Jalandhar, May 5
A middle-aged woman was killed and six other persons, including her husband and three children, sustained injuries when the car in which they were travelling was involved in an accident with a truck here this morning.

The mishap occurred adjacent to Football Chowk at about 7 am when the car occupants from Adampur were on their way back home after attending a religious function at Basti Gujan.

Relatives of the family said Vindo Kumar, along with his wife Mamta, and three children - Krishna, Keshav and Lucky - were accompanying his sister Manju Bala and her husband Rakesh Kumar when the tragedy took place.

The injured were rushed to a private hospital, where Mamta was declared brought dead. The other injured were later shifted to the Civil Hospital.

The truck hit the car on its left side, damaging it completely. This resulted in the death of Mamta, while his three children, sister Manju Bala and brother-in-law Rakesh Kumar sustained injuries. The condition of Manju Bala and Rakesh Kumar was said to be serious.

The police arrested the truck driver, Sham Singh, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, who was fleeing from the scene. The police has registered a case against the driver for rash and negligent driving and impounded the vehicles.

Jalandhar, May 5
In a major breakthrough, the Kapurthala police claimed to have arrested seven members of a hackers' gang who were planning a Rs 200-crore fraud through illegal bank transactions.

Kapurthala (Counter Intelligence) officials stated that those arrested included Amarinder Singh Sandhu, Shiv Sharma, Vicky Gill, Sarabjit Singh, Bhavjot Singh, Kamlesh Kumar and Santosh Kumar. The police has recovered bank softwares and documents from the accused.

The policemen arrested the accused from the Amritsar-Jalandhar Highway on a tip-off. All accused were travelling in an Endeavour car. Officials further stated that the name of the bank from which the accused were planning to withdraw Rs 200 crore through the creation of fake bank accounts and fraudulent transactions would be discosed tomorrow. The officials also said that there was the possibility that the bank officials were hand in glove with the accused.

A case against all accused has been registered under various Sections of the IPC at the Dhilwan police station. The accused might have been involved in several similar frauds in the past. "The modus operandi of the accused would be disclosed once preliminary investigations were complete," said the police.

Jalandhar, May 5
Members of the Valmiki community today protested against the screening of the film "Shootout at Wadala" at the MBD Neopolis Mall.

They were protesting against some references made in the film which, they said, were hurting the sentiments of their community.

A heavy police force, led by ADCP Naresh Dogra, was deployed on the spot to prevent any untoward incident.They demanded that the movie should be taken off theatres and an FIR lodged against the makers of the film.

Dharminder Gill, president of the Guru Gyan Nath Shanti Sena, the organisation which has been holding statewide protests against the film, said, “The film is offensive to our community. It should be banned in the entire state. A case should also be registered against the makers of the film.”

The protesters left the spot only after being assured by the ADCP, Navjot Mahal that the "objectionable" sequence in the film would be cut and a case registered against the film makers.

Gill said the community would resume protests if the police did not lodge a case against the makers of the film.

Jalandhar, May 5
The violation of pollution control norms in the Leather Complex here again came to the fore today, with officials of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) locating another point in the common outlet, from where the untreated waste of the tanneries was being discharged into the storm water sewerage and, subsequently, into the Kala Sanghian drain.

Two days ago, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) authorities had noticed a similar violation in the Leather Complex.

Meanwhile, some owners of the tanneries said the pipelines for the discharge of the effluents had been laid by the Punjab Effluent Treatment Society (PETS). The responsibility for running the treatment plant also lies with PETS. It would be wrong to conclude that tanneries were discharging the waste into storm water sewerage. According to the PPCB Superintending Engineer SP Garg, the matter is serious and they would seek an explanation from PETS on May 6. The Tribune had highlighted the violation of pollution norms by way of direct discharge of the toxic waste into the Kala Sanghian drain, after which the PPCB had swung into action. Garg had paid a visit to the site two days ago and during the digging near the treatment plant, the PPCB officials got to know that the common outlet carrying the untreated waste was connected with the storm water sewerage, which was flowing into Kala Sanghian drain, thereby polluting the drain.

Jalandhar, May 5
He lost one of his eyes to torture in a Pakistan jail and his body is riddled with wounds he received there, but decades after his ordeal, the Indian Government still refuses to recognise his sacrifices.

Troubled by Sarabjit’s tragic end, he shares his own experience, “No matter who or what we are, in a Pakistan jail, we (Indians) are always perceived and treated as enemies.”

Speaking on the cause of Sarabji’s death, he says, “It was nothing but an act of revenge.”

Upinder Nath’s journey as a spy began with an altercation with a man at a cinema theatre. “I was 22 and had gone to see a movie. Someone from the backseat kept his legs on my seat. I got up and fought with him. Strangely, at the end of the fight, the man told me I was brave and told me to meet an official the next day.”

“I was young and desperately needed a job, I went for it. And within days I had begun training as an undercover agent,” he shared.

In 1967, he was hired by the Intelligence Bureau and after about a year of visits to the neighbouring country, he was caught outside a salon at Minchanbad in Pakistan along with a Pakistan resident Charag Din, who was with him, in December 1968.

He was interrogated at the Civil Interrogation Centre at Lahore and also spent time in civil jails at Mianwali, Sahiwal, Multan, Bhawalnagar and the notorious Kot Lakhpat jail (which claimed the lives of both Sarabjit Singh and Chamel Singh before him).

“During the 1971 war, we felt the people there seethed with anger against us. Jail officials would wake us up in the morning and start beating us. They said the morning whippings were our breakfast. I had lost my eyes earlier, when a Pak official pushed me against a wall, causing my eyes to bleed. There was no medical treatment so my eyes bled to blindness,” he says.

With the Shimla accord of 1972, came hope and in December 1974, he tasted freedom.

While Sarabji’s death troubles him greatly, he opines that the government needs to harden its stance like in those days. “We came back because the Indian government was tough then. Why can’t the same be repeated now?”

While he is glad to be back, he rues the utter lack of financial help from the Indian Government.

“I was honoured by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at a ceremony in Ferozepur on August 15 last year. I have received honour, but there is still no financial help for my service to the country,” he says.

Hailing from Ferozepur, Upinder Nath earlier used to run a tea stall. “I am old and weak now. I am in dire need of compensation and a job for my son.”

In his family, he has a wife and two children (a son and a daughter). His son is married and he says making ends meet is difficult at the moment. Only help from the government will reward him adequately since he came back.

Jalandhar, May 5
Doling out crores on Sarabjit Singh’s family, the state government seems to be getting embroiled in another controversy, with not only the Punjab Congress but also scores of spies and former members of the military intelligence accusing the ruling government of ignoring their sacrifices.

Yesterday, Punjab Congress spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira had attacked the Akali Dal for adopting double standard over Sarabjit Singh's death.

Now a city-based septuagenarian, Vasdev Sharma, who after languishing in the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Pakistan for over nine years had returned to India in the first batch of the prisoners released by the Pakistan Government in May 1974, has raised his voice against the double standard adopted by the government.

Talking to the Tribune, Sharma, who claims to be a former employee of the military intelligence, lamented that the Union and the State Governments had ignored scores of Indian spies who had sacrificed their lives and families for the sake of the motherland.

After providing proper training to youths, the Indian Government sends them across the border for gathering vital information but when they land in trouble, the government disowns them, lamented Sharma.

Narrating his woes, Sharma claimed that after his repatriation to India, he had approached various government officials to seek adequate financial help, but to no avail. He has appealed to the governments to recognise their sacrifices and extend them all possible helps so that they could rear their families.

Jalandhar, May 5
Announcing the release of film ‘Sadda Haq’ on May 10, the crew members of the film expressed happiness about the fact that the film was finally going to see the light of the day.

The crew, at a press meet here today, also conveyed their gratitude to media and artistes for the support extended to the film.

While it was earlier banned by the Punjab Government, based on apprehensions that it might cause unrest in the state, the Supreme Court upheld the film and lifted the ban imposed by Punjab and various other state governments, after the crew members filed a petition for the ban to be lifted.

Speaking on the decision of the apex court, film producers Dinesh Sood and Kuljinder Sidhu said, “The authorities of the Counsel Member Committee of the Supreme Court gave a green signal for the release of Sadda Haq immediately after watching it. They also did not cut any scene.”

While the SC has awarded an A (adults only) certificate to the film, there is just a minor, 15-second cut in the film and some of the words have been muted.

Notably, in the very first screening of the film by the censor board, big cuts had been recommended but compared to that, the SC’s recommendations have retained the original idea and the spirit of the film.

While the film has already been running successfully abroad, the cast expressed hope that its success will be repeated in the state of its inception as well.

Cast members lauded the fact that the film had been supported by people from all religions ad sections of the society and hoped such communal harmony shall prevail in the future as well.

Jalandhar, May 5
While he credits his Gurus, father Ustad Lachman Singh Seen and sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez for his success, talented sitar maestro Manu Seen says the recent acclaim he has received has been due to his heightened spiritual inclinations and their influence on his music.

Manu was recently awarded the top grade award by the All India Radio (AIR), Delhi.

Accorded the honour of being a top-grade artiste in AIR (a promotion from the A grade artiste which he earlier was), he and fellow sitarist Harvinder Singh (from Chandigarh), are the only two artistes from the state to have received this honour.

While entries of artistes from across the nation had been sent to Director General, AIR, Delhi, a panel of five to six judges finally chose the winners.

Speaking about a recent change in his style of practicing and approach towards music, Manu said advice from his spiritual Guru Swami Mohan Das Maharaj influenced his sitar playing and perception of music greatly.

“Swami Ji is himself a great music lover and plays various instruments. He asked me to change my style and that has brought a lot of change in my performance. It gifted me with a special style, enhanced my maturity level and increased my speed as well,” Manu said.

As a child, he started learning the sitar under his father’s training. He later began taking lessons from the Etawa Gharana Sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez.

Along with regular performances in India and abroad, Manu also provides sitar lessons to his disciples, many of whom have received their own share of acclaim as artistes.

Many of his teachers are further providing lessons in music to the younger generation in schools and colleges, others are acclaimed artistes on the radio.

Manu has performed in major Indian festivals like the Saptak Music Festival, Naad Niranjan Trimula Devsthanams, Tirupati Balaji, Andhra Pradesh, Haridas Sangeet Sammelan, Mumbai, in India and concerts in UK, Canada and Indonesia.

He has also been a recipient of several awards and honours like Surmani Award (Mumbai), Indian Classical Music Award (Canada) among others.