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Will make books more colourful: School board
7 dists get new SSPs
SC must form panel to probe 1984 riots cases, says state BJP
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Akal Takht chief says Sikhs on high posts must introspect
Chandigarh, May 1
Despite a rise in the incidents of deaths in jails and escape by prisoners in the recent past, the state government continues to ignore a report from the office of the ADGP (Jails), highlighting instances of illegal activity, pilferage of kitchen stores and violation of the rules at sub-jail Barnala. The report was submitted to the government in December 2012.
Constitution of Cong, PPCC placed on record
Mahila Cong eyeing ticket for four LS seats
SAD removes area in charge for indiscipline
2 Class VII boys rape 5-year-old
SGPC removes wall clock with Bhindranwale's photo
Sacred well in Kathmandu gurdwara cleaned
Primary schoolteachers to take subject-wise classes
Thapar students start drive against vulgarity in films
Busting the heat
Repair of Mukerian channel begins
Sewage disposal system on its last legs
Punjab Civil Services Preliminary Examination
HC stays recovery suit against Badal
Gang of criminals busted, five held
Man booked in dowry case
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Will make books more colourful: School board
Mohali, May 1 “Making the books more colourful and presentable is a welcome idea and necessary steps would be initiated in this direction,” said PSEB chairperson Dr Tajinder Kaur Dhaliwal who headed the workshop. Experts had yesterday opined that the board should make its books more colourful and
attractive. All experts, including Dr Balwinder Singh, secretary of the board, Prof Vikas Kumar, Dharamvir Jindal, Manmohan Singh Daun and Dr Khushwinder Kumar, were of the view that there was a need to improve the quality of
education. “We have to ensure that education is student-centric, activity-based and more practical. The changes in the syllabi should be brought about keeping these factors in mind,” said Manmohan Singh Daun, a noted
academician. He said colourful books with beautiful pictures would help attract the children to reading as well as learning. Dr Balwinder Singh said over 16,000 students had shifted from CBSE to PSEB last year. “We are planning to focus on extra-curricular activities in classrooms. We have also made amendments in our marking system under which we would give up to 30 marks to students participating in different activities,” said Dr Balwinder Singh. Dr Dhaliwal said all the suggestions made by the experts would be
considered. “Our aim is to take the standard of education in our schools higher than those affiliated to
other boards,” said Dr Dhaliwal.
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7 dists get new SSPs
Chandigarh, May 1 Gurmeet Singh Randhawa had been shifted as SSP, Faridkot, Gurmeet Singh Chauhan SSP , Fatehgarh Sahib, Hardyal Singh Mann SSP, Patiala, Mandeep Singh Sandhu as SSP, Sangrur, Sukhwant Singh Gill SSP, Gurdaspur, Manmohan Singh SSP, Amritsar (Rural), and Rajpal Singh as SSP, Fazilka. Gurdaspur and Amritsar (Rural) did not have regular SSPs. Gurmeet Singh Randhawa was holding the charge of Assistant IG (Investigations); Chauhan was SSP Faridkot and Mann was SSP, Fatehgarh Sahib. SK Asthana has been shifted as Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Vigilance & Security, Punjab Power Com, Ishwar Chander as IGP, Border Zone, (Amritsar), B Chandrashekhar as IGP, Zonal-II, (Jalandhar), Gurpreet Deo as IGP, Training-cum-Additional Director, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, RP Mittal IGP, Commando Batallion (Bahadurgarh), Tehal Singh Dhaliwal IGP, Internal Vigilance Cell, and Rakesh Chandra IGP, Security-II (Chandigarh). Mohnish Chawla has been transferred as Deputy IG, Ferozepur (CDC); Pramod Bhan joins as DIG , Special Protection Unit, Punjab, LK Yadav as DIG, Investigation (crime wing), Harsh Kumar Bansal Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Ludhiana, and Paramvir Singh Parmar Commandant, 1st IRB, Patiala. Among the PPS officers who have been shifted are Gurpreet Singh Gill, who takes over as Commandant, 36th Batallion, PAP (Bahadurgarh), Harcharan Singh Bhullar, who has been made Commandant, 4th Commando Batallion, (Mohali). Jaspreet Singh Sidhu has been shifted as DCP (Jalandhar), Sarabjit Singh as Commandant 75th Battallion, PAP, Jalandhar, Gurpreet Singh Toor as Zonal Assistant IG, CID, Ludhiana, Rakesh Kumar Kaushal, Commandant, 3rd Commando Battalion (Mohali), and Sukhdev Singh Kahlon, SP Crime-1 (Punjab). New police chiefs
Director, Phillaur Police Academy
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SC must form panel to probe 1984 riots cases, says state BJP
Chandigarh, May 1 In a statement, the state BJP president said the SIT working should be monitored by the apex court. Terming the acquittal of the Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in one of the anti- Sikh riots cases as “stunning”, Sharma said the judgment had put a question mark on the democratic process, considering that it took 29 long years to conclude a case and even after that, justice was denied to the victims. The BJP leader claimed that the acquittal proved that the CBI was a puppet in the hands of the UPA Government. He welcomed the decision of the Union Government to withdraw the proposed wealth tax that was “anti- farmer”. He claimed the Union Government was forced to withdraw the move in the face of the intense pressure built up by the SAD-BJP alliance on the issue.
Protests in Ropar, Anandpur Sahib
Ropar: Local Sikh bodies on Wednesday staged a protest against the acquittal of senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
Sikh Students' Federation activists gathered at the old bus stand in the morning and burnt Sajjan Kumar's effigy amid anti-Congress slogans. At Anandpur Sahib, a meeting was held at Gurdwara Shish Ganj where the court verdict was condemned. The meeting, that was headed by Giani Tarlochan Singh, Jathedar, Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, was attended by SGPC member Surinder Singh, veopar mandal president Inderjit Singh and local municipal council president Ram Singh among others.
Akal Takht chief says Sikhs on high posts must introspect
Amritsar, May 1 In a statement, the Jathedar said; " Sikhs, who are at the helm of affairs, and have deliberately shut their eyes, should wake up to the reality and put an end to the injustice meted out to the community." He also directed the Punjab Government, the SGPC and the DSGMC to take the battle up to the apex court and bring the guilty to book. He termed the court verdict as "grave injustice" to the Sikh community. Activists of the Sikh Students' Federation (Mehta) held a protest march against the court verdict. The protesters, led by the federation's district unit chief Amarbir Singh Dhot, burnt the effigy of the UPA chairperson. Addressing the protesters, Dhot alleged successive Congress governments at the Centre had shielded the perpetrators of the anti-Sikh riots and rewarded them with important posts.
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Govt ignores report exposing
violations in Barnala jail
Chandigarh, May 1 In a recent communication to the Principal Secretary, Home Affairs and Justice, the ADGP (Jails) has sought appropriate action against the accused officers. It pointed out that the main accused, Deputy Superintendent Ajit Singh Dhillon, a jail storekeeper and the head warder (rounds), continued to hold their posts despite a probe holding them guilty on several accounts. The findings of a special committee, which carried out an inspection in the jail on December 6, 2012, included releasing certain prisoners before the due date, condoning the sentence period during parole and unaccounted kitchen stores. Certain prisoners belonging to influential families were found to be living lavishly. They continued to stay in the same cell even after more than three months of being reported. Similarly, no action has been taken against a prisoner who was found possessing a mobile phone. Night duty reports were not duly maintained nor signed by the deputy superintendent. The report had also pointed out inappropriate handling of the jail accounts. It has been learnt that a Vigilance inquiry has also been ordered into the case. The latest report, released in April, has mentioned specific cases where prisoners were let off before their due date; given leniency during their parole; possessing mobile phone sets; and condoning sentence without due approval. The report has also highlighted shortage in the supplies of wheat, powder milk, toothpaste, mustard oil, flour, cereals and pulses. Minister for Jails Sarwan Singh Phillaur said: "The findings are serious. I can comment only after going through the matter".
The lapses
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Constitution of Cong, PPCC placed on record
Chandigarh, May 1 As the case came up for hearing this morning, the party strongly defended its locus standi by placing on record the constitution of Indian National Congress and the PPCC. The party filed a 500-page reply clarifying its legal position to raise the issue before the High Court. It gave a paragraph-wise reply in support of its claims. Party counsel claimed the PPCC was a constituent of the INC and representative of the INC in the state of Punjab. He also placed on record communications sent by the Election Commission of India to the PPCC on the conduct of elections. Referring to the challenge thrown to the ongoing process of delimitation of panchayat wards, he asserted that state officials were maintaining a complete secrecy for gerrymandering or manipulation of electoral boundaries of various constituencies. He also told the court that the government had neither publicised the gazette notification of the process, nor intimated any political party of the state. Accepting a copy of the PPCC reply, the state counsel sought time from the court to file a reply on the issues. The case will come for further hearing on May 8. The High Court, on the previous date of hearing, had questioned the party’s locus standi to file the petition. In its petition filed through president Partap Singh Bajwa, the PPCC had earlier sought directions to the state of Punjab and 22 DCs to undertake the process afresh. Claiming to have received “numerous complaints” in the recent past on “grave illegalities, irregularities and gross violation of law in the process of wardbandi,” the party said that irregularities were being committed by the respondents with malafide designs. The reply
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Mahila Cong eyeing ticket for four LS seats
Abohar, May 1 Speaking at a meeting of workers, Anita said since women across the state had been feeling unsafe due to "politicising" of the police, they had decided to organise camps to train women in karate. "Women will be motivated to actively participate in the panchayat samiti and zila parishad elections, which will also help them prepare for the Lok Sabha elections," she said. State president Malti Thapar said: "The Nanhi Chhaan campaign launched by SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has lost its sheen as atrocities against women have seen a spurt in the past one year in her constituency (Bathinda)". She expressed concern over the poor state of amenities in Abohar. She said even after the state government had claimed to have released Rs 65 lakh twice under the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a PIL, there had been no improvement in the condition of sewage, water works and roads in the town.
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SAD removes area in charge for indiscipline
Sangrur, May 1 The action has been taken by party president Sukhbir Badal on the recommendation of secretary general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Dhindsa said Kanjhla had announced some candidates for the panchayat body elections from Mehal Kalan on his own while he (Dhindsa) was the overall in charge of the party for Sangrur and Barnala districts. He said after receiving complaints that Kanjhla had announced some candidates who were not acceptable to party workers, he told Kanjhla to review these selections, but the latter declined to do so. Instead, he started campaigning in favour of those candidates, Dhindsa said, adding he then brought the matter to the notice of Sukhbir. On the other hand, Kanjhla said he had not violated party's discipline as the candidates were selected by a 51-member advisory committee, comprising SGPC members, district general secretaries etc. He said Dhindsa wanted that he (Kanjhla) should allot the party ticket to those who had opposed him (Kanjhla) in the assembly elections, which was not acceptable to him.
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2 Class VII boys rape 5-year-old
Fazilka, May 1 Both the boys are students of Class VII of a government school in Ladhuka village. After noticing blood stains on her clothes, the girl's parents reported the matter to the Sadar Police, Fazilka. The girl was taken to the Civil Hospital, Fazilka, for a medical examination from where she was referred to Government Medical College, Faridkot. "The police has booked the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act 2012," said Barjinder Singh,
SHO.
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SGPC removes wall clock with Bhindranwale's photo
Amritsar, May 1 There has been tension between the SGPC and the Damdami Taksal with the latter dedicating the memorial to Bhindranwale and other "martyrs" of Operation Bluestar. Earlier, the SGPC had turned around a "golak" at the memorial with Bhindranwale's name inscribed on it. However, there are five more sites where his name remains engraved- two marble plaques atop the memorial entrance, two aluminum plaques on both sides of the staircase leading to the memorial and another mentioning the history of Operation Bluestar on the left side of the entrance. Meanwhile, with Akal Takht Jathedar in New Delhi, no talks have yet been held with Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa to resolve the issue.
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Sacred well in Kathmandu gurdwara cleaned
Jalandhar, May 1 The Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust headed by Dubai-based businessman SP Singh Oberoi has undertaken the kar sewa of all the three gurdwaras in Nepal with the help of local Sikhs. Oberoi discovered the gurdwara structure during one of his Kathmandu visits. He took up the issue of its restoration with the Nepal Prime Minister in November last year. "We have been carrying out the kar sewa of a 27-ft deep historical well in another gurdwara. Interestingly, after cleaning, inscriptions of Mool Mantra surfaced on the walls of the well in one of the three gurdwaras in Kathmandu," he claimed. "The Nepal Prime Minister has assured us all possible help towards the ongoing restoration of the structure. He would be looking into possibilities of retrieving the shrine's vacant land," said Oberoi. He said the trust headed by him was had also undertaken the construction of a langar hall (community kitchen) in the gurdwara premises as well as that of 100-room inn for Sikh pilgrims.
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Primary schoolteachers to take subject-wise classes
Muktsar, May 1 Director General School Education (DGSE) Kahan Singh Pannu said, “We are taking this step to improve the standard of education in primary schools. We have issued directions to all those concerned.” He said, “It was Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka’s idea. He had discussed the matter at length with teachers, principals and a number of educationists before taking this decision.” Pannu further said that as per the decision, the classes would be held from 8 am to 2 pm, in five periods of an hour each. “For instance, the first period of Class V will be of Punjabi, second of math, third of English, fourth of Hindi and fifth of environmental studies. The recess time will remain the same and some time will be spared for sports and cultural activities,” said Pannu. Narrating the merits of the new system, Pannu said, “It will raise the students’ interest in studies and also improve annual results.” District Education Officer (DEO), Muktsar, Devinder Kumar Rajouria said they had received the fresh calendar of activities from the DGSE’s office and would implement them soon.
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Thapar students start drive against vulgarity in films
Patiala, May 1
They were joined by Anandita Mitra, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Development, Patiala, Dr KK Raina, Director of Thapar University and Seema Bawa, Dean, Students’ Welfare. In the letters, they praised Hindi cinema for championing the cause of women empowerment but also raised concern over the vulgar use of language which had made it difficult for families to watch Hindi movies together. The students and teachers urged them to stop this trend or they would stop watching such films. Speaking to The Tribune, Prof Gagandeep Kaur, the brains behind the campaign, said she along with the students decided to start this campaign as students would often discuss the issue with her. “We decided to post these letters once a month so we could at least share our thoughts in the meantime. We are hoping this campaign would yield some fruitful results,” she said. Manya, a student, said, “The Bollywood fraternity gives several excuses to justify nudity and foul language in movies. But it is a fact that filmstars are also youth icons. “The youth tend to follow their example. Therefore, we decided that we had to involve these stars in changing this disturbing trend.” Students Abhishek and Ruby said, “Even though we have no issues at intermingling with the opposite gender, we feel slightly intimidated at watching these movies together what with the raunchy scenes in movies these days. So, in order to inform the Bollywood fraternity that a section of the youth doesn’t appreciate such films, we have decided to post these letters.”
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Repair of Mukerian channel begins
Hoshiarpur, May 1 Chief Engineer (Projects) VK Jain said the contractor had already started the work, which would be completed in 20 days.
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Sewage disposal system on its last legs
Sangrur, May 1 Besides the motors, the pump chambers and other parts of the machinery at the sewage disposal system are also in a bad shape. The disposal system, situated on the Sangrur-Sunam road near the Industrial Focal Point here, was inaugurated on February 28, 1993. Over a fortnight ago, the machinery broke down for about a week, leading to accumulation of dirty water in the sewer pipelines and overflowing of manholes at many places in the city. Sources said the 35 HP motor had not functioned for the past two years while the 40 HP motor had not been working for the past one month. Likewise, one 60 HP motor had not functioned for the past 15 days. The municipal council was aware of the deteriorating condition of the disposal system. The authorities had admitted it in the agenda issued for the meeting of the council held on April 9 that the existing disposal system often remained defective and needed to be changed. Iqbaljit Singh Punia, council president, said the council had passed a resolution at its meeting on April 9 to take a loan of Rs 44 lakh from HUDCO to change the disposal system.
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Punjab Civil Services Preliminary Examination
Chandigarh, May1 The ruling came as Justice Augustine George Masih dismissed a bunch of petitions seeking directions for setting aside result-cum-merit list of the preliminary examination for recruitment to posts under the Punjab State Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination, 2012. The result was issued by the Commission on December 11 last year. Refusing to interfere with the process, Justice Masih directed that the answer key of question number 36 of Paper-II would be corrected before re-evaluating the OMR sheets of all candidates. The revised result would be prepared, declared and hosted on the website of the Commission within three weeks. The ruling on commission's powers came in answer to the legal question whether the Punjab Public Service Commission has the power to grant marks for the questions deleted after being found to be incorrect by the Commission itself? The question came up for consideration after the candidates claimed that large-scale discrepancies in the keys/answer sheets to the various questions have been found by the Commission; and it has "en-block granted grace marks to all candidates irrespective of the fact whether such candidate had attempted the said questions". The petitioners had claimed that the action amounted to unjust benefit to candidates, who had not even attempted the said questions correctly. Taking up the matter, Justice Masih ruled the Commission was a constitutional authority; and a duty had been cast upon it to conduct examinations for appointment to Union or State services. "For fulfilling this mandate, the Commission is entitled to take all necessary steps/actions/decisions so that the selection process is concluded successfully as per the mandate of the Rules. This would cast responsibility upon the Commission to conduct and hold the examination for appointment to the services of the State fairly and successfully…. "It cannot be said that the Commission did not have the powers to delete the incorrect questions and proceed to take further steps which should be reasonable and just".
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HC stays recovery suit against Badal
Chandigarh, May 1 The stay orders were passed by Justice Nawab Singh while taking up a petition filed by Badal. In his petition, Badal had sought stay on the March 13 orders passed by district court, declining permission to record evidence in the case at the place of his choice. The trial court had rather directed Badal to appear in person before the district court to record his evidence pertaining to the case. The place of his choice includes "his official residence, Punjab Civil Secretariat, Punjab Bhawan or UT Guest house which are secure official buildings". Badal had also sought a stay on the proceedings. Chowhan had filed a recovery suit of Rs 82,032 on November 21, 2001, against Badal alleging that during the fag end of 1997, he was forced by Badal to actively undertake a publicity campaign in favour of Sukhbir Badal, who was contesting as Member of Parliament (MP) from Faridkot in February 1998.
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Gang of criminals busted, five held
Moga, May 1 Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surjit Singh Grewal said five persons had been arrested. A .12 bore pistol, four swords and one air pistol had been recovered from their possession. They had been operating in and around the city for the past couple of years, he said. Those arrested have been identified as Dharminder Singh of Dosanj village, Devinder Singh and Jagdeep Singh of Rauli village, Luvpreet Singh of Lakha village and Baltej Singh of Gajjan Singh Wala village. They were nabbed at a police naka near chungi number 3 on the outskirts of the city last evening. Preliminary investigations revealed in one of the incidents, the accused had allegedly attacked Malkit Singh, sarpanch of Sandhuanwala village, and his associate Darbara Singh and snatched cash and mobile phones from them. Darbara Singh was seriously injured in the attack, the SSP said. Both the victims today identified the gangsters. One of the mobile phones snatched from them has been recovered from their possession. "We have so far traced at least three cases of dacoity, looting, theft and hurting committed by them. Further investigations are in progress," Grewal said. The SSP claimed one of the gang members Nirpinder Singh, who is the son of Head Constable Jaswinder Singh, was at present in judicial custody. He was arrested two weeks ago for his involvement in many criminal cases, the SSP said.
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Man booked in dowry case
Bassi Pathana, May 1 Kuldeep said when her daughter expressed her inability to do so, they started harassing her and soon sent her back to their house. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Khamano, is conducting an enquiry into the case. A case under Section 406, 498 A of the IPC has been registered against Balwinder Singh and his parents. No arrests have been made so far.
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On the second day of the workshop organised by the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), experts examined Hindi, Punjabi and English books.
The workshop is aimed at making major changes in the overall syllabi of all classes to lift the education standards in the state.
Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma today demanded that the Supreme Court should set up a special investigating team (SIT) to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as had been done in the case of the Gujarat riots.
The faculty members and students of Thapar University, Patiala, today initiated a letter campaign against the increasing use of abusive language in Bollywood movies.
They posted letters written in English and Hindi to top actors and directors in the Hindi cinema, urging them to refrain from using foul language in movies.
Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma today demanded that the Supreme Court should set up a special investigating team (SIT) to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as had been done in the case of the Gujarat riots.
