Bathinda, May 31
The meeting of the general house of the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), which may be the last of the local body's first term, remained a low-key affair with most of the councillors taking it as a 'thanksgiving occasion'.

Even the most vocal councillors like Senior Deputy Mayor Tarsem Goyal and councillors Rajinder Kaur and Mandeep Kaur Agrohia preferred to remain calm. Municipal councillor Khem Singh Maakar's jokes were without satire this time.

Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman, Deputy Mayor Gurinder Pal Kaur Mangat, municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta and assistant commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal were present at the meeting.

All the eight items listed on the main agenda and the nine items listed on a supplementary agenda were passed on the occasion.

The councillors having allegiance to the ruling SAD-BJP combine highlighted the projects completed in their wards. While some praised the jobs undertaken by the corporation others added that several works were left undone.

The councillors' concern was that the incomplete works should be completed before the existing body is disbanded and the poll bugle is sounded. Their concerns remained the same from potholed roads to inadequate drinking water supply to faulty street lights and poor sanitation facilities.

The House passed laying of bituminous macadam (BM) path on the Gurukul road to strengthen it for heavy vehicular traffic; outsourcing staff; paying two per cent fee to the government for the Rs 105-crore HUDCO loan being borrowed to cover the city completely under the drinking water and sewer supply project; holding auction of the 63 siphons of sullage carrier which will now carry treated water from the sewer treatment plant (STP) installed on the Mansa road; and appointing a public relation officer for the corporation on contract basis.

It also passed developmental works worth Rs 167.81 lakh.

The House approved of paying Rs 2 lakh spent on scrapping heaps of garbage at a dumping site on the Mansa road. As per the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), garbage is to be collected in corners and plantation is to be carried out in the remaining area.

The House also okayed hiring of 15 'safai sewaks' at Rs 2.65 lakh for a period of three months for the purpose of cleaning the drain that runs along the boundary wall of the railway station. Keeping in view the approaching monsoon that brings along water-logging problem in the city, the drain needs to be cleaned.

Bathinda, May 31
The police has arrested three persons for an attempt to sell a plot worth Rs 9 crore at a throwaway price of Rs 1.85 crore by preparing fake identity proofs of the actual owner of the plot. The court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Jasbir Kaur sent the accused to police remand till June 3.

The accused, identified as Buta Singh, Arshdeep Singh and Jaswinder Singh, all residents of Bathinda, were booked under Sections 419, 420, 511, 465, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Civil Lines police station.

While Buta is unemployed, Arshdeep worked as a typist outside the District Courts, Bathinda, and Jaswinder is a government employee working with the Water Works Department adjoining the old Tehsil complex.

Civil Lines Station House Officer U. Cee Chawla said the accused were arrested after information provided by relatives of the actual owner of the plot. He said a complaint in this regard was lodged by one Vipin Kumar, a resident of the Bhagu road here. The complainant had stated that he came to know about the sale of 2,347-sq yard plot through some middlemen in the city and decided to purchase the plot as it was sold at a throwaway price.

One of the middlemen, Jaswinder, met him at the Tehsil complex and showed him the piece of plot. The deal was struck for Rs 1.85 crore and it was decided that Rs 20 lakh would be paid as token money. The documents pertaining to the sale deed and other papers were to be signed after the token money was paid.

Vipin Kumar said the plot owner reached the Tehsil complex and identified himself as Bhupinder Kumar, son of Om Parkash, son of Suraj Bhan, a resident of Namdev Nagar.

Vipin said he suspected the owner's credentials and he also did not seem to be quite confident when asked certain questions about the plot.

“The names of the owner, his father and his grandfather seemed familiar and I called up one of my relatives whose name is Bhupinder and who resides near Namdev Nagar and had a similar piece of plot," Vipin said.

He added that Bhupinder told him over the phone that the size of the plot matches with his plot and it was not likely that a plot of the same size was available on the road.

Bhupinder rushed to the Tehsil complex and discussed the matter with Vipin and the police.

The police asked Vipin to call the accused to sign the documents so that they could be nabbed.

When questioned by the police, the accused, Bhupinder, admitted that he posed as the actual owner of the plot and his name was Buta Singh.

The police said Buta had procured fake documents, including identity proof, driving licence and ration card of the actual owner of the plot, to project himself as the owner.

With the help of his two accomplices, Buta Singh also managed to obtain the mutation certificate from the Tehsil to sell the plot for Rs 1.85 crore.

The investigating officer in the case, Nirmal Singh, who is the in-charge of the District Courts police post, said the accused would be interrogated further and it would be ascertained how they managed to obtain fake documents.

Bathinda, May 31
The ward attendant of the Civil Hospital, who was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau yesterday, was sent to police remand for a day today.

Yadvinder and Chamkaur Singh from Kailewandar village were admitted to the hospital on Wednesday evening after they had sustained injuries in a scuffle in the village. Their relatives had got the ward attendant arrested for demanding Rs 15,000 as bribe to make their medico legal case strong.

Vigilance officials claimed to have recovered Rs 5000 from the possession of the attendant.

The 23-year-old attendant, Nitish Kumar, a class IV employee in the hospital, had got the job in the department around a year ago, on compassionate grounds after the death of his father.

He was deployed in the surgical ward and assisted ENT specialist Dr Ravinder Singla on Wednesday night.

Vigilance SSP Sukhdev Chahal said the role of the ENT specialist and a few other officials of the department was still under scanner but so far, no vital clue was obtained against the doctor.

When questioned how could a ward attendant alone demand Rs 15,000 to manipulate a medico legal case, the SSP replied, “We cannot initiate action against the doctor until we have an evidence. However, possibility of some evidence emerging in the next few days or so cannot be ruled out at this stage."

Vigilance sleuths pleaded in the court that they have to establish or find the loose ends in the case to ascertain the role of doctor or any other official of the Health Department in the crime.

DSP Janak Singh, under whose supervision the trap was laid to arrest the accused, too denied having any evidence to take action against the doctor.

Janak Singh said the attendant belonged to a very poor family and his dingy one-room house was searched by the VB sleuths.

Nitish was produced in the court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Jasbir Kaur, who sent him to police remand for a day.

Nitish Kumar, however, pleaded innocence.

A case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against him. If proved guilty in the case, the court may award him up to three years of imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Ajay Sahni confirmed in the evening that Nitish Kumar has been placed under suspension following his arrest by Vigilance officials.

Bathinda, May 31
The World No Tobacco Day was observed in different parts of the city today. The Health Department held a district-level function at Baba Farid Group of Institutions on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, District Health Officer Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa talked about declaring Bathinda smoke-free in context with tobacco usage. He said under the smoke-free campaign, the aim was not to stop the sale of tobacco and its products but to regulate its sale and usage.

“We aim at discouraging the younger generation from taking up tobacco, keep a blanket ban on harmful effects of passive smoking and promotion of tobacco products,” he said.

Meanwhile, at the Red Cross De-Addiction Centre, the day was observed with Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav honouring 40 drug addicts who are on the path of sobriety. On the behalf of Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla, it was declared that Rs 1 lakh would be donated to the de-addiction centre. In his address, Yadav called upon the addicts to shun drugs and embrace spirituality.

The secretary of the Red Cross Society, Col (retd) Mukhtiar Singh, said registered medical practitioners (RMPs) in villages, who are often accused of selling habit-forming drugs, had taken the oath for not indulge in the trade of tobacco.

Across the district, all school students took "no tobacco pledge" and resolved not to use tobacco or its products and discourage the people who use it.

At Giani Zail Singh Punjab Technical University campus, Bathinda, nodal officer Neeraj Gill highlighted the need of observing the World No Tobacco Day.

Campus director Dr Jasbir Singh Hundal stressed upon various health issues arising due to consumption of tobacco and urged the staff and the students to discourage the use tobacco in all forms to save the young generation from the deadly menace.

Fact file The World No Tobacco Day was observed in different parts of the city on Friday. A district-level function was held at Baba Farid Group of Institutions. Across the district, all school students took "no tobacco pledge" and resolved not to use tobacco or its products and discourage the people who use it.

Bathinda, May 31
In an interesting development, the Employees Union of the Education Department, took out a rally expressing solidarity with Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka, who is embroiled in the books scam.

A large number teachers belonging to various cadres gathered at the Teachers' Home at around 1 pm and took out a token rally up to the mini-secretariat, where they submitted their charter of demands to the Deputy Commissioner.

The representatives of different unions said a section of bureaucrats in the Education Department had been spreading the propaganda after the minister took strict measures in the department.

The union members claimed that earlier teachers were made to pay bribe for getting information on vacant posts to apply for transfers, but, now, the information was available on the website of the District Education Officers (DEOs).

Iqbal Singh, district president of the Government School Lecturers' Union, Bathinda, said no minister could go through contents of books to be purchased and delegation of powers by forming committees was a proper way. He said it was a failure on the part of committees.

He said books worth Rs 22 lakh had been purchased in Ajitgarh, Ropar and Hoshiarpur and the expenditure of Rs 9.28 crore was arbitrary. Similarly, the supply of science kits had been stopped and no payments had been made. The union members demanded that the people, who gave go-ahead for the books. They also alleged that the books, which were provided, were of poor quality and were printed on a sub-standard paper. 

Bathinda, May 31
The Sufi Arts Foundation organised a function at DAV College, Bathinda, wherein three books in English and one in Punjabi, authored by DAV College principal Dr J S Anand were released. Swami Surya Dev, Brahm Jagdish Singh, Dr Paramjit Singh Romana, Dr Harnek Singh Komal, P D Goyal, Dr S B Garg, Varesh Gupta and Bhupinder Jassal released the book.

Among the three, two books of English poetry- Beyond Words and A Million Destinies- have been published by internationalgiantcreatespace.com(Amazon.com). The poetry in these books was highly metaphoric and spiritual, said principal Niranjan Tasneem.

Dr Anand said the books covered a vast spectrum of human emotions. Dr Roghayeh Farsi from Neyashabur University, Iran, said Anand’s poetry not only gave pleasure to readers, but also invite readers to see, feel, suffer and act.

The third book, New Perspectives in English Proverbs, is a non-fiction one and is co-authored by Prof Manminder Singh Anand. The book in Punjabi- Khahishan De Aar Paar- previewed by Prof Brahm Jagdish Singh and Dr Bhim Inder Singh from Punjabi University, Patiala, shows poet at his metaphorical and spiritual best.

In all Dr J S Anand has authored two dozen books, mostly of english poetry. He has also translated celebrated Punjabi novel "Tatti Hawa", published by Punjabi University, Patiala.

Bathinda, May 31
A dead body was fished out of the Sirhind canal today. The body was taken out with the help of the volunteers of the NGO Waheguru Welfare Society. The volunteers said the victim's family were searching for him for the past many days. The youth, Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Kotkapura, had drowned in the canal few days ago.

Services of divers were taken to search the body. The body was handed over to the deceased's family members.

Motorcycle stolen

A motorcycle was stolen from Hari Nagar today. A complaint was lodged regarding this at the Canal Colony police station by Kanta Devi, a resident of Hari Nagar. She said the

bike was parked in the front yard of her house. The police has registered a case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC and investigating the matter. 

Bathinda, May 31
The Cantonment police has registered a case against driver of an unidentified vehicle for inflicting injuries upon a resident of Dhobiana Basti.

In a complaint to the police, Ramandeep Singh said that his brother Sahib Singh was hit by a speeding unidentified vehicle near the power house traffic lights.

The complainant said apart from serious injuring his brother, the bike too got badly damaged.

The police has registered a case under Sections 279, 338 and 427 of the IPC. The police is trying to trace the vehicle and the driver. No breakthrough has been achieved so far. 

Bathinda, May 31
All the members of the Bathinda Jewellers' Association have declared summer vacation from May 31 to June 4.

If any shop was found open during the vacation time , Rs 5,000 fine would be imposed on the person, said Tarsem Kumar, president of the body.