B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Communal harmony on display at mausoleum in Fazilka village
Fazilka, June 18
Thousands of devotees from India and Pakistan thronged the mausoleum of Shah Peer Baba Mohammad Ali situated along the Zero Line on the Indo-Pak border in village Gulaba Bhaini in Fazilka sub-division to pay obeisance today. A large number of the faithful regardless of caste, creed, gender and religion gathered at the place.

Pvt hospital in Barnala charged with aborting foetus
Barnala, June 18
The police today registered a case against a private hospital in connection with the abortion of a foetus.

Vasundhara Raje visits historic gurdwara Buddha Johad
Abohar, June 18
Aimed at winning over the dominant Sikh farming community, Rajasthan BJP state president and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today visited the historic Gurdwara Buddha Johad on the second day of her Suraj Sankalp Yatra in Sriganganagar district.

Dwellers of illegal colonies block road
Abohar, June 18
Hundreds of residents of Brahma Nagari, Durga Nagari and the adjoining unauthorised colonies today blocked the Kandhwala link road that connects this sub-divisional town with bypass and further provides link to scores of villages located on the Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojna road.

3 Abohar kids among four drown while bathing in reservoir
Abohar, June 18
Spending summer vacations with maternal parents cost three children their life as they along with one of their relatives were drowned while taking bath in a reservoir near the industrial area in neighbouring Sriganganagar today.

Communal harmony on display at mausoleum in Fazilka village
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, June 18
Thousands of devotees from India and Pakistan thronged the mausoleum of Shah Peer Baba Mohammad Ali situated along the Zero Line on the Indo-Pak border in village Gulaba Bhaini in Fazilka sub-division to pay obeisance today. A large number of the faithful regardless of caste, creed, gender and religion gathered at the place.

A big fair was organised on the occasion. Elaborate arrangements were made by the officials of the Border Security Force (BSF).

"It is a rare example of communal harmony at the international border which keeps the people from different religions united," said Deputy Inspector General, BSF, AK Sharma

It is believed that the mausoleum has been in existence since the partition but it figured prominently in 1962. Since then, the devotees from both the countries have paid obeisance every year. The land on which the mausoleum is situated belong to a Hindu family which takes care of the place and helps in organising the fair.

"Devotees of every faith visit here. They seek the blessings of Peer Baba with ardent devotion. There is no distinction among the Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims," said an elderly resident of village Gulaba Bhaini, Harbans Singh.

The place came alive with wrestling and kabbadi matches, cultural programmes besides colourful stalls of different eatables. The idea is to inspire youngsters to take up sports and shun drugs, said officials.

Pvt hospital in Barnala charged with aborting foetus
Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

Barnala, June 18
The police today registered a case against a private hospital in connection with the abortion of a foetus.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Barnala, Sawarn Singh Khanna said the police had registered a case against the private hospital under Section 4 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 and Section 23 of the PNDT Act, 1994.

Besides, Section 204 of the IPC (destruction of document or electronic record to prevent its production as evidence), Section 316 of the IPC (causing death of unborn child), and Section 312 of the IPC (causing miscarriage) had also been added to the FIR, the DSP added.

The DSP said that as per the complaint on June 14, the woman had gone to a private hospital where she underwent a check-up by an ultrasound machine to know whether she was carrying a male or female baby.

When she came to know that she had a female baby, she opted for abortion.

After some time, her condition became serious and she was referred to another private hospital at Barnala where she narrated the incident to the doctors, he added.

The DSP said the matter came to the notice of the health authorities also, who raided the private hospital and brought the matter to the notice of the police.

Barnala civil surgeon Dr Renu said after receiving information about the ultrasound examination of a pregnant woman and abortion of female foetus, a team of the health department visited the private hospital and found the seal of the ultrasound machine loose.

She said the machine had been sealed about one-and-half-years ago and the case is still in the court.

The civil surgeon said the health authorities sealed the machine again and informed about the police. 

Vasundhara Raje visits historic gurdwara Buddha Johad
Our Corresondent

Abohar, June 18
Aimed at winning over the dominant Sikh farming community, Rajasthan BJP state president and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today visited the historic Gurdwara Buddha Johad on the second day of her Suraj Sankalp Yatra in Sriganganagar district.

She assured the farmers that all efforts to pursue Punjab government to allow Rajasthan its due share in canal water would be made if the BJP is voted to power in the Vidhan Sabha elections expected after a few months.

Jaitsar village sarpanch Madhu Kanwer, who had won awards for spearheading rural development and social awareness campaigns, welcomed Raje by offering a Rajasthani chunri at a rally held in the grain market.

Youth wing leader Ravi Kaushik and Nohar legislator Abhishek Matoria also addressed the gathering. 

Dwellers of illegal colonies block road
Our Correspondent

Abohar, June 18
Hundreds of residents of Brahma Nagari, Durga Nagari and the adjoining unauthorised colonies today blocked the Kandhwala link road that connects this sub-divisional town with bypass and further provides link to scores of villages located on the Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojna road.

The protesters led by Banwari Lal axed trees and used them to block the road besides staging a dharna for an indefinite period. They kept shouting slogans against the state government for not releasing funds to the local Municipal Council run by the BJP to redress their grievances.

The protesters said the situation had worsened as some officials and social activists dumped waste material to plug pot holes on the road that has been out of use following the recent downpour. They conceded that residents of the colonies had been discharging waste water on the road since the colonizers had not provided for a drainage system.

Neither had the Municipal Council nor PUDA initiated legal proceedings against the colonizers who might not avail of the benefit of revised rules for such colonies due to vested interests. The protesters refused to listen to the police officials who visited them to find a way out. 

3 Abohar kids among four drown while bathing in reservoir
Our Correspondent

Abohar, June 18
Spending summer vacations with maternal parents cost three children their life as they along with one of their relatives were drowned while taking bath in a reservoir near the industrial area in neighbouring Sriganganagar today.

Notably, a teacher Mahabir Suthar and his brother Rajinder Suthar were drowned in a reservoir in their field in village Karanpura (Sriganganagar) yesterday.

Investigations indicated that one of them slipped into the tank while trying to fetch water and his brother drowned while trying to rescue him.

Sarpanch Lal Chand Poonia has lodged a DDR under Section 174 of the CrPC with the police. The bodies were cremated after getting post-mortem examination conducted at the Civil Hospital.

Tragedy struck two families of migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who had settled at Abohar.

Gaurav (9) son of Guddu Chauhan, a resident of Street No. 7 in Nai Abadi here had gone to spend summer vacations along with Golu (8) and Bholu (6), sons of Murlidhar Rajput of Kandhwala Road (Nai Abadi) to Sriganganagar. They along with their cousin Ankit (9), son of Indermal Yadav, crossed over the barbed wire to take bath in a reservoir located in the farm owned by Ranjeet Sihag.

As they shouted for help, a girl raised an alarm. Two farmers, Krishan Jakhar and Yogesh Jakhar, immediately contacted the shopkeepers at the main road and the farmers of village Sihaganwali to join the rescue operations. The four kids were brought out and shifted to the district hospital by calling the 108 emergency ambulances. But the doctors on emergency duty declared them as brought dead.

District Collector Shriram Chauradia, district police chief Santosh Chalke, additional district magistrate Ummaid Singh and assistant superintendent of police Manoj Chaudhary were among the officials who visited the civil hospital and tried to console the parents of the kids. Three bodies are being shifted to Abohar for cremation.