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Jobless linesmen accuse jail staff of assault
Mystery surrounds FCI official’s death, kin to meet senior officers
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NGO unites Assamese woman with her family
City trader killed in road accident
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Jobless linesmen accuse jail staff of assault
Bathinda, April 24 For the past few years, members of the Unemployed Linesmen Union have been protesting against the state government over the delay in issuing them appointment letters for jobs in the Powercom. The linesmen accused the jail staff of forcing three of them, who were observing hunger strike, to eat. Those who resisted the move were thrashed. The linesmen alleged that the jail staff flogged them with plastic batons and dragged them while using foul language and expletives. “We were kept in dark dingy lock-ups of the jail for the hunger strike. We were abused by the jail staff who also assaulted us for refraining from eating food,” alleged Jagar Mahinangal, one of the leaders of the union. He said Amarpreet Chouhan, Tejinder Singh and Mandeep Dhiman, all from Nabha, were on hunger strike in the jail and the other six members of the union tried to desist the jail staff’s attempt to make them eat forcefully. The union members said that they were arrested on April 11, kept in a police station and sent to the jail the next day. The members of the union who gathered outside the jail premises today, got upset after spotting injury marks on the bodies of their colleagues and decided to start a fresh protest outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda. “We are subjected to third degree torture. The Punjab Government run by the Badal family is testing the patience of jobless youngsters in the state by trying to suppress their voice,” Jagtar Mahinangal said. Raising slogans against the state government and members of the Badal family, the linesmen moved towards the office of the Deputy Commissioner where they sat on hunger strike. However, tehsildar Avtar Makkar reached the spot and assured them of arranging their meeting with the Chief Minister on Monday. Superintendent, Central jail, Raj Mahinder Dhaliwal denied the allegations levelled by the linesmen. He said the agitators were directing their ire at the state government while they were only mere officials. Fact file
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Mystery surrounds FCI official’s death, kin to meet senior officers
Bathinda, April 24 Kanwar Verma (43) had been working with the FCI for the around 15 years. He was posted in Budhlada area of Mansa district for the past sometime. However, he was residing with his family, including teenaged son and daughter and his wife, at Patel Nagar in Bathinda. He was a native of Padmara village of Alwar in Rajasthan, where his parents and other family members reside. Kanwar’s family members said he used to commute between Mansa and Bathinda daily and was recently transferred from Bareta to Budhlada. He was living under constant fear of transfer, admonition and harassment over flimsy grounds by officials of his department, they alleged. The police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC at Cantonment Police Station following the statement of the deceased's father, Shri Ram. However, one of the deceased's uncles, Manohar Lal Verma, has alleged that Kanwar's seniors had been harassing him. Manohar Lal Verma claimed that Kanwar was upset over the allocation of a large number of grain markets to him during the wheat harvesting season. "My nephew was assigned the task of looking after four grain markets, which was impossible for one official. After he had made repeated pleas to the officials concerned, he was told to look after two grain markets, which too was difficult for one person," Manohar Lal claimed. As per a copy of the DDR lodged in Bathinda Cantonment police station, the FCI inspector was under depression for the past around one and a half months and had been getting treatment from a psychiatrist on the GT Road. He had consumed a wrong medicine inadvertently due to which his condition deteriorated. He was declared dead at the Max Hospital on Sunday. The body was handed over to his family members after conducting post-mortem examination. It was cremated at the deceased's ancestral village in Rajasthan today. Manohar lal said the family members were in a state of shock over Kanwar's sudden death and were not in a position to take a legal course at present. "But we are aware of the fact that Kanwar was continuously being harassed over one pretext or the other and we will make more disclosures after three or four days," he said. The deceased's father, Shri Ram, a retired Subedar from the India Army, used to visit his son in Bathinda off and on. While talking to TNS from Alwar, he said he was not in a position to give any statement or information. "I would soon visit Bathinda to meet senior FCI officials," he said. What police ddr says
The FCI inspector was under depression for the past one and a half months and had been receiving treatment from a psychiatrist on GT Road. He had consumed a wrong medicine inadvertently due to which his condition deteriorated. He was declared dead at the Max Hospital on Sunday. Deceased had left Suicide note?
family speak Kanwar Verma was upset over the allocation of a large number of grain markets to him during the wheat harvesting season. My nephew was assigned the task of looking after four grain markets, which was impossible for one official. After he had made repeated pleas to the officials concerned, he was told to look after two grain markets, which is also difficult for one person. — Manohar lal verma, Deceased’s uncle
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Don’t want our kids to follow in our footsteps: Circus artistes
Bathinda, April 24 While Poonam regales the audience with her dexterity at handling many hula hoops simultaneously, Suraj is a juggler. The couple had also participated in a reality show, 'Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega'. "Our parents were also circus artistes. We travelled with them and met when they joined the same circus. Love blossomed over the years and we married," says Suraj with a shy smile. Ask Suraj why they didn't think of taking up proper jobs and settling in Gujarat where their parents are at present and the smile disappears. "While Poonam has been lucky to study till class VII, I never went to school as I always travelled with my parents. Who will give us jobs? The only means of livelihood and the only way of securing our future is by working in circus and saving money for our next generation," says Suraj. "Right now, we have nothing to complain about. But once we will have children we will think of leaving the circus and settling down in Gujarat," said Suraj. Would they want their children to be in circus as well? "Not at all," Poonam answers vehemently. "We chose to follow our parents' profession but would never want our children to do the same. We would want our children to study and work like others and not lead a nomadic life like us," she adds. While both of Suraj's brothers are also circus artistes and his father is a joker in the Great Bombay Circus. Poonam's brother is working somewhere else. "He keeps asking me to leave the circus and do something else and settle down at one place. But it's easier said than done. After spending their lives with circus, our parents settled down only some years ago. How can we do the same so early in our lives?" asks Poonam. |
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Special trainers threaten to launch stir
Bathinda, April 24 The union was assured by the DC yesterday that a meeting of a deputation of teachers had been fixed for Wednesday with the Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal. "The Chief Minister, in the presence of the Director General of School Education and the Education Secretary, assured the teachers that their joining process will start within two days," said Ramandeep Kaur, a member of the state action committee. "Since we have not been given any written assurance, we took out a rally today to send across the message that if the CM does not fulfil his promise, we will intensify our agitation and stage a demonstration on April 28," she added. The union has been demanding that the 1894 special trainer teachers who were relieved from duty on March 31 be reinstated. "The government relieves us every year and we get our jobs back by protesting against the decision," she added. The special trainer teachers have been saddled with the responsibility of approaching the students who have dropped out of schools and teach them. The union is also demanding that they be given all the benefits given to the teachers working under the education department. The union also complained that the teachers of Ludhiana, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Patiala and Barnala districts have not been given salaries for the last four-five months. They asked the government to pay salaries immediately to these teachers to save them from facing hardship. In December last year, the union had intensified its stir and sat on a dharna for over two months. Three of its members sat on fast-unto-death. The administration had to forcibly send the agitatinists to the hospital for medical attention to prevent their health from deteriorating. |
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Now, machine to hone skills of batsmen
Bathinda, April 24 To hone the skills of the practicing cricketers, the club has installed a bowling machine. The machine works like an ace bowler. Talking about the functioning of the machine, Arun Widhawan, Punjab Cricket Association selector, who is one of the vice-presidents of COPS Club, told Bathinda Tribune, "Depending on the kind of ball one wants to face, the settings can be changed from spin to pace and the speed of the bowl can also be fixed. The machine bowls according to the command given to it. The speed can go up to 150kmph." The machine was procured from Australia by the Punjab Cricket Association and although the machine costs Rs 5 lakh, the PCA got it for Rs 3.6 lakh since it bought it in bulk. "The machine cost us Rs 1.75 lakh since half of the cost was borne by the PCA. We got the machine at a subsidised rate," said Widhawan. Although the machine was procured almost a year back, the club started using it only two months back as people needed to be trained in handling it. "When the representative of an Australian firm came to the Punjab Cricket Association to demonstrate the working of the machine, we sent Dalbir Singh and Ranjit Bhola to learn the process. The machine has been operational for the last two months," said
Widhawan. |
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U-16 cricket tourney
Bathinda, April 24 While Tarandeep offered a catch to Rahul Chauhan on a Manmohan Sidhu ball, Bikramjeet proved too slow between the wickets and was run out for four. After this, the Kapurthala innings fell like the proverbial nine pins and they were all out for 79 in 49.2 overs. Bathinda's Harpreet Singh wrecked the Kapurthala innings by claiming four wickets and conceding 26 runs in 11 overs. He also bowled three maiden overs. At the close of the day's play, Bathinda were 254 for five in 57 overs. Manmohan Sidhu's knock of 104 off 107 balls tipped the balance in his team's favour. Sidhu routed Kapurthala's bowlers with 11 fours and a six. At the end of the day's play, Lovepreet Singh and Sunny Saini were batting at 70 and three, respectively. Kapurthala's Tarandeep Singh took three wickets and conceded 88 runs in 19 overs. He also proved that he didn't have butter fingers by taking three catches. Bikramjeet, however, proved to be a costly bowler for Kapurthala conceding 19 runs in two overs. Kapurthala batted for two hours and 37 minutes, Bathinda played for three hours and 30 minutes. |
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Bank celebrates its 149th Foundation Day
Bathinda, April 24 The bank had invited some of its loyal customers on the occasion and one such customer also lighted the ceremonial lamp. The customers were informed of various achievements of the bank as well as the new schemes. 100 units of blood collected
Hundred units of blood was collected during a blood donation camp organized at Malout road. The camp was organized with the help of Sant Nirankari Mandal and the local residents. Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Rajeev Prashar inaugurated the camp and urged people to donate blood to help the needy. Volunteers and workers of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa too extended a helping hand by donating blood. One booked for bid to break open ATM
Police has registered a case against unidentified persons for their bid to
steal money from an ATM of the State Bank of Patiala in Model Town Phase-II. A case has been registered at the Cantonment police station under sections 457, 380, 427 and 511 on the basis of a complaint filed by a bank employee, Iqbal Singh. New revenue officer
Varinder Singh has joined as the new district revenue officer. He was earlier posted as tehsildar at Jaito and has been promoted. The earlier DRO, Sukhwinder Singh Dhillon, has been transferred to Moga. Youths booked for ruckus
Police has registered a case against ten youths for creating ruckus on the road and ramming their two-wheelers into a cop deployed on a PCR motorcycle near the TV tower. Constable Gurpyar Singh stated that the boys, Uday Partap and Ratesh Bansal, besides their seven to eight unidentified accomplices, were coming towards the PCR motorcycle at around 11.30 pm on Monday. The youths were shouting and driving their vehicles rashly in the area. One of the youths, in a bid to escape, rammed his bike into one of the cops.The cop suffered a fracture in his leg and was taken to the Civil Hospital. Police caught hold of the youths while the others manage to flee. The policemen said some of the youths were residents of Bathinda while the others were from nearby districts and studying in local educational institutes. Police has registered a case against the youths involved in the incident under sections 353, 186, 332 and 149 of the IPC at the Civil Lines police station. |
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NGO unites Assamese woman with her family
Bathinda, April 24 The woman, along with her two-year-old son, was found roaming aimlessly near the Bathinda railway station. One of the volunteers of the NGO, who located her, arranged for the stay of the woman in his own house and then contacted her family members in Assam. An NGO worker, Mohan Lal Garg, said the woman was from Guwahati and her husband had been deployed as Home Guard there. The woman informed that she had left home in a fit of rage after a fight with her mother over a trivial issue, said Garg. Efforts were then made by Sehyog to establish contacts with another NGO working in Assam. The family members of the woman were located and informed. Arrangements were then made for return back to Guwahati. The woman revealed that her six-year-old daughter was left behind when she left home. She has now been sent back to Assam. The family members of the woman appreciated the efforts of the NGO in reuniting her with family. |
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City trader killed in road accident
Bathinda, April 24 The Kotwali police has registered a case under Sections 353, 186, 332 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused truck driver who could not be identified. |
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