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DSGMC president to be elected today
Five injured as Namdhari groups clash
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Bids invited for Amritsar rapid transport system
Multi-crore scam unearthed in Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh
Need for better rail link with Chandigarh
Demand for Fazilka rail museum picks up steam
Rape victim battles to put pieces of life together
Victim’s family to move court, seek CBI probe
Rs 17,000 cr to be spent on Punjab roads next fiscal
‘Baaj’ nearing extinction in Punjab
Patiala college to use mobile phone jammers during exams
Freedom Fighter’s Plea
Muktsar women helpline
High Court raps PUDA for auctioning occupied flat
Retd vice-principal commits suicide
Ex-serviceman found dead at his residence
Thieves target govt schools
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DSGMC president to be elected today
Besides these two, the names of senior SAD leader Onkar Singh Thapar and Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who defeated SAD (Delhi) chief Paramjit Singh Sarna by the highest margin from Punjabi Bagh, are also doing the rounds. According to sources, Manjit Singh GK is leading the race due to the fact that he led the party to a historic win in the DSGMC elections. He also has a strong political background. A south Delhi man, Manjit Singh GK’s father Jathedar Santokh Singh was killed in 1981. He was the architect of the DSGMC. Manjit Singh not only infused new life into the Delhi unit but also played a key role in helping the party re-establish its control in the national capital. Talking to The Tribune, Manjit Singh said nobody has staked a claim on the key post and it is the party which will take a call as to who will lead it in the DSGMC. He, however, said he would give his best if he was entrusted the responsibility by the party. Being one of the senior-most leaders and former Delhi unit chief, the claim of Avtar Singh Hit for the top job is also strong. He had even led the DSGMC once in the past, though for a short period. He has been associated with the party for years and remained loyal to it during the ups and downs witnessed by it over the years. He is also seen as a confidant of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Multimillionaire Manjinder Singh Sirsa is also in the race though his sole claim to the key post is his record-breaking win over outgoing DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna. He received twice the number of votes (9,006) compared to Sarna who polled 4,552 votes. He is also the youth wing president of the SAD's Delhi unit. He may well make it to the top slot if the party, led by its young president Sukhbir Singh Badal, wishes to have a young leader at the helm of affairs in the DSGMC. The other claimant, Onkar Singh Thapar, is the vice-president of the SAD’s Delhi unit. Sources said the SAD top brass is likely to finalise the name of the new incumbent by this evening and the decision would be conveyed to the party members in Delhi. The name will then be proposed and seconded by the newly elected DSGMC members from the SAD in the meeting tomorrow. The Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD had registered a landslide victory in the DSGMC poll last month, ending the 11-year unbroken run of the Sarna brothers. The SAD, supported by the BJP, bagged 37 out of 46 seats while the SAD (Delhi) claimed eight seats against its previous strength of 28 seats.
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Five injured as Namdhari groups clash
Amritsar, February 25 Supporters of Thakur Dalip Singh, carrying placards, tried to approach Mata Chand Kaur and Thakur Uday Singh, who were seated on the dais, but were stopped. This resulted in a clash. Thakur Uday Singh's followers alleged that the rival group also fired into the air. Jasbir Singh of Ludhiana said Baba Chhinda and Baba Sukhdev Singh, followers of Thakur Dalip Singh, hurled abuses at him and beat him up. He alleged that the group also fired into the air during the programme. Another witness Suba Harbhajan Singh alleged that the policemen, instead of intervening, fled the scene as certain persons indulged in stone-pelting. A follower of Thakur Dalip Singh, who did not want to be identified, said after attending a function at Muhawa village, a delegation of 500 followers led by Baba Chhinda came here to meet Mata Chand Kaur but were stopped by Thakur Uday Singh's followers. This led to an altercation that took an ugly turn. The clash occurred despite the heavy police deployment headed by two senior officers. The Civil Lines police has registered a case for attempt to murder (Section 307), defiling a place of worship (Section 295 ) and hurting the sentiments of a community on the statement of Ranjit Singh, district president of the sect who was injured in the clash. Amrik Singh Pawar, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (City-II), said among those booked were Baba Chhinda, Sukhdev Singh, Harpal Singh and Sukhwant Singh. After the death of Namdhari sect head Satguru Jagjit Singh on December 13 last year, his nephew Thakur Uday Singh was appointed as his successor on December 16. The International Namdhari Sangat, however, wanted his elder brother, Thakur Dalip Singh, appointed as the next Satguru.
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Bids invited for Amritsar rapid transport system
While the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) has already received an "unsolicited" proposal from ULTra Fairwood India Pvt Ltd, a joint venture of Fairwood and UK-based ULTra (Urban Light Transport) group that has introduced magnetic pods at Heathrow airport, open competitive bidding has been invited to execute the project. After redressing the objections raised by certain quarters over its route plan, the PIDB, Department of Local Government, Punjab, and the municipal corporation, Amritsar, have finally released an international competitive bid notice. MC Commissioner Bhupinder Singh clarified that the ULTra Fairwood's proposal was accepted under the provision of Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Act 2002, yet the bids from companies (individual or in joint venture) that fulfil the laid down eligibility criteria, have been invited to submit their proposal before April 26. The detailed scope of work and other relevant information regarding the project can be obtained from the office of PIDB, Chandigarh. Tejinder Kaur, chairperson of Punjab Infrastructure Regulatory Authority (PIRA), during the recent hearing of objections in Amritsar, had announced that the civil part of the project would start by June and that it would take two-and-a-half years to get it fully operationalised. The route has been redesigned keeping in view the sentiments and objections raised by the residents and traders, who envisaged that the project might hamper their business interests. Similarly, the residents had raised queries if the path built for the pods would impact the ventilation and sunlight in their buildings along the route or impinge on their privacy.
Project Details
RAILWAY Station-Golden Temple route
Bus Stand-Golden Temple route
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Multi-crore scam unearthed in Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh
Chandigarh, February 25 The scam is now emerging, after the Excise and Taxation Department of Punjab made it mandatory for industry, especially those dealing in steel scrap and in knitwears, to get four stage verifications done for the sales shown by them, in order to claim VAT refunds from the department. Officials in the Excise and Taxation Department told The Tribune that since the four-stage verification has been started, they have found how most of the trade, especially in cases where the sales were very high, were being done through bogus bills. With the state Excise and Taxation Department now tightening its noose against those involved in bogus billing, traders in the steel capital of Mandi Gobindgarh and in Ludhiana, as also the hosiery traders and manufacturers are now in a tizzy. A senior official in the Excise Department told The Tribune that in most cases where the sale transactions were very high, they have started verifying the chain of traders till the goods reached the retailer. “We asked all the traders who sought a VAT refund to get sales transactions verified at each stage - from the time it is manufactured and till it reaches him. "This revealed how in most cases the goods were being sold and were not being accounted for in the books. In a number of cases, dummy transactions (transactions only on paper) were being done to generate bills. These bills were being given to the retailer to seek VAT refund,” said a senior official. In many cases, a number of new firms were being set up and these firms, despite being new in business, were doing a roaring business worth several crores each month. Upon scrutinising the sales of these firms, the department found that the sales were bogus and meant to just seek VAT refunds from the government without having sold any goods. “In case of steel scrap, many induction furnaces in Mandi Gobindgarh and Ludhiana were buying 50 per cent of the steel scrap without bills and the steel generated from this unaccounted-for scrap was also sold without bills. "However, when it reached the retailer, he claimed VAT refund using fake bills. We managed to see how the whole trade was carried out using bogus bills,” said the official. A senior official in Ludhiana told The Tribune that this year, they have cancelled the licences of 31 persons involved in bogus billing. “But this is the tip of the scam. Several top steel manufacturers and hosiery manufacturers are believed to be involved,” he said.
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Punjab’s Partition was ethnic cleansing, says Professor Emeritus at Stockholm University
New Delhi, February 25 Put together into a book by Ishtiaq Ahmed, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Stockholm University, and the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, these facts build the theory of ethnic cleansing of minorities during India’s Partition. They use secret British documents and 230 interviews with survivors in both East and West Punjab to reveal how criminal gangs operating at the time coupled with the weak stances taken by partisan politicians and the waning authority of the British led to the death of at least five lakh Punjabi Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. The peak period of violence was August to November 1947 when 10 million were forced to cross the border demarcated by the Radcliffe Award. “The first case of ethnic cleansing after World War II took place in Punjab. My work is the first academic account on the Partition of Punjab and presents evidence of what happened in East Punjab and West Punjab before and after the transfer of power. The magnitude of the testimonies presented here is incomparable,” Prof Ahmed told The Tribune after he introduced the work at a seminar in Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Considering no official documents are available from either India or Pakistan on that period, the work titled "The Punjab, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy Through Secret British Reports and First Person Accounts”, is of extreme importance. Current works on the subject are limited in scope. The question the author answers in the new research, which chronicles week to week account of Partition, is why Punjab was partitioned considering it had 53 per cent Muslims, 30 oer cent Hindus and 14 per cent Sikhs. “The Punjab Partition puzzle is that the division was agreed upon at an all-India level as part of the overall plan to partition India. In Punjab, the Sikh leaders were adamant that if India was divided on religions lines, so should Punjab be, this when the Punjab province was a Muslim majority province. The Muslim League agreed to the division because had they not, there would have been no Pakistan. But the question is why Punjab had to be partitioned and what led to the communal divide,” says Prof Ahmed . The conclusion he draws is that Muslims of undivided Punjab first unleashed violence on the Sikhs and Hindus in the Muslim-majority districts of northern Punjab in March 1947. But at the end of the year, more Muslims had been killed in East Punjab than Hindus and Sikhs in West Punjab. “The British ignored repeated warnings from the Punjab Governor who said bloodbath was inevitable were Punjab to be partitioned. Yet troops were not made available. When the Partition process culminated, unwanted religious minorities had been eradicated on both sides,” Ahmed says. He says until August 4, 1947, the Punjab administration had reported 5,200 killings. It was after the transfer of power that mass killings began and because the Muslims were attacked much later in July 1947 by Sikhs and Hindus and began migrating to West Punjab (except from Malerkotla) from August 12, they faced larger casualties than the Hindus and Sikhs who began migrating post-March 1947. The book chronicles the decline of communal harmony in Punjab with the decline of the Punjab Unionist Party and the rise of the Muslim League. The author quotes records to show how Hardit Singh, the then spokesperson for Sikhs, declined Jinnah’s offer to join Pakistan. “Hardit Singh asked Jinnah what would happen to his word after him, and Jinnah replied that Pakistan would honour his word like the word of God. Hardit Singh knew which side to opt for,” says Prof Ahmed.
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Need for better rail link with Chandigarh
Chandigarh, February 25 The Railway Ministry has been ignoring the state for long. There is no direct rail link between Chandigarh and the Bathinda region. Poor rail connectivity to the capital has led to congestion on roads. A Congress leader, Ram Pal Daipai, said he had submitted a memorandum to Bansal seeking greater rail connectivity in the Bathinda-Mansa region besides a rail link between Ludhiana and Barnala through which the entire Amritsar region could be connected with the Barnala-Sangrur-Mansa area. There is also a popular demand for a rail link between Moga and Barnala. Sangrur Member of Parliament Vijay Inder Singla said he had got resolutions passed by the panchayats of Mandvi and Mandva villages offering land for a rail project as Bansal had announced some months ago that he would announce a rail project for the state if land was made available for the same. Sources said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had written to Bansal offering land for the project. However, he had not mentioned any specific area demarcated for the same. There is also a demand for a direct rail link between Amritsar and Ferozepur to reduce the distance between Mumbai and Amritsar. This would also boost trade. Several railway overbridges need to be constructed in the state. There is also the need for electrification of various rail tracks, especially in the Sangrur region. Sangrur: Malerkotla Muslims will now enjoy direct connectivity to Dargah Sharif, Ajmer, through the rail route. Vijay Inder Singla, Member of Parliament said it was owing to his effort that the train from Amritsar, which originally ran up to Jaipur, had been extended to Ajmer. He said Punjabis residing at Ajmer would now have direct connectivity with Darbar Sahib at Amritsar. With better connectivity, the region would attract more investors, the MP claimed. The Amritsar-Ajmer train would start from Amritsar at 5.50 pm every Friday and Sunday. It would depart from Malerkotla at 9.15 pm and reach Ajmer at 9.55 am the next day. The train would return from Ajmer at 5.55 pm every Monday and Wednesday, arrive at Malerkotla at 6.15 am the next day and reach Amritsar at 10.35 am.
Punjab's wish list
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Demand for Fazilka rail museum picks up steam
Fazilka, February 25 To mark the diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897, the metre gauze train was set up at the station. Due to flourishing trade in the region, broad gaze track was set up from Ferozepur to Karachi via Fazilka along the left bank of Sutlej in 1898. The prosperity of the town grew till 1947. However, the partition of the country dealt a severe blow on the region’s trade. In 2007, Graduate Welfare Association, Fazilka, (GWAF) had demanded that a Steam Locomotive Museum be set up at Fazilka. But the demand fell on deaf ears. Now ever since Pawan Kumar Bansal, who is from Punjab, became the Union Rail Minister, local residents feel their demand might be attended to. “There are dozens of acres of land lying unused around Fazilka railway station and a museum can easily be set up here,” pleaded Navdeep Asija, general secretary of GWAF. “We have contacted the General Manager, Northern Railway office, Delhi, who informed us that there were a large number of steam locomotives lying defunct with the department. If we get the approval to set up a museum in Fazilka, we can easily bring in the steam engines from Delhi,” said Dr Bhupinder Singh, patron of GWAF. “The locomotive museum in Fazilka will preserve over 200 years of Indian Railways’ glorious past and attract thousands of tourists,” said Asija. A-100-year-old historical metre gauze engine rotating point is also lying unused. This point was used by drivers to rotate the engine manually but it became defunct after the track was converted from metre to broad gauze.
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Rape victim battles to put pieces of life together
Bathinda, February 25 Across the village fields is the house of Manpreet Singh,22, the key accused. His father Gurjeet Singh, 54, and his elder brother Charanjeet Singh, 56, are co-accused in the case along with four others. Shinder Singh, 50, Gurjeet Singh’s brother, is the only one left at home to tend to the fields and the cattle. “Shoot us but don’t call my brothers and nephew rapists,” he says. Showing documents pertaining to a civil suit, Shinder Singh claimed: “We have been framed. The girl’s father had sold us a piece of land some years ago. When the price of the plot went up, he sought more money but we refused.” An FIR was filed on October 20, 2012, alleging that Manpreet Singh and his friend Raju had forcibly taken the girl to a room 150 metres from her house and raped her . The victim’s further alleged that on October 14, the two called her up, asking her to meet them outside her house. They promised to delete the video-clip on her. However, the two, who were accompanied by five others, took her away and raped her again. They cut off her hair and dumped her outside her house. The Deputy Commmissioner said there was no scheme under which the victim could be rehabilitated. The Senior Superintendent of Police said the police had acted immediately on receiving the complaint and booked the accused.
Lives Shattered
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Victim’s family to move court, seek CBI probe
Patiala, February 25 The deceased’s father, Amarjit Singh, said they had no faith in the district police as the police had failed to arrest the Mayor. “We have lost our daughter and everyone is playing politics over the matter," said a grieving Amarjit Singh. He gave The Tribune a copy of an FIR (No 185) registered at the Kotwali police station on July 2011 in which Pardhan has mentioned that both Harpreet Singh and Preetinder Singh are his sons. “This two-year-old police record shows that the Mayor has been lying about his personal life... I will fight till the last breath to get justice for my daughter," he said. Tejinder Sodhi, an uncle of the deceased, said the family had received threat calls and had have made a complaint to the local police with the cell phone number from which the calls were received. “We will seek a CBI probe despite the SAD asking Pardhan to resign as he may manipulate the probe,” he said. The Shiromani Akali Dal’s decision to ask Pardhan to resign is a strong signal by the party high command that acts of lawlessness will not be tolerated, said a SAD leader. The police has named Paramjeet Kaur, Jaspal Pardhan and their son Harpreet Singh in the FIR. Pardhan is yet to be arrested. The police has assured protection to the victim's family.
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Rs 17,000 cr to be spent on Punjab roads next fiscal
Sunam (Sangrur), February 25 Lakhowal further said the board had already set up five grain markets while nine were under construction. He said work on four storage houses had also been completed. A portion in each store was air-conditioned. The stores would also have provisions for cold storage. The board wanted the farmers to diversify into other crops and start growing maize which was in heavy demand around the world, Lakhowal said. “We have bought two dryers from Taiwan which could be used to dry moisture from the maize crop,” he said. Lakhowal said the Mandi Board was also busy in developing forestry in the state. It has purchased land to set up four wood markets at Ludhiana, Balachaur, Dasuya etc. He said they would also provide shops to arhtiyas, install sawing machines at the markets and waive market fee on wood. He said a modern fruits and vegetables’ market and an office building of the board was being set up on 15 acres and two acres respectively in Mohali. Both projects would be completed at a cost of Rs 110 crore, he added.
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‘Baaj’ nearing extinction in Punjab
Patiala, February 25 The Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has also offered to help in procuring the bird as it is believed to be associated with the tenth Sikh guru, Gobind Singh. Sources confirmed that the bird which was designated as the Punjab’s state bird, many decades ago, is not available in captivity anywhere in the country. “However the bird has been located in higher altitudes and can be captured from these areas after getting clearance,” they said. Wildlife organisations and experts claim that the Eastern Goshawk is fast disappearing in Punjab due to poaching and habitat destruction. “It is important that these birds are bred so that the future generations can see them,” they said. The Wildlife Department had in July, 2011, drafted a proposal to exchange wild animals with a Lahore zoo. However, the proposal failed to become a reality and remained on paper. Dhirendra Singh, Chief Wildlife Warden, Punjab, said, “We will take up the matter with the state government. They should seek permission from the centre to capture the bird,” he said. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said the SGPC would offer all possible help in procuring the bird.
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Patiala college to use mobile phone jammers during exams
Patiala, February 25 The college purchased two mobile jammers a month ago and has already successfully used these at the in-house exams. Ubha said it was difficult to check the usage of mobile phones at the examination centres as almost every student possessed one these days. “It is very easy to cheat using the sophisticated mobile phones that are available in the market. Therefore, we decided to use jammers to eliminate the possibility of anyone using mobile phones during exams,” he said. Dr Ubha further said jammers had also helped college authorities in organising hassle-free programmes. Dignitaries often felt insulted when students would use their phones during a seminar, he added.
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Freedom Fighter’s Plea
Chandigarh, February 22 Acting on freedom fighter Gurnam Singh’s petition for grant of Swatantarta Sainik Samman Pension, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had asked the Centre to ascertain, through diplomatic channels, his claim of prison sentence in Pakistan. The Centre has now informed the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain that the Government of Pakistan has refused to open the gates to information on his jail sentence.
The Case
Gurnam Singh initially submitted an application to the State of Punjab, duly supported by affidavits of his co-prisoners. Acting on his plea, the state recommended his case. But the Centre, vide letter dated August 11, 2000, raised objections. The Centre claimed that the dates of alleged imprisonment referred to by Gurnam Singh in his initial application dated November 19, 1981, and in the subsequent affidavit dated July 22, 1992, were different. Gurnam Singh, in his earlier application, claimed that he remained in jail from October 20, 1942, to October 19, 1943. But in the later affidavit, the period was mentioned as August 15, 1942, to August 15, 1943. This defence was taken by the Centre in the writ petition filed before the High Court by Gurnam Singh for the grant of pension.
The Order
Taking up Gurnam Singh’s plea, Justice Surya Kant on October 13, 2010, noted that Gurnam Singh’s incarceration in the Lahore jail was not in dispute. The only controversy was about the period of imprisonment. Justice Kant said, in his opinion, the difference in dates could not be termed as contradictory and directed the Centre to re-consider the case. Liberty was granted to the Centre to hold another fact-finding inquiry at its own level or to ascertain the claim through diplomatic channels within four months, “failing which it would be imperative upon the Centre to accept the fact-finding inquiry report already submitted by the State of Punjab and release the consequential pension”.
The Twist
The Centre, instead of releasing the pension, moved the High Court again in appeal on the ground that Pakistan had not provided the requisite information. Dismissing the appeal, the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Sikri asserted that the Centre woke up to challenge the order after an inordinate delay, that too after Gurnam Singh filed a contempt petition.
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Muktsar women helpline
Muktsar, February 25 A telephone operator at the helpline said a majority of the complaints received were related to domestic violence and harassment by in-laws. “After receiving the phone call, we pass the information to the police station concerned so that action is taken swiftly. Thereafter, the authenticity of the complaint is verified. It is learnt that the police has been instrumental in settling majority of the complaints through reaching a mutual compromise between both the parties. However, we have also received some fake complaints,” said a telephone operator. She further said complaints from rural areas were more than those from urban areas. Gurinderjit Singh, SP (D)-cum-Nodal Officer of the helpline, said, “None of the complainants have so far asked us to register an FIR even though we urged them to do so. The complainants only wanted the issue to be resolved. We have kept a record of persons, who have troubled the complainants, to ensure that they do not harass them again.”
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High Court raps PUDA for auctioning occupied flat
Chandigarh, February 25 “We are of the considered view that when the flat was already in unauthorised possession and a civil suit was pending in relation thereto, PUDA ought not to have put the same to public auction. “The petitioner has been unnecessarily harassed due to wrongful action of PUDA authorities for which we award a cost of Rs 20,000, which shall be paid to the petitioner along with the refund,” the Division Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice RP Nagrath ruled. The censure came on a petition filed by Neena Kumari against PUDA and other respondents. She was seeking directions to PUDA and Amritsar district administration to issue her the allotment letter of a residential MIG flat in Ranjit Avenue. Directions were also sought for handing over its vacant possession. The petitioner contended that residential flats were auctioned on April 18, 2001. Though she was declared successful bidder for a flat, allotment letter was not issued to her. PUDA Estate Officer, vide letter dated December 20, 2001, informed her that the allotted flat was in illegal possession of one Bodh Raj, who had filed a case in court against PUDA for allotment of the flat. The Bench was told that he took possession of the flat in question as a terrorist victim before raising claim for allotment under government policies notified for the rehabilitation of terrorism victims in Punjab. The Bench observed in an admitting tone that Bodh Raj “came into unauthorised possession of the flat” much before it was auctioned. Though the civil suit instituted by him for the allotment was dismissed, the appeal against the order was pending. During the course of the hearing, PUDA told the court that Bodh Raj was found to be a terrorism victim. As such, PUDA has decided to allot the flat to him, subject to approval by the deputy commissioner. Before parting with the order, the Bench directed the refund within two months from receiving the order’s copy.
Timeline
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Lawyers’ complex inaugurated at Fatehgarh Sahib
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 25 He said the judicial officials in the division would be given lesser work load as per specified norms, so as to reduce the number of pending cases and provide quality justice to the people in the area. Sukhbir Badal said the state government was committed to providing better facilities to judicial officials, lawyers and litigants. He called upon the High Court to send a detailed five year fiscal plan to ensure there was no paucity of funds. He said the state government was ready to provide funds. AS Dharni, president, District Bar Association said the association had constructed 225 chambers at a cost of Rs 4 crore. He said Rs 1 crore was granted by the government while the rest was contributed by lawyers. He demanded funds for the remaining work and Sukhbir agreed to give them the grant.
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Retd vice-principal commits suicide
Bathinda, February 25 The body of the vice-principal, Parkash Bansal, was fished out of the lake with the help of the volunteers of the NGO, Naujawan Welfare Society. As per the investigating officer from Thermal police station, Harbans Singh, Bansal had retired from the college around four years ago. In their statement to the police, the family members said Bansal was mentally disturbed and was suffering from acute depression. He used to teach commerce in the college and after retirement, he opened a tyre shop near Bibiwala Chowk which he used to manage along with his 17-year-old son. Police said Rs 5,860 were recovered from his pocket by the NGO volunteers. Bansal had parked his Honda Activa scooter near the lake before jumping into the water. Police said inquest proceedings would be initiated in this
regard. This is the second suicide committed by a city resident in a month.
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Ex-serviceman found dead at his residence
Moga, February 25 Harbans' wife had died a few years ago. His two sons were abroad while his daughter was married. He used to visit his brother Hansa Singh daily to take meals but when he did not go there for the past couple of days, his brothers Hansa and Darshan Singh went to his house. On reaching there, they found the door locked. They broke the lock to find Harbans lying in a pool of blood on the bed. The police was called and Station House Officer Rashpal Singh took the body into custody. It has been sent to the government hospital for a post-mortem examination. A case has been registered under Sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and an investigation is on, said the SHO.
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Thieves target govt schools
At Government Senior Secondary School, Khiwa, there have been three thefts in August 2012, December 2012 and January 2013. Two years ago, a schoolteacher was injured in an attack by a group of men carrying hockey sticks, their faces covered. Most of the thefts are said to be the result of free availability of drugs in the school vicinity. No FIR, except in the August 2012 theft, has been registered. At Government Primary School (Boys), Adampur, there have been three thefts in 2012 (April, July and mid-December). Locks are often broke open and cylinders, computers and mid-day meal utensils stolen. Now, computers and gas cylinders are carried home by the school cook after school hours and brought back every morning. This is the tale of just three schools in the district. Rampant addiction has made the lives of school staff and students miserable. There have been at least 24 thefts in 15 schools in the district in the past about one year. Only five FIRs have been registered and only one case has been solved. Of the 26 stolen cylinders, only one has been recovered. School employees claim that while some thefts could be the handiwork of addicts, others is by gangs. All the thefts have occurred between December 2011 and February 17, 2013, (10 of these between December 2012 and February 17, 2013) at the Government Primary School at Kakran Kalan, Adampur, Dhandowal, Nahal, Patara (Boys), Safipur, Chuthiara, Fatehpur, Raipur Phrohla, Salarpur, Daduwal and Basti Peerdad, Government Senior Secondary Schools at Khiwa and Heran and Government High School, Uggi. The Director-General School Education, KS Pannu, said they would write to the police heads to lodge FIRs. The District Education Officer (DEO), Primary, Kuldeep Sharma, said the dearth of school chowkidars was to be blamed. The DEO, Secondary, Neelam Kumari, also blamed it on the lack of
chowkidars.
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Amritsar, February 25
Amritsar, February 25
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