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Ghaggar flood threat keeps residents on tenterhooks
26 villages flood-prone in Khanauri, Moonak areas of Sangrur
Govt fails to notify panel to fix basmati price
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Modi rally to strengthen state unit, says Kamal
‘A political stunt ahead of LS poll’
Dilapidated buildings threat to public safety
Punjab defers extension of Mohali MC limits extension
Rural pharmacists block Sangrur-Patiala road
Agriculturists owning land beyond
border fence decry ‘meagre’ grants
Book scam: Central team sifts through procured material
Utilise ex-servicemen’s skills: Guv
HC rejects theatre owners’ plea
for quashing entertainment tax
Slug: Malerkotla firing case
PPCC secy booked for
abetment to suicide
Refusal to support panchayat poll aspirant costs man his life
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Ghaggar flood threat keeps residents on tenterhooks
Patiala, June 18 While the water level is below the danger mark as of now, villagers fear the worst if it rains more in the days ahead. Seasonal floods during heavy monsoon are a norm in these areas with loss to both life and property after heavy inflow of water in Ghaggar which then floods nearby villages. While the district administration and the irrigation department has started some de-silting work to clear its bed, heavy rains in the hills and sudden rise in the water table causes floods as the sheet spread is not possible due to construction and agricultural activities near the river bank. “We are never safe living here (near Ghaggar), but there is nothing much we can do other than crib. Politicians and political outfits have announced solutions many times, but nothing concrete has been done. Floods can spoil our lives anytime during the monsoon,” said Harchandpura resident Gurmeet Singh. “While Haryana has raised a concrete wall to save its villages, Punjab needs to do something similar to save its residents,” he said. Flowing from the Shivalik hills, this seasonal river passes through the districts of Patiala and Sangrur, where it causes the maximum damage during monsoonal floods. In 2010, floods caused by this river had caused a huge loss to thousands of residents in Patiala and Sangrur. Deputy Commissioners of Patiala and Sangrur are on their toes to ensure that the 2010 situation is not repeated. Work on cleaning the river bed and strengthening the river banks is on. The Sangrur administration has geared up with boats and temporary evacuation centres as well. “We have completed over 60 per cent of the work to tackle floods. Grants were released to the irrigation department ahead of the monsoon period to ensure that we are able to save our villages from floods,” said Patiala DC GK Singh. “We have set a control room for that and all flood control measures are in place to tackle the problem,” he stated. Meanwhile, even as the administration claims to have geared up for flood relief work, villagers are already prepared to shift their ration to the first floor of the house and have set up temporary kitchens. “This is an annual ritual wherein we shift our belongings and kitchen on to the first floor,” said Samana resident Parminder Singh, who runs a shop. A few decades ago, this river used to spread its water in its banks, which were almost 500-metres-wide at certain places, due to which, the excess water got spread and caused minimal damage. But with the passage of time, illegal buildings came up alongside the river, and the damage increases every year.
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26 villages flood-prone in Khanauri, Moonak areas of Sangrur
Sangrur, June 18 The flood-prone villages include Andana, Banarasi, Baopur, Banga, Badalgarh, Ghamurghat, Fulad, Kudni, Ganota, Handa, Hotipur, Nawan Gaon, Bhundar Bhaini, Surjan Bhaini, Chandu, Mandvi, Bushaira, Makror Sahib, Kherri and Moonak. The administration has set up seven flood control rooms at Khanauri, Sangrur, Andana, Lehra, Moonak, Sunam and Malerkotla. The main flood control room for the flood-prone villages has been set up at RD-460 at Khanauri, whose mobile phone number is 98725-84726. The control rooms will function round the clock. Forty four divers have been deployed in Moonak and Khanauri areas. As many as 15 boats, 35 oars, 35 life-jackets and four motor engines have also been arranged to tackle any flood situation. Five medical teams will be available to the people as flood-prone villages have been divided into five sectors for the purpose. The administration has appointed 16 nodal officers. These include General Manager (GM) of PRTC, Civil Surgeon, Moonak SDM, deputy director (animal husbandry), SP (Headquarters) and executive engineer (Drainage). For villagers to be shifted during any flood emergency, 11 "safe" locations have been identified in Moonak and Khanauri areas. These are in Banarasi, Banga, Fulad, Rampura, Ganota, Nawan Gaon, Salemgarh, Mandvi, Bushaira, Moonak and Makror Sahib villages. Empty gunny bags are yet to be procured for plugging breaches or strengthening bandhs. Sangrur DC Kumar Rahul said there was no need to worry as the administration already had some stock. He added that the procurement of gunny bags was in process as the monsoon normally arrived in July. He said the state government had provided more than Rs 1 crore for executing flood protection work.
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Govt fails to notify panel to fix basmati price
Chandigarh, June 18 The crop is being touted as an alternative to coarse paddy varieties, which consume more water and take time to mature. Considering the fact that no other crop gives the same returns as paddy, the government had devised a strategy to encourage farmers to go in for basmati cultivation as it is sown during the monsoon period in the first week of July and also because it consumes less water due to early maturity. Accordingly, the government had decided to give an assured market price for basmati paddy to the farmers and even persuaded traders and rice millers to adhere to the state price once it was announced by promising them they would not be levied various taxes. These include the rural development fund (2 per cent tax), market fee (2 per cent) and infrastructure development fund (3 per cent). The move is expected to translate into a Rs 200 crore benefit to rice traders in Punjab. Sources said though Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal approved the formation of the committee, to be headed by Punjab Farmers Commission chairman Dr GS Kalkat, it could not be notified as the government had failed to decide on its constitution. According to the proposal formed by the government, the committee is to have members from rice traders, millers, farmers and the Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. The sources said as the Chief Minister was abroad and expected to come back by June 23, the formation of the committee had been delayed. The delay is likely to affect the government’s diversification initiative. Farmers in the state who went in for basmati cultivation last year suffered tremendously due to low prices, which were engineered by relatives of prominent politicians in the rice trade in league with other traders. This year, the state had received timely rains coinciding with the transplantation season. Farmers have already sowed 15 to 20 per cent area under coarse paddy varieties. When questioned, Agriculture Commissioner Dr Balwinder Singh Sidhu admitted there had been a slight delay in announcing the assured price, but said there was still some time to do it as basmati was sown in the first week of July. He said he was hopeful that the area under basmati would increase as the government was committed to facilitating the announcement of an attractive assured price. Millers said the proposed assured price could be between Rs 2,400 and Rs 2,500 which would benefit the farmers. The calculation has been made on the basis of export agreements finalised by rice traders after the government announced relief from three important taxes being levied from them. The government aims to increase the area under basmati cultivation to 10 lakh hectares in the next three years. Last year, the figure stood at 5 lakh hectares. Sources said due to the delay in the announcement of the assured price this year, the area was likely to increase only by one lakh hectares.
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Modi rally to strengthen state unit, says Kamal
Bathinda, June 18 Modi will be the chief guest on the martyrdom day of the founder president of the Jan Sangh Shyama Prasad Mukherjee at Madhopur in Pathankot where his statue will be installed. Since it will be Modi's first public meeting outside Gujarat after his appointment as chairman of the BJP's election committee, the state leadership is putting an extra effort to make it an impressive show. The rally has provided an opportunity to the BJP to show its strength as it would be an exclusive BJP show without the participation of its alliance partner SAD although Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will be present. Sharma, who has been touring all parts of the state to mobilise support for the rally, today summoned office-bearers of 11 BJP districts of Malwa for a review meeting. Sharma said he was expecting thousands of people to participate in the rally. He said he had held meetings of all 33 district units of the party in this connection. Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, who is Punjab BJP in charge, is actively involved in the preparations. Sharma said Modi's visit was expected to strengthen the BJP in Punjab and improve its electoral fortune. He said he was in favour of setting up a memorial of civilians, policemen and others who had lost their lives in militancy related incidents in the state.
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‘A political stunt ahead of LS poll’
Amritsar, June 18 They claimed the Union Government had started disbursing the grants, which remained suspended for 14 years, only to garner votes in the next parliamentary elections slated for mid-2014. They also blamed the state government for "doing politics" by failing to get the grants released from the Centre. They also blamed the state government for "doing politics" by failing to get the grants released from the Centre. "Why did the SAD-BJP government kept mum for the past several years when they remained in power and why did they choose to take liability for just one year? It was announced only to gain political mileage," said Rattan Singh Randhawa, a Jamhoori Kisan Sabha leader.
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Dilapidated buildings threat to public safety
Chandigarh, June 18 While most unsafe buildings in the state continue to remain occupied, the authorities need to act immediately to avoid any untoward incident. Amritsar MC faces legal hurdles Amritsar: The city has a number of dilapidated buildings and that, too, in densely populated areas. The civic authorities have already ordered a survey to identify old and crumbling buildings which pose risk to the human life. The survey was done last year as well. The authorities had identified 113 unsafe buildings and had even demolished some in Dholi Mohalla on the Sultanwind road, Maini Chowk in Lakshmansar, Tabela Jagatram in Namak Mandi. In most cases, the officials faced legal complications as the buildings are occupied by tenants for more than five decades and the owners have moved the court for getting their properties vacated. A resolution is possible only if some policy is made at the administrative level. In 2011, when a series of building collapsed during heavy rain, the district administration, in collaboration with the MC and the Improvement Trust, had submitted a policy with the Ministry of Local Bodies. The administration had sought that occupants of such buildings be offered alternative accommodation. But even after lapse of two years, the ministry is yet to reply. Most unsafe buildings are located in Dharam Singh market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Namak Mandi, Gali Chhajju and Guru Bazaar, Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh and Haveli Zamidara. Several others are located adjacent to or on way to the Jallianwala Bagh and the Golden Temple. All these areas are densely populated and witness heavy commercial activities everyday. Besides, there are some government schools which are run from dilapidated buildings. Three government schools, an anganwari centre and the Block Elementary Education Office (Amritsar-I) are functioning from a historical building on the Mahna Singh Road. Six rooms of the building, built in 1940, accommodate over 200 students of all these schools. Similarly, Government Elementary School, Sharifpura, is running from a dilapidated building. The roof of three rooms has already fallen. The school authorities are left with three rooms to accommodate students of Classes I to V. Its construction is caught in bureaucratic rigmarole. Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said: "A survey is being conducted to identify unsafe buildings. Most government offices running from such buildings have been shifted, but residential and commercial areas need immediate attention. We are planning some preventive measures on a priority basis to avoid any mishap during the rainy season". 30 unsafe buildings in Ludhiana Ludhiana: With the monsoon hitting the region, people living in areas where unsafe buildings exist are spending sleepless nights these days. There are more than 30 buildings in the city that have been declared unsafe by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation so far. Most of these buildings are situated in the old city areas and have tenants living for decades. One such building was demolished by the MC in Islam Ganj area today. A portion of the same building had collapsed due to rain on Saturday. Monica Anand, Assistant Town Planner (Zone B), said the building was demolished as it posed a threat to the people living in its vicinity. "We took the action even as the building's owners and tenants are fighting a court case. But we did not demolish a shop, the matter regarding which is sub-judice," she said. In August 2011, two such buildings were demolished in Mali Ganj area. Officials of the MC's building branch said in most cases, the building owners had waged a legal battle against tenants. "When we issue demolition notices to the occupants, the latter take the plea that the matter is sub-judice and thus, the building cannot be demolished. Some occupants even manage to get stay orders from the court," said Kanwaljit Kaur, Assistant Town Planner (Headquarters). During a survey conducted last year, 27 unsafe buildings were identified in Zone A, one in Zone B and a few buildings in Zone C and Zone D. These unsafe buildings not only include private properties but also government offices and schools. A government school in Field Ganj area, the wall of Qila Mohalla, Civil Surgeon’s office, some private properties near Bajwa Nagar have been declared unsafe by the MC. Structures not razed despite order Bathinda: Buildings of several government schools declared unsafe by the PWD still stand tall, thanks to a conflict between the Education Department and the PWD over the authority to dismantle these. Last month, the Director General of School Education (DGSE) had directed the respective schools to raze unsafe structures, but the directions have not been followed so far. In Bathinda district, 184 rooms in government primary and senior secondary schools have been declared unsafe. Of these, while 125 rooms are located on the premises of 32 secondary schools, the remaining are in primary schools. Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, has 15 rooms that have been declared unsafe by the B&R Department. Government Senior Secondary School in Kuti village has five unsafe rooms where classes are also held. Similarly, Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Maur Mandi, has several such rooms. There are 1,200 students in the school. These schools as well as a few others continue to use unsafe portion of their buildings as there are not enough classrooms. The purpose of identifying unsafe structures was to dismantle these and construct new ones before the onset of the monsoon. But, this was not done. Madan Lal, Superintending Engineer, said it was up to the school authorities to get unsafe buildings dismantled. "We have identified unsafe buildings and given a list to the authorities. It is now the responsibility of these schools to get the structures razed," he added. In Jalandhar, no survey since 2007 Jalandhar: Unsafe buildings in congested areas of the city do not seem to fall in the priority list of the municipal corporation authorities. In fact, the MC has not even bothered to conduct a survey of such buildings in the past six years. There were nearly 65 unsafe private buildings in the city as per a survey conducted in 2007. The MC has also not bothered to ensure that such buildings are demolished. Only one dilapidated structure in Mohalla Purian was demolished in the last 10 years. The survey had reported that of 65 buildings, 23 are so dangerous that they are either tilted or have some portion crumbled. The rest are said to be relatively safe with a few repairable cracks. Seven of these 23 buildings are mired in litigation while the owners of the other three could not be traced. The MC officials have expressed their helplessness in demolishing these 10 buildings. Most unsafe buildings fall in the old city areas, including Thapran Mohalla, Mitha Bazaar, Malkan Bazaar, Mai Hiran Gate, Mohalla Kahlowali, Saidan Chowk, Rasta Mohalla, Panj Peer Bazaar, Bohr Wala Chowk and Dhan Mohalla. There are several unsafe government buildings as well. The office of the Block Development Panchayat Office (BDPO), East, is housed in a dilapidated building in Abadpura on the Nakodar Road. The office has 27 employees. Several government schools in the city, including those in Rainak Bazaar, have seven rooms which have been declared unsafe. Patiala heritage buildings unsafe Patiala: It seems that the Public Works Department and the Municipal Corporation are waiting for a mishap to take place before acting against unsafe buildings in the district. Over 12 buildings, many housing government offices, are in poor shape and need immediate repairs. A communiqué in this regard by the Patiala Deputy Commissioner last year remained unnoticed as the departments concerned failed to take any action. The royal city has many heritage buildings. A number of these are being used as residences of administrative officers. Several others, most of which are unsafe, house government offices. Most of these buildings are in Baradari Gardens. Most buildings house offices of senior police officers and are visited by hundreds of people from across the region. "Parts of these buildings keep crumbling. A few years ago, some guests of the then IG were sitting in the office when a portion of the ceiling suddenly fell on the table," claimed a policeman. "We fear that some mishap might take place, particularly during the rain season. But, the authorities have never bothered to initiate repair works", he said. Patiala Deputy Commissioner GK Singh said: "I had written to the PWD and the MC a year ago, but nothing has been done. It is not safe to work from such buildings. I will again write to these departments". Meanwhile, several other buildings in the district are also in poor shape. The authorities blame poor maintenance on fund crunch. (With inputs from GS Paul in Amrtisar, Puneet Pal Singh Gill in Ludhiana, Jupinderjit Singh in Bathinda, Deepkamal Kaur in Jalandhar and Aman Sood in
Patiala)
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Punjab defers extension of Mohali MC limits extension
Mohali, June 18 The resolution was approved by the authorities on June 13 and a communiqué was received at the local MC yesterday. Today, the authorities took a U-turn on the issue as the Department of Local Bodies sent a communiqué to the Mohali MC, stating that the matter of extension of limits of the MC had been kept pending. There is no mention of the span for which the matter has been kept in abeyance. A senior official of the Punjab government claimed that the MC resolution on merging new sectors and the villages in its area was passed by mistake. "You can term it as a typing mistake. Today, it has been rectified," said the official on condition of anonymity. He added that the decision has to be taken at the ministerial level, so the Department of Local Bodies has no power to approve it. Earlier, residents of certain villages, proposed to be added in the MC limits, had begun celebrations following the publication of news of passing of the resolution by the government in the media.
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Rural pharmacists block Sangrur-Patiala road
Sangrur, June 18 They also blocked vehicular traffic by staging a dharna in front of the Zila Parishad complex on the Sangrur-Patiala main road for about an hour. They raised slogans against the Punjab government. Meanwhile, their dharna at the Zila Parishad here today entered the 18th day while the hunger strike by four agitators entered its second day. The protesters were demanding that their services should be regularised on the pattern of rural medical officers (RMOs). They were also demanding that the pharmacists and the Class IV employees should be given salary equal to that of the regular pharmacists and the Class IV employees for the time being. District president of the Rural Veterinary Pharmacists Association Amrik Singh said they lifted the road blockade when the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Jatinder Singh Tung visited the dharna site and assured them that their demands would be forwarded to the state government.
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Agriculturists owning land beyond
border fence decry ‘meagre’ grants
Gurdaspur, June 18 The farmland is a stone’s throw away from the India-Pakistan border and is located beyond the (Indian) fence. The compensation is paid as the BSF does not allow the agriculturists to take tractors, combines and other farm equipment to their fields. Also, the farmers can only till their fields from 10 am to 4 pm. Cultivating crops like sugarcane, which grow more than three feet in height and act as a hindrance for surveillance, is not allowed. The amount was distributed among over 700 farmers — they own 270 acres of land — at a “meagre” rate of Rs 3,000 per acre. The last time they had received compensation was in 1999 when due to the Kargil war, the Army had laid down mines on their fields and the farmers could not till their land. But the amount then was Rs 11,600 an acre. For 14 long years after the war, the grants were forgotten till the Centre woke up from its slumber this year and sent the amount to the Punjab Revenue Department. Angrez Singh of Azampur village claimed the amount was too less. “Apart from increasing the rate of compensation, the authorities should do something to protect our crops from wild animals. The tilling timings (currently from 10 am to 4 pm) should also be given a re-look. The right time during the summer is from 6 am to 2 pm,” he said. Similar sentiments were echoed by another affected agriculturist, Hazura Singh: “We are getting relief at a rate decided over a decade ago. The compensation parameters of that period are redundant now. The cost of agricultural inputs has increased manifold. The amount should at least be Rs 15,000 an acre. If possible, the state government should also chip in with a matching grant.” A case of too little, too late Farmers have been paid an amount of Rs 3,000 per acre by the Centre through the Punjab Revenue Department The grants were last released during the Kargil War in 1999 The rate then was Rs 11,600 an acre as mines were laid on the farmland, rendering it uncultivable For 14 years after the war, the Union Government failed to provide any grants Why the grants The compensation is given to the farmers on account of the restrictions imposed on farming in border areas The BSF does not allow the agriculturists to take heavy farm machinery to their fields The farmers can only till their fields
fro10 am to 4 pm There is also no protection for their crops from wild animals and natural calamities Cultivating crops like sugarcane, which grow more than three feet in height, is not allowed as these hinder visibility and prove an obstacle for surveillance
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Book scam: Central team sifts through procured material
New Delhi, June 18 Sources in the Human Resource Development Ministry said among different aspects being probed was the content of the textbooks published in Gurmukhi. They said the probe was taking long as the text in Gurmukhi had to be translated to other languages and then authenticated. The team, comprising Under Secretary (Finance) Arun Kumar, Chief Consultant (Procurement) K Gopalan, Assistant Professor (National Council of Education Research and Training) Ranjana Arora and literature expert Subir Shukla, was in Punjab last week. It was appointed after the Punjab Congress had submitted a memorandum to Union Human Resource Development Minister MM Pallam Raju. It had alleged the involvement of state Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka in the misappropriation of grants and irregularities in the purchase of library books and science kits for government schools under centrally sponsored schemes, including the Sarv Siksha Abhiyaan and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan. The state Congress had also demanded that the central team should investigate the utilisation of grants totalling around Rs 1,800 crore that were released to Punjab under various schemes over the last six years. The party memorandum had alleged that Maluka had set up committees to procure library books for government-run primary schools and science kits worth crores of rupees. Jakhar meets Ahmed Chandigarh: Punjab Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar has apprised Shakeel Ahmed, the new in charge of party affairs for Punjab, about the alleged book and science kit scams committed by the SAD-BJP alliance government in Punjab. A party release said during a meeting at New Delhi on Tuesday, Jakhar told Ahmed that major part of the funds released by the Centre under various welfare schemes had been "misused" by the state government. —TNS
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Utilise ex-servicemen’s skills: Guv
Chandigarh, June 18 Presiding over the 32nd meeting of the Rajya Sainik Board and the 28th meeting of the State Managing Committee for administration of the Punjab Amalgamated Fund for welfare of ex-servicemen here today, Patil added that the existing institutions in the state should also be approached to impart the required skills training to ex-servicemen. Describing ex-servicemen as most disciplined, the governor asked officers to impart them security training so that they could be adjusted in private security agencies for employment in the industry and banks etc. He said there is major scope in the tourism sector too. He said tourists were coming to Punjab to visit villages and were happy to stay in huts rather than in five star hotels. He said if such huts were constructed for tourists, ex-servicemen were the right persons to entertain them. The governor said, "We owe a great debt to the soldiers who have spent the prime of their lives on protecting the nation's boundaries and maintaining peace in the country. It is, therefore, our moral responsibility is to give top priority to the welfare and well-being of their families." — TNS
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HC rejects theatre owners’ plea
for quashing entertainment tax
Chandigarh, June 18 The significance of the order can be gauged from the fact that 47 petitions were filed in the matter. In reply, the State had claimed that that only a press statement was issued by the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister. It said: “The matter regarding relief to the cinema owners was under consideration of the government….It was a simple proposal, which could not materialise as the government could not identify the alternative avenues to compensate the loss going to be incurred due to this relief to the cinema industry”. The State also told the Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Ritu Bahri during the hearing of petitions filed by Ludhiana-based Naulakha Theatre and other petitioners that the Bill was not even introduced in the Assembly for discussion. The petitioners had earlier claimed that the cinema industry in the State was on the verge of closure, as the owners were suffering loss due to high rate of entertainment tax. In response to their representations, the government decided to give 33 per cent concession in entertainment tax, if deposited in lump sum. They added the decision, taken by the Cabinet, was incorporated in the annual budget for 2003-04 presented before the Assembly on March 24, 2003. The petitioners claimed they deposited the lump sum entertainment tax. But in September 2004, the demand was raised on the ground that notification was never issued by the Punjab Government. The petitioners’ counsel argued that the “State Government represented on the floor of the House that concession on entertainment tax has been given and acting on such representation, the petitioners not only deposited the entertainment tax at the reduced rate, but also invested in the renovation of the cinema theatres”. During the course of arguments, counsel for the parties conceded that entertainment tax was abolished in April 2008. Dismissing the petitions, the Bench asserted: “The petitioners were running cinemas and continued to run cinema even after the speech of the Chief Minister/Finance Minister…. It is the convenience of the visitors, which was taken care of by the cinema owners, when they provided better facilities and infrastructure or when they screen big budget films, which will obviously gave better revenue to the petitioners as well”.
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Six arrested for sheltering Malerkotla firing accused
Sangrur, June 18 The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Sangrur, Mandip Singh Sidhu, today said in the Malerkotla firing case, three attackers had been identified so far. They are Mohammad Wasim, Gahia and Mohammad Iftkhar, all residents of Malerkotla. They are gangsters and have criminal cases pending against them in police stations, he added. The SSP said Wasim, Gahia and Iftkhar were yet to be arrested but six persons who had provided them shelter had been apprehended. The names of those arrested are Sukhwinder Singh alias DC, Lakhwinder Singh, Gurwinder Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Gurwinder Singh Ghuman Kalan and Ram Singh. The police also recovered a 315 bore rifle, a .12 bore rifle, an air gun and cartridges from them, he added. The SSP said all the six had been arrested from the house of Surjit Singh at Einabajwa village (Sherpur). He said the police would also register a case against Surjit Singh, the owner of the house, and a former sarpanch of Kangarh village (Dirba) Harwinder Singh for providing rifles to the six members of the gang, he added. The SSP further said any person supporting criminals or giving them shelter would not be spared and will be treated as a criminal. The police has registered a case against them at Sherpur under Sections 212, 216, 216-A and 120-B of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 29, 30, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.
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PPCC secy booked for
abetment to suicide
Ludhiana, June 18 The victim, identified as Mohammed Khurshid, whose two sons were rounded up by the police in connection with a yarn theft case, died due to cardiac arrest. Khurshid’s death sparked protests in Tibba road area today. The residents alleged that Almudin was pressurising the victim for arranging Rs 60,000 for getting his two sons freed from the police. . Tension gripped Jodhewal Basti area as the residents demanded stern action against the PPCC leader and the police officers concerned of the CIA staff for rounding up the “innocent” youths and demanding money to release them. On the backfoot, the police today booked Almudin Saifi, Nasim Sirfata and Ahsaan under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and 120-B of the IPC. The victim’s nephew Mohd Khurshid alleged that the incident took place yesterday morning when the trio picked up a fight with his uncle's two sons Baseem and Nafis. Later, Almudin allegedly gave false information to the police (CIA) that Baseem and Nafis were wanted by the Jamalpur police in connection with a yarn theft case. The duo was subsequently picked up by the police. It is alleged that when the victim expressed his inability to arrange the amount, Almudin told him to sell his house. Police Commissioner Paramjit Singh Gill said stern action would be taken if any department official was found involved with Almudin. Balwinder Singh, Station House Officer (Basti Jodhewal), said Almudin and his aides were on the run. Role under scanner Almudin Saifi, PPCC secretary, and his two aides allegedly demanded Rs 60,000 from Mohammed Khurshid The amount was demanded to “secure the release” of his two sons, rounded up in a theft case When Khurshid expressed his inability to pay the amount, Almudin reportedly told him to sell his house Unable to arrange money, the victim died of cardiac arrest on Monday evening
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Refusal to support panchayat poll aspirant costs man his life
Morinda, June 18 The victim, Amarjit Singh, was allegedly beaten to death by co-villagers Sukhdev Singh and his father Avtar Singh when he reportedly refused to support them in the July 3 elections in the state. In her complaint to the police, Amarjit’s wife Jasvir Kaur stated that Sukhdev was planning to contest the panchayat poll. “Yesterday evening when my husband was returning from the fields, Sukhdev and Avtar stopped him and asked him to support them. When he refused to do so, the accused beat him to death,” she alleged. The victim was taken to a hospital where doctors declared him brought
dead. Ropar Senior Superintendent of Police Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti said both the accused had a criminal background. While Avtar had already undergone imprisonment in a murder case, Sukhdev was facing trial in several cases, he said. The police said the accused are yet to be arrested.
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Once considered a lifeline for the villages alongside its bank, the river Ghaggar is now being termed as the ‘River of Sorrow’ due to the occasional floods it has caused in the past over a decade.
BJP state president Kamal Sharma today said the first rally of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at Pathankot on June 23 is likely to see a massive response as his visit has generated a lot of enthusiasm among state party activists.
Protesting against non-acceptance of their demands, rural veterinary pharmacists and rural health pharmacists, along with Class IV employees, today kept the main gate of the Zila Parishad complex shut for about half-an-hour here.
Gurdaspur, June 18
