The injured being treated at Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, on Sunday. Photos: Sarabjit Singh

Jalandhar, March 10
Three persons, including two woman members of a Kartarpur-based family, were killed and seven others sustained injuries, in a collision between two speeding cars on the Jalandhar-Jammu highway in Sarmastpur village this morning.

Anil Dhiman, a resident of Kartarpur who was seriously injured in the accident, later died at the Civil Hospital here.

The collision was so powerful that a speeding Hyundai Accent car, heading towards Jalandhar from Pathankot, collided with an Uno car, on its way to Bhogpur, after crossing the road divider, killing a woman occupant in a car on the spot.

According to eyewitnesses, the mishap occurred at about 11.50 am when Anil Dhiman, along with his mother Paramjit Kaur, wife Sunita, son Abhishek and daughter Harsha were on their way in the Uno car.

Approaching from the opposite direction, the Hyundai car driver of an Anadpur-based family comprising Bhupinder Singh, his wife Manjit Kaur, son Atamjit Singh and nephew Dilpreet Singh, reportedly hit the road driver and then came crashing on the Uno on the opposite lane of the highway.

With the impact of the collision, Sunita died on the spot, while Paramjit Kaur died at the local Civil Hospital, Jalandhar. Occupants of both cars also sustained injuries. Dilpreet Singh got serious injuries, said the police.

Soon after the crash, passersby and locals assembled at the spot and swung into rescue operations, besides informing the police.

The driver of the Hyundai car was an employee of Ranjit Sagar Dam in Pathankot and was on his way to Jalandhar with his family when he lost control over the vehicle, leading to the mishap, the police said.

Traffic on the busy Jalandhar-Jammu highway was also disrupted for some time.Both vehicles involved in the accident were impounded and the bodies were sent to morgue for postmortem examination.

The police registered a case under Sections 279, 304-A, 388 and 427 of the IPC against the erring driver at the Maqsudan police station.

Jalandhar, March 10
Three years ago, "The Scalpel Game Beneath", a racy medical thriller, laid bare the secrets of the hideous organ trade mafia in the country through a fictionalised account which travelled across continents.

Dr H S Rissam

It was the first such account by a practising doctor in India.

While an outsider - attempting to point out the rot setting in the medical profession - would have been in for threats or ridicule, the fact that the novel was penned by a respected cardiologist who happens to be a Padmashree awardee, only added more weight and substance to it.

Clearly, he has mastered the art of veiled whistle blowing.

The author of the book and famed cardiologist Dr Harbhajan Singh Rissam, who was in the city today to inaugurate the Annual Update of the Physicians’ Forum of Jalandhar, talked to The Tribune on his journey so far, his plans ahead and what he thinks must be done to weed out the trouble that is responsible for the degeneration in the medical profession.

Dr Rissam, director, Clinical Cardiac Sciences and Senior Interventional Cardiologist at the Max Heart and Vascular Institute, New Delhi and Member of the Board of Governors of the Medical Council of India, has been a lover of books and poetry since his childhood. Well versed in Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu, his father’s keen interest in reading gave him early exposure to Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, Irving Wallace who became a cherished part of his world. When the neighbourhood kids flew kites and played cricket, he read.

A brilliant student all through, early on he was penning articles for journals for both college magazines and later for medical journals.

While he began practice in Government Medical College, Srinagar, concerns stemming from the unrest in the valley made him move to Delhi in 1990.

Having observed keenly the various aspects (good and bad) of his profession, he began work on "The Scalpel" during a three-month-long sabbatical in Paris in the chilly winter months in the year 2006.

When the book was finally released at the Cardiological Society of India’s Annual Conference at Kolkata, he had politely asked then CM Budhadeb Bhattacharya to "just read the first four pages" and he still sticks to the stand, “the book will take you further", he says.

As one pops the inevitable but much-asked question, wasn’t he scared? His reply is “Na koi mujhe dara sakta hai, na koi mujhe khareed sakta hai.” (Neither can anyone scare me, nor can they buy me).”

“When the novel was being written, my daughter used to express serious apprehensions about what outcome it might bring. Even my safety was being feared for. But after the novel, my faith in my community and in goodness is reaffirmed. I have noticed that people indulging in hideous practices are a miniscule minority and the majority are honest. Evil-doers have begun to be ostracised by the medical fraternity at large. While the novel is a fictionalised account, it nevertheless hints at grave wrongdoings. I have noticed there are some people who now do not look me in the eye. Doctors come to me and say "things which we could never bring to our lips - are brought out for everyone to read, by you.’ I feel that’s my biggest compliment,” says Dr Rissam.

When asked whether the novel had brought visible reforms, i.e. has it scared people enough to give up such practices, he replies, “I have reason to believe so. It has created fears is some people’s minds to the extent that such practices have been stopped by some. I am helped by that fact that everyone knows I have no personal axe to grind.”

When asked as a member of the MCI board of governors, what reforms are being planned in the country, he says, “Falling standards of medical education are foremost on our mind. Everyone is aware that crores of rupees have been exchanging hands for getting permissions for recognitions. But our plans are to discourage under-equipped colleges lacking in quality. Institutions which provide quality education to students will be supported.”

When questioned about the degeneration setting in the state, in this regard, he says, “The same goes for the state. Under-equipped, incompetent institutes are high on our agenda.”

Speaking on the cancellation of the licences of incompetent doctors, he says, “As many as 27 licences were recently suspended and 100 more are up for review and are likely to be suspended soon.”

Speaking on his future plans about the much-anticipated sequels of the novels, Dr Singh said he planned to work on a trilogy and readers must brace themselves for some more action in the near future.

While he has been approached by many Bollywood production houses keen on making a movie of it, Dr Singh has been strongly guarding the novel on that count.

“Let’s just say I’m a father and the scalpel is my pretty daughter and suitors have been asking for her hand in marriage. I’m guarding my girl selfishly and will only give her away when the right man comes,” says Dr Rissam displaying his characteristic wit which has won him much popularity.

On a serious note, he says, “I would want the novel to be made into a film by a person who understands its spirit. I do not want someone who’s just looking for commercial gains. I am waiting for the right offer.”

While the popularity of the first novel still soars, Dr Rissam says it might be a while before the sequel, said to be about the PGI, Chandigarh, happens.

Phagwara, March 10
The Phagwara police has arrested six drug peddlers in different cases and recovered 24 gm of heroin and 700 gm of intoxicant powder and a sharp-edged weapon from their possession.

All the accused were produced before the local judicial magistrate, who remanded them in judicial custody.

The police said here today that the police had arrested one drug peddler, Kuldip Singh, alias Dimple, of Mehtab Garh village, and recovered 10 gm of heroin and 150 gm of intoxicant powder from him, while another accused, Jatinder Kumar, alias Kaka, was nabbed with a sharp-edged weapon.

Earlier, the police had arrested one Phagwara-based drug peddler, Hitesh Maria, and recovered 450 gm of intoxicant powder from his possession last night. The accused was nabbed from near the old Civil Hospital, the police said.

In another case, the police arrested another accused, Anmol Singh, of Mehtab Garh village, and recovered 10 gm of heroin and 450 gm of intoxicant powder from him, from near Miherru village.

In another case, the police arrested two drug peddlers, Darabjit Singh and Navdeep Singh of Chiherru village, and recovered 4 gm of heroin and 50 gm of intoxicant powder from their possession on Friday.

Jalandhar, March 10
The movement to free Tibet has got support from Jalandhar too, as a single city girl held a march on Tibet Uprising Day in the Model Town locality here today.

Tibet Uprising Day, which falls on March 10 every year, commemorates the 1959 Tibetan uprising against the presence of the People’s Republic of China in Tibet. The failure of the armed rebellion ultimately resulted in a violent crackdown on the Tibetan independence movements, and the flight of the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, into exile.

Model Town resident Trishma Vasudev took out a march from Shivani Park in the locality with a pamphlet and a flag in her hands and passed through various lanes before ending it.

To a query, Jalandhar chapter coordinator of the Students for a Free Tibet Trishma Vasudev said, “I know it would be difficult to print the news, as I marched alone. I tried to organise the march and 20 people were supposed to join, but no one turned up. And I guess sometimes some marches are to be led alone.”

“I was reminded of what once Rabindra Nath Tagore said,"If nobody comes when you call, then walk alone"(Jaudi tor daak shune keyu na aashe tobe aekla cholo re),” she added.

Trishma further stated:"I marched alone, but I represented the Tibetans inside Tibet who are suffering inside Tibet under the Chinese regime. I marched alone, yet I stood with the 107 known Tibetan martyrs, who self-immolated for the freedom of their country and return of His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, to his homeland.”

Usually, Tibetan independence groups often organise protests or campaigns on March 10 to draw the attention to the situation in Tibet. The city girl also tried to do so by holding a solo march in Jalandhar.

Obviously, Trishma demanded from world leaders to unite and put pressure on China’s incoming President Xi Jinping to immediately reverse the crisis that has led to a devastating wave of 107 self-immolation protests in Tibet since 2009; 11 in the last two months alone.

“Until Xi Jinping resolves the crisis in Tibet and ends the occupation, China will never truly experience peace and stability,” she added.

“The current crisis inside Tibet demands an immediate intervention by world leaders. A strong public pressure will save Tibetan lives now.” Tibet campaigners have been urging world leaders to form a multilateral forum or international contact group for Tibet. On December 10, 2012, the former United States under Secretary and Special Coordinator for Tibetan Affairs Maria Otero made a keynote address at the European Union’s Human Rights Day event, where she highlighted the importance of a “common strategic engagement”, with the European Union to address the worsening human rights situation inside Tibet.”

Jalandhar, March 10
Dubai-based businessman Surinder Pal Singh Oberoi was honoured by the management of local Gurudwara Nauvi Patshahi at Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar and an NGO Shabad Mahima on Saturday for securing the release of 17 Indians who were on death row for killing a Pakistani in the United Arab Emirates.

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh honoured Oberoi on behalf of the gurdwara management and the NGO at a function on Satruday.

Speaking on the occasion, Giani Gurbachan Singh appreciated Oberoi for doing relentless service for securing the release of the 17 Indians. One of released Indians, Baljeet Singh, of Sanghwal village was also present at the gurdwara on the occasion.

Punjab minister Ajit Singh Kohar stated on the occasion that more Punjabis would definitely follow Oberoi's footsteps for social service after getting inspiration from him.

Olympian-turned-politician Pargat Singh (Akali MLA from the Jalandhar cantonment), Akali leaders Gurcharan Singh Channi, Baljit Singh Neelamahal, president of the Gurudwara management president Jagjit Singh Gaba and NGO chief Baljit Singh Brar were present on the occasion.