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moga bypoll
Reluctant Gill attends Jain’s rally
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CM: Bypoll results will see Cong falling apart
Young Turks add muscle to election campaign in Moga
Supporters of Tota Singh, Gill will ensure Jain’s defeat: Capt
Migratory birds damage wheat crop in Tarn Taran villages
Z plus security for DGP Saini
BKU begins drive against drugs
Govt yet to honour promise to raise old-age pension
Sidhu writes to MEA to get
youth’s body from Malaysia
Six-member team inspects security measures ahead of Cameron’s visit
Intelligence officials ‘working’ for SAD
Teachers of aided schools threaten stir
Direct cash transfer in Fatehgarh Sahib from March 1
PRTC employees to join nationwide stir on Feb 20-21
19-year-old electrocuted while flying kite
SHO caught ‘implicating’ innocent persons
Lewd songs: HC notice to govt
Nothing wrong in police posting at hometown: HC
Three of family die as truck rams into car
Nabha Girl immolation case
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moga bypoll
Moga, February 18 Worst sufferers are the farmers whose land is situated at the tail-end of canals. Seventy-year-old Sukhdev Singh’s farm house is located 50 m from the Kingwa distributary in Droli Bhai village. His seven-acre farm is situated alongside the water body. But this is not helping him in any way. Sometimes water does not even come up to the level of the outlet leading to his fields. “It is a curse to have land at the tail-end of the canal system,” Sukhdev said, adding water courses were silted, choked with hyacinths and even broken at several places. Farmers have to spend huge amounts to arrange alternative sources of water for irrigation. Most part of the constituency is in the “dark zone” where water table is alarmingly low. “We have to keep shifting our submersible motors deeper every year,” said Gulzar Singh of Ghal Kalan village, who has now installed his motor 140 ft below the ground which was at 70 ft 10 years ago. Hamir Singh, another farmer, said power was available only during odd hours, which did not suit him as he grew potatoes and vegetables. “This season, I had to irrigate my potato crop with the help of a generator,” he said, adding: “Our land is very fertile. We have had bumper crops. But lack of canal water and depleting water table are indicating a bleak future ahead”. Farmers of villages like Soslian, Bagelawala, Jhandiana and Daulatpura, too, have similar issues. Meanwhile, the SAD has stepped in to take political advantage on this issue. Party president Sukhbir Badal has promised “as many crores as farmers of the constituency need to solve this problem”. Sukhbir has roped in Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, who has earned the sobriquet of “Irrigation Doctor”, to campaign in most of the villages facing the shortage of water. “Vote for the SAD and see canal water flowing into your fields” is the party’s slogan. Akali leader Nidharak Brar also urges voters to “weigh the benefits” of voting for the SAD. “This byelection has given us an opportunity to get all our demands accepted,” he says. Though most farmers are angry at the neglect of their villages and feel their brethren in Muktsar and Gidderbaha are better off, they understand that the byelection has given them a chance to get their problem fixed. Many of them realise that the SAD-BJP government has four more years to go. “For many of us, it is now or never,” Paramjit Singh of Ghal Kalan said, adding he would support the SAD for this reason. Playing politics
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Reluctant Gill attends Jain’s rally
Moga, February 18 Both these leaders have been at loggerheads with Jain for one reason or the other. While Tota Singh’s aides claim that Jain had allegedly implicated the SAD stalwart’s son Makhan Brar in the infamous Moga sex scandal, Gill had lost to him (Jain) in last year’s assembly elections. Jain had contested on the Congress ticket then. But, he recently switched loyalty to the SAD and also resigned from the assembly, an act of his that necessitated the February 23 Moga bypoll. Gill, who was initially annoyed with Jain’s candidature, yesterday appeared in a BJP-organised election rally in the town where Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and BJP state president Kamal Sharma were the key speakers. The former top policeman sat on the dais alongside Badal in one of the rallies, but was conspicuous by his absence in two other rallies. Without naming Jain, he urged the people to strengthen the SAD. Tota Singh has been accompanying Badal in the campaign after persuasion by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who had also visited Gill’s residence last week. Sukhbir claimed that both Tota Singh and Gill were wholeheartedly campaigning for the SAD. He also accused the Congress of spreading rumours about their absence. A couple of corner meetings have been organised in the town by Gill, he claimed. The Deputy Chief Minister is himself camping at Tota Singh’s residence, which has become a virtual election war room. Kamal Sharma said BJP Ministers and MLAs and more than 300 activists of the party had joined Jain’s campaign and were particularly active in the 11 municipal wards where the party enjoyed influence. He said the BJP would also hold road shows in the town.
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CM: Bypoll results will see Cong falling apart
Moga, February 18 Addressing a public gathering in Moga city in favour of SAD-BJP candidate Joginder Pal Jain late this evening, he said with Congress disappearing from the political map of the country, Congress activists in Punjab were a worried lot. He said the Congress had yet to recover from its defeat in the last assembly elections. The Chief Minister said the Pradesh Congress Committee president, Capt Amarinder Singh, had set a wrong precedent by asking the Congress legislators not to avail of the development funds and schemes of the state government. "This dictatorial diktat has paralysed Congress legislators who are unable to address the problems in their areas, fearing disciplinary action against them,” he alleged. Badal said Amarinder Singh’s policy was strongly resented by several Congress MLAs, some of whom were ready to quit the party “to serve the people better.” He said it was for this reason alone that Jain had quit the Congress and was now contesting as the SAD-BJP candidate. Mocking Amarinder Singh’s references to his (Badal's) health, the Chief Minister said: " I can understand that he must be feeling low after losing two elections in a row to a man he describes as ‘too old’. That is why I am not offended by his remarks on my health and age.”
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Young Turks add muscle to election campaign in Moga
Chandigarh, February 18 From the SAD, Youth Akali Dal president Bikram Majithia has been holding the fort along with his young team, which was instrumental in neutralising SAD (Delhi) chief Paramjit Singh Sarna in his den in the recent gurdwara elections in the Capital. The YAD has been assigned two zones in rural areas to woo the Moga electorate. Team Majithia has been successful in winning over former sarpanch Gurdev Kaur, who earlier was a staunch supporter of Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. YAD spokesman Parambans Romana says the youth team is currently trying to increase the SAD base in rural areas in the constituency. “There is an impression that a group that is against the village sarpanch votes for the Congress. We have already succeeded in removing hostilities between rival groups in 15 to 20 villages,” he says. The Congress is also banking on its Young Turks. The Indian Youth Congress, which is led by Vikramjit Chaudhary in Punjab, has helped the party retain its ground in urban areas. While several senior leaders have made whirlwind tours of the constituency or only shown their face to Pradesh Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh before returning back to their homes, youth Congress leaders have stayed put in Moga. Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla says he has been assigned the task to organise party functions in Moga town. “But, my job has not been easy. In several cases, I was told not to hold any functions as the Congress voters did not want to be identified. I, however, encouraged them to come out in the open to snub Jain (SAD candidate Joginderpal Jain). The method has been working and the Congress rallies are drawing large crowds,” he says. Former Jalandhar Improvement Trust chairman Tejinder Bittu says he has been working in ward number-5 in Moga town for the past more than 10 days. “People are angry with the SAD for invoking property tax and even introducing tax on catering in marriage palaces,” he says. Singla, Bittu and several other youth leaders like Sukhwinder Danny have been staying put with friends and relatives in Moga as all hotels have been hosting the ruling Akalis. The ground for the bypoll has been made by the youth teams in both the SAD and the Congress. In case of the SAD, veteran leaders have come into the picture only lately after Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal started campaigning in the constituency. In the case of PPP as well, youngsters are at the forefront with former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee member Kuldeep Singh Dhose being the only veteran seen alongside party president Manpreet
Badal.
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Supporters of Tota Singh, Gill will ensure Jain’s defeat: Capt
Moga, February 18 Addressing a gathering at Rattian village, Amarinder Singh mocked at Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for his "desperate attempts" to convince Tota Singh and Gill to support turncoat Jain whom they had opposed in last year's assembly elections. Taking a dig at the Chief Minister for staying overnight with dissident and alienated Akali leaders in Moga in order to bring them on the track, Amarinder Singh advised him "not to waste time and energy at this age and better take care of his ailing health, lest he catches chest infection once more". "I can understand Badal's tragedy because he is fighting a desperate battle for survival, though everybody knows well that he (Badal) was not keen to induct Jain into the party and field him in the bypoll," he said. Amarinder Singh claimed that Tota Singh first bluntly refused Badal to campaign for Jain but later Badal urged him that for the sake of his honour and age, he (Tota Singh) should at least accompany him to public meetings even if he did not want his supporters to join Jain's campaign. "This is the reason why none of Tota Singh and Gill's supporters are campaigning for Jain," he said. "Notwithstanding Badal's bravado about his good health and being 90 per cent young, the matter of the fact is that he has been advised complete bed rest but was dragged out from bed to campaign in Moga by his son Sukhbir Badal to save him from an imminent defeat."
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Poll Nuggets
Moga: Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur today campaigned in favour of the SAD-BJP candidate Joginder Pal Jain here. She lashed out at the Congress-led UPA government for “unprecedented” inflation in the country. She said despite being a Union Minister, Preneet Kaur failed to get any development project for the state. Harsimrat alleged the UPA government was deep-rooted in corruption. The Congress had realised that the UPA would be rooted out in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections “which is why its leaders are looting the public money”, she alleged. The MP appealed to the people to be part of the nationwide move to “eliminate” the Congress. SAD govt fleecing people: Bajwa
Amritsar: Congress MP from Gurdaspur Partap Singh Bajwa has said the ruling coalition had been allegedly fleecing the public by practising unethical politics and that the electorate would “teach it a lesson” in the Moga byelection. Bajwa, who was in the city today, claimed that it were the Centre-sponsored schemes that had found a place in the SAD-BJP alliance’s development agenda. “Otherwise, Punjab, which was a premier state three decades ago, has been lagging behind in various fields. There is a dismal picture of health, education and general infrastructure in Punjab and had the Centre’s funds been utilised judiciously, Punjab would have never lost its earlier glory,” he said. Criticising the imposition of property tax in the state, Bajwa said the Punjab Government was claiming that the step would enable the state claim funds under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. “But, the fact is that only those cities that have a population of more than 10 lakh are eligible for funds under the scheme,” he said.
No one safe in state: Preneet Moga: Union Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur has alleged that the people of Punjab are fed up with the SAD-BJP government and there is a "great resentment" prevailing against Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and his brother-in-law Bikramjit Majithia. She alleged that except for filling their pockets, the two (Sukhbir and Majithia) could not think of anything else. Addressing a public meeting at the local grain market, Preneet Kaur said nobody was feeling safe in the state. The crime against women had increased and Akali leaders were shielding the culprits, she said. She alleged the government had failed on all fronts and the Akalis had not fulfilled even a single promise they made to the people during the last assembly elections.
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Migratory birds damage wheat crop in Tarn Taran villages
Tarn Taran, February 18 Sarpanch Paramjit Singh of Dhun Dhaewala village said though the bird menace had affected at least five villages in the district, three of these — Dhun Dhaewala, Chamba Kalan and Kambo Dhaewala—were the worst hit with 3,600 acres of land in these villages targeted by the birds. The gravity of the situation could be gauged from the fact that the farmers had hired labour to keep a vigil on their fields. The labour, hired at Rs 50 per acre per month, was provided with drums to shoo away the birds. "Already the cost of agricultural inputs is high and we now now have to spend more money to keep our crop safe from birds," lamented Jugraj Singh, a farmer whose crop standing on five acres has been partially damaged by the birds. The farmers attribute the menace to the delay in the de-silting work at the Harike head works which, they allege, is leading to water accumulation in their fields. And this is attracting the migratory birds to the fields. Another farmer Sukhdev Singh said the birds descend on their fields in hundreds and destroy the crop in no time. Also, farmers in these villages haven't been able to cultivate paddy for the past four years as the increased water flow in the adjoining Beas inundates their fields, says sarpanch Paramjit Singh. A section of farmers who owned land in low-lying areas have either sold it or are working as daily wagers. Their woes don't end there. A part of their agricultural land has come under the river-bed. These farmers are now demanding that the state government should allot them agricultural land at an alternative place. But this is not the first time that they have raised this demand. Their ancestors had made a similar request in 1964-65 and were allotted alternative land near Bikaner in Rajasthan. But after struggling to cultivate crop on barren land, they chose to come back. "Farmers of our village have 1,500 acres of land in low-lying areas and are ready to give it away if the government agrees to acquire it," says Chamba Kalan sarpanch Gurvel Singh. He says the birds have caused heavy losses to their crop.These villages have passed a resolution seeking a bandh (small dam) to protect their paddy crop from the fury of the river. When approached, Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner HS Pabla said he would talk to the wildlife authorities and see what could be done to redress the farmers' woes.
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Z plus security for DGP Saini
Chandigarh, February 18 The Special Security Group (SSG) cover is distinct from the Special Protection Group (SPG) of the Centre that provides security cover to the Prime Minister and other senior central leaders. Dinkar Gupta, Additional DGP (Security), said DGP Saini had been allowed the special security cover under a government notification. Sanjeev Kalra, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Security, said: “A decision on providing Z plus security (by paramilitary forces) is taken at a special meeting of state and Central Intelligence officers.” The DGP had escaped an assassination attempt for his role in anti-terrorism operations in 1991.
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BKU begins drive against drugs
Sangrur, February 18 State president of the union Balbir Singh Rajewal today asked the Punjab Government to register cases against Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) and Station House Officers (SHOs) if smack, poppy husk or opium was recovered from areas under their jurisdiction. Rajewal also asked the government to book drug inspectors if they were found selling drugs (which could be misused as intoxicants) without a sale-purchase record. Rajewal suggested that an in independent agency be set up to check the sale of drugs.
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Govt yet to honour promise to raise old-age pension
For the past several years, the government has been paying a mere Rs 250 per month to the elderly, which is Rs 8.33 per day. An equal amount is paid to widows and destitute women. There are 14.40 lakh persons drawing old-age pension in the state and 2.90 lakh widows and destitute women,1.20 lakh dependent children and 1.45 lakh physically challenged persons who are given a financial help of Rs 250 per month. In all, the government gives old-age pension and financial help to 20 lakh persons. The State Government had earmarked a sum of Rs 639 crore for them for the current fiscal year and a sum of Rs 526.17 crore has already been released for the beneficiaries. A senior official said a proposal to raise old-age pension from Rs 250 to Rs 450 per month had been sent to the state government. A decision in this regard was awaited. The Haryana Government has increased old-age pension to Rs 700 per month. Those with 70 per cent physical disability are given Rs 500 per month and those with 100 per cent disability get Rs 750 per month. Himachal Pradesh has also raised the pension to Rs 500 per month. Lagging behind
A proposal to raise old-age pension from
Rs 250 to Rs 450 per month has been sent to the state government. A decision in this regard is awaited
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Sidhu writes to MEA to get
youth’s body from Malaysia
Amritsar, February 18 In the letter, a copy of which has also been sent to the Malaysian embassy in New Delhi and Indian embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Sidhu said Sunny was the sole earning member in his family residing in Labour Colony, Amritsar. He had gone to Malaysia to earn a livelihood around two-and-a-half years ago. “While his family is in a state of shock, the Malaysian government is not releasing his body for the last rites. The family has been informed that Malaysia is not ready to release the body till it received the post-mortem report, which is expected in two weeks’ time,” reads the letter. Sidhu said it is a brazen injustice to keep the victim’s family waiting for two weeks for the body of their son.
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Six-member team inspects security measures ahead of Cameron’s visit
Amritsar, February 18 Personnel with the Batala, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Tarn Taran police have been summoned here. Battalions of the IRB (Indian Reserve Battalion) and the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) will provide security to the visiting dignitary from the Rajasansi airport to the Golden Temple, say sources. Officers in the rank of DIG have been made in charge of security at crucial points. A six-member team of the UK Secret Service along with Rajat Agarwal, Deputy Commissioner, Police Commissioner Ram Singh and Indian security agencies today visited the Golden Temple to give a final shape to the security arrangements. The team held detailed discussions with the SGPC authorities. The British PM, besides paying obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum, is scheduled to visit the Langar Hall and Akal Takht. He is also likely to visit a rice mill on the Tarn Taran road.
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Intelligence officials ‘working’ for SAD
Moga, February 18 A senior official told The Tribune that Sukhbir had been seeking daily reports from these officials so that he could prepare his strategy accordingly. Though all parties in power use the intelligence wing for their vested interests, it gets worse when intelligence officials start assembling information and preparing reports on parties’ prospects of winning the election. Sources said the Intelligence officials had adopted two methods to prepare the assessment report of each polling booth. They either take the number of votes in each polling booth polled by the ruling party in the last assembly election or interact with a cross-section of people to calculate the number of possible votes a party could poll in its favour. It is also learnt that the Akali leaders assigned duties at the booth level are also preparing their assessment reports. These are being tallied with the intelligence reports and then a concrete strategy is being prepared. Another senior Intelligence official said the practice had been giving sleepless nights to them. “We work till midnight and get up early in the morning to gather information and make assessments,” he said. Secret operation
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Teachers of aided schools threaten stir
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 18 A meeting of the Government-Aided School Principals Association, Punjab (Progressive Front), was held at Ashoka School in which principals from Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and other districts participated. State president of the association Upjit Singh Brar said there were 484 government-aided schools in the state at present where lakhs of students were enrolled. He said there were no teachers in about 350 schools and Punjab was the only state in the country where acting principals had been appointed to run such schools. Brar said the government had also failed to fill the posts of teaching and non-teaching staff in government-aided schools falling vacant due to the retirement of teachers.
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Direct cash transfer in Fatehgarh Sahib from March 1
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 18 The cash would be directly transferred in the bank accounts of 25,948 beneficiaries for as many as 12 welfare schemes initially, said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Yashvir Mahajan while presiding over the meeting of district officials. Mahajan claimed that most of the beneficiaries had received their Aadhaar Cards. He directed the bank officials to make the Aadhaar Cards of the remaining beneficiaries on a priority basis and open their accounts. The DC said the Pre-matric and Post-matric Scholarships, Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme, university and college students’ scholarships, National Means-Cum-Merit Scholarship, National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education, minority scholarships, Dhan Luxmi Scheme, Janani Suraksha Yojna and the students of Scheduled Castes (SC), Backward Classes (BC) and other categories would be covered under this. He directed the officials concerned to make the Aadhaar Cards of all LPG consumers in the district with immediate effect. He urged the people to get their Aadhaar Cards made as more schemes will be covered soon. Fatehgarh Sahib is one of the 51 districts of the country where the direct cash transfer scheme is being implemented. More than 50 per cent population of the district is still without Aadhaar Cards. The work on these cards was initiated a year ago. Though most of the residents had got photographed, the Post
and Telegraph Department failed to deliver cards at their addresses. Now special camps are being organised for those who did not get their cards which are still being sent through ordinary mail. Not enough homework
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PRTC employees to join nationwide stir on Feb 20-21
Patiala, February 18 These unions include the Punjab Roadways Transport Corporation (PRTC) Workers Union, PRTC Motor Mazdoor Union and PRTC Employees Union. During a convention attended by 300 members in Patiala, PRTC Workers Union (AITUC) general secretary Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal said PRTC employees were the worst hit as far as violation of labour laws was concerned. The contractual employees are paid a meagre Rs 4,000 per month which is against the labour laws, he said. “With rising inflation, these employees are unable to meet their daily expenses. For the past 10 years, the contractual employees are being forced to work for peanuts,” he added. He said the Punjab government had stopped financial assistance to the PRTC for the past 20 years as a result of which the management was facing a financial crisis. The employees were not receiving their salaries on time and the pensioners were struggling to get their dues even after five or six months of their retirement, he added. “It is imperative to support this strike and we will ensure that all employees join us in this cause,” said Sucha Singh, president of Motor Mazdoor Union (CTU). Ramesh Kumar Bhatti, president of the PRTC Employees Union, also endorsed his view. With rising inflation, these employees are unable to meet their daily expenses. For the past 10 years, the contractual employees are being forced to work for peanuts — Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal, PRTC Workers Union (AITUC) general secretary
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19-year-old electrocuted while flying kite
Bathinda, February 18 The incident occurred at around 4 pm in Chandsar Basti when the boy, identified as Kuldeep Singh, was flying kites with his friends. The matter was brought to the notice of the NGO Naujawan Welfare Society whose volunteers rushed to shift the child to the hospital. The chairman of the NGO said the child had been shifted to the hospital before its ambulance could reach the house. He added that the relatives said electric currents passed through the boy’s body and his feet were completely charred and his body had turned blue. The child was declared dead by the doctors at a city hospital. The father of the child works as a mechanic in Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla’s factory, Super Generators.
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SHO caught ‘implicating’ innocent persons
Chandigarh, February 18 Taking cognizance of the alleged attempt, Justice Mehinder Singh Sullar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Amritsar Commissioner of Police to carry out a time-bound and a thorough probe into the matter, fix responsibility and act against the erring officers. During the hearing of a petition for regular bail filed by Rana Partap Singh and another accused in a rape case, it came to light that Rana Partap Singh’s wife Kawaljeet Kaur had filed a habeas corpus petition for the release of her husband and brothers-in-law Jaspinder Singh and Daljeet Singh. Taking up her petition alleging illegal detention, the High Court appointed a warrant officer to search the Raja Sansi police station. In his report, the officer said that the detainees, found in a lockup on August 19, 2012, had told him that they were beaten up after being picked from their houses on August 17, 2012, by a police party headed by SHO Harminder Singh Sandhu. The SHO, when confronted, told the warrant officer that the detainees were arrested the same day in connection with an FIR registered on August 14, 2012, against the prime accused, Sartaj Singh and Sindi. The officer said that the names of the detainees were not mentioned in the FIR and that the SHO had refused to supply a copy of the same to him. Taking up the matter, Justice Sullar observed that the FIR was registered against Sartaj Singh and Sindi only. “Neither the names of the petitioners were mentioned, nor was any specific role or other overt act in any manner attributed to them in the FIR. “As soon as the detainees were found in the police station by the warrant officer, their names as accused and offences punishable under Section 120-B of the IPC appears to have been added by the SHO in order to save his skin for their illegal detention. In that eventuality, the possibility of false implication of the petitioners-detainees by the SHO cannot be ruled out,” Justice Sullar said. Before parting with the order, he asserted: “The Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, is directed to peruse and examine the entire police file of the case, conduct a detailed inquiry, fix responsibility, take appropriate action against erring officers and submit a status report in this context within a month to this court”. Case file
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Lewd songs: HC notice to govt
Chandigarh, February 18 Taking up the petition filed by a Nawanshahr-based non-government organisation, “HELP”, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain also issued a notice to the Principal Secretary (Home) and the Secretary, Culture. The notice came after the petitioner referred to a news report on vulgar songs being recorded and played by Punjabi singers. A specific reference was made to a song “Main Hoon Balatkari” purportedly sung by rapper Honey Singh. Referring to Section 294 of the IPC, the petitioner said that rendering lewd songs at public places was an offence.
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Nothing wrong in police posting at hometown: HC
Chandigarh, February 18 At the same time, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain directed the authorities concerned and the police to have a look at the matter and initiate action, if needed. The observation and the direction came as the Bench disposed of the petition filed by one Manvir Singh against the State of Punjab and other respondents. In his petition, Manvir Singh had earlier asserted that an inspector, posted as SHO in Jalandhar’s Sadar police station had his residence in Samrai village. Manvir Singh had added the village fell within the jurisdiction of the Sadar police station. He added the directions should be issued to the respondents that the inspector should not be posted in the same police station where he or his family resides. Appearing before the Bench, his counsel submitted that the government should frame a policy against deputing police officers and officials in their hometown. Taking up the matter, the Bench asserted: “We do not understand as to how posting of a police inspector in his home town is against any rule, law or service jurisprudence. It is also not shown that the respondent inspector or his family is taking advantage of his posting in the hometown”. Before parting with the order, the Bench added: “Be that as it may, the petitioner has made representation to the Secretary, Department of Home, Punjab, and the Jalandhar Senior Superintendent of Police; and it is for them to look into this aspect. The representation submitted by the petitioner may be considered for any action, if at all, needs to be taken. The writ petition stands disposed of with the above directions”.
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Three of family die as truck rams into car
Mohali, February 18 The deceased have been identified as Jasbir Singh (45), his 22-year-old son Harmeet Singh and daughter Mantinder Kaur (18). Jasbir Singh’s wife Satinder Kaur (42) and second son Gurdip Singh (15) sustained serious injuries. Both the injured were referred by doctors at Civil Hospital, Kurali to PGI, Chandigarh. Reports said a truck (bearing registration number PB12N 0181) hit the Maruti 800 (CH03A-8833) in which the family was travelling. The police said the family was on way back to Manimajra in Chandigarh after paying obeisance at Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh Solkhian on the Kurali-Ropar highway. The bodies of Jasbir Singh, Mantinder Kaur and Harmeet Singh got entangled in the mangled car. They died on the spot. The police said they faced a tough time removing the victims from the vehicle. Station House Officer (SHO) Gurdial Singh said the bodies have been handed over to their kin after conducting post-mortem. “The driver of the truck fled after the accident. We have impounded the vehicle after registering a case against him,” said Gurdial Singh.
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Nabha Girl immolation case
Patiala, February 18 The victim, a resident of Wajidpur village, succumbed to her injuries yesterday at a hospital in Chandigarh. The police has arrested two of the three accused while the third is in hospital after she delivered a baby. In her statement, the victim, Manpreet Kaur (19), alleged that Mukhtiar Kaur, Veerpal Kaur and Taranpreet Kaur barged into her house when she was alone and poured kerosene and set her on fire. The girl was referred to Chandigarh where she died due to severe burn injuries. She was cremated today at her native village. Sources said the police was examining the authenticity of the deceased’s statement as there were no eye witnesses to ascertain if the three accused women were at the scene of crime. The police investigations headed by Nabha Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and Station House Officer (SHO) pointed out that the three accused were not present in the village when the incident took place. Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurpreet Singh Gill said two of the accused, Taranpreet Kaur and Mukhtiar Kaur, had been arrested. “The statement of the victim that she was burnt by the three accused is being verified and the matter is under investigation,” the SSP said. The accused would be questioned soon, he added. The victim was a Class X student and she had gone to her neighbour's house to get a suit stitched a few days back. The neighbours accused her of stealing their mobile phone and the matter was later taken up to the village panchayat. “Since Manpreet had not stolen their phone, we refused to give them money. I never thought the incident would take such an ugly turn for a petty mobile worth Rs 1,000,” Surjan Singh, the victim’s father said. The police had registered a case against the three women under Sections 307 and 34 of the IPC and now added Section 302. Twist in case
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Chandigarh, February 18
Tarn Taran, February 18
Mohali, February 18
Chandigarh, February 18