B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Cops in a fix as elopement case gains political overtones
Faridkot, July 14
The Faridkot police has landed in a difficult situation in a case concerning a girl who allegedly ran away with a minor boy. The incident has acquired political overtones in Veerewala village here.

Muktsar DAC reels under staff shortage
Muktsar, July 14
Due to the acute shortage of staff, the functioning of various departments is being affected in Muktsar district. For instance, a PCS officer has been given four additional charge. Apart from it, the number of employees working at the District Administrative Complex (DAC) is also half of what is required, as per the norms.

Petrol pump staff robbed of cash
Fazilka, July 14
Three unidentified motorcycle-borne miscreants allegedly looted Rs 46,000 from a petrol pump situated a stone’s throw away from the city police station located in a thickly populated area on Saturday at 9 pm.

Cops in a fix as elopement case gains political overtones
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, July 14
The Faridkot police has landed in a difficult situation in a case concerning a girl who allegedly ran away with a minor boy. The incident has acquired political overtones in Veerewala village here.

Though the police has recovered the girl and the minor boy is recuperating in the hospital after he was allegedly thrashed by the girl’s relatives, the problem facing the police is that of two rival political groups-both demanding that the police take legal action against their opponent for their involvement in kidnapping and criminal assault on the boy.

Two days ago, a girl living on the outskirts of Faridkot allegedly ran away with a minor boy of an adjoining village, Veerewala. An hour after the incident, the girl’s relatives and the police recovered the girl. The boy was given a severe thrashing by the girl’s relatives and the police had to rescue him.

Fearing a threat to the life of the girl by her livid family members, the police did not hand over the girl to her family. Yesterday in the evening, the girl was produced in the court of Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM), Faridkot, to record her statement.

In her statement, the girl declined that she was kidnapped. She did not even name her relatives for the criminal assault on the boy.

But it was not the end of the case. Now, two political rival groups in Veerewala village in Faridkot are demanding that criminal cases be registered against their opponent. In the recently held Panchayat elections, both these groups were in fierce contest for the post of sarpanch.

As the family of the boy owes allegiance to one group, the other group wants the police to register a case of kidnapping and also involve the leader of rival group for his involvement in the alleged kidnapping case.

The other group is also building pressure on the police to register a criminal case against the leader of the rival group for his involvement in the criminal assault on the minor boy.

“We are facing very difficult situation. Instead of taking the case to a logical conclusion, the political rivals in the village are using the case to settle scores,” said JJ Singh, station house officer (SHO), Faridkot.

As the boy is a minor, the police is more interested in settling the dispute in an amicable way, but political rivalry is blowing the incident out of proportion, said the SHO.

Muktsar DAC reels under staff shortage
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, July 14
Due to the acute shortage of staff, the functioning of various departments is being affected in Muktsar district. For instance, a PCS officer has been given four additional charge. Apart from it, the number of employees working at the District Administrative Complex (DAC) is also half of what is required, as per the norms.

VPS Bajwa, SDM, Muktsar, has been given the addition charge of District Transport Officer (DTO), GA to DC, Administrator of Market Committee in Muktsar and Bariwala towns. For the last few months, he has been looking after these offices, which otherwise require separate officers for their smooth functioning.

However, he is not the lone person looking after so many departments. Some other employees too from the clerical staff, including senior assistants, assistants, clerks and stenos have been given two charges.

A visit to the DAC revealed that if one has to deposit the traffic challan, one has to make rounds of the SDM and DTO offices and sometimes wait for a long period too, because the officer has to handle the functioning of a number of offices, which has made his job cumbersome.

Earlier, the market committees were under the control of a chairmen, who were generally political appointees. But since these posts have been lying vacant, they are also under the SDM. The post of GA to DC is also lying vacant since March, after the recently appointed PCS officer Charandeep Singh was transferred.

SDM, Muktsar, VPS Bajwa said, "I am trying my best and following the instructions of my seniors. Except for it, I can't make any comment in this regard."

Varinder Dhosiwal, general secretary, DC Office Employees' Union, said, "The state government is giving a 
step-motherly treatment to the district. Though every year, huge funds get sanctioned for the development of this district, which enjoys the special status of being the home district of CM, yet nobody has paid heed to sanctioning more staff and make the functioning of administration a smooth affair."

Giving details about the staff shortage, he said of the total 147 clerks required , only 58 have been sanctioned and 89 more are required. Similarly, 20 senior assistants, six stenos, four drivers, 19 sewadars, five sweepers, four sweeper-cum-chowkidars three gardeners, two gardener-cum-chowkidars and one head sewadar are also required as per the norms.

It is worth mentioning that the employees of the DAC have lodged a number of protests in this regard, but their demand has not been fulfilled as of yet.

Recently, they had observed a pen- down strike and even threatened that they would go on mass leave.

Petrol pump staff robbed of cash
Site of crime near police station
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, July 14
Three unidentified motorcycle-borne miscreants allegedly looted Rs 46,000 from a petrol pump situated a stone’s throw away from the city police station located in a thickly populated area on Saturday at 9 pm.

According to police sources, three persons came on a motorcycle. One of them stepped down and snatched a bag containing about Rs 46,000 from the employees of Madan Mohan Gawri Petrol Pump when they were counting the cash. The pump is situated on the court road near busy railway crossing. It is stated that they came on a white motorcycle and decamped with the booty towards Malout road.

Sanjay Kumar, a petrol pump employee, said he tried to chase the miscreants but they disappeared. The police immediately reached the site and cordoned off the area but to no avail.

On the basis of the statement of Sanjay Kumar, city police, Fazilka, has registered a case under section 356 of the IPC against three unidentified persons.

SHO Lekh Raj said police teams have been sent to different directions to nab the accused.