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Day after protest by dead ASI’s kin, farmers take to streets in Tarn Taran
Dalit woman among 2 raped in Amritsar
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Special fund to fight cancer, Bill in coming session
Planning panel tweaks outlay for next fiscal
Liquor rates in state to go up from April
Tarn Taran Assault Case
Patiala Land Scam
Millers allege disparity in distribution of space
Sikh body backs removal of turban at airports
Govt schools to have Facebook accounts
Varsity students burn professor’s effigy
More farmers arrested
Patiala jail seeks additional security
HC issues notice to
state on road accidents
Rs 130-crore heroin seized in Zirakpur
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Day after protest by dead ASI’s kin, farmers take to streets in Tarn Taran
Tarn Taran, March 7 The protesters not only demanded withdrawal of the “false” case, but they also sought immediate release of the detained farmers. Farmers blocked road traffic at Chabba, Rasoolpur Nehra, Chohla Sahib, Jeobala, Tarn Taran and Patti among other places to protest against the police action.
Farmer leaders Gurpal Singh Pandori and Sukhwinder Singh Duggalwala claimed that the ASI had died of cardiac arrest and the farmers were being falsely implicated in the case. They sought a judicial probe into the ASI’s death to bring out the truth. They warned that if the arrested farmers were not released, they would intensify their agitation. The protesting farmers also resorted to sloganeering and burnt an effigy of the state government. The police had last evening booked farmer leaders Salwinder Singh, Palwinder Singh, Jassa Singh Jhamka, Surinder Singh, Manjit Singh, Daler Singh, Jassa Singh Saraidiwana, Karnail Singh and Mukhtiar Singh, and 10 unidentified persons, under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code. Out of these, five persons have been arrested while a manhunt has been launched to arrest the remaining accused. Those arrested are Palwinder Singh, Salwinder Singh, Jassa Singh Saraidewana, Karnail Singh and Mukhtiar Singh. They were produced in a local court, which remanded them in two-day police custody. A postmortem examination was conducted on the ASI’s body by a board comprising Dr Inder Mohan Gupta, Dr KD Singh and Dr NS Muhawa at the Civil Hospital here. The body was handed over to his family for performing the last rites. The police top brass of the area attended the ASI’s funeral at his native Bundala village in Amritsar district. Kin meet SSP, demand security for policemen Women members of the families of the officials residing at the local Police Lines today met Senior Superintendent of Police KS Dhillon and demanded that safety of the policemen on duty be ensured. The women expressed concern over the situation arising out of the ASI's death. They demanded that those who misbehaved with the policemen during the Sunday's marriage palace incident should also be booked. Dhillon said the police was looking into all aspects and action will be taken as per the law.
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Dalit woman among 2 raped in Amritsar
Amritsar, March 7 Though the incident occurred on March 3, the victim, working as a labourer, reported it to the police yesterday. The victim alleged that the accused abducted her from the fields near her house and took her to an abandoned veterinary hospital building nearby. There, she alleged, the quartet repeatedly raped her. She alleged that the accused threatened to kill her in case she reported the matter to anybody. Kamboh Station House Officer Yadwinder Singh said Heera Singh, Jinda, Gurvel Singh and Sarwan Singh had been booked under relevant sections of the IPC. He said raids were being conducted to nab the absconding culprits. In the second case, the Ajnala police has booked David Masih of Chamiari village for allegedly raping a girl after promising to marry her. The victim alleged that the accused met her at Ajnala bus stand and took her to an undisclosed location in Delhi and kept her there for five days. During captivity, she alleged, the accused, who is yet to be arrested, repeatedly raped her. 40-year-old booked for molesting student Faridkot: A 40-year-old man has been booked for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old Class VII student and roughing up her brother who tried to save her at Dagru village of Moga today. A complaint lodged with the police stated that the incident occurred when the girl was returning home from her school. The residence of the accused was on the way to school and he allegedly dragged the girl into her house. Following the girl at some distance was her brother and his friend who were also returning home from school. Hearing the shrieks of his sister, the boy and his friend confronted the accused. The accused attacked them with a stick.
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Op Bluestar memorial nears completion
Amritsar, March 7 Being constructed near Akal Takht, the memorial’s construction work is almost 80 per cent complete. The Damdami Taksal, which is carrying out the work, claims it will be completed before June 6. Its foundation stone was laid on June 6 last year. The memorial is coming up in the form of a gurdwara where Sri Guru Granth Sahib will be installed. The memorial building is octagonal in shape and has doors in three directions. The area of the memorial complex is 60x65 feet, out of which the building has been constructed on 31x31 feet area. The memorial’s height has been kept two feet shorter than the adjacent Gurdwara Thara Sahib building to maintain the status of a gurdwara. A dome has not been built atop the memorial as Gurdwara Thara Sahib too doesn’t have it, though the building has been built on the pattern of other buildings in the Golden Temple Complex so that it looks a part of it. Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa said the construction part is almost over and white marble had been put on the inner and the outer walls of the memorial. “Currently, the artwork on the marble is underway and soon, precious stones will be engraved on them.” The Damdami Taksal has brought special marble from Alwar, which Rajasthani firms usually import from countries like Iran, Afghanistan and Germany. The artisans have come from Agra and Makrana. The designs being made on the marble are identical to that of the Golden Temple and Akal Takht so that there is uniformity in appearance. A special ceiling has been made so that the voice doesn’t echo inside the building. He said the history of various attacks on the Golden Temple in the past will be engraved on a stone, which will be put up there so as to acquaint the devotees.
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Special fund to fight cancer, Bill in coming session
Chandigarh, March 7 To facilitate NRIs (non-resident Indians) in getting their properties vacated, the Cabinet gave the go-ahead to the Punjab Rent (Amendment) Bill, 2013. The Bill will be tabled in the assembly during the Budget session. All properties on rent under an agreement will come under the purview of this new law. The Cabinet approved, in principle, to enact the Punjab Contract Farming Act, 2012, to safeguard the rights of farmers as well as buyers besides ensuring a marketing mechanism to boost the farm diversification programme. The Cabinet also approved granting ownership rights to land allottees who migrated from Pakistan after Partition. As of now, they are shown as tenants in the official records. The Cabinet decided to introduce the Prisons Punjab Amendment Bill, 2013, by amending the Prisons Act, 1894, which envisages imprisonment of up to five years for prisoners caught using mobile phones. To impart technical training to the youth, the Cabinet gave its approval to create 39 posts of C-PYTE within six months. To overcome the shortage of the PCS officers, it gave ex-post facto approval to further extending the re-appointment period of 23 retired PCS (Executive Branch) officers on a contractual basis for a year and that of 14 others for six months. In another significant decision, the Cabinet decided to amend Section 3 (1) of the East Punjab War Awards Act, 1948, thereby enhancing the annual financial assistance to ex-servicemen from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. Heavy penalties ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh will be imposed on transport vehicles that enter the state without paying taxes. There is a provision for imprisonment if the offence is repeated. Other key decisions
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Planning panel tweaks outlay for next fiscal
Chandigarh, March 7 During a review of Punjab’s Plan utilisation today, Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen and joint secretary P Panday were informed by the Punjab Finance Department that between April 2012 and January 2013, the state had spent Rs 6,900 crore. This is just 49.28 per cent of the state’s Annual Plan approved for this financial year. With the financial year drawing to a close, it seems unlikely that the cash-strapped Punjab Government, struggling to meet even committed expenses like salaries, will be able to utilise more than 60 per cent of its planned expenditure. It is learnt that while Punjab has performed well on fund utilisation in the agriculture, education, social security and water supply sectors, its performance in Public Works (Bridges and Roads), Irrigation, Urban Development and Rural development has been rated as dismal. Government officials said though spending had increased in the past two months of the financial year (February and March), the state would still not be able to utilise the entire Annual Plan. Finance Department officials say at the most the government will be able to spend 62 per cent of the total Plan size. As a result, the Planning Commission has asked Punjab not to seek enhanced Annual Plan for the coming fiscal year. The utilisation of the Annual Plan in the state has always been average. In recent years, it has hovered between 60 - 65 per cent. As a result, Punjab’s Annual Plan for 2013-14 is pegged at Rs 15,500 crore, up a mere Rs 1,500 crore. The Annual Plan outlay is meant for carrying out various development activities. Sources said the Annual Plan envisaged for the state is always big. But resource mobilisation in the state being poor, the state does not have enough funds at its disposal for financing the Plan. Another reason is that though the Plan size often includes funds a state is likely to receive from the Centre under various schemes, punjab is unable to finance the matching grants required to finance these schemes. And this reflects in the poor utilisation of the Annual Plan. Figures say it all
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Liquor rates in state to go up from April
Chandigarh, March 7 The revenue expected during 2013-14 is Rs 4,020 crore as against Rs 3,410 crore this fiscal year. The more expensive the liquor, the greater will be the price rise, say official sources. They said that the increase would be different for different categories of country-made liquor as well as IMFL. Under the ad valorem pattern, the government will charge 45 per cent duty on a liquor case costing less than Rs 1,000. Likewise, a liquor case priced at more than Rs 1,000 will be costlier by 40 per cent. The Chandigarh Wine Merchants Association president, Satpal, said: “In simple terms, a bottle priced at Rs 450 now will cost about Rs 550.” The Cabinet has decided to continue with the existing system of allotment of liquor vends through draw of lots. The Excise and Taxation Commissioner and the Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioners will fix the rates of liquor to be supplied to marriage palaces. L-2B licence has been abolished, which means beer in cans will not be available in departmental stores. It has also been decided to set up model shops in each corporation zone and ‘A’ class municipalities. These model shops would be operated by regular L-2 licencees. Section 61 of the Punjab Excise Act has been amended, which means if any vehicle is detected carrying more than 10 cases of liquor illegally, it will be confiscated and auctioned. The permit fee of Re 1 per litre levied on rectified spirit (RS)/extra neutral alcohol (ENA) used for the manufacture of IMFL to be exported from Punjab has been abolished. The fee on import of bottled IMFL has been increased from Rs 15 per litre to Rs 25 per litre. The new policy stands committed to promoting micro breweries. No change in number of vends There is no ‘mentionable’ change in the number of liquor vends, said Anurag Verma, Excise and Taxation Commissioner. The state has approximately 9,000 vends selling IMFL and country-made liquor. At least 150 panchayats have requested the department that the liquor vends in their villages be closed. Their request will be decided by April 1.
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Tarn Taran Assault Case
Amritsar, March 7 While claiming that the law and order situation in the state was deteriorating with each passing day, Nimisha Mehta demanded imposition of the President’s Rule in the state. She said the Mahila Congress will continue to fight till justice was delivered to the victim and her family. She said the broad daylight assault on the father-daughter duo was a proof of “lawlessness” in the state. She demanded that the policemen involved in the incident should be dismissed. She claimed that women were no more safe in the state. She said they would hand over a memorandum to the Governor seeking imposition of the President's rule in the state. She said the state government had "miserably failed" in ensuring safety and security of women.
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Patiala Land Scam
Patiala, March 7 Garg’s pre-arrest bail plea was rejected in January, 2013, by the Supreme Court, but he has been evading arrest. Perturbed over Garg’s failure to report to the police, the Vigilance Bureau (VB) sleuths
now want him to be declared a PO. “Our officers will paste his photo along with the arrest orders on his house and ask the court to tag him as a PO,” said Pritam Singh, investigating officer and Senior Superintendent of Police
(SSP), VB, Patiala. A PO may be arrested by any police officer without any order from a Magistrate and without a warrant. Sources confirmed that VB officials were hopeful that Garg would join investigations today as all earlier attempts by him to get bail had been rejected by various courts. “We fail to understand why he is trying to evade the questioning, when he knows that his arrest is now inevitable and his questioning a must in this scam,” said VB
officials. Gurinder Walia has also been evading interrogation. “Yesterday when we asked him about his connection to some land deals in
Patiala, he slipped away and has not returned since,” said Pritam Singh. The arrest of Garg has now become more crucial for the investigating agency, after former Patiala Naib Tehsildar Gurinder Singh Walia joined the probe and shifted the entire blame on Vikas
Garg. Walia reportedly told the VB officials that he had signed the government land transfer documents after his boss at the time, Patiala DC Vikas
Garg, asked him to do so. “However, we need to corroborate Walia’s claims but that can only be done once Garg joins the probe. We also need him as there are vital missing links in the case,” added Pritam Singh.
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Millers allege disparity in distribution of space
Moga, March 7 The rice millers protested outside the office of the district manager of the FCI, demanding adequate space to store the rice milled in the local mills and extra trains to move out the stock. The FCI authorities called in the local police. No untoward incident or clash between the millers and the FCI authorities was reported while there was a standoff extending to more than four hours. "The millers had used unparliamentary language against me even as we were willing to hold a dialogue with them," revealed Rajeev Sharma, district manager of the central food agency. The local rice millers alleged that the FCI authorities had mutually agreed to give 15 per cent extra space to the rice mills of the Moga centre, but it was practically not being given to them. "We have been given a target of milling 67 per cent of the paddy by the end of this month, but due to lack of space, some of the mills in Moga are lagging far behind when it comes to achieving this target, which is grave injustice to us," said Vinod Bansal, district president of the millers association. He said the insensitive attitude of the FCI authorities had halted the process of storing the rice. "We cannot keep the rice with us for long due to fear of damages," he said. Rice millers said there was need to create more space to store the rice, keeping in view the given targets for milling and wheat procurement in the next couple of weeks. They revealed the movement of rice to other states was very less, which had created a space crunch in the district. "There is a huge stock of rice - at least 10,000 truckloads kept in the storehouses, which needs to be transported to the other states to create space," they said.
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More arms recovered on Chaura’s tip-off
Chandigarh, March 7 The police has already recovered a huge cache of arms including one AK-56 rifle along with one magazine and 50 alive cartridges, one .30 bore pistol along with one magazine and 20 alive cartridges and five hand grenades after eliciting information from Chaura of
Kurali.
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Sikh body backs removal of turban at airports
Amritsar, March 7 A complaint received at the Akal Takht secretariat says Italy Sikh Council has put up a letter (dated March 24, 2011) at Italy's Brescia airport referring to an agreement reached with the Border Police Office and the SEA Staff under which turbaned Sikh passengers will have to undergo security check like other passengers. It says the frisking of Sikh passengers will be done in a separate room where only security personnel will be present. The letter says that it is for the passenger to decide whether he wants to have his turban checked by taking it off or through a machine installed for the purpose. Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh, has asked the Sikh organisation to withdraw this letter at once. His personal assistant, Jaswinder Singh, said the Sikhs had time and again opposed the removal of turban for security checks.
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Govt schools to have Facebook accounts
Patiala, March 7 Earlier, the interaction between the DGSE office and the schools was one-sided with the department uploading daily directions, notices and information about transfers and promotions on its website for all to see. Therefore, the DGSE proposed making accounts on Facebook so that principals of various schools would be able to share their activities. This way, principals would be able to find out what other schools were doing for their betterment, he said. Many schools have already created their accounts and have begun uploading necessary information, pictures and videos of various activities on their pages. Pannu said many schools in the state had shown some remarkable improvement in education, sports and cultural activities but they hadn’t been able to share their success stories with others. But now, through this common platform, the Education Department would be able to take suggestions from various schools on how to improve the education system, he said. “Another reason for setting up accounts on Facebook was to make teachers and students more computer savvy. Many teachers in government schools are yet to learn computers,” Pannu added. Getting connected
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Varsity students burn professor’s effigy
Patiala, March 7 The students burnt Gurjant Singh’s effigy at the protest held under the banner of Punjabi University Research Scholars Association. Economics Department research scholar Teavaspreet Kaur said this was not the first time Gurjant Singh had misbehaved with his students. — TNS
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Sangrur, March 7 They were demanding unconditional release of the farmers arrested yesterday during their ‘Rail Roko’ agitation. A large number of farmers blocked the Lehra-Sunam road at Lehragagga. A farmer leader said the police arrested 125 farmers from there. In a similar incident at Benra, the police arrested more than 75 farmers while they were blocking the Dhuri-Sangrur road. Senior Superintendent of Police Harcharan Singh Bhullar, however, put the number of arrests at 86 from Lehragaga and 55 from Benra. In Barnala, 20 farmers were arrested while they were blocking the Barnala-Mansa road at Dhaula village here today.
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Patiala jail seeks additional security Patiala , March 7 Sources said: “We held a security review this afternoon and decided to ask for more security.” Jail Superintendent Bhupinderjit Singh Virk said they had written to the Patiala police to step up security inside and outside the jail. Sources confirmed that the police in Rajoana’s ancestral village had been put on alert. "We are keeping a round-the-clock vigil," said a police official. SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill said he would review the security arrangements at the jail tomorrow morning. “I have not received any letter yet. Rumours about Rajoana being shifted have been doing the rounds since yesterday,” he said.
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HC issues notice to
state on road accidents
Chandigarh, March 7 The Division Bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri took note of the letter written by Kamaldeep Singh of Ludhiana underscoring the "bloodbath" on the roads of Punjab because of road accidents. "Our roads can be described as killer roads. We are losing 4,000 people annually in road accidents and many thousands are getting crippled for life. The total affected people in Punjab will be in excess of five lakh people. You can well imagine the plight of people suffering from this bloody massacre on the roads. Even our very own Capt Kanwaljit Singh, former Finance Minister, died in a road accident," reads the letter. Accusing the government of not taking action, the letter reads: "My heart bleeds for the innocent children who were sitting in the bus, not knowing the danger. Innocently, they boarded the buses, which are death traps. The school managements, transporters, Transport Secretary, DTOs are culprits for not implementing road safety guidelines set by courts". Seeking exemplary punishment to those responsible for such fatal accidents, he demanded that accountability should also be fixed. Thirteen children were killed and 10 injured when a school van collided with a truck near Jalandhar on March 4. The van driver also died in the accident.
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Rs 130-crore heroin seized in Zirakpur
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 7 The two arrested smugglers Canadian citizen Anup Singh Kahlon and Kulwinder Singh alias Rocky disclosed the location of the consignment. The duo was arrested with 540 gm of heroin by the district police two days ago. Foreign and Indian currency worth Rs 8.9
lakh, a laptop and a vehicle was also recovered from them. The office of the Director General of Police has announced out-of-turn promotions for the nine police officials instrumental in unearthing the big haul of narcotics. Senior Superintendent of Police
(SSP) HS Mann said this recovery has landed a massive blow to the international drug mafia that supplied drugs in USA, Canada and Europe. Mann claimed that this haul was just the tip of the ice berg as the accomplices of the accused had thrown approximately 50 kg of heroin in the water. He said the police was likely to get more information from the duo and catch many more big fish. SSP said the police recovered 10 kg heroin from their vehicle and 16 kg from specially designed wooden boxes hidden in the ceiling of the roof. Mann said vital information about the mafia was recovered from their laptop. Upon questioning, Anup Singh Kahlon revealed that he had migrated to Canada in 1995 and was now a Canadian citizen. He got involved in the drug trade and had visited many countries, including India to run the trade. He had set up a network of drug dealers in connivance with Rocky.
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Members of various farmer organisations took to the streets today to protest the registration of a case against nine of their leaders and activists.
The district police has recovered 26 kg heroin, worth Rs 130 crore, from a Zirakpur flat today. The two arrested smugglers Canadian citizen Anup Singh Kahlon and Kulwinder Singh alias Rocky disclosed the location of the consignment.
The duo was arrested with 540 gm of heroin by the district police two days ago.
