in the last five years. The number this year has declined to 10. Raju, whose wife and mother are in jail, doesn’t blame them. “I was on drugs and of no use. My wife was forced to work as a conduit for smugglers as women are less likely to be cheked. She visited Rajasthan several time till she was caught. Now I have quit drugs and am trying to quit alcohol too,” said a repentant Raju. “All my kids are studying. I need at least Rs 250 per month for each of them. But it is hard to find work these days,” he said. Muktsar Senior Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh said smuggling was rampant as the district was located close to the Rajasthan border. “The police has succeeded in reforming some of the smugglers,” he said, adding that two-third of the registered cases were against women. Police records show that most of the smugglers were carrying poppy husk, which is freely available in Rajasthan. Sarpanch Sukhminder Singh said it was unfortunate that the village had got a bad name. “ There is an impression that most village residents are involved in smuggling.This is not true. Only members of a particular community are indulging in the crime.” He said some of them had now returned to the mainstream. Mohinder Singh, 30, was one of them. He now earned a living transporting soil and manure. “A drug addict, I was lured into smuggling. I learnt a lesson the hard way,” he said. Rani, who once had 13 cases registered against her, now runs a kiryana shop. “It is better to stay hungry outside than to eat food in jail,” she said. Dalip Kaur,60, said the government would have to consider a rehabilitation plan for those who had return after completing their sentence. “If they go back to the world of crime, others will follow suit,” she warned.
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Lunch with undertrial costs two policemen their jobs
Ropar, January 9 On January 4, the two police personnel, posted at the Ropar police lines, were put on duty to take Paramjit Singh Pamma, an undertrial, for an appearance at a local court. Pamma had been arrested two years ago at Anandpur Sahib following seizure of 32 kg of opium from his possession. He had earlier fled the police custody. After appearance in the court, both the head constables along with Pamma went to a local restaurant and had lunch together. When some local mediapersons highlighted the matter, the SP held a probe and found both the police officials at fault, said Ropar Senior Superintendent of Police Inder Mohan Singh.
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Langah case
Mohali, January 9 Notably, at the behest of the state government, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau had applied to withdraw the corruption case against Langah recently. But in his statement today, Virk stated that he had investigated the case thoroughly and the challan in the case was also presented by him in the court. A case of disproportionate assets against Langah had been registered at Phase 8 Vigilance police station. Today, Langah was also present during the court proceedings. The next hearing in the case has been slated for February 13. In another corruption case against Nirmal Singh Kahlon, former Rural Development and Panchayat Minister, the court of additional district and sessions judge set February 13 as the next date of hearing. Today, the court recorded the statements of some witnesses in the case.
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Patiala gang rape: Panel to submit report by tomorrow
Kharar, January 9 "The final report would be submitted by January 11," claimed Dr Rakesh Kashyap, the chief chemical examiner here today. Dr Kashyap said the analysts in the laboratory were already on the job. All tests to check all types of poisons and the drug tests — acidic, basic and neutral tests — were being conducted at the laboratory. "We had got the viscera of the victim on December 31 and it was issued for tests on January 1. We have set up a special board and our staff is now making extra efforts to meet the deadline. The report would be submitted by January 11," claimed Dr Kashyap. Normally, it takes over 45 days to arrive at the final report, he added. Miffed over the Punjab Police's allegedly lackadaisical approach in the gang rape of the 18-year-old girl from Badshahpur, Samana, the High Court yesterday issued orders to the police to complete the probe within a week and the laboratory to submit the victim's viscera report within three days. On November 13, the victim was “gangraped” following which she had committed suicide on December 26.
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Pak pilgrims rue restrictions
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 9 Leader of the delegation Syed Saadat Ali Shah, talking to the Tribune here today, said no member of the delegation was allowed to make calls to family members back home or to visit other shrines in Sirhind town. He said they were not even allowed to visit the shops located just outside the shrine complex. He said if their government was allowing Sikh jathas to visit various places while on pilgrimage to Nankana Sahib, the Indian government should allow them to at least visit other shrines and markets in the town. — TNS
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Punjab cadre war in UT continues
Chandigarh, January 9 Home Secretary DS Bains said, “The state has raised the issue of Punjab officers not being given their due share of posts in the administration, during the recent past, with the Chandigarh administration, even earlier. We will definitely be voicing our opinion seeking adherence to the 60:40 ration this time too.” The UT Administration was earlier sent a formal communication in this regard in July 2012,
to which, there has been no reply. In the current set-up, Chandigarh has 18 DSPs, wherein three each are from Punjab and Haryana, seven from the UT cadre and five from the Delhi cadre. The development is important in the context that the UT administration, on its part in December 2012, had communicated to the MHA that it will not be able to spare DSPs (deputy superintendents of police) from Chandigarh for posting in other Union Territories. The officers who joined from Delhi included Kamala Meena, Jal Meena, Ram Chander Meena and Vijay Kumar and Surjit Malik. As of now, the Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Services (DANICS) cadre officers are transferred to Union Territories other than Chandigarh. The Ministry of Home Affairs had sent the letter to all the union territories in the country, including Chandigarh. Earlier too, Badal had raised the issue of 60:40 ratio with the Union Home Ministry. In a communication to Badal, P Chidambaram had assured him about the existing arrangement of the 60:40 formula in posts filled from among the IAS, IPS and the state-cadre officers of Punjab and Haryana. He also raised the same issue at the 26th meeting of Northern Zonal Council chaired by P Chidambaram. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had also written to the former Home Minsiter opposing filling up of secretary-level posts from among officers of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre. Replying to the MHA, the administration had, in fact, maintained that being the capital of Punjab and Haryana, the Union Territory of Chandigarh had a unique character, with earmarked posts of officials from Punjab and Haryana. The Chandigarh administration was maintaining 60:40 ratio of employees on deputation. UT Adviser KK Sharma said in the first place, the DSP cadre in UT has always been filled by the local officers from 1980 to 2008. "We had to take officers from Punjab because certain local cases were pending in the court. Officers coming from Delhi were part of a Ministry of Home Affairs decision to allow rotation of officers outside a fixed territory. A majority of the posts are offered in the open category and also, the profile of the Chandigarh population has undergone a sea change since its inception."
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Power Corp inks power purchase agreement
Patiala, January 9
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ETO SUICIDE CASE
Mohali, January 9 Taking stern notice of the police failure in the case, the additional district and sessions judge court strictly asked the Station House Officer of the area Kanwaljit Singh Sandhu why the arrest of Amandeep Kaur, head constable Harminder Singh and Rajinder Gopi had not been made so far. While reprimanding the police, the court held that when some attack takes place on some policeman, the police manages to arrest the accused in no time by constituting special teams. But when it came to arresting police officials, they have been unable to act for the past five months. Notably, the court had issued arrest warrants against Amandeep and other accused twice in the recent past, but the Mohali police managed to arrest only two accused, Paramjit Singh, a driver and Rajeev Sood, a transporter, in the case so far. Meanwhile, the court has also begun the process to declare Amandeep Kaur a proclaimed offender. It has also ordered the police to publish advertisements in this connection in newspapers and submit its report in the court on January 15. On the other hand, the widow of ETO Ranjit Singh, Manjit Kaur, alleged that the police was giving Rajeev Sood VIP treatment in jail. She has also given applications in this connection to Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and DGP Sumedh Singh Saini. “The police is openly extending its favour to the accused by giving them time as the hearing on their anticipatory bail in the Supreme Court is slated for tomorrow,” said Manjit
Kaur.
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Jailbreak: One undertrial arrested
Amritsar, January 9 On a tip-off, a police party under the supervision of the Station House Officer, Mohkampura, Amrik Singh, laid a trap and nabbed Suraj Kumar at the Jaura Gate. " We had kept a tab on roads leading to his residence at Tungpai, Amritsar. At 3.30 pm, we were informed that he was spotted in the vicinity of Golden Avenue and was arrested while he was crossing the Jaura Gate on foot," he said. On interrogation, Suraj Kumar told the police that he was looking for an acquaintance who could give him money as he planned to leave the city. Police records show that Suraj Kumar was involved in the drug trade and was booked under Sections 21/61/85 of the NDPS Act with the Division C police station of Amritsar. The police recovered 2,100 intoxic capsules from his possession in July 2012. The police is clueless about the whereabouts of escapees Budh Singh and Narain Singh. Budh Singh was arrested with 1 kg of charas in 2011. Narain Singh was booked by the Sadar police, Amritsar, in 2008 for dacoity. Four other cases were registered against him by the Chabal police in Tarn
Taran.
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Chandigarh, January 9
In view of the forthcoming byelection to the Moga assembly seat, the Congress today launched its campaign with PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh addressing a rally here.
He exhorted people to deliver their verdict against Joginderpal Jain, former Congress MLA who has joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Amarinder said he would camp here once the byelection was announced and would visit every village to campaign for the Congress candidate.
Jhorar (Muktsar) January 9
Civil Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh
Kairon, CM’s son-in-law, chose to keep away from the recent NRI
Sammelan. An introvert, he is politically ambitious and is believed to be resentful of Majithia’s ascendency in the party
Harsimrat, who represents the Bathinda parliamentary constituency, is increasingly emerging as the face of the SAD at the Centre at the cost of other senior leaders. Her hold over her constituency is complete