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In Punjab, no property tax on small houses
Four robbers posing as excise officials arrested in Rajpura
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Congress, SAD spar over Anna’s state tour
Badal govt bans ‘Sadda
Haq’
Won’t tolerate anti-people policies, says Anna
Miscreants thwarting unity efforts: Namdhari Sangat
Ram Singh was kept in police custody illegally, claims his wife
Golden Temple to also have Guru Granth Sahib in Braille
SAD’s Delhi unit sets up women’s wing
Protest after body of 14-yr-old boy found
Punjab to start baseline
evaluation of students
HC Judge visits new courts complex in Guruharsahai
HC rap for police for failing
to nab accused in rape case
Decide pending rape cases in 6 months, orders High Court
Job fraud
HC: Magistrate has no power to direct police to present challan
Rs 1.95 cr fine on plastic unit for power theft
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In Punjab, no property tax on small houses
Chandigarh, April 4 Senior leaders, including BJP state president Kamal Sharma, Local Bodies Minister Chunni Lal Bhagat, Industries Minister Anil Joshi, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Parkash and former ministers Balramji Das Tandon and Tikshan Sud met Sukhbir on the issue today. Sources said officials who attended the meeting were working on the new formula proposed by the BJP leaders. It is likely to come up for discussion at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow. The existing formula, implemented in November last, would have to be revoked. The BJP has proposed that on residential properties measuring more than 150 yards, the tax should be levied at 25 paise per square feet on the covered area and Re 1 per yard on the uncovered area. For instance, in case of a residential property measuring 250 yards (1,000 square feet covered area), a sum of Rs 250 should be charged for the covered area and approximately Rs 140 for the uncovered area per annum. There should be uniform rates across the state and these should not vary city to city. People should calculate the tax on their own and deposit it with the authorities concerned. For commercial and rented properties, the earlier pattern of taxation should continue. The tax on commercial properties should be charged only after business operations begin. A war of words has erupted between the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal( SAD) on the contentious issue of property tax. Bajwa questions rationale Chandigarh: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Partap Singh Bajwa today said the people of Punjab had every right to ask Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as to why they should pay property tax when house tax was already being imposed in the state. In a statement here, Bajwa asked the CM to come clean on the issue and admit that his government had played mischief with those living in urban areas. Advising Badal to focus on good governance rather than gimmicks, Bajwa said it appeared that the CM had no faith in his legislators as he had been in Moga for days distributing cheques for development works, a job which a Block Development Officer was supposed to do.
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Four robbers posing as excise officials arrested in Rajpura
Patiala, April 4 The police has recovered 18 vehicles from their possession, besides fake government stamps and Rs 5 lakh fake currency notes. The accused had allegedly sold robbed vehicles after preparing fake registration documents. The gang was active in parts of Punjab and Haryana for the past some time. Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurpreet Singh Gill said four members of the gang had been arrested. He said the accused, Ashok Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Varun Sharma and Sarabjeet Singh, were nabbed by a police team, headed by Rajpura SHO Bikramjit Brar, following a tip-off. "The gang members used to hold nakas posing as officers from the excise department. After intercepting a vehicle, they used to overpower the driver and flee with his vehicle and other belongings," said SHO Bikramjit Brar. "We have recovered four cars, one autorickshaw and 13 stolen motorcycles. The police has also seized 20 fake registration copies, Rs 5 lakh fake currency notes, two fake government stamps, a uniform of the excise department and a printer and a scanner," Gill said. "The gang was active on the highways near Ferozepur, Amritsar, Jalalabad, Zirakpur, Tarn Taran, Muktsar, Sirsa and other areas," he said. "The police has launched a search to arrest two more members of the gang," the SSP added.
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Congress, SAD spar over Anna’s state tour
Patiala, April 4 The SAD, however, termed the visit an “eye opener for the Congress”, saying the success of Hazare’s 'Jantantra Yatra' (walk for democracy) was giving sleepless nights to the Congress. Flanked by former Army Chief VK Singh, Hazare had got a high-level security cover throughout his Punjab journey. On Wednesday, more than 50 armed policemen were there to guard the activist during his night halt at the Patiala Circuit House. On the last leg of his four-day tour today, he addressed a series of rallies in Patiala and Rajpura. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Partap Singh Bajwa said, “I respect Anna Hazare as he claims himself to be from the ‘Gandhian school of thinking’. But, I am a bit disappointed by his selective approach towards corruption. During his Punjab tour, he was critical only of the Congress’ style of functioning at the Centre. He did not even make a mention of the issues concerning the Punjab people.” Bajwa alleged that in several of his rallies, Anna’s personnel and SAD leaders outnumbered the general public. “The activist failed to garner any support,” he said. Rejecting the Congress’ claims that Hazare’s tour was a “flop show” and that the Akali Dal unofficially backed him, SAD spokesman Daljit Cheema said it (Congress) was in the “habit of misrepresenting facts”. He said the government had provided him (Anna) security on the basis of threat perception. “The entire country knows how corrupt the Congress is and Anna Hazare has been instrumental in exposing the party. Therefore, the Congress is trying to indulge in blame game to shift the focus from corruption,” Cheema said. Bajwa calls it a ‘flop show’, Akalis claim Opposition party in the habit of misrepresenting facts War words — Partap Singh Bajwa, PPCC chief
— Daljit Singh Cheema, SAD spokesman
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PPP to hold ‘Chitan Shivir’ in Jalandhar
Bathinda, April 4 But unlike the SAD which has opted for Goa as the venue, the PPP will hold its session in
Jalandhar. Compared to the ruling SAD’s four-day exercise, the PPP brainstorming would last only two days: on April 15 and 16. It will be called "Punjab da
Chintan". On April 15, only the PPP leaders will participate in the conclave, to be joined the next day by leaders of other constituents that form the Sanjha Morcha. The focus would be on issues concerning Punjab. Talking to mediapersons here today after a meeting of the PPP’s central committee, party president Manpreet Badal said, “Our session will be different from the
SAD-BJP coalition’s pleasure trip to Goa.” Manpreet said the Sanjha Morcha would also contest the local body elections in May. To a query, he said his party will not stage a political conference on Baisakhi at Talwandi Sabo due to “varied reasons”. About desertions from the PPP, he said all were due to “pressure” from the
SAD-BJP government.
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Badal govt bans ‘Sadda
Haq’
Chandigarh, April 4 In Amritsar, heavy security was deployed outside Adarsh cinema hall following a protest by Shiv Sena activists who allegedly tore posters of the film and raised slogans. Members of the Sikh Students Federation also reached there in strength. They warned that none would be allowed to disrupt the screening of the movie. Assistant Commissioner of Police Gurnam Singh said that the police had been deployed outside the cinema hall to prevent any untoward incident.
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Won’t tolerate anti-people policies, says Anna
Patiala, April 4 He said: “My aim is to motivate at least six crore people to join my cause. I am overwhelmed with the response I got in Punjab. People are frustrated with the entire system and once they join hands, things will certainly move in the right direction.” Addressing the rally at Veer Haqiqat Rai ground, Anna said after the Jan Lokpal Bill, his priority was to bring the Right to Rejection Bill to make the elected representatives more accountablee. “Once the voters have the right to reject all the candidates by majority voting, the chances of corrupt and non-performing candidates entering our political system will be minimal.” Talking to mediapersons, former Army Chief General VK Singh (retd) termed the imposition of property tax in Punjab as unfortunate.
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Miscreants thwarting unity efforts: Namdhari Sangat
Ludhiana April 4 Addressing a press conference at the Circuit House here, Navtej Singh, president of the International Namdhari Sangat, claimed that Thakur Dalip Singh was working to unite the sect. However, his attempts were being aborted by “miscreants” like Sant Jagtar Singh, BS Jhall, Sarbjit Singh Sarpanch, Surinder Singh Layal and HS Hanspal. Gurmeet Singh, secretary, claimed that Thakur Dalip Singh had withdrawn his claim on Dera Jeevan Nagar in Haryana as a goodwill gesture. The International Namdhari Sangat had recently organised a programme at Dasuya in Hoshiarpur district, attracting an appreciable crowd of devotees.The Namdhari Sangat claimed that certain breakaway groups had returned to the sect and united under the leadership of Thakur Dalip Singh. Navtej Singh alleged that Mata Chand Kaur had issued statements under pressure of Bhaini Sahib administrators and was not “free” to express her opinion.
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Ram Singh was kept in police custody illegally, claims his wife
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 4 The prosecution said the police wanted to arrest drug traffickers Jagdish and Bhola as well as Deol in the Rs 484 crore drug haul case. Ram Singh was brought to the court through the door meant for the judges as the police wanted to keep the media at bay. Ram Singh’s wife Mandeep Kaur, who was present in the courts, told mediapersons that her husband was being falsely implicated in the case and that he had no connection with the drug mafia. She alleged that her husband was picked up by the Fatehgarh Sahib police on March 7and had not returned home since. She said her husband was innocent. The police had not recovered drugs either from his possession or their house. She alleged that the police had been issuing false statements that it had summoned her husband thrice for joining investigations after he was named by international drug trafficker Anup Singh Kahlon. Kahlon had told the police that Ram Singh and Olympian Vijender Singh had met him several times. Jatinderdeep Singh Sunam, Ram Singh’s counsel, claimed that his client had been in illegal police custody since March 7 and that he had now been arrested to put pressure on Vijender Singh to join the investigations.
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Golden Temple to also have Guru Granth Sahib in Braille
Amritsar, April 4 The holy book has been prepared by former Hazuri Raagi Bhai Gurmej Singh, who too is visually impaired. Addressing a gathering at an event to mark the occasion, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh announced that the Guru Granth Sahib in Braille was being installed in room number 13 on the back side of Sri Akal Takht. Lauding Bhai Gurmej Singh for his effort, the Jathedar said the SGPC had recommended that he be felicitated with an award. He said several historians had contributed towards Gurbani translation, but nothing could be comparable to the one prepared in Braille. The Jathedar and SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar also felicitated Bhai Gurmej Singh by presenting him a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour). Later, Bhai Gurmej Singh narrated how he toiled for 12 years to achieve the feat. The Guru Granth Sahib in Braille has 2,153 pages in 18 volumes with a page size of 11x12 inches. According to him, it isn’t possible to get the entire work in a single volume due to technical difficulties involved in it. He has already prepared three copies of it, the first of which he presented for the visually impaired children studying at Central Khalsa Orphanage in Amritsar where he spent his childhood and grew up to become a “raagi”. He also intends to present the digitised form (CD) of Guru Granth Sahib in Braille to either the Central Khalsa Orphanage or the SGPC, which may utilise it for facilitating its printed copies to the visually impaired. He said a printed copy will cost anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000. Looking back at his journey, he said he had started making efforts for it way back in 1999, a year after he retired from his service with Sri Harmandar Sahib, Amritsar. However, he could actually start working on the project much later. “Getting the first copy in Braille was most difficult as we had a tough time zeroing in on a printing facility for the same before finally reaching Helen Keller Institute for Deaf and Deaf-Blind in Mumbai. The institute was kind enough to offer its services on no-profit-no-loss basis.” It took him almost two-and-a-half years to get the first copy of Guru Granth Sahib in Braille. The first copy of Guru Granth Sahib in Braille that he prepared had 24 volumes as the size of paper used in it was small (11x7 inches). Braille printing press SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar has announced that the SGPC will set up a Braille printing press so that religious literature can be published for the visually impaired. He said they will also open a school for the blind at Gurdwara Shri Manji Sahib, Alamgir, in Ludhiana where they will be educated while extending them lodging and boarding facility as well.
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SAD’s Delhi unit sets up women’s wing
New Delhi, April 4 Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjit Singh asked the newly constituted wing to enroll more women with the party. The wing consists of eight executive members, including its president. General secretary of the DSGMC Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the women’s wing had been constituted keeping in view the ensuing assembly elections in Delhi. — TNS
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Protest after body of 14-yr-old boy found
Sangrur, April 4 Following the development, local residents held a protest against the police. They alleged inefficiency on part of the police in tracing the
boy. Sangrur Deputy Superintendent of Police (Detective), Swaran Singh said on the statement of the victim's father, the Dhuri police had registered a case of murder. The DSP said the complainant had named Sunny to be the prime suspect as the victim was last seen with him riding a motorcycle. The motorcycle was yet to be recovered, he said. The DSP said no arrest had been made and futher investigations were on.
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Punjab to start baseline
evaluation of students
Chandigarh, April 4 Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka said the project was aimed at bringing a qualitative change in the education provided to the students of upper primary classes. He said class-wise evaluation letters of social studies had been made available on the SSA, Punjab, website and the teacher concerned would keep a record of evaluation of each student. The minister asked the Director-General School Education (DGSE) to ensure that the evaluation process was free from malpractices. He said after two months, the department through social studies teacher would ensure post-evaluation of the subject and after studying the results, new targets and methods would be chalked out for improving the system
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HC Judge visits new courts complex in Guruharsahai
Ferozepur, April 4 Justice Surya Kant said several works at the newly constructed courts complex were pending and would be taken up forthwith so that litigants did not face any inconvenience. He gave a patient hearing to various issues raised by the lawyers. Fatehdeep Singh, District and Sessions Judge, Ferozepur, Manjit Singh Narang, Deputy Commissioner, Varinder Pal Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Amit Bambi, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, and several other officials were present on the occasion. Justice Surya Kant was accorded a warm welcome and given a guard of honour by a police contingent. He was honoured by eminent lawyers of the region.
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HC rap for police for failing
to nab accused in rape case
Chandigarh, April 4 He has been asked to take action against all the police officials responsible for not brining the main accused to face trial. “The action taken report shall be submitted to the Punjab Advocate-General”. Justice Ranjit Singh also directed that the aspect of delay in dealing with the case be brought to the notice of the Administrative Judge of Gurdaspur district “to see the feasibility or desirability of taking any action against those officers who are responsible of this delay”. The functioning of six judicial officers of Punjab has already come under the scanner in this case. Justice Ranjit Singh on the previous date of hearing had observed: “There appears to be some negligence on part of various officers dealing with the case. Except for some period, when the proceedings in this case were stayed, there is really no reason for the officers to deal with the case lightly”. Justice Ranjit Singh also observed that as many as six Additional District and Sessions Judges dealt with the case from 2007. They were: JS Chugh, Surinder Mohan, Harpal Singh, Kishore Kumar, SP Sood and Rajiv Malhotra. The observations by Justice Ranjit Singh came on a petition filed by a Gurdaspur district resident against the State of Punjab and five other respondents, alleging that unnecessary adjournments were being taken on one pretext or the other. Justice Ranjit Singh took into consideration the fact that the rape case was registered way back in May 2006 and the trial was still pending while making the observations. Justice Ranjit Singh has already summoned the details of other pending rape cases in both Punjab and Haryana. In her petition filed through counsel Ramdeep Partap Singh, the petitioner insisted that directions should be issued to the trial court to expedite the trial and complete it in two months. The counsel said the victim and her college mate Anju used to visit each other at their residences. But Anju’s brother Surinder Kumar started nursing “bad intention” towards the complainant. Soon Anju and other members of her family started pressurising the complainant to marry Surinder. After her engagement with someone else, Anju’s family threatened to flash some of her photographs. When the complainant went to Anju’s house on August 12, 2004, to collect the photographs, she was allegedly raped by
Surinder. Dressing down The rape case was registerd against a proclaimed offender in May 2006 The High Court has now directed the Gurdaspur SSP to personally look into the issue He has been asked to take action against all police officials responsible for not brining the main accused to face trial The functioning of six judicial officers of Punjab has already come under the scanner in this case
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Decide pending rape cases in 6 months, orders High Court
Chandigarh, April 4 The directions by Justice Ranjit Singh came on a petition filed by a Gurdaspur district resident through his counsel Ramdeep Partap Singh, alleging that adjournments were being taken on one pretext or the other unnecessarily. The directions were issued after Haryana Additional Advocate-General CS Bakhshi said that exclusive courts for fast-tracking cases in various districts had been set up. But no time limit had been prescribed for completing the trial. Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “Accordingly, there may be a need for issuing directions for timely conclusion of such trials pending for over a year in the States of Haryana, Punjab and the UT, Chandigarh. “All these cases under Section 376, IPC (rape), which are pending over a year shall be brought to finality within a period of six months. Each court dealing with such cases would make an endeavour to adhere to this time schedule. Let a copy of this order be circulated to each Sessions Division in the States of Punjab, Haryana and the UT, Chandigarh, for compliance.” Justice Ranjit Singh also observed that directions had already been issued by the Registrar-General for setting up exclusive courts for fast-tracking cases of heinous crime against women as directed by Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri. Quoting the directions, Justice Ranjit Singh observed: “The District and Sessions Judges shall effectively monitor the disposal of such cases by all judicial officers in their respective Sessions Division and the name of judicial officers and list of cases entrusted to the courts be forwarded to the High Court immediately. “A meeting with all stake-holders i.e. judicial officers, public prosecutors, the police and representatives of the Bar be convened by all District and Sessions Judges so that the object of speedy disposal of such cases is achieved. “Thus, an effective mechanism has been put in place and directions have been issued on the administrative side of the Sessions Division to expedite trials concerning crime against women.”
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Job fraud
Chandigarh, April 4 Appearing in police custody before the Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, he told the court that the amount was collected as application fee for the posts advertised by him and as security for giving appointments. He added the amount had been forwarded to Delhi-based Rashtriya Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, which had "appointed him as its franchise". The counsel appearing for the Delhi-based NGO too admitted that more than Rs 50 lakh had been received from Sikander Singh. He also agreed to refund the entire amount to the persons concerned through the High Court. The Bench then directed the Delhi-based NGO to submit a detailed list of the amount received from Sikander Singh along with the detailed particulars of the applicants who had paid the said amount. The entire amount has to be deposited with the High Court within a month to enable the High Court to pass further orders for disposal and distribution of the money to the persons concerned. Sikandar is presently lodged in a Jalandhar jail in connection with another case. The society operating from Mohali had also issued public notices for employment to unemployed youths by opening computer centres all over Punjab. It had also issued appointment letters to some candidates and collected a security of Rs 20,000 each. They were neither allowed to join nor paid the salary. In fact, the society did not open any computer
centres.
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HC: Magistrate has no power to direct police to present challan
Chandigarh, April 4 The ruling by Justice Ranjit Singh came on a petition filed by Deepak Chatta and other petitioners against the state of Punjab and other respondent. The petitioners had moved the High Court challenging the orders passed by Patiala Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate. Appearing before the court, they contended that directions for reinvestigating the case and submission of challan were beyond the power and jurisdiction of the magistrate. Going into the background of the controversy, they said an FIR was registered on the basis of secret information on examination conducted by MS International Public School, Patiala. As per the allegation, the students at the centre were found cheating during an examination conducted by Allahabad Agriculture Institute. After investigation, the Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) found that the matter pertained to copying by students and that criminal offence was not made out. The District Attorney (Legal) too asserted no offence was made out. Based on the investigation and District Attorney's opinion, the police presented a cancellation report. But, it was returned by the Trial Magistrate for reinvestigation on May 29, 2009. After reinvestigating the case, the police again presented the cancellation report. The Trial Magistrate still did not accept the cancellation report and directed the police authority to expedite presentation of the challan after reinvestigation. Taking up the matter, Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: The issue is fairly settled that the magistrate may have power to accept the cancellation report or reject the same, but certainly the Magistrate cannot direct the police to present the challan. Once such directions are issued, they would be beyond the power of Magistrate". "Even the power to direct reinvestigation on the part of the Magistrate may be beyond his jurisdiction". It is clear that both part of directions issued by the Magistrate whereby he has asked the police to present a challan after reinvestigation would be beyond his jurisdiction. The impugned order, to this extent, therefore, cannot be sustained. "The directions issued by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patiala, vide his order dated September 18, 2010, directing the police to present a challan after investigation is set aside. However, this will not be a bar for the Magistrate either to accept or reject the cancellation report and then proceed in accordance with law. The Magistrate, apparently, has power to direct further investigation".
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Rs 1.95 cr fine on plastic unit for power theft
Sangrur, April 4 Naveen Garg, Superintending Engineer (SE), Barnala circle, confirmed the development. Giving details, Daljit Singh Sidhu, Executive Engineer (Operations), Dhuri, said he along with his staff raided Jai Ambey Plastic Industries at 2.40 am. He said during checking, they found that the power meter equipment installed in the factory was modified to stop metering of electricity used. A fine of Rs 1.95 crore had been imposed on the industrial unit, he said. He said a notice had also been issued to the factory owner to deposit the penalty amount at the earliest.
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The Rajpura city police today nabbed four members of a gang allegedly involved in robbing commercial vehicles by posing as excise officials.
Terming the Central Government’s policies as “anti-people”, social activist Anna Hazare, who reached here on the concluding day of his Jantantra Yatra in Punjab today, said he would not sit back and let the government play with the interests of the common man.
The succession feud between the two Namdhari groups remains unresolved with the International Namdhari
Sangat, opposed to Satguru Thakur Udhay Singh, today alleging that the latter had kept musclemen to keep the followers of Thakur Dalip Singh away from Dera Bhaini Sahib and other religious places.
Dismissed head constable Ram Singh was remanded in police custody by a district court till April 7 after the police said it needed to question him on his links with Ravi
Deol, his brother-in-law, who is a proclaimed offender.
With the SGPC deciding to install Guru Granth Sahib prepared in Braille, even the visually impaired can now perform 'path' at the Golden Temple.
Justice Surya Kant of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, who is also Administrative Sessions Division,
Ferozepur, today visited the newly constructed subdivisional courts complex at Guruharsahai and interacted with lawyers.
Anna's approach towards corruption is selective. During his tour, he was critical only of the Congress' style of functioning at the Centre. He didn’t even make a mention of the issues concerning Punjab
The entire country knows how corrupt the Congress is and Anna Hazare has been instrumental in exposing the party. Therefore, the Congress is trying to indulge in a blame game to shift the focus from corruption