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School board gets cracking against copying
Rain damages wheat crop
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CM blames Cong for House stalemate, Tewari differs
Farmers demand bridges, govt gives boat
CRPF guards Badal family, Saini
Tarn Taran Assault Case
Penalty for officers providing unauthorised police security
Khatkar Kalan function
Farm suicides
New TB diagnosis test soon
Efforts on to popularise Heritage Walk
A month after crime, former
Mayor yet to join SIT probe
Accused under TADA held at Delhi airport
Cong activist dies in strange circumstances
Youth shot at; accused linked to ruling party
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School board gets cracking against copying
Chandigarh, March 24 Entailing imprisonment of up to six months, these FIRs were registered, among others, under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. The earlier practice to deal with such cases was to let go the impostor with a warning and bar the student (for whom the impostor was appearing) for a year or a maximum three years from appearing in board examination. Confirming the registration of FIRs and subsequent arrests, DGSE Kahan Singh Pannu said, "This time, we got cracking on centres that were notorious for copying. Exams were cancelled at over 300 centres across the state. The exercise was even followed in the native villages of top Akali leaders, including a minister." Officials said the anti-copying measures were taken following orders by Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka. Sources in the school board said at least 151 teams were constituted for the purpose. They said the job was segregated at the levels of centre superintendents, district administration, district education officers and the DGSE. The copying-related information was shared at a common platform, which ensured stern action, the sources said. Apart from students, the department kept its invigilators and support staff, particularly those with tainted past, on surveillance. "At least a dozen teachers and centre superintendents have been suspended for allowing unfair means in examination. About 250 centres were marked as sensitive for copying and use of unfair means," an official said. Pannu said the department had also identified certain private academies that were promising "definitely good results" to students. Incidentally, the parents of a student beat up the owner of one such private academy in Batala after their ward could not manage the "promised" result even after paying a hefty amount. Tough Measures
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Rain damages wheat crop
Mandi Ahmedgarh, March 24 The crop was partially damaged at Jandali, Chhanna, Dehliz, Pohir, Lehra and Jagera villages, near here. It was flattened in the Dehlon, Malaudh, Malerkotla, Raikot and Amargarh segments. Mohinder Singh of Lohgarh village said the farmers would incur heavy losses if the inclement weather continued. ''In the beginning, persistent high temperatures retarded growth and now rain and hailstorm, though mild, have damaged the crop," said Harjinder Singh of Chhanna village. He expressed apprehension that the farmers in the area may have incurred a loss of more than 20 per cent. The rainfall plummeted the minimum temperature in the state.The minimum temperature in most parts hovered between 1 to 4 degrees Celsius above normal. Ludhiana received 23.4 mm , Chandigarh 11.9 mm, Patiala 4.8 mm and Amritsar 2mm of rainfall. The Met Dept has forecast light to moderate rain during the next 24 hours with hailstorm at a few places. Raikot: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal announced here on Sunday that the government would conduct a survey to assess the damage caused to wheat and other crops. He said he had asked the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) to direct the Deputy Commissioners to carry out a special mutation (girdawari) in the affected areas. Adequate compensation would be given to the affected farmers, the Chief Minister said.
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CM blames Cong for House stalemate, Tewari differs
Raikot, March 24 Both Badal and Tewari were on a visit to Nanaksar Thaath in Jhorran village near Raikot in connection with the 100th birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Isher Singh. Initially reluctant to talk politics on the occasion, Badal, replying to a query on the sidelines of the function, charged Congress leaders with misusing their position to help an unauthorised person into the assembly complex. He alleged that the Congress had undermined democratic norms and failed to uphold the dignity of the House. But Tewari, in a spirited defence of the Congress, told The Tribune that the party was well within its rights to raise the issue in the Vidhan Sabha and to draw the attention it merited. "The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the Tarn Taran assault case. The Punjab Government, rather than being repentant, stooped to the level of physically preventing the woman from entering the assembly premises," he said. Badal attended Baba Isher Singh's birth centenary celebrations before noon. The Congress MP from Ludhiana arrived there later. Addressing the gathering, he steered clear of politics. Speaking from the same podium before him, the CM exhorted spiritual leaders to protect the Khalsa Panth from apostasy and drug addiction. Among others present were Speaker CS Atwal and CM's Adviser Maheshinder Singh Grewal. Baba Ghalla Singh from Nanaksar Thaath presented a siropa (robe of honour) to the Chief Minister. Tewari was accompanied by Congress leaders Isher Singh, Malkiat Singh Dakha and Ludhiana DCC (Urban) chief Pawan
Dewan.
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Farmers demand bridges, govt gives boat
Ramdas (Amritsar), March 24 Saharan, Kasowal, Jatta and Pashian villages along the Ravi present a picture of neglect. The farming community here has to cross the river daily on a boat to till their land. The farmers have been demanding a concrete bridge for a long time, but their demand so far has fallen on deaf ears. This, despite the then Union Home Minister LK Advani (in the late 1990s) announcing Rs 33 crore for constructing bridges in the area. The residents of these villages own over 10,000 acres of land across the river, which is flooded every monsoon, something that aggravates their miseries. A farmer from Jatta village, Harjinder Singh, said, “We earlier had a bigger boat, but it got stuck in the river a few months back. We later pooled in money to get another boat repaired.” The farmers lament that they have been demanding a bridge for long but the only help which came their way from the government was the boat. Though the authorities have appointed a boat operator, he too was not on duty when The Tribune team visited the spot today. The farmers said they themselves had engaged an operator on a monthly salary of Rs 9,000. The amount is pooled in by farmers owning their land across the river. Another farmer, Gagandeep Singh, said they could only carry fertilisers and spray material in the boat. For ferrying bigger agricultural equipment like tractors, they have to use a pontoon bridge built at Dharamkot Pattan, 15 km from these villages. But, this bridge too remains operational only for seven months. It is removed in June and then reassembled in October after the monsoon. The farmers’ woes do not end here. Several of them are affected whenever the Ravi gets flooded and changes its course. Gurmej Singh of Shahzada village is one such farmer who lost six acres of his land to a flooded Ravi. “Now, I have taken a farm on lease. Still, I feel I’m better off as there are others who have been forced to work as daily wagers after meeting the same fate,” said the septuagenarian. Kashmira Singh of the same village lost his 10 acres of land to the river and now banks on dairy farming for his survival. Apart from it, it is double trouble for the farmers who own land beyond the fence, which is again across the river. These farmers first have to cross the river and then the border fence, which further reduces the limited time they get from the BSF to cultivate their land.
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CRPF guards Badal family, Saini
Chandigarh, March 24 Commended for crushing militancy with an iron hand and sent to other states for maintaining law and order during elections, the Punjab Police with all its commandos and intelligent officers is not even guarding the Punjab Police headquarters in Sector 9 here. The head office too is watched over by CRPF personnel. This, and much more is expected to be revealed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court tomorrow when Justice Ranjit Singh takes up the case of the Tarn Taran police assault victim. Available information suggests the Centre has already submitted a list of VVIPs, ministers and other dignitaries provided with CRPF security. The list, to be placed before Justice Ranjit Singh tomorrow, reportedly says Saini has been provided with three “sections” of the CRPF for maintaining a round-the-clock security and vigil. The High Court on the previous date of hearing was informed by the Centre's counsel, Onkar Singh Batalvi, that the Punjab Government as well as the state police were depending on the CRPF for providing security. When the victim’s plea for CRPF security came up for resumed hearing, Batalvi created a flutter in the courtroom when he told Justice Ranjit Singh that the Punjab Police headquarter was depending on the CRPF for security. The assertion came as Batalvi made attempts to defend CRPF’s action of not providing security to the Tarn Taran victim and her family. He argued in the court that a battalion was already at the disposal of the Punjab Police. As such, security could be provided to the victim. Counsel for the State of Punjab too told the court that the CRPF battalion was detailed for VVIP duty. Attempts to withdraw a contingent for providing security to the Tarn Taran victim and other petitioners would affect the security cover provided to the VVIPS. The Punjab Police is headed by a Director-General of Police who was given the country's highest award for gallantry in 1987 for his leadership in operations against insurgents. Protecting VVIPs
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Tarn Taran Assault Case
Chandigarh, March 24 The Centre was asked by Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to provide the victim and other petitioners with CRPF security. Available information suggests the Union of India has provided security only to the victim, her father and brother while her uncle Gurmukh Singh, village sarpanch Sukhraj Singh and star witness Jagjit Singh have been left out. The issue of Centre’s alleged failure to fully comply with the High Court orders is expected to be raised by petitioner’s counsel Gurvinder Singh Sidhu when the case comes up for resumed hearing on Monday afternoon. A reply filed by the counsel for the Union of India, Onkar Singh Batalvi, is also scheduled to be placed before Justice Ranjit Singh during the hearing. Already, the CRPF top brass is facing contempt of court proceedings in the matter. Justice Ranjit Singh, on the previous date of hearing, had asserted: “Notice be issued to the IGP, CRPF, as to why proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act be not initiated against him for not complying with the order”. The notice was issued after Sidhu appeared before Justice Ranjit Singh with a plea that the previous orders for providing protection to the Tarn Taran victim, her family and other petitioners had not been complied with. Soon after the issuance of notice, the CRPF provided eight personnel to the victim and her immediate family. The matter was initially placed before Justice Ranjit Singh after the victim, her father and other relatives moved the High Court, seeking necessary action against the police “for not only blatant violation of basic human rights” and outraging the victim’s modesty in full public view, “but also for threats being issued to them for withdrawing the complaint”.
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Penalty for officers providing unauthorised police security
Patiala, March 24 Such gunmen were often provided by district police chiefs or battalion commandants to their political bosses in order to please them. But after the Punjab Police decided to deduct the salary of such officers, a considerable decline has been witnessed in the trend. In fact, more than 1,000 unsanctioned gunmen have already been withdrawn. A written communiqué (The Tribune has a copy) to curb the practice was recently issued by the Additional Director General of Police (Security) to all police commissioners, Senior Superintendents of Police, battalion commandants and other senior officers posted in the field. “Despite written instructions from this office, which have been reiterated numerous times, district police chiefs and commandants of armed battalions continue to provide security personnel from their units to various individuals in an unauthorised manner,” reads the letter. Now onwards, Rs 52,000 per constable will be deducted from the annual salary of the officer concerned for attaching unauthorised police personnel with anyone, it reads. The police officers were also asked to submit a written certificate that they had not provided security to any unauthorised person. The letter evinced a good response and such certificates (from officers posted as station house officers and above) have already reached the police top brass.
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Khatkar Kalan function
Chandigarh, March 24 Advising Badal to “desist from cheap politics in the name of martyrs”, Bajwa said the Chief Minister needed to “set his records straight”. The PPCC president said he along with senior Congress leaders had visited Khatkar Kalan yesterday and paid floral tributes at martyr Bhagat Singh’s memorial even before Badal had reached there. Bajwa claimed almost all newspapers had covered the event with pictures showing him laying a wreath on the memorial. “The Congress has a long history of making sacrifices for the nation and honouring the martyrs is a fundamental duty of the party’s leaders,” he said. The PPCC chief said Badal’s “utterances reflected his nervous mind and his statement was uncalled for and out of context”. PPP chief Manpreet Badal also said that Badal was "lying" on the issue. He claimed that the Sanjha Morcha organised not one but two events.
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Farm suicides
Sangrur, March 24 As many as 856 persons (562 farmers and 294 farm labourers) had committed suicide till 2006 in the district. Lehragaga subdivision witnessed the maximum number of 179 suicides while Dhuri reported the minimum of 100 suicide cases. Besides, 149 farmers and labourers had committed suicide in Malerkotla subdivision, 147 each in Moonak and Sangrur subdivisions, and 134 in Sunam subdivision. The amount was disbursed at separate functions organised in Dhuri, Sangrur and Lehragaga. Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa gave away cheques to the bereaved families. Many women who received the cheques expressed dissatisfaction over the relief amount. They said the money was not enough as they had been facing a lot of hardship due the death of their families' sole bread earner. Dhindsa said though the loss of human life could not be compensated, the compensation was an effort of the government to financially help the bereaved families. He also said the left out families would be traced and compensated accordingly. He said village sarpanches had been told to look into the cases of several other such families and verify the authenticity of their claims.
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New TB diagnosis test soon
Ropar, March 24 Addressing a function on the World TB Day here today, Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal said since the result of diagnosis could be known within 90 minutes through this technique, it would help in starting the treatment of patients immediately. The state had witnessed a decline in the number of TB patients last year and there was an urgent need to further reduce their number by providing them proper treatment, he said. There were 40,931 TB patients in the state till 2011 and this number had been reduced to 39,685 last year, Mittal said, adding similarly, 1,732 persons died of the disease in 2011 and this number was also reduced substantially to 1,322 in 2012. On the shortage of doctors and paramedics in government hospitals, the minister said the Punjab Public Service Commission had recruited 350 doctors who would soon be deployed in different parts of the state. Besides, 103 postgraduate doctors had been recruited by a committee constituted to finalise the new health skill development training courses in the state, he added. The selection process of paramedics had been challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the postings would be made as soon as the court gave its judgment, Mittal said. The minister distributed grants worth Rs 1.25 crore to various organisations on the occasion. Prominent among those present included Ropar MLA Daljit Singh Cheema, Civil Surgeon Rajnish Sood and State TB Officer Dr Balbir Singh.
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Efforts on to popularise Heritage Walk
Amritsar, March 24 Sources said the board had got some power transformers, seen as a hindrance, shifted. Besides, work was on to improve the façade of heritage buildings. District tourism officials had been briefed on the issue at a special training
programme. Heritage Walk, launched here on September 24, 2011, recently bagged a national award. Though yet to get popular with domestic tourists, it has caught the fancy of foreign tourists. The 3-km Heritage Walk takes tourists to a guided tour of 17 key religious and historical places in the holy city.
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A month after crime, former
Mayor yet to join SIT probe
Patiala, March 24 The SIT claimed their team was busy collecting crucial evidence to corroborate the claims of the complainant, besides conducting raids to arrest Pardhan. The three-member SIT has visited the crime scene more than thrice in the past one month. "Crucial evidence was lost on the first day of the crime when the police was not summoned on time. The case was later shifted to the SIT. But its head was on leave for the initial few days, which gave enough time to the accused to destroy evidence," said a senior police officer. Pardhan's "wife" Paramjeet Kaur and her son Harpreet Singh are already under judicial custody. The family members of the victim have alleged that the SIT was working under pressure as the former Mayor was an influential person. SIT head Inspector General (crime) Shashiprabha Diwedi said all efforts to nab Pardhan had failed. "We are not wasting any time. We are collecting evidence to build our case. We have not given a clean chit to anyone," she said. The victim's family members recently approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a CBI probe into the case. The court has issued a notice to the state on a petition filed by the victims' father Amarjit Singh
Sodhi. Patiala murder case
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Accused under TADA held at Delhi airport
Sangrur, March 24 SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar said Manpreet, who was a member of the All India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF), had been booked for an attack on the local jail staff under various sections of the IPC and Sections 3, 4 of TADA Act in 1987 by the Sangrur city police. — TNS
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Cong activist dies in strange circumstances
As per the hospital record, she was brought from the residence of Inspector Deepak Singh, Station House officer (SHO) of the Charik police station on Friday evening. But Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Amarjit Singh, investigating the matter, claimed that the woman was brought to the district hospital from a private hospital where she was rushed after she complained of chest pain while on her way to Talwandi Bhai in Ferozepur from Jagraon. Manjit Kaur, a resident of Mundian Kalan village near Jagraon in Ludhiana, originally hailed from Sherpur Kalan village. She was travelling with another woman, Sukhwinder Kaur alias Goga, of Jagraon on a car when she reportedly complained of chest pain near Mehna village in Moga, the ASI said. She was rushed to a doctor in a nearby village from where she was brought to Sukhmani Hospital in Moga. The doctors there referred her to the district hospital where she died, he said. However, car driver Raj Kumar told the doctors that she was brought from the residence of Inspector Deepak Singh. When contacted, the Inspector said he was known to Sukhwinder Kaur who called him on Friday evening seeking help for Manjit’s treatment. “I called up Dr Navraj Singh in the district hospital and requested him to look after the woman... I am surprised that the driver told the doctors that he had brought her from my residence. The driver’s statement is wrong and baseless,” he claimed. The local police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174,
CrPC. What needs to be probed
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Youth shot at; accused linked to ruling party
Hoshiarpur, March 24 The incident came to light after the victim, Pavitar Singh (27) of Aima Mangat village, called up his brother Mandeep Singh. The injured was rushed to the local Civil Hospital. From there, he was referred to a Ludhiana hospital where his condition was stated to be critical. Dasuya Station House Officer (SHO) Omkar Singh said Pavitar had received injuries on his head. On a complaint by Mandeep, the police has booked Gagandeep Singh (of Mukerian), who is said to be linked to BJP’s Yuva Morcha, and Pradeep Singh, alias Sonu (of Himmatpur village), on attempt to murder charges. Mandeep alleged that one of the two accused overpowered his brother while the other fired at him with a revolver. He claimed that after taking Pavittar for dead, the accused fled from the spot. The police, however, is yet to make any arrests in the case. The SHO said raids were being conducted to nab the accused.
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Sangrur, March 24
Moga, March 24