Ludhiana, July 5
A rape victim, who is a resident of Hawas village, was allegedly assaulted by her perpetrators this morning. The victim was on her way to an aanganwari where she works as a helper.

She alleged that two of the rape accused, Gurmeet Singh and Gurdev Singh, along with their accomplices, attacked her with sharp-edged weapons.

The villagers soon intervened and reportedly rescued the woman. She was taken to the Meharban police station, from where she was rushed to the Civil Hospital.

The woman has suffered serious injuries.

The victim alleged, "The accused threatened me to withdraw the case filed against them. The two had assaulted me 10 days ago as well. I had reported the matter to the police, following which a probe was marked. The accused enjoy political backing and have no fear of law."

Meharban SHO Jatinder Singh said the police had recorded the victim's statement and initiated a probe.

It is not the first time that the rape victim has resented the sluggish police investigations.

She had recently met the vice-chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Raj Kumar Verka, who had sought an action-taken report within three days and told the police to add sections under the Atrocities Act so that the victim could be compensated, but the police did not pay heed to Verka's orders.

The accused, identified as Mann Singh, former sarpanch of Hawas, panchayat members Achar Singh, Gurdev Singh and Gurmeet Singh were booked under Sections 376, 363 and 120- B of the IPC for kidnapping and raping a woman on April 9 after a DNA test confirmed that the woman was raped and had given birth to a girl child.

Major Singh, who was posted at the Meharban police station, when the incident took place, was also sent to the police lines for siding with the accused.

While Mann Singh has reportedly fled to Canada, the other accused are roaming freely. Getting a case registered against Mann Singh was not a cakewalk for the 40-year-old woman. The woman ran from pillar to post for nearly 13 years to get the case registered.

It was in 2000 that she first lodged a complaint with the Meharban police stating that the sarpanch's aides kidnapped her and took her to Mann's house where he raped her. The woman alleged that Mann Singh even made an obscene video. Her repeated requests fell on deaf ears of the police department.

After getting no respite, she approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010. Taking a cue from the paternity case of veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari and his son Rohit Shekhar, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the Ludhiana Police Commissioner to take DNA samples of the sarpanch to establish the paternity of the 17-year-old girl.

The DNA reports testified that the girl was the daughter of Mann Singh.

Narrating the tale, she said, "I came in contact with the sarpanch 18 years ago. He was a self-styled godman then and had a considerable following. As I was childless, I used to visit various shrines seeking blessings for a child. One day, Gurmeet Singh, along with his accomplices, came in an auto-rickshaw and kidnapped me. They took me to Mann Singh's house and raped me." She said seeking justice was not an easy task as she alleged that she was implicated in false cases at the behest of Mann Singh.

Ludhiana, July 5
The kin of eight-year-old girl, who was kidnapped, raped, murdered and then dumped at a vacant plot in New Shakti Nagar near Jodhewal Basti, today visited Mini Secretariat to meet the Commissioner of Police seeking justice.

However, they had to return disappointed as the Commissioner, PS Gill, was not in office. "We will visit the Mini Secretariat tomorrow. It has been over two months, still the police has failed to nab the accused. We are fed up with the sluggish pace of probe. Whenever we visit the Jodhewal police station to know the status of the case, the officers ask us to trace the accused. If I have to look for my daughter's killer, then what is the job of the police," said the victim's father.

The mutilated body of the eight-year-old girl, who had gone missing on April 22 from the New Shastri Nagar area in Jodhewal Basti, was found in a vacant plot at New Shakti Nagar on May 11. She was playing with her friends outside her house.

Anees and Nadeem, both ragpickers, spotted the body and informed the police.

A kidnap case has been registered against the accused.

Ludhiana, July 5
The newly elected sarpanches' celebration jig is giving sleepless nights to residents of villages.

Expressing resentment, residents of Partap Singh Wala village said the sarpanches and their supporters kept dancing to the beats of 'dhol' till midnight.

The late-night celebrations kept the city police on toes. Rumours were doing the rounds that the supporters of the winning and losing candidates had clashed and fired gunshots.

"No clash took place in the village. It was a rumour and no shots were fired. When we reached the village, the residents started complaining that the supporters of the winning candidate were not letting them sleep. Though the results were declared on Wednesday, the supporters of the winning candidate were seen celebrating even on the next day. The party lasted till midnight," said Amarjit Singh, SHO, Haibowal police station.

He said the supporters were asked to stop the music and let the residents sleep.

While at some places the defeat did not go down well with the candidates. There were reports that some candidates had even damaged doors of houses after consuming liquor. They accused the residents of backstabbing them. "Residents fear that the supporters might clash at night as both the groups enter into heated arguments after consuming liquor and throw challenges at each other. We are scared," said Jasbir Kaur, a resident of Meharban village.

Jasbir Kaur's domestic help, Rani, was allegedly assaulted by the son of a winning candidate. The accused intercepted Rani and assaulted her. She had to be rushed to the Civil Hospital. Residents of Meharban village gathered at the hospital and protested against the winning candidate's son.

Ludhiana, July 5
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation is in the process of preparing a master plan for outdoor advertisement. The plan will address issues related to location of signboards, hoardings and unipoles as per the policy formulated and notified by the state government.

As the term of advertising agencies expired on June 30, the MC field staff had been directed to remove hoardings, unipoles and banners fixed at various locations in the city. Besides, the process has been set in motion for the appointment of a consultant to prepare the master plan.

Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria and MC Commissioner RK Verma have put their foot down and refused to entertain the plea of the advertising agencies for extension of their lease agreement on pro rata basis till the new policy is put in place. Talking to The Tribune, MC Commissioner RK Verma said the MC, as of now, could not go for an ad hoc arrangement as the government had notified the Punjab Municipal Outdoor Advertisement Policy, 2012, which lays down that the rights for putting up hoardings and unipoles should be granted for a minimum period of three years.

“The new policy also stipulates specific provisions for aesthetics, traffic mobility, safety of pedestrians and motorists while also taking care of the guidelines of the Punjab and Haryana High Court about hoardings and sign boards on highways causing distraction to the vehicle drivers," said Verma.

MC Additional Commercial Isha Kalia said the objective of the master plan was to put in place a long-term arrangement for mediums of outdoor publicity like billboards, hoardings, unipoles and bipoles along with street furniture and public conveniences in such a manner that these maintain the character of the city, the aesthetic sense while also ensuring that the advertisements put on the roadsides do not pose any traffic hazard. “The master plan will not be revenue imperative but will endeavour to add to the beauty, cleanliness and road safety," she said.

Jagraon, July 5
Twenty-four-year-old Gagandeep Kaur has been elected the sarpanch of Bhanohar village.

Gagandeep Kaur has proved that women are in no way behind. Her father Satinderpal Singh has also served as the sarpanch of the village for 14 years.

Gagandeep Kaur has set an example for the other girls of the village.

"Determination and grit can help one achieve the goal," said Gagandeep Kaur.

The villagers are proud of her. With Gagandeep's election to the post of sarpanch, the residents are envisaging a developed village.

Nasib Singh (72), who resides in the same village, set a record of becoming the panchayat member for the 10th consecutive time. Nasib, who belongs to the SC category and works as a mason, said he first contested the panchayat elections in 1962 when Partap Singh Kairon was the Chief Minister of Punjab. Since then there has been no looking back for Nasib Singh. "If everything goes well and my health permits, I will contest the next panchayat elections as well", said Nasib Singh, who is still young at heart.

Ludhiana, July 5
The officials of the Municipal Corporation (MC) and the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) were at the receiving end during the spot visit of the members of Estimates Committee of Punjab Vidhan Sabha to several ongoing and stalled developmental projects in the city.

Led by Prem Mittal, SAD legislator from Mansa, six other members of the committee inspected the under-construction railway overbridge that will replace Lakkar Pul, project for covering the open drain from Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran, Mini Rose Garden in Kidwai Nagar, Budha Nullah, indoor stadium on Pakhowal Road, sewerage treatment plant at Bhattian and commercial complex constructed by Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) on Maharani Jhansi Road.

Expressing their dissatisfaction over the delay in completing most of these projects, the legislators told the civic body and PWSSB officials to take necessary steps in order to expedite work.

MC Commissioner RK Verma said the visiting legislators were informed that the remaining work on the railway overbridge was being carried out by a private agency under the supervision of construction wing of Northern Railways. The railway officials, Verma said, had been assured that the up-ramp of the overbridge from the Clock Tower side will be completed by the end of this month.

The MC officials also told the members of the committee that ongoing work of the indoor stadium was also nearing completion, and the final design for the roof had been approved and handed over to the construction agency.

Commenting on the overall progress of the developmental projects, the MC Commissioner, after the spot visit, said that in addition to the resource crunch which was partly responsible for the delay, there were some issues related to coordination and management which were being sorted out to pave the way for early completion of all the projects.

Ludhiana, July 5
Even as monsoons are just setting in, uncut grass and weeds aplenty already present a picture of wilderness in government schools.

These not only make the school premises look shoddy and restrict the play area for the schoolchildren, but also are a threat as snakes have been spotted in such areas at some of the schools.

Schoolchildren say they do not go to the grounds as high-growing grass makes it impossible to play. "We don’t play in the school ground as it gets very uncomfortable. Mosquitoes and insects sting us while we play there. There is the danger of snakes as well," says Ramandeep Singh, a Class IX student.

School authorities say they can not do much, as they have limited funds for such maintenance works. With the posts of gardener lying vacant in most of the government schools, there is no one to keep a check on this problem.

"We have written to the Education Department to fill the vacancies of gardener and other support staff, but nothing has been done so far," says a government school principal.

"The schools need good lawns and well-maintained gardens, but how much can we pay from the existing funds. The vacancies should be filled by the government," the principal says.

Another school principal says that human rights organisations send complaints about the uncut grasses, which are sent to the education department.

“Instead of doing anything about it, the department asks us for the reasons behind ill-maintained grounds,” he says.

“It is the duty of the government to fill the vacancies to ensure maintenance, rather than seeking explanation from the schools about the ill-maintenance," the school principal says.

District Education Officer Paramjit Kaur, however, puts the onus on the school heads for clearing the grounds, using the available funds.

“It is necessary as students’ safety is of utmost importance. The expenditure incurred by the schools can be reimbursed later,” she says. 

Ludhiana, July 5
Sixteen-year-old Tarun Arora, who fled to Delhi after allegedly being subjected to corporal punishment, was brought back to the city today.

The police found the boy at the Old Delhi railway station around 2.30 am, said Tarun’s uncle Munish Munjal.

"He is fine, but in a state of shock. He ate food and went to sleep. He had never been alone before. Fortunately, he did not fall victim to any anti-social element," said Munish.

Tarun fled from his house after allegedly being subjected to corporal punishment by his mathematics teacher. He allegedly was slapped and made to stand with raised arms in front of the entire class.

Feeling embarrassed, he decided to flee. On reaching Delhi, he exhausted the money he was carrying, and sent an SMS to his father Charanjit Arora, an FCI employee.

The police swooped into action and traced the missing boy to the Old Delhi railway station.

no clue to whereabouts of 12-yr-old boy Twelve-year-old Sarvesh Salvan who, after the flash floods in Uttarakhand, got separated from his family while on their way back from Kedarnath, is yet to be found. Search operation in the area being conducted by the Army and rescue workers is still on, but no clue of the boy has been found. His father, Sandeep Salvan; mother, Meenakshi; and sister returned to the city. Sarvesh Salvan

Ludhiana, July 5
On the instructions given by the Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Department, the district administration has asked the officials concerned to immediately send boats that need repair to Chandigarh.

Since the state government has hired an agency to repair boats at the state capital, administration has issued directions to send the boats and get them delivered back by July 30.

At present, the authorities have 19 boats, 15 of which boats are in working condition. Four boats, however, need repair.

District Revenue Officer Balraj Kaur, who has been given the charge of this task, said she had directed tehsildars to get the boats repaired at the earliest.

"In case of any emergency, we will need these boats. Although all the boats will not be required at the same time, we must make sure all are functional,” said the DRO.

The recent flash floods and devastation in Uttarakhand have already shaken the authorities here. Recently, officials of the drainage department were asked to give feedback after visiting the sensitive areas in the district. One of the officials said the sensitive areas were visited, following which reports were sent to the district administration. "No major problem has been observed so far,” said the official.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari said the four sub-divisions, Samrala, Ludhiana East, Ludhiana West and Jagraon, needed boats by mid-August.

These sub-divisions have four boats and one engine each. "We have sought eight more boats from the government. Some funds have been released by the Governor for disaster management as well,” said Tiwari.

Samrala July 5
Ajmer Singh, a close relative of Samrala MLA Amrik Singh Dhillon, was allegedly attacked by a member of the rival group in Nagra village. He was admitted to the Samrala Civil Hospital.

Ajmer Singh alleged that a members of the Akali Dal, who lost elections to the post of sarpanch, attacked him.

Condemning the attack, MLA Amrik Singh Dhillon said supporters of the Akali Dal were not able to digest defeat.

Kesar Singh, a congress supporter, had won the election to the post of sarpanch by defeating Akali Dal supporter Manjit Singh.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 5
Defying the common conception, women sarpanches and panches of the region have announced to work on their own for the comprehensive development of villages. They have pledged to fight against social evils, including drug addiction, gender bias and illiteracy, instead of leaving things on male members of their families or clans.

Male members of the civic bodies and office-bearers of other social and religious organisations would be roped in for the noble cause.

Acknowledging contributions of her sons and her male supporters during the election campaign, Balwinder Kaur, sarpanch of a village in Dehlon, said: “As residents have reposed faith in me, I will take important decision after consulting panchayat members irrespective of their political allegiance. The development of the village will be my priority.” Recollecting working of her late husband and former sarpanch of the village Surinder Singh, Balwinder Kaur said tips given by her husband would help her achieve the target of serving all sections of the society.

Strengthening of water supply and sewerage system, besides curbing social evils is on the agenda of Manpreet Kaur, sarpanch of Fatehpur village in Payal. Though she owes her victory to all leaders supporting her irrespective of their age and sex, she aims to work on her for welfare of one and all.

"Though we do not mean to ignore suggestions and guidance of our senior leaders, we have to come true to expectation of women of the village as they anticipate more during our term," said Manpreet Kaur maintaining that overall development of the locality will be her priority.

Panches of Falaund village led by sarpanch Beant Kaur defied the notion of calling women leaders as dummy. Having majority in the panchayat the women office-bearers stated they would give due regard to male members of the body, but will not compromise on manifesto promised with the villagers.

Kamaljit Kaur, another panch of Payal subdivision, said she would coordinate with members of other civic bodies of the region for the all-round development of the area. She envisages improving the quality of education at state-run schools of the area. 

Jagraon, July 5
In what is being seen as a blow to the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), two senior party leaders and members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which is the supreme body of Sikhs, lost the panchayat elections.

Two SGPC members, who lost the panchayat elections, include Surinderpal Singh Baddowal and Jaswant Singh Purain. While Surinderpal Singh Baddowal was in the fray for the post of sarpanch from Baddowal village, Jaswant Singh Purain was vying for the post of panchayat member from Purain village near Sidhwan Bet.

Baddowal, who had been elected as a member of the SGPC from the Mullanpur Dakha constituency for the second time, lost to his rival candidate Amarjot Singh, by a margin of 419 votes. Apart from being a member of the SGPC, Baddowal also remained the village sarpanch. His wife was the sitting sarpanch from Baddowal.

Jaswant Singh Purain, the sitting sarpanch from Purain village, was elected a member of the SGPC from Sidhwan Bet. Both Surinderpal Singh Baddowal and Jaswant Singh Purain belong to the Mullanpur Dakha Assembly segment, which is being represented by Manpreet Singh Ayali. Both Baddowal and Purain are considered close to Ayali.

Ludhiana, July 5
Three samples of sweets collected from a shop in the city have failed the purity test.

District health officer Dr Avinash Kumar said: “A team of the health department collected 35 samples of eatables in June and found three samples of sweets unsafe for consumption. The samples were collected from a sweets shop on Tajpur Road. The samples of milk cake had added starch and a strand of hair. A sample of chamcham had non-permitted synthetic colour. The sample of khoya peda had aluminium foil.”

The health officer said action would be taken against the shop owner under the Food Safety and Standard Act.

Gastroenterologist Dr LS Chawla said: “Aluminium is not absorbed in the body. It can cause injury in the intestine. Similarly, non-permitted colours can damage the intestine. It can also cause damage the vital organs like liver and kidney.”

9 samples collected
A team of the health department collected nine samples of food items. These included samples of salt and rice from Haibowal, juice from Civil Lines, cold drink and Matthies from Shiwaji Nagar, noodles, salt and juice from Dhandari Kalan and biscuit from Gyaspura.

Ludhiana, July 5
The Excise and Taxation Department has tightened noose around marble traders in the city. The department conducted raids on two marble traders and found discrepancies in the tax deposited by them.

These firms were not paying VAT according to their sales. They were selling imported marble but were showing it as Indian in the records. Sources said many more firms were under the department's scanner. Sources in the department revealed that more raids would be conducted on marble traders.

The workshops were conducted by Rashpal Bansal, a language skill expert, and Lizzy, a physiology therapist and counsellor. Lizzy apprised the teachers of the importance of guidance and counselling. She told the teachers as to how to deal with different behaviors of students, and also gave them solutions to day-to-day problems faced by students. — TNS

Ludhiana, July 5
The protest by the teachers of SAN Jain Senior Secondary School today took a new turn when the school principal too joined the agitation.

The protestors submitted a memorandum to Additional Deputy Commissioner Neeru Katyal against the setting up of a separate Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)-affiliated school on the campus of the government-aided Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) school. Principal SC Malhotra said the school management was making all the changes in the building and infrastructure of the PSEB school as its affiliation from the CBSE was due this year.

After the memorandum was submitted, Malhotra said, “Despite the school being government aided, the management failed to taken any permission from the government to open another school.” Malhotra, who had earlier said the new school was being opened after taking permission from the government and no norms were being violated, alleged he had been pressurised by the school management. The principal said he was forced by the management to decrease the strength of the school, and to divide bigger rooms into two to make way for the new school.

“Admissions to the new academic session were closed, while Class XI of the non-medical stream and Classes XI and XII of the commerce stream were also shut down by the management. The main gate and the ground area of the school were also given to the CBSE school,” said Malhotra.

Machhiwara, July 5
Farmers who have their accounts in Co-operative Bank, Ludhiana branch, Machhiwara, have to wait for hours to withdraw money. Reason: The computer at the bank is non-functional since July 1.

The farmers rue that as the paddy season is at its peak, they have to purchase diesel and pesticides. “But we have to stand in long queues at the bank to get our money. A lot of time is wasted at the bank,”€� said a farmer.

The manager of the bank, Gurcharan Singh, admitted that the computer had developed a snag. “I have intimated the officials concerned and also the company which has the annual maintenance contract about the snag. The computer will be repaired soon,” he claimed.

CRIME

Man booked for kidnapping minor girl
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 5
The Division No. 7 police has booked one person for kidnapping a 17-year-old girl on the pretext of marrying her.

The accused has been identified as Jatinder Kumar, a resident of New Madhowpur. The incident took place on June 26. The police has recorded the victim’s statement.

Ludhiana, July 5
The Dugri police has booked three persons in a car theft case. The accused have been identified as Prabhjot Singh and Pama, both residents of Dholewal, and Jomesh of Model Town.

The incident took place yesterday. Vedpal, owner of the Swift car that was stolen, said he had parked the car opposite a medical store on Dugri Road, while he went for some work.

An 80-year-old shopkeeper in Ghumar Mandi was thrashed over parking issue. The victim, identified as Puran Singh, said a man came to his shop and asked him to remove a scooter from outside his shop as he wanted to park his car. As Puran Singh had no clue about the owner of the scooter, he said he could not do it. This allegedly rattled the man and he thrashed the octogenarian. The man identified himself as Bittu, said the shopkeeper.