Ludhiana, May 18
Girls stole the limelight and came with flying colours in the Class XII examinations conducted by the Punjab School Education Board.

All the three top positions have been bagged by girls from the Ludhiana district. Besides, amongst the top 10 positions in the state, eight positions i.e. first, second, third, fourth, seventh, eighth (two students), ninth (three students) and tenth (three students), have been secured by the students from Ludhiana. All these students are girls. Mehak, a student of BCM Senior Secondary School, Jamalpur, Focal Point, has got the first rank by scoring 96.89 per cent marks. The second, third and fourth positions have been secured by Charanpreet Kaur, a student of Sanmati Vimal Jain Senior Secondary Public School, Jagraon, Jyoti Bansal from Sanmati Vimal Jain Senior Secondary Public School, Jagraon, and Renu Sharma, a student of BCM Senior Secondary School, Jamalpur, by scoring 96.44, 96.22 and 96 per cent marks, respectively.

Besides, four other girls, including Saloni and Sarita Khurana from RS Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, have secured ninth and tenth state ranks in non-medical and medical streams by scoring 94.89 per cent and 94.67 per cent marks, respectively. Tamanna Sharma, a student of Dashmesh Senior Secondary School, and Rajwinder Kaur, a student of Teja Singh Sutantar Memorial Senior Secondary School, Shimlapuri, have also secured tenth rank in the state (commerce stream) by scoring 94.67 per cent marks.

Ludhiana, May 18
In pursuance of the new Housing Policy-2013, the Punjab Government has made some amendments in the potential zones of the state. It has also announced the rates for the change of land use (CLU), external development charges (EDC) and licence fee (LF) for different categories.

Vide a notification issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development on May 6, 2013, the rates for the residential group housing societies have been raised, those for residential use remain more or less unchanged while huge relief has been given for the commercial use of land.

The fresh notification issued in partial modification of many previous notifications issued from September 19, 2007, to November 16, 2012, in this regard asserts the need to give a boost to the real estate sector, promote commercial establishments and make the housing policy more realistic, simpler and functional.

As per the new notification for Ludhiana city, two separate categories within the municipal limits and outside the MC limits up to 15 kilometres have been done away with and the same rates of the EDC, CLU and LF will be applicable to both the categories under the revised policy.

As far as the residential plotted areas are concerned, the rates of the CLU and the licence fee have been increased for the areas falling on national highways, state highways, sector roads and other roads, while the licence fee has been reduced marginally. As against the maximum charges (depending on the location) of Rs 35.03 lakh per acre paid by the residential plotted colonies earlier, they will have to pay Rs 36 lakh under the revised rates.

In a stark contrast, the residential group housing colonies, which were earlier treated on a par with residential plotted localities, will henceforth pay the CLU, EDC and LF at higher rates. As against Rs 35.03 lakh per acre, these will be charged Rs 80 lakh per acre.

The government has provided a huge relief to the commercial sector by slashing the EDC, CLU and LF. While the commercial establishments were paying a maximum of Rs 151.68 lakh previously by way of the EDC, CLU and LF, the rates for this category have been reduced to a maximum of Rs 1 crore.

Welcoming the government’s initiative, realtors have sought rationalisation of rates for the residential group housing which should be charged on the basis of density. They said in case of residential plotted areas, the EDC should to be charged only on the saleable area on the pattern of Haryana and not on the total area of the colony.

Jagraon, May 18
A feeling of disbelief and grief griped Jagraon residents when the shocking news of the death of an NRI in a fatal road accident in Canada reached his native village Cheemna, around five kilometres from Jagraon.

The NRI, identified as 48-year-old, Lakhvir Singh, had been living in Toronto since he migrated to Canada some years ago. He was working as a truck driver in Canada and was transporting goods from Canada to America on the fateful day.

“Lakhvir was only a few kilometres from the Canada-America border when he lost control over the truck and it rolled down a road. The truck caught fire and Lakhvir was charred to death,” said the victim’s relative Mohan Singh.

Lakhvir’s family members came to know about the tragic incident last night when his Canada-based friend called his family. Heart rendering scenes were witnessed at the victim’s house when they came to know about the incident.

The victim’s relatives said efforts were on to bring Lakhvir’s body back to India.

Ludhiana, May 18
Ludhiana is all set to get a new bridge on Sidhwan Canal. This bridge is expected to become operational by June 1. Once operational, the bridge is expected to ease the traffic entering the city from the Ferozepur side as its width has been increased from 7 metres to 12 metres.

The old bridge was dismantled and the construction of the new bridge started on April 5. The discharge of water into the canal was stopped from April 5 to May 25.

Pardeep Kumar, project manager of the private company constructing the bridge, said the bridge would be ready in less than two months time. "The foundation pillars were constructed several days ago and two of the five slabs have been laid on these pillars. The remaining slabs will also be laid before May 25 and we expect to open this bridge to vehicular traffic by June 1," he said.

This bridge is part of the Rs 328.16 crore Sidhwan Canal Expressway Project, which is 26.9 kilometers in length with carriageway on each side from Doraha to Ludhiana-Ferozepur Road, providing a bypass for traffic going towards Ferozepur.

The foundation stone of this project was laid in 2009 and initially, the state government had fixed February 2012 as the deadline for the completion of the project, but the new deadline fixed by the state government is now June.

Khanna/ Khamano, May 18
Thirty-nine candidates will lay claim on 18 seats of the block samiti in Khanna. In most of these zones here, there is a direct contest between the Akali Dal and Congress candidates, apart from some Independents. For the zila parishad polls, there are two zones: Lalheri and Biza. Here a tough contest is likely on the cards. The fate of these candidates will be decided by 80,528 voters at 111 polling booths.

The district police has made all arrangements for conducting free and fair elections in Khanna. Claiming this, Senior Superintendent of Police, Khanna, S Bhoopti said there were 94 sensitive and 14 hypersensitive booths in the police district. He said the police had made tight security arrangements for the zila parishad and block samiti polls tomorrow. He said the required number of police personal had been posted at all the polling booths, and additional force has been deployed at the sensitive and hypersensitive booths.

In Samrala block, 29 candidates are vying for 15 seats of the block samiti. Akali Dal candidate Bahadar Singh has already been elected unopposed from Manki Zone, as no one filed papers against him. On all the seats, there is a direct contest between the Congress and Akali Dal. Two zila parishad seats, Mutton and Khirnia, also fall under this area. There are 84 booths and 61,676 voters in this block.

In Machiwara block too, the two main parties will fight it out for 14 block samiti seats, with one seat already won unopposed by Akali candidate Mahinder Kaur Hyatpura. A total of 29 candidates are in the fray for these seats. Besides, there is one zila parishad seat: Neelon Kalan. There are 125 booths and 67,233 voters in this block.

In Khamano block of Fatehgarh Sahib district, there are 15 seats of panchayat samiti. The contest will be between the Akali Dal and Congress-PPP alliance. For the two seats of zila parishad in Dhanaula and Hawara zones, too, the two will test their luck. PPP is fighting from Dhanaula zone while Congress will take on Akali Dal in Hawara zone. In Khamano, 57,585 voters will cast their votes at 84 polling booths. Of these 26 are sensitive while 14 are hypersensitive.

Ludhiana, May 18
With the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections being held tomorrow, the District Election Office dispatched all the polling parties to their respective destinations today. The polling parties, accompanied by police personnel, have been provided with all the polls-related material to ensure that by the evening they are able to set up their polling stations as per the given instructions.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Rahul Tiwari said 1,436 polling parties had been dispatched. Each polling party consists of five members, besides police personnel. Around 10.65 lakh voters will cast their vote tomorrow.

The polling parties for Dehlon were sent to Government Senior Seconary School, Dehlon; for Doraha to Guru Nanak National College, Doraha; for Jagraon to Lajpat Rai DAV College, Jagraon; for Khanna to AS Modern Senior Secondary School, Khanna; for Ludhiana-I to Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan, Ludhiana; and for Ludhiana-II to Gymnasium Hall near Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana. Parties on the election duty at Machiwara left for SSD Senior Secondary School, Machiwara, while those at Pakhowal went to Maharaja Palace, Pakhowal. The polling parties for Raikot were sent to SGG Senior Secondary School, Goindwal; for Sidhwan Bet to GS Secondary School, Sidhwan Bet; for Samrala to ITI, Samrala; and for Sudhar to Guru Hargobind Khalsa College, Gurusar Sudhar.

Tiwari said the polling would start at 8 am and will end at 4 pm. The counting of votes will be done at the respective places on May 21, 8 am onwards. 

Ludhiana, May 18
The police officials are all set to conduct the zila parishad and block samiti polls tomorrow. They have been guaranteeing the conduct of free and fair elections.

According to senior police officials, around 1,650 personnel have been deputed at various booths that lie under the jurisdiction of the Ludhiana police. Each polling booth will have at least two police personnel. The number will depend on the sensitivity of booths, they said.

Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh has already imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in the wake of elections. The provision that prohibits the assembly of more than four persons in an area will stay in force till May 31.

Ishwar Singh said: "The police will keep a strict vigil on the antisocial elements and will leave no stone unturned to ensure peaceful conduct of elections.”

To stop the misuse of licensed weapons, the Police Commissioner has directed that no one can carry weapons. If a person disobeys the order, the weapon will be seized and the police will cancel its licence.

ADCP-II Bhupinder Singh Gill and ACP, Gill, Gurpreet Singh will keep vigil in Dehlon. ADCP-III Joginder Singh and ACP, Atam Nagar, Mukhtiar Singh have been deputed in the Sadar area. ADCP (Special Branch) Harmohan Singh and ACP (East) Satish Malhotra will take care of the Ladhowal area. ACP (West) Gurpreet Kaur Purewal will be on duty at PAU, Division No. 4, Dugri and Haibowal area.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 18
With the zila parishad and block samiti elections barely a few hours away, candidates and their supporters are trying their best to woo voters.

Instead of spending more on flags, hoardings and posters, most of the candidates are now alluring voters through cash or other inducements including intoxicants.

Liquor and poppy husk have emerged as the most-favoured inducement among men, irrespective of the economic strata they belong to.

The brand of the liquor favoured by them is the only criterion that separates them. While labourers and the poor are being provided country-made liquor, richer sections are being wooed by wine and whisky. Even scotch is making the rounds at drawing-room parties.

Contrary to the earlier trend, most candidates had stored the required stock before the close of the last financial year, when liquor vend contractors slashed their prices to clear the unsold stock.

Presently, liquor vends wear a deserted look as retail customers are conspicuous by their absence.

Investigations done by this correspndent revealed that majority of the candidates contesting the zila parishad and block samiti polls this year had to spend huge amounts of money in an effort to win the elections.

Expenditure on liquor formed the major portion of the undeclared expenditure of each candidate. On an average, a candidate has shelled out Rs 1 lakh to woo voters of a middle-sized village.

Those zila parishad candidates are lucky who could pool their expenses with the block samiti candidates contesting elections from their zone.

Ludhiana, May 18
The Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers' Union said the the move being taken by the Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, to scrap the semester system in all the colleges, affiliated to PU was good for the benefit of both students and teachers. The PCCTU representatives said that the semester system in colleges could not be compared with the semester system implemented in PU for various reasons. The teaching fraternity said that the decision was hastily taken in 2011 and teachers tried hard to bring it to some positive conclusion but the system remained unsuccessful.

Talking to The Tribune, the General Secretary of PCCTU Dr Kuldeep Singh said that it was very difficult to continue the semester system in colleges as government had put a ban on fresh recruitments. Without staff, semester system could not be carried on. "Otherwise also semester system was started hastily as the Centre for Academic Excellence had announced a grant of about Rs 70 crores to PU and their condition was to implement semester system in colleges. While the implementation of semester system was done in July 2011 but the Senate had approved it in September 2011", said Dr Kuldeep Singh.

He added that as many as 1000 posts of teachers were lying vacant in government colleges in Punjab, whereas, 2000 were lying vacant in aided-colleges. There was already a shortage of staff and in that scenario, continuing semester system was not possible. Further the schedule of the undergraduate classes and postgraduate classes does not match. Even during the summer break, half of the teachers remain busy, taking PG classes.

"The semester system is not working. The last semesters of PG classes were held in December and now it is May, the results have still not been declared for the MA Music (both vocal and instrumental) and fine arts etc", said Dr Kuldeep Singh.

The general secretary of Punjab Government College Teachers' Association, Prof Jaipal Singh said that dual system was proving bad for the students as with limited number of teachers, proper PG classes were not being taken. The results were not being declared timely and the teachers had to take the PG classes even during the summer and winter break.

In case PU wants to continue with the semester system in colleges, then a proper infrastructure and sufficient faculty, dedicated only to the PG courses is required", said Prof JaipalSingh.

Ludhiana, May 18
Banks will now prepare an online tracking system for the loan applications.

In this regard, the Reserve Bank of India has issued a notification and has provided relief to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), who used to face a lot of inconvenience while getting the loans sanction from the banks.

Major instructions given to the banks for the facilitation of MSME sector, RBI mentioned that all the loan applications will have to be cleared within a time bar by all the banks.

All the loan applications of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, received by the branch will now be physically entered in Central Proposal Tracking System (CPTS), which will automatically generate an acknowledgement of the application, having a unique application serial number.

The banks will have to maintain a record of all the applications received from MSME's for loan and should endeavour to make application status available to the customer online using the unique application serial number on a day to day basis, read notification issued by the Reserve Bank of India.

The banks will have to submit the data to the regional or zonal and head offices.

A format of the quarterly application has been formed by the RBI to keep the proper records of all the applications.

The head office will maintain the records of flow of loans to MSE's.

Besides state-wise and district-wise data should also be generated for the usage by the bank, Reserve Bank of India, and the government.

Such data may be utilised by the bank to find out the progress made in flow of credit to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises sector at each level.

The position in this regard may be displayed by the banks on their website from the quarter ending June 2013.

Badish Jindal, National President, Federation of Associations of Small Industries of India said the recommendations of the Reserve Bank of India will work wonders for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises sector in getting the loans sanction, once the Central Proposal Tracking System gets started. With this it will become easier to track the status of the loan application

Ludhiana, May 18
The trend of late night parties is fast catching up with the city residents. People prefer to host such parties as their guests get free late in the evening and love to dine and dance till late in the night. Little do they know that by changing natural physiological routine of their body, they fall into the trap of sleep disorder, indigestion, lack of concentration and lethargy during daytime.

Dr Aashish Ohri, a city-based bariatric surgeon said, "Attending late night parties makes a person sluggish. They don’t take a balanced diet, and end up consuming food items with a high calorie content. At times they also consume alcohol that leads to obesity. In the morning, their natural urge to eat breakfast is lost. "

Dr Ohri said maximum hormones are secreted in our body between 2 am to 4 am. "With the habit of sleeping late at night, secretion of these hormones gets disturbed, and the person becomes victim to the subconscious mental stress," he said.

Dr GS Wander, chief cardiologist at Hero DMC Heart Institute said, "Whenever our body encounters a change, we suffer form sleep disorders and lethargy during daytime. We should have meals an hour before we go to sleep. As more hormones are secreted in the morning, we should keep our body active then."

Dr Jairaj Pandian, professor and head of neurology at Christian Medical College and Hospital, said, "People who stay awake till late at night usually face problems of concentration. They feel sleepy while driving, which also leads to accidents." These people often complain of persistent headaches too, he said.

Ludhiana, May 18
Sanatan Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School today organised a “Kavi Darbar” (poetry recitation) for the senior wing on the school premises. Nearly 30 students from Classes VI to XII took part in the competition. The participants showcased their talent by reciting humorous, patriotic and other poems, mostly based on current issues such as environment conservation, female foeticide, and corruption. Mansi (Class VII), Sanju (IX) and Preeti (XII) bagged the first prize. Amit (X), Lakshita (VI) and Hamiksha (VIII) came second, while Preeti (X), Krishma (VIII) and Sakshi (VII) had to be content with the third position.

Punjabi recitation competition

In order to evaluate the fluency of students in their mother tongue, a Punjabi recitation competition was held at Guru Nanak Public School, Model Town Extension. Over 70 students of Classes I-III participated in it. Students were evaluated on the basis of voice modulation, rhythm and expression. The first prize was bagged by Divneet Kaur (Class I), Savita (II) and Avneet Kaur (III). Divjot Singh (I), Gurnoor Kaur (II) and Prabhsimran (III) came second. Sukhmanpreet Kaur (I), Navreen Kaur (II), Arshpreet (III) won the third prize.

Students visit cardboard factory

It was a novel experience for the Class XI and XII students of Ryan International School, who visited two cardboard-making factories in the city. The students saw the process involved in manufacturing of cardboard and wooden boxes. This was followed by an interaction with the management of the factories. Students asked questions on the working condition, manufacturing process, waste disposal, etc.

Mother’s Day

Mothers' Day was celebrated at Green Land Senior Secondary Public School with great enthusiasm. Students showed their love and devotion towards their mothers through a talk show, radio show, play and dances. Class VI students participated in a card-making competition. Taranpreet stood first in the compeition, followed by Ananya and Vishaka on the second and third positions respectively. A poster-making competition was also organised for Classes VII and VIII. In the competition, Simran and Geetika of Class VIII shared the top honours, while Tejasvani (VII) was adjudged second. Mohak, Chetana and Saloni, all of Class VIII, won the third prize. Consolation prizes were given to Harleen, Sukhleen and Kamalpreet of Class VIII.

World Family Day

Ryan International School, Dugri, celebrated World Family Day on the school premises. The main motto of the day was to draw attention to several family issues. Various events were organised on the day. Students of Mont-I to Mont-III took part in activities including drawing and colouring of cards, pasting of family pictures and hand painting. Students of Classes I and II prepared a collage on family tree. Classes III to V students expressed their love towards their family in the form of cards. For the senior classes, a declamation competition on the topic ‘My Family’ was held.

Personality development programme

The Punjab Institute of Management and Technology, Mandi Gobindgarh, is organising a free personality development programme for the students. A scholarship test was also organised. A large number of students from the state took the test. Gobindgarh Educational and Social Welfare Trust will award scholarships up to 50 percent of the fee to those who qualify the test.

Students felicitated

The BCM College of Education organised the annual prize distribution function on the campus. Chief guest Dr Dharam Singh, principal, Government College, Tanda, inaugurated the function by lighting the traditional lamp. Students who won distinction in various spheres, such as academics, sports and youth activities, were given prizes by the chief guest. On the occasion, the outgoing students were also bid adieu.

Art exhibition

A two-day art exhibition was organised at the Guru Nanak Institute of Design and Technology. Paintings on the theme of cultures of Indian states were displayed besides costumes, accessories, collages and popular prints.

Ludhiana, May 18
Fish-keeping in aquariums can be a fun-filled activity, if the enthusiasts take care of some important things. While giving tips on the upkeep of ornamental fishes and aquariums, Dr Vaneet Inder Kaur of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, said although fishes, as compared to other pets, need very little care, certain things should be kept in mind during the summer season.

She said in the hot weather, especially from May to September, heater is not required; so put off the thermostat. “Always keep the aquarium at a right angle to the natural or diffused light, as direct sunlight in summer months leads to algal growth. Fishes, moreover, do not require any light. Natural light is generally sufficient to keep fishes active during the day, and leaving the aquarium light on for too long can cause algal growth,” Dr Kaur said.

Unless aquarium contains live plants, the aquarium light need not be switched on, except while feeding or observing fishes, said the GADVASU expert.

“For maintaining an appropriate amount of dissolved oxygen level, aerator should be working all the time. Whenever required add de-chlorinated and aged water, i.e. water kept open with aeration for one to two days, in the aquarium,” she said.

People should avoid frequent water changes, as it disturbed the biological cycle, Dr Kaur said. “Always put on a filter to get rid of unwanted toxic material and gases. Turbid, milky or green-coloured water shows the inefficiency of filter, and this must be checked regularly,” she said.

Dr Kaur said the fish must be fed twice-a-day with a good quality readymade feed for five minutes by standing near the aquarium and observing the fish. “Excess feeding is more dangerous than less feeding,” she said.

The GADVASU expert said: “During the summer vacation, people leave the house for long durations. Proper arrangements for the upkeep of fishes must be made accordingly.” Automated feed dispensers, available in the market, could be very well used to avoid starvation, she said. “It is best to slightly underfeed fishes to be on the safer side. Put some fine-leaved plants in the aquarium,” said Dr Vaneet Inder Kaur.

Ludhiana, May 18
Goods worth lakhs were destroyed in a fire at a paper mill on Hambran Road, here today afternoon. It took more than five hours for the fire brigade officials to douse the flames.

It was at 3 pm today when fire broke out at Punjab Paper Mill on the Hambran Road. On being informed, fire brigade officials rushed fire engines to the spot.

Fire Officer Rajinder Sharma told The Tribune that seven fire tenders were pressed into service. “The goods and raw material used for making paper was lying outside the factory premises. We suspect that it caught fire due to a short circuit. It was due to timely intervention by our staff that fire did not spread inside the factory premises else the loss would have been more,” Sharma claimed.

Fire brigade officials informed that as a precautionary measure, one fire tender would remain stationed at the factory premises overnight. The flames were doused by 8 pm in the evening.

Mandi Gobindgarh, May 18
A three-storey building of Singla Grocery Shop on Railway Road at Loha Bazar, Mandi Gobindgarh, caught fire today. Eight fire tenders were pressed into service to control the fire. The loss is estimated to be around Rs 1.50 lakh. It took around five hours for the fire tenders to douse the flames.

The helpers of the firm, who were reportedly sleeping on the upper storey of the building, saw smoke in the room. They informed the owners, who reached the spot at once. When the showroom was opened, the owners found the grocery items burning. They informed the municipal council and the fire engines from Mandi Gobindgarh, Samrala, Rajpura and Fatehgarh Sahib were pressed into service to control the fire. The cause of fire is not yet known but electric short circuit is said to be the reason behind the fire.

Ludhiana, May 18
A protest by farmers' organisations in Amritsar district came heavy on the commuters, who were left with no option but to wait for the trains at Ludhiana railway station. The arrival of trains from Amritsar was late by around four to five hours.

All the trains scheduled to arrive from Amritsar in afternoon, including Shan-E-Punjab, Swaran Shatabadi, Chhattisgarh Express, Amritsar Howrah Express, and JanNayak were delayed. The Swaran Shatabdi was delayed by more than four hours, as the train was stopped by the protesters at Mannawala. Whereas, Shan-E-Punjab was delayed by around five hours.

Ravinder Singh, a passenger, who was waiting for the Shane-E-Punjab said, "I had a urgent work at Delhi, early morning on Sunday. But the train is delayed by four hours which has disrupted my whole programme".

"The delay in trains spoiled my entire day as I was going to Ambala to attend a party," Ravi, another passenger.

RK Sharma, Station Superintendent, Ludhiana, said "Trains have been delayed from Amritsar while we are trying to clear the track". 

Samrala, May 18
Two persons were killed and one injured in a road accident on Khanna-Samrala road, near Otalan village, last night. Three persons were reportedly returning towards Samrala on a motorcycle after completing their work of fixing marble in a house at Gharkhna village. When they reached near Otalan village, a private bus coming from opposite direction hit their motorcycle and mowed them down.

Two persons identified as Santosh Kumar and Rohit Dass were declared brought dead at the Civil Hospital, Samrala, while one of their companion Manoj Kumar was seriously injured. He was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, from the Civil Hospital, Samrala, where his condition is stated to be serious.

The deceased and the injured were residents of Bihar. Presently they were staying at Kamal Colony, Samrala. SHO, Samrala, Harjinder Singh, said they had registered a case.

Jagraon, May 18
Jagraon police has arrested four alleged drug peddlers and seized a huge consignment of poppy husk from a canter, carrying the poppy husk. The police confiscated the canter (HR 04 GA 1099) and recovered 91 sacks full of poppy husk from the canter.

The accused have been identified as Amarpreet Singh of Mehmoodpura, Rinku Singh of Rampura Mandi, Kamaljot Pal Singh and Gurjot Singh of Kila Raipur.

A police team, led by Jagraon Sadar police station SHO Rachpal Singh Dhindsa, seized the consignment of poppy husk from Galib Kalan link road.

Providing the details of the incident, SHO Dhindsa stated that police had set up a check post on Jagraon-Galib Kalan link road for routine checking. "Police saw a canter coming from Jagraon. On seeing the police, the driver of the canter turned it around, which made us suspicious. We chased the canter and stopped it at some distance. On conducting a search, the police found 91 bags of poppy husk from the canter", said Dhindsa.

Following this the police arrested all the four persons travelling in the canter and seized the poppy husk. The police also impounded the canter, added the SHO.

The police then registered a case against all the four accused under NDPS Act at the Jagraon Sadar police station and further investigation was on. The police produced all the four accused before a local court, from where they were sent to three-day police remand. Meanwhile. some other revelations are also expected in the coming days.

Notably, as the poppy husk consignment has been seized only two days before the zila parishad and block samiti elections, scheduled to held on May 19, the possibility of the distribution of the drug to the voters during the elections cannot be ruled out. 

Two held with charas

Ludhiana: The policemen at PAU police station arrested two smugglers with 4.5kg charas. The accused persons were identified as Bhushan Mahanto and Krishan Mohan Yadav, residents of Jagdish Nagar Dugri. According to Gurveer Singh, SHO, PAU police station, "Police party had conducted a search operation of private vehicles at Barewal Road and arrested the accused, when 4.5 kg charas was recovered from their possession”. —TNS

Ludhiana, May 18
Two engineering students of a well known engineering and technology institute have been booked by the Focal Point police for snatching Rs 10,000 from an employee of a telecom company here today. According to the police, both the accused were on a bike and pulled up, Saurav Singla, a collection-employee of a telecom company, near SBI branch at Azad Chowk in Dhandari Area. Saurav was going toward his office after collecting the money from market.

Narrating the incident, Satinder Singh Guram, chowki in charge, Dhandari said, "Snatchers followed Saurav for some time and then circled him by crossing his bike. When Saurav realised their intentions, he tried to escape, but the snatchers stopped him and started beating him. Initially, Saurav did not lose his grip from the bag but in the end the snatchers were successful in grabbing the bag".

The chowki In charge Dhandari said, "We have identified the snatchers. Both are pursuing civil engineering from a reputed college. Though presently they are at large, we will arrest them soon." —TNS

Ludhiana: The city police has registered a case against a Canada-based NRI for threatening his sister-in-law and her niece on phone to pressurise them to withdraw cases. In her complaint registered on April 28 at Jamalpur police station, Urmilla, sister-in-law of the accused stated "Hardev Singh threatened us to withdraw the case against him, otherwise he would kill us on road as he has the strong links in India."

The case has been registered after the enquiry conducted by Jaswinder Singh, ACP, Sahnewal, on the orders of the Police Commissioner, on the complaint of Urmilla, a resident of Mundiyan Kalan. In her complaint, Urmilla had alleged that she had filed a case of rape and cheating against her NRI husband Harminder Singh Johal, a Canadian resident, on March 3, 2008 in police station, Phillaur. Later, he was declared proclaimed offender by the court in the case.

One held with pistol

The city police registered a case against one person for possessing .32 bore pistol and bullets on Friday. The accused has been identified as Parminder Singh (27), resident of Chhajawal village near Mullanpur. On Friday evening, police had established check point at Hambran road and the accused after seeing the policeman tried to flee, but the police officials nabbed him and found .32 bore pistol and bullets from his possession. According to the police, the accused confessed that he had procured the pistol from Uttar Pradesh. A case has been registered against the accused at the police station, Ladhowal, against the accused under various sections of the Arms Act. Notably, the accused is one of the accomplices of the gangster Ravi Deol, who was arrested three months back.

Family booked for cheating

The city police has booked four members of a family, who backtracked from a property deal done by head of the family before death. The complainant Sarbjit Singh, resident of village Qadian, lodged a complaint against Kamlesh Sharma wife of deceased Ramesh Sharma, Rakesh Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, sons of Ramesh Sharma and Bhawana Sharma daughter of Ramesh Sharma. According to the complaint, he had entered into a deal with Ramesh Sharma and gave him Rs 20 lakh, as earnest money, however, Ramesh Sharma died thereafter. The family then backtracked form the deal.

Policemen booked on dowry charges

The controversial policeman, inspector Dilpreet Singh, is into yet another controversy, when the city police registered a case of dowry against him, on the complaint of his wife to the police station women cell on Friday. Hardeep Kaur, wife of Dilpreet, has alleged that her husband has been harassing her physically and mentally, for dowry. Dilpreet and Hardeep Kaur were married on January 31, 2004, but their marriage life got disturbed soon after.

Hardeep has now been living in her parental house at Aadarsh Colony, Badewal Road because of tense relationships between her and her husband. According to the police official at police station women cell, a case has been registered after a long enquiry though no arrest has been made so far.

"Efforts have been made to arrest the accused, who is still at large" said SI Manjit Singh, women cell.

It has been learnt that Dilpreet Singh had earlier been booked in four separate cases, including rape, opening fire in the air in Shimla. Dilpreet Singh had registered a case of attempt to murder against his elder brother Harpreet Singh in February. Ironically, his wife had also registered a case against Dilpreet for giving her poisonous substance, some year ago. — TNS

Husband booked for harassment

The city police registered a case under the Dowry Act at the women cell. Anita Rani, a resident of Partap Nagar stated that she had been married in 2008 to one Roshan Lal. Thereafter her husband harassed her to bring dowry. An enquiry has been conducted by ACP east, in this case and a case has been registered against the accused Roshan Lal after enquiry.

Ludhiana, May 18
Judicial Magistrate Atul Kamboj has convicted Rajesh Jain of Gulchaman Gali, on charges of inflicting injuries to his neighbour Rajesh Mehta of Chauri Sarak.

Jain was ordered to undergo six months imprisonment by the court. The court did not find the accused guilty for trespassing into the house of the complainant. So it exonerated him from the charges under Sections 452/506 of the IPC. The co-accused, Ravi Parkash Jain, was acquitted by the court with the observation that the complainant failed to prove the allegations levelled against him.

The complainant, Rajesh, had alleged that on May 9, 2001, the accused persons illegally trespassed into the property of his father and caused injuries to him. An FIR was registered against the accused persons at Division No. 3 Police Station but later the police cancelled the FIR. But the complainant filed the protest petition which was treated as a complaint.

Ludhiana, May 18
The Punjab and Haryana High Court granted stay against the order, dated March 12, 2013, of State Information Commission, Punjab, in which Dayanand Medical College & Hospital was declared as Public Authority under the Right to Information Act. This was claimed by SS Saini, senior law consultant of Dayanand medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana

Saini further claimed that the Commission had passed its order on two complaints filed by Rohit Sabharwal of Ludhiana and Dr Sandeep Kumar of Hisar. Both of these complaints were filed on the ground that being a charitable institution, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital avail certain exemptions, including exemption from house tax, income tax and stamp duty etc. The State Information Commission held that these exemptions amount to indirect funding by the State Government and due to this reason, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital was a Public Authority.

He further claimed that Dayanand Medical College & Hospital challenged the order of the State Information Commission, Punjab, before the Punjab and Haryana High Court by filing a writ petition on the ground that the State information Commission, Punjab, had no jurisdiction to review its earlier decisions, under which it was held that Dayanand Medical College & Hospital was not a Public Authority.

The senior law consultant of DMCH further claimed that the writ petition filed by Dayanand Medical College was taken up for hearing by the bench of Justice TS Dhindsa and after hearing the institution, the bench granted stay against the order of State Information Commission, Punjab, while issuing the notice of motion to State Information Commission, Punjab, as well as Rohit Sabharwal and Dr Sandeep Kumar for 24th July, 2013.