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Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar's aunts Mohinder Kaur and Jagir Kaur outside his locked house at Dayalpura Bhai-Ka in Bathinda on Friday. A Tribune photograph
Akalis to approach PM, President for clemency
12 convicts in state prisons awaiting execution orders
Union Law Minister Ashwani refuses to comment
BJP president speaks to sulking Sidhu
Panchayats dissolved, poll notification within week
Justice Jasbir Singh on National Legal Services Authority
Canteen food claims 2 more lives, toll 3
HC raps trial court in drug haul case; acquits all
Govt’s Shagun scheme comes under HC fire
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Talwandi Sabo plant misses deadline
Banawali (Mansa), April 12 Being developed by the Vedanta Group, the 1,980-MW plant has three units of 660 MW each. One of the units of the plant is stated to be ready, but its commissioning has reportedly been held up due to the state government’s inability in providing it the promised coal. For running at full capacity, the plant would require 10 million tonnes of coal every year. At various rallies organised in the run-up to last year’s assembly elections as well as the recent Moga bypoll, the ruling coalition leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, had boasted of making the plant operational “soon”. During his visit to the Talwandi Sabo plant in September last, Sukhbir had announced the generation would begin by Baisakhi. Though the Deputy Chief Minister may visit the plant tomorrow, there are reportedly no plans to inaugurate the project. Though officials of the Vedanta Group as well as the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) refused to comment on record, they did indulge in a blame-game over the delay. While the company officials said Punjab had “promised to provide coal (as per the agreement of operation)”, the PSPCL put the onus of the delay on the Coal Corporation of India as well as the Centre. A senior PSPCL official claimed that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had even taken up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for allocation of a special quota of coal for Punjab as four coal-based thermal plants were coming up in the state, besides the two already functioning. Not only this plant, but the commissioning of other thermal plants at Rajpura (near Patiala) and Goindwal (Tarn Taran) is also running behind schedule due to the alleged inability of the state government in facilitating coal supply. As such, the delay has also raised a question mark on the government’s claims of becoming a power-surplus state. Inquiries by The Tribune revealed that had the government accelerated the coal supply, these plants could have become operational much earlier. The delay has also been a cause for concern for various private companies, including Vedanta, which have invested around Rs 10,000 crore in thermal plants. Another interesting aspect is that had these projects become operational in time, the state consumers would have been getting low-cost power as compared to that being generated by the Bathinda and Lehra Mohabbat thermal plants. Sources gave the example of the Talwandi Sabo plant, which would have provided power at a price ranging from Rs 2.89 to Rs 3.15 per unit to the state government. At present, the average cost of power reaching the general-category consumers is around Rs 6 per unit.
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After SC censure, fresh probe begins into police assault case
Jalandhar, April 12 After the Supreme Court rejected the Tarn Taran District Magistrate’s inquiry report into the case, the state government had yesterday assured the apex court of action against top policemen in the district. The 19-year-old assault victim, her father Kashmir Singh, brother Gurinder Singh, sister-in-law Charanjit Kaur and her cousin Jagjit Singh, who had shot the video footage of the police “atrocity”, here today deposed before Divisional Commissioner SR Ladhar. The members of the victim family are learnt to have stated before Ladhar that they were “thrashed” by the police on March 3. Among the queries put to the victim family — each member was cross-examined separately — were: “How many policemen were there”, “Who called the police”, “How the matter got flared up”, “Why she took off her sandals”, “What the immediate provocation was” and “How the things took course thereafter”. Asked whether she knew the details of the police inquiry report, the girl said she had not been provided a copy (of the report) despite repeated requests. The Divisional Commissioner instantly handed over a copy of the FIR and other details to the girl. While asking the victim family to appear for a second round of hearing on Monday, Ladhar assured them of free transportation. The family came guarded by eight CRPF jawans and two personnel of the Chandigarh Police. The Divisional Commissioner checked the video camera and the memory card that Jagjit had brought along and took on record a thick file of documents and video grab in a CD format. He told the family that he would also visit the spot in coming days and would also call them to identify the taxi operators and other policemen at the scene. Asked how long he would take for preparing the report, Ladhar said he had been given 10 days. “But, I feel more time will be needed for proper investigation. Two taxi operators and three policemen are behind bars. All of them have to be called for questioning. Then, top police officers of Tarn Taran will also be interrogated for a day’s delay in lodging an FIR,” he said.
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Shattered, Bhullar’s village not to celebrate Baisakhi
Dayalpura
Bhai-ka, April 12 Village menfolk gathered at the local gurdwara on the Barnala road. They later blocked the highway in protest against the court ruling. Bhullar's aunts, Mohinder Kaur and Jagir Kaur, and cousin Mukhtiar Singh stood outside his locked house. They looked shattered. They fondly recalled Bhullar's schooldays. They spoke of the sacrifices made by his grandfather Jagir Singh during the freedom movement for which he was honoured with a Tamra Patra. There will be no Baisakhi celebrations in the village with the elders deciding against it.They have decided to approach SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar to seek his intervention. They want him to persuade the Punjab Government to take up Bhullar's case with the Centre as was done in the case of Beant Singh’s assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana. Mohinder Kaur said she had returned to the village yesterday after attending Akhand Path in memory of Bhullar's father in Amritsar. She said when she met Bhullar in Delhi's Tihar Jail two years ago, he looked a physical and mental wreck. Sharanjeet Kaur, another relative, was in tears as she watched TV channels running news about the Supreme Court order. Bhullar's cousin Mukhtiar Singh claimed that his leg had to be amputated after he was grievously injured during police interrogation near Chandigarh following the car bomb attack on the Congress headquarters
in Delhi. He alleged that Bhullar's father Balwant Singh and his maternal uncle Manjeet Singh were tortured to death by the police and their bodies were never handed over to the family. He said Bhullar's mother Uphar Kaur and brother Tejinder Singh had migrated to the US, fearing police harassment. Bhullar's wife Navneet Kaur seldom visited the village. Baba Hardip Singh, vice-president of the SAD (A) Panchpardhani, warned that Bhullar's hanging would only strengthen the demand for
Khalistan.
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Akalis to approach PM, President for clemency
Chandigarh, April 12 The party will approach the President and the Prime Minister to win clemency for him as it feels it is a fit case for "operationalising statesmanship" in the interest of peace and harmony in Punjab. It is, however, yet to decide on the immediate action plan. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had earlier appealed for clemency for Bhullar to former President KR Narayanan which, sources said, was still "under consideration." Even as a formal strategy on the issue is yet to be formed, the government is keen to ensure peace at all costs. Directions have been issued to the state police in this regard which is taking preventive measures to ensure that demonstrations or protests do not get out of control as was seen in March 2012 when Beant Singh assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana was awarded the death sentence. Chief Minister's media adviser Harcharan Bains, when contacted, said the apex court had done its job but this did not mean that other mechanisms did not exist to save Bhullar from the gallows. He said there was a provision to approach the Prime Minister and the President, adding that “statesmen should apply their mind and assess the impact of the judgement on society.” Terming the Bhullar case as a fit case for "operationalising statesmanship", Bains said this would be in the interest of communal harmony and would also blunt the attack of anti-national elements. There was a feeling that while perpetrators of the anti-Sikh riots were roaming scot free, Bhullar was facing the gallows, Bains said. Reacting to the development, SAD's senior leader Prem Singh Chandumajra said the party would approach the President to seek clemency for Bhullar. “The situation in Punjab when the incident occurred and the situation existing now should be kept in mind while finally deciding Bhullar's fate,” the SAD leader said. The state BJP chose not to react to the issue. The party is part of the state’s ruling alliance. Reliable sources claimed the BJP stand was clear that there could be no compromise on terrorism and that whatever sentence had been awarded by the apex court should be carried out.
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12 convicts in state prisons awaiting execution orders
Patiala, April 12 It still has no hangman on its rolls. Death row convicts Vikram Singh, Jasbir Singh, Balwant Singh Rajoana, Jasbir Singh alias Jaswinder, Suraj Ahluwalia, Resham Singh, Gurnayab Singh, Kulbir Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Saleem, Judge Singh and Gurwail Singh have all filed mercy petitions. A court in Hoshiarpur had in September 2012 directed the Patiala Jail Superintendent to make preparations to execute the death warrants of Vikram Singh Walia and Jasvir Singh. The two were convicted of kidnapping a Hoshiarpur goldsmith's son, Abhi, for ransom and later killing him. Beant Singh assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana was handed over the death sentence by a Chandigarh court. But the jail officials refused to hang him. Amid pressure for clemency for Rajoana, the Punjab Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister met the President and submitted a petition seeking clemency for Rajoana. A jail official said: “Last year the Jail Superintendent had refused to execute the court orders in the Rajoana case, citing technical reasons. “But once the President clears the file for hanging, no such excuse will work.” There is a provision in the State Jail Manual under which the authorities can summon a hangman from another state. The last hangman on the Punjab Government’s payrolls reportedly retired over two decades back. When approached on the matter, the Additional Director-General of Police, Jails, RP Meena, simply said: “We will see when the need arises.”
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Union Law Minister Ashwani refuses to comment
Pathankot, April 12 “No comments,” said the minister when asked for his reaction on the verdict. He was here to attend a function organised by the Pathankot Bar Association. Addressing the function, the minister stressed on the need for speedy justice and said inordinate delays in passing the verdict in a large number of cases could erode the common man's faith in the judiciary and the Constitution. “Such (delay in justice) a situation could lead to chaos and lawlessness in society," he said adding, there was no dearth of laws in the country, but there was a need to use these aptly.” “In our system, any delay in the delivery of justice can be harmful as the common man will stop believing in the judiciary, the Constitution and our democratic system may be eroded,” he said. — PTI
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BJP president speaks to sulking Sidhu
New Delhi, April 12 Sidhu was recently dropped from the party’s new team of office-bearers, leading to a public outburst from his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu, the BJP MLA from Amritsar East, who said that her husband was upset with the party leadership for “sidelining” and “ignoring” him. Without getting into details of whether Sidhu called up Rajnath Singh or it was the other way round, party general secretary JP Nadda confirmed that the Amritsar MP indeed had a telephonic conversation with the party president. “Mr Rajnath Singh assured him that everything was all right and that he would have a detailed talk with him (Sidhu) when he comes to Delhi,” Nadda said. Sources added that the Amristar MP would meet the party president after the ongoing IPL gets over. Sidhu was unavailable for comments and the SMS sent to him remained unanswered. However, it is hardly a secret that Sidhu had been sulking over many issues for long and the matter precipitated after he was dropped in the organisational rejig, a move attributed to Gujarat CM Narendra Modi’s displeasure at his “lack of commitment” for party activities. His wife going public on his behalf is something that has also not gone down well with the party leadership. Sidhu was a secretary when Nitin Gadkari was the party president and his name was also doing rounds for the post of general secretary. Apart from differences concerning local party matters, sources said Sidhu was also keen to change his constituency because he was not seeing eye-to-eye with top Akali leaders of the area. There is a feeling in a section of the BJP that Sidhu neglected his constituency and therefore he wanted to shift base. The BJP sources refused to divulge on Sidhu’s future and said many factors would be considered before the final decision is taken. “Sidhu is a senior colleague and he will be adjusted accordingly,” they said in response to a query on the constituency of the three-time Amritsar MP for the 2014 General Election.
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Panchayats dissolved, poll notification within week
Panchayat Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra, who announced the dissolution of the panchayats at a press conference here today, said the poll notification could be issued within a week. Rakhra said the government was determined on conducting free and fair elections in the state by adopting transparent means. Strict instructions had been issued to the officers concerned in this regard. Rakhra said the panchayat samitis comprised 2,732 zones of which 617 were reserved for the Scheduled Castes, 311 for Scheduled Caste women, 590 for women and 31 for Backward Classes. As many as 1,183 zones fell in the general category. The 22 zila parishads comprised 333 zones of which 75 zones were reserved for the Scheduled Castes, 37 for Scheduled Caste women, 71 for women, three for Backward Classes. and 147 zones fell in the general category.
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Justice Jasbir Singh on National Legal Services Authority
Chandigarh, April 12 Only three Judges, including Justice Jasbir Singh, have been nominated from across the country. Available information suggests the Union Ministry of Law and Justice nominated Justice Jasbir Singh, Dr Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud of the Bombay High Court and Justice SP Wangdi of the Sikkim High Court as members on the recommendations of Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir. The National Legal Services Authority has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to provide free legal services to the weaker sections and to hold lok adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. — TNS
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Canteen food claims 2 more lives, toll 3
Jalandhar, April 12 Nirmala Rani of Khurla Kinger village, cook at the canteen, died last night. Another worker, Roshan Kumar of Bhattian village in Ludhiana, breathed his last early morning today. Davinder Sharma of Dakoha village, a supervisor at the factory, had died on Thursday night. Over 18 patients are still undergoing treatment at Shree Devi Talab Hospital. Of these, two are stated to be in a critical condition. The post-mortem examination of the three bodies was conducted at the local Civil Hospital today and their viscera samples have been sent for chemical examinations, said Sarbjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police. In the afternoon, a team of health officials, led by District Health Officer Dr Ashwani Sondhi, visited the hospital. He raided the shanty in Khurla Kinger village where the canteen contractor used to cook food that he served in the canteen. The team also raided the premises of the traders who supplied the food items to the contractor. Health officials had collected samples of atta, rice, edible oil and sauce, besides some other commodities from the kitchen yesterday. Dr Sondhi said he suspected the food was adulterated by a toxic substance. He said the samples had been sent to a Kharar-based laboratory for testing.
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HC tells govt to form SIT to rein in illegal mining
Chandigarh, April 12 Taking up a bunch of petitions demanding action against those indulging in illegal mining, the High Court categorically asked the police and Mining Department to catch those instrumental in illegal mining. Expressing concern over unbridled illegal mining going in the State, the High Court also made it clear that the SIT members would be appointed by Punjab Chief Secretary. Making it clear that the High Court would monitor the progress in the matter, the Bench also asked the SIT to submit its report by May 27. The hearing in the case saw the High Court virtually passing stricture on the Punjab Police and the Mining Department for failure to arrest the actual illegal miners.
Bajwa promises subsidy on sand Chandigarh: Punjab Pradesh Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa has promised that once the party "comes to power", it would come out with a liberal sand mining policy to supply sand to the people at a low rate of Rs 100 per trailer to facilitate construction of affordable houses in accordance with the concept of a social welfare state. Ferozepur legislator Parminder Singh said the issue had been taken up by party workers with Bajwa and the latter had whole-heartedly endorsed it. The Ferozepur legislator said the PCC president was convinced that the natural resources belonged to the people and as such, none should be allowed to exploit them for "profiteering". — TNS
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HC raps trial court in drug haul case; acquits all
Chandigarh, April 12 Tara Ram had challenged the judgment dated October 19, 2009, passed by the Nawanshahr Special Court Judge, whereby he was convicted and sentenced to 12 years rigorous imprisonment. The prosecution had claimed a sub-inspector had received secret information that four persons were sitting on the bank of Sutlej with “huge quantity of poppy husk”. The Bench concluded: “None of the police officials knew the accused prior to the recovery, as stated by them in their statements on oath before the court. The mere fact that the secret informer has given the names of the accused, which find mention in the FIR, is not sufficient to infer that the four persons namely Nimma, Sham Singh, Gurdev Singh and Tara Ram are the same persons, who were sitting on the bags of poppy husk…. “In the absence of proof of identification and the fact that appellant Gurdev Singh was arrested after 10 months; appellant Sham Singh was arrested after 15 months and appellant Tara Ram was arrested after four years of the recovery, it is impossible to believe that the appellants were the same persons, who were at the place of the recovery and escaped in the presence of 9-10 armed police officials…. By giving benefit of doubt, we acquit all the appellants.”
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Govt’s Shagun scheme comes under HC fire
Chandigarh, April 12 The Bench passed strictures on an MLA for issuing a cheque under the scheme without any authority. An assistance of Rs 15,000 is given to girls from economically weaker and other sections for their marriages, a month in advance. The scheme came under the High Court scanner during the hearing of a petition filed by Ajit Singh. An FIR for cheating and another offence, under Sections 420 and 406 of the IPC, was registered against him, after he was accused of being involved in a scandal of double payment under the Shagun scheme. Ajit Singh claimed he brought the scandal to the notice ofPunjab Vigilance Bureau’s Chief Director, who marked a detailed inquiry. But ultimately, he was implicated in the case. A senior citizen belonging to the Scheduled Caste, the petitioner claimed he submitted an application for assistance for his daughter’s marriage. Before he could complete the formalities, the local MLA of Dakha gave him a cheque dated November 6, 2007, for Rs 15,000. After about five months, he was surprised to receive another one from the Welfare Department. Quashing the FIR registered against him on November 10, 2008, in Ludhiana, the High Court asserted: “First the State has introduced a welfare scheme. This is nothing but distributing largesse to the preferred persons. ... “ If this scheme is regulated by some instructions, these ought to have been strictly followed by the Welfare Department. How and under what circumstances the MLA took the cheque from the department without proper proof or completion of documents would be a mystery. There is something amiss and the allegation made by the petitioner of a scam can’t be ruled out.”
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Mohali, April 12
He said after the dissolution of the panchayats, the BDPOs, panchayat officers and JEs had been given administrative powers so that day-to-day work in villages did not suffer. He directed the officers to take over relevant documents and funds from the out-going sarpanches. Rakhra said the government had constituted 399 new gram panchayats, four panchayat samitis and two zila parishads as demanded by the people. With this addition, now elections to 13,110 gram panchayats, 145 panchayat samitis and 22 zila parishids would be held. The minister said 13,110 panchayats comprised 81,631 wards of which 18,515 were reserved for the Scheduled Castes, 9,821 for Scheduled Caste women, 18,929 for women and 3,241 for Backward Classes. As many as 30,825 wards for in the general category.