|
|
|
|
|
Patiala murder case
Move by US gurdwara to ban 'kirpan' upsets clergy
|
|
|
New exam format for civil service aspirants
110 blocks show steep fall in water table
CM rebuffs Hooda’s offer to resolve river waters issue
Business community stoutly backed Jain
More ‘VIPs’ lose security cover Diversification: Central panel to meet next week
Presiding officer’s death cuts short convict’s
days of freedom
Youth beaten to death
Man held for murder
of panchayat president’s husband
|
Patiala murder case
Patiala, March 1 The two accused - the victim's husband Harpreet Singh and his mother Paramjeet Kaur - were today sent to judicial custody till March 15 after they were presented in a local court here in the evening today. As the investigating officer (IO) was late - by a couple of hours - in presenting the two accused in court which meant that the police kept the accused in illegal custody, the duty magistrate asked for a written explanation from the IO. Meanwhile, the police tried to get the remand extended as they claimed that though the mobile handset of the accused had been seized, they were yet to arrest Jaspal Pardhan. Sources in the Police Department confirmed that they had some confessional statements from the arrested accused which need to be corroborated as to what lead to the death of the woman. “We have many things with us but to substantiate them, we need more evidence. The questioning of Jaspal Pradhan is essential,” they said. Meanwhile reacting to the statements of Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka, district in charge of the SAD who yesterday slammed the Police Department for “acting in haste” and pressing murder charges on former Patiala Mayor Jaspal Pardhan, the family members of the victim held a dharna at Anar Dana Chowk. The relatives alleged that the police was trying its best to shield Pardhan.
|
|
Move by US gurdwara to ban 'kirpan' upsets clergy
Amritsar, March
1 The Akal Takht chief, Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, said it was a serious matter that would be deliberated upon at the next meeting of the Jathedars of all five
Takhts. He said a panel formed to investigate the matter had recently submitted its preliminary report to him. (The Tribune has a copy of the report sent by Bhai Sahib Satpal Singh
Khalsa, committee coordinator). The report says the gurdwara trustees had submitted affidavits supporting an application for preliminary injunction for “barring all persons entering the gurdwara premises from bringing in sheathed swords larger than 4-6 inches or other weapons that could cause injury or threat to persons within the premises”. It says the trustees had said in their affidavits that "the families may wish to worship at home at their worship rooms and such families do not have to come to the
gurdwara.” It also says that the judge had approved the ‘kirpan’ ban after the gurdwara showed it as a “dangerous weapon”. The report says that the ban will have a serious impact on the Sikh way of life as well as gurdwaras worldwide. It apprehends that other courts in the US may use this injunction to ban the ‘kirpan’ all over the US and Canada. “This is a matter of grave concern for the Sikh Sangat all over the world, particularly in the US,” the report reads. Probe committee coordinator Khlasa said he had tried to contact the trustees of the Gurdwara of Rochester and had even written to them, but “they refused to meet me or any of our panel members. They refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the committee appointed by Akal
Takht.” Sikhs abroad fear that the move may weaken the community's fight for permission to Sikh children to wear the ‘kirpan' to schools and colleges. Possible Implications
|
||
|
New exam format for civil service aspirants
Patiala, March 1 A few days after a final nod for the change in pattern for the civil services examination conducted by the UPSC, the PPSC is also determined to change “the pattern and syllabus of the PCS Main Examination” with effect from the next examination year. The PPSC aims to have a pattern of examination (both preliminary and mains) on the same pattern as UPSC. A three-member committee headed by senior IAS officer Karan Avtar Singh proposed to get feedback and suggestions regarding a change in pattern and syllabus of the examination. “We will look at the suggestions that we receive till March 19. Those will then be discussed and, if found satisfactory, will adopted in the next pattern,” said a member of the committee. According to PPSC officials, “The present examination pattern is subjective and lengthy”. Therefore, the advantage that some candidates might get over others due to their choice of optional subjects cannot be ruled out. “We aim to assess holistically the knowledge of individuals, besides providing a level-playing field to all candidates irrespective of their educational backgrounds,” they said. Confirming the developments, Rupanjali Karthik, secretary, PPSC, said that recently it came to their knowledge that the UPSC was planning to change their examination pattern. Following that, a committee was formed to bring the Punjab civil services exam pattern on the lines of the new UPSC pattern.
|
||
|
110 blocks show steep fall in water table
Chandigarh, March 1 The Central Ground Water Board has issued notices to the Deputy Commissioners concerned for “blatant misuse” of water in at least 45 blocks, where the water level is abysmally low. Recommendations for saving the fast-depleting water table will be discussed during a board meeting with the state-level committee on March 5, said AK Bhatia, Regional Director of the water board. Bhatia said the district administration needed to evolve a pro-active role in monitoring the use of tubewell water. At several places, notices had been issued by the district authorities to ensure that water was being used only for drinking purposes and not on industrial production. The state authorities have found certain units producing energy, independent of the power lines, through generators, consuming a huge quantity of water. Highlighting the problem of the declining water table, a senior board official said that most of the 25 blocks that showed positive reserves of underground water were saline and unfit for human consumption. Bhatia said in 1984 there were only 53 “over-exploited" blocks. This number had gone up in 2002 to 93. “ The state will have to work out an effective mechanism to replace paddy plantation. We have demonstrated that producing 1kg of rice needs 3,000 litres of water,” he said.
|
||
|
CM rebuffs Hooda’s offer to resolve river waters issue
Lambi (Muktsar), March 1 Badal said the resolution of the dispute was not in the hands of Hooda alone. “Hooda has neither any mandate nor the right to solve this issue that also involves other parties,” Badal said while addressing a gathering on the concluding day of Sangat Darshan in the Lambi assembly segment here today. “Punjab has always played the big brother to Haryana but the latter has never reciprocated the gesture,” he said. The Chief Minister said the Centre had betrayed Punjab by denying the state its legitimate share in the river waters in accordance with riparian principles and by not transferring Punjabi-speaking areas and Chandigarh to Punjab. He said these territorial issues could not be resolved without a strong political will. The Chief Minister had a dig at the People's Party of Punjab (PPP) headed by his estranged nephew Manpreet Singh Badal, saying that the Moga byelection results had proved that people had no faith in the PPP as its candidate had lost his security deposit. “It is a clear proof of the PPP’s dwindling popularity.” remarked Badal. The Chief Minister said the Congress, after the Moga defeat, was gasping for life. The people had time and again rejected the “divisive” politics of Pradesh Congress chief Amarinder Singh, he added.
|
||
Business community stoutly backed Jain
Moga, March 1 Had they internally opposed Jain, the victory margin could not have been so huge, feel local political observers. For the first time in the electoral history of Moga constituency, the Akali candidate got a lead of 3,000 votes from the city. This again gives the impression that Tota Singh's son Barjinder Singh Brar and PS Gill both helped the party candidate get votes. The local leadership of the BJP - after initial bickering - adhered to coalition 'dharma' to help the SAD candidate win the election. There was no opposition from the BJP side on Jain's candidature as it was considered an internal matter of the SAD. "We are coalition partners. It was our duty to help our alliance partner and we worked hard day and night to ensure Jain's victory," Anil Bansal, local BJP leader, said. After winning the elections, Jain also stated that there was no factionalism within the ruling SAD-BJP alliance. Expressing gratitude to all the local SAD and BJP leaders, he said, "All the Akali and BJP leaders collectively worked hard so that I could win the election by a huge margin." Barjinder Brar claimed that all the former councillors worked hard in the city while the Congress workers were neither visible in urban nor rural areas. "We have a strong work force that helped us reach all the voters in the constituency, study his/her pulse and adopt a strategy accordingly to get their support. This was the basis of our micro-management that ensured us a huge victory margin," he added. Another fact that came to light after the poll result is that the business community, particularly the Hindus by and large, helped the ruling party win. It might be due to the fear of harassment by the government machinery or in the hope of getting their works done at the local level. This was one of the reasons that Jain got a lead in Moga city. However, Jain claims that it was the development plank that worked for him. He said that the constituency was not developing according to his expectations due to which he joined the ruling party. "I took the hard decision to resign from the MLA's post and then tried even harder to explain to the people that I had sacrificed my position for the development of this area," he said. Jain said that his priorities would be to provide canal water irrigation facility to the villages, upgrade infrastructure in the urban and rural areas, provide sewage disposal facility in all the villages, a sewage treatment plant and solid-waste treatment plant for Moga city.
|
|
LTC brightens up labourers’ lives
Muktsar, March 1 There, he was informed that he was entitled to leave travel concession (LTC) every four years if registered as a daily labourer. Within days of registration, he received Rs 1,000 as LTC, joined a group of youths going to Paonta Sahib on bikes and fulfilled his dream. "For the first time, I felt that I too existed in the government's scheme of things," said an elated Sukhchain Singh. He and his friends, all daily wagers, were here to attend yet another DLSA seminar. Following awareness camps and legal rights clubs set up by the Muktsar Legal Service Authority, 221 labourers have availed of the benefit of LTC. One of them, Gurjeet Singh, a construction worker from Malout, said he wished the LTC was raised to Rs 2,000. District and Sessions Judge Vivek Puri, who is Chairman of the Muktsar Legal Service Authority, said there were 160 literacy clubs in the district.
|
|
|
More ‘VIPs’ lose security cover Patiala, March 1 After a massive security review, the Punjab Government today withdrew the security cover to more than 400 persons, including ministers, officials and private individuals. Highly placed sources in the Police Department said that more than 700 policemen had been recalled and asked to report to their respective headquarters. Dinkar Gupta, Additional DGP (Security), said that security to several individuals had been withdrawn after the threat perception to them was reviewed in consultation with various agencies. “An estimated 800 -1,000 policemen have been taken off security duty in a phased manner,” he said.
|
|
|
Diversification: Central panel to meet next week
Chandigarh, March 1 Sources said the Group of Ministers
(GoM) set up by the Central Government to deal with agriculture-related problems in states like Punjab would meet next week. It is expected to hold talks with the heads and officials of the states concerned. One of the terms of reference is to consider the diversification plan submitted by the Punjab Government to the Centre. The sources said the GoM would decide on the incentives to be given to farmers in states shifting from rice to other crops such as maize. The state government will have to submit its plan during the next fiscal year to initiate the process of diversification to seek funds from the Centre. The big challenge before the state is to reduce area under paddy. Reducing 1,00,000 hectares during the first year (2013-14) will be a gigantic task. The government will have to select a team of efficient officials to handle the job. Paddy will be grown in nurseries in May and transplanted in June. The state government has only two months to decide on how much area under paddy needs to be reduced in the first year. The sources said that the GOM would work on the provisions required for setting up infrastructure for the marketing of alternative crops such as maize and sugarcane. The terms of reference also include measures to be taken for water and soil management in predominantly agricultural states. The sources said the GOM would also invite suggestions from other states on crop diversification. Obviously, there is a need to restructure the agricultural economy in the country.
|
|
Presiding officer’s death cuts short convict’s
days of freedom
Chandigarh, March 1 It was only after he moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the uncanny reality of his freedom and re-initiation of criminal proceedings surfaced. As the petition filed by Jatinder Singh against the State of Punjab came up for hearing, Justice Ranjit Singh observed: “This is a somewhat strange case, where the petitioner has been declared proclaimed offender. In the present case, he was convicted and released on a warrant as by then he had undergone the sentence as imposed. The reason for which the petitioner was still declared a proclaimed offender is now revealed from the reply filed.” The reply filed by the state revealed that the petitioner was facing trial before the Court of Gurdaspur Sessions Additional Sessions Judge HP Singh (I). Taking up his case, the Judge sentenced the petitioner to imprisonment for a period already undergone. The Judge even dictated the verdict which was typed down also. But before he could sign the judgment, the officer expired. Justice Ranjit Singh observed that the High Court had issued directions to assign all such cases to another court where judgements had been pronounced but not typed, or typed but not signed. “It is in this background that the petitioner was required to appear in this case and it explains the reason why he was declared a proclaimed offender”, Justice Ranjit Singh observed. Before parting with the orders, Justice Ranjit Singh permitted the petitioner to appear before the Trial Court.
|
|
Youth beaten to death
Moga, March 1 The deceased has been identified as Kulwinder Singh. Kulwinder was defecating in the field of one Joginder Singh, when the owner noticed it and started beating him with a stick until he fell unconscious. A few minutes later, the youth succumbed to his injuries. The police sent the youth's body to a government hospital for a post-mortem examination. A case of murder has been registered against Joginder Singh, his wife Paro and two sons.
|
|
|
Man held for murder
of panchayat president’s husband
Sangrur, March 1 Sangrur SSP Harcharan
Singh Bhullar said out of the nine accused mentioned in the FIR, a
person namely Avtar Singh Bhola had been arrested. He will be produced
at a court in Sunam tomorrow. He said police teams had been sent to
various places to conduct raids and arrest the remaining accused.
|
|
|
2 caught for impersonation during PSEB exams
Mohali, March 1 “The duo was caught when their signatures and photos on the admit cards did not match.,” said Ranbir Singh. Dr Balwinder Singh, secretary of PSEB, said, “We will take strict action against the cheaters.” — TNS
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
The Special Investigating Team (SIT) today failed to get the police remand of the two arrested accused extended in the murder case of 29-year-old Parampreet
Kaur.
Amritsar, March
1
Lambi (Muktsar), March 1
Moga, March 1
More than 110 of the 138 water blocks in Punjab have shown a steep fall in the water table, ringing the alarm bells. Thirty-eight of these blocks in
Sangrur, Ludhiana, Barnala, Moga and Fatehgarh Sahib districts have been issued notices under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.