Ludhiana, September 21
Realising that the question papers sent online had already been leaked the Punjab School Education Board has sent two fresh papers of science and English to the District Education Officers (DEOs) by hand. Besides, the timings of papers have been changed to 10 am. The schools will collect the papers on Monday morning itself (on the day of the examination).

Paramjit Kaur Chahal, District Education Officer (secondary), said that the Board had sent the papers. On being asked whether all schools would be informed about the question papers on time, Chahal said, "We have already sent mails to all 527 schools in the district. All the schools have been informed and there is no problem. They will collect the papers on Monday".

On Monday, the students of class IX will appear for their science paper while the class X students will take their English paper for the Summative Assessment I, which is going on in government schools for classes between VI and XII.

Appreciating the "late" move taken by the Board, one of the principals of a government school said that though it would become difficult for the schools to get the question papers collected from the DEO, still it was a welcome step since it was for the betterment of the students.

"Question-papers sent online were certainly not a viable decision taken by the Board, unless it was fool-proof. The media had even published the question papers, purchased by students for Rs 500. We are being told by the Education Department that the standard of education needs to improve in schools, but if the papers are being leaked then we are playing with the future of the students. Only principals and headmasters should have an access to question papers ", said the principal. 

Ludhiana September 21
The police arrested a person for raping his 13-year-old daughter in the Jassian road area today. The accused has been identified as Charanjit Singh (40), a resident of Prem Nagar, Jassian road.

The girl said the accused had been raping her for the past three months, following which she became pregnant. The matter came to light when the victim told her mother about the gory act on Friday.

The victim’s mother, who works in a factory, said when she returned home on Friday, she found her daughter crying. When she asked her what had happened, first she hesitated to narrate the incident. On persuasion, the girl told her mother that she was being raped by her father for the past three months.

The victim’s mother lodged a complaint with the Salem Tabri police station in this regard. Taking action on the statement of the victim's mother, the police registered a case under Section 376 of the IPC and Section 4 of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act - 2012 against the accused.

The accused works as an electrician and was an alchoholic. The victim’s mother works in a factory and used to leave the house in the morning for work. The victim is a student of class VII and used to take care of the house and two younger siblings.

Ludhiana, September 21
Problem Solving Assessment Test, conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education, which was scheduled for January 10, 2014 earlier, has now been postponed for about a week.

Harmeet Kaur, principal, Nankana Sahib Public School here said the test is taken throughout the country for the students of class IX and XI. “It is basically a general awareness test, which is being conducted for the students by CBSE. It is a part of their formative assessment,” said the principal.

Principal of BCM School Paramjit Kaur said since the test was conducted at National level, it was to be ensured that all the schools open after the winter-break. “In hilly-areas, the winter break goes long, so the CBSE has changed the date of test,” she said.

CBSE is taking the test for the second time. Harmit Kaur added that test was conducted to make the students aware about their surroundings. “Actually, this is a kind of foundation given to them so that they can compete at International level. 10 per cent marks will be given to the students in the boards and the test is considered as FA 4. It is a mental ability test, which is mandatory and the CBSE provides certificates to the students,” said Harmeet Kaur adding that such tests are important for the overall growth of the students. She said most of the times, students are burdened under routine syllabus and studies but these personality assessment or mental reasoning tests, gave them confidence.

Ludhiana, September 21
Core Banking System would be introduced by postal department in the city, within a year, according to SSPO city- division RL Meena. He said Head Post-Office and Sub-Post Office, Model town have been short listed to start CBS.

ATM's would be installed at both the post offices.

Core Banking System would by offered at the post offices to offer banking facilities at the post office. Because of the large number of post offices in urban and rural areas, banking facilities would reach to a large number of places, where the reach of banks is limited.

"There are few banks in rural areas, whereas post offices are much more in number. With banking facilities coming to post offices, people in rural areas would get more accessibility of the banking system," said an official at the postal department.

Core banking facilities at post offices would also aid in making the postal department more relevant in the current times when quantity of postal mail has come down drastically after the advent of internet and mobile technology, he said.

Ludhiana, September 21
A new wing ‘Research and Development Centre' was inaugurated today at Dayanand Medical College & Hospital by Dr AV Chainulu, director DSIR, Ministry of Science and Technology. The aim of the new centre is to conduct research pertaining to health problems of our society which are different from other regions, said, Prem Gupta, secretary, managing society at DMCH.

The hospital has kept a separate fund of Rs 2 Crore for the research. Already, a team of 30 individuals is working in the research and development wing and useful data will be available for the benefit of patients of this region. Dr AV Chainulu informed that Dayanand Medical College is one of the few medical colleges in the country which has been recognised as a centre for research by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR).

He said the centre must concentrate on a few areas rather than researching in many fields. He said researchers and the centre must be focused on becoming a centre of excellence for a few areas at the national level and conduct path- breaking research at international level for those areas rather than frittering away their energy by focusing on many areas.

Khanna, September 21
Simmi Batta, a resident of Khanna and an old student of AS College, Khanna, who has been selected to participate in World Senior Karate Championship, was honoured at AS College by college principal RS Jhanji.

Ludhiana, September 21
Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu's case should be an eye-opener for those who have shifted their loyalties from the Congress to the SAD (B) in the district. Punjab Youth Congress (PYC) Chief Vikramjit Chaudhary said this today. He was in Ludhiana to hold a meeting of the Youth Congress leaders to chalk out the details of the statewide PYC “Padyatra” that starts on October 2 from the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar.

Denying that there were fissures in the Congress, the PYC Chief said those who had switched their loyalties for vested interests would soon realise their folly. “The Punjab Congress is united and our 'Padyatra' will showcase this unity,” he said.

Refusing to comment on the possibility of Sidhu entering the Congress fold, Chaudhary said such issues were worked out at the level of the Congress High Command. However, he said all those who raised their voice against the SAD (B) highhandedness were welcome to associate with the Congress.

Chaudhary alleged that "centralisation" of power in the hands of a few SAD (B) leaders was responsible for "poor governance" in the state.

He flayed the Akali-BJP government for "misrepresenting facts" about the Centre-sponsored schemes.

"The ‘Atta Dal Scheme’ of the state government is sustaining only because of the subsidised food grains being provided by the Congress-led UPA government,” he said.

Chaudhary also questioned the rationale behind the state government's “hurry” to acquire the prime agricultural land of the farmers. Assuring the farmers that the Congress will secure justice for them, he said: “Why can't the state government wait till the new Act of land acquisition, which secures the rights of the land owners fully, gets notified and becomes a law?”

Meanwhile, speaking about the PYC “Padyatra”, Chaudhary said the focus of the “Padyatra” would be on highlighting the achievements of the UPA-I/UPA-II government's flagship programmes such as the Right To Information, Right to Work (MGNREGA), Right To Education, Aadhaar, Direct Benefit Transfer, Land Acquisition Bill and Food Security Bill.

“The Congress will reach out to the youth of the state that is feeling cheated and frustrated by the non-fulfilment of various promises made by the SAD-BJP alliance in their manifesto,” he said.

The “Padyatra”, which would conclude on October 31 in Jalandhar, would cover all 13 Parliamentary Constituencies and pass through 70 Assembly Constituencies, Chaudhary said.

Ludhiana, September 21
Burglars struck at a local government school and decamped with food grains and a gas cylinder on the intervening night of September 19 and 20.

Kamaljit Kaur, head teacher at Government Elementary School at Bahiro Munna village, registered a complaint with the Sahnewal police station that some unidentified persons broke into the kitchen of the school and decamped with a gas cylinder and 50 kg rice stored for the Mid-Day Meal.

The investigation officer said the thieves only targeted the kitchen of the school and stole rice and the gas cylinder. All other rooms of the school were safe.

Kulwant Singh, SHO, Sahnewal police station, said: “The government school is not away from the locality and it also has a boundary wall. The thieves must be aware of the fact that the school has no security guard. We have registered a case against unidentified persons and started investigations”.

It is pertinent to mention here that theft incidents in government schools have become common these days. Due to the absence of security guards at government schools, they become an easy target for burglars.

Police officials said: “After the launch of the Mid-Day Meal scheme, theft incidents have increased in the schools. According to an estimate, every school keeps utensils, gas cylinders, stoves, food grains and other things for the preparation of Mid-Day Meal in the kitchen. But, there is no security arrangement for all these things in most of the schools”.

Ludhiana, September 21
Financially crunched Municipal Corporation has failed to provide salaries to hundreds of its class IV employees due to the paucity of funds. Three weeks had already passed and the class IV employees are struggling to get their salaries for this month.

Realising how difficult it would be for class IV employees to run their homes without monthly salaries, Commissioner MC Rahul Tiwari and three additional commissioners, including Isha Kalia, Sumit Jarangal and Devinder Singh, had decided that from this month onwards, all these officials will draw their monthly salaries at the end of the month only after salaries are paid to all the employees of the corporation.

The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has been facing difficulty in generating revenue as the House Tax was abolished from April onwards. Though, in lieu of house tax, property tax had to be implemented by the government but due to the "higher rates" quoted by the authorities, the property tax drew flak from all quarters.

As per information, there are about 7,000 employees in the Municipal Corporation, which include engineers, inspectors, road cleaning/sanitation employees, sewer men, officials, clerks and superintendents, who are to be paid monthly salaries of about Rs 18 crore to Rs 20 crore per month. The major sources of the revenue generation were house tax and the monthly grant of VAT (in lieu of Octroi). Since house tax was abolished and property tax could not be implemented, the corporation suffered financial crunch.

More than 5,000 workers in the MC belong to the class III and IV category and they were provided the salaries at the end of the month.

Ludhiana, September 21
The cast and crew of the upcoming Punjabi movie “Aaashiqui Not Allowed” were in the city today for the promotion of their film. The star cast, along with the producer of the movie, Sikander Ghumman, visited the Punjab College of Technical Education (PCTE), Baddowal, and Kelong restaurant.

Jagraon, September 21
A BA final-year student of Lajpat Rai DAV College Jagraon, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her house in the Lehndi Bhaini Basati area of Jagraon. The deceased has been identified as Harpreet Kaur.

The incident came to light when the family members of Harpreet Kaur saw her hanging from the ceiling fan in her room at night. The family members of the victim immediately informed the police about the incident, following which a police team reached the spot and began investigating the incident.

The police took the body in its custody and sent it for a post-mortem examination to Civil Hospital, Jagraon. On the basis of the preliminary investigation, the police suspected that it was a case of suicide, even though no suicide note was found from the victim's room.

The police is yet to establish the exact cause of Harpreet Kaur’s death. However, the police has initiated the proceedings after registering a case under Section 174 of the CrPc at the Jagraon city police station.

"We have started investigating. Right now, it appears to be a suicide case, but it is too early to reach to a conclusion. The exact cause of death is not clear and we are investigating the case from different angles. The picture will become clear once we obtain the post-mortem report", said Mohamad Jamil, SHO, Jagraon.

Sources said the victim was under depression for the past some months due to which she committed suicide.

"Harpreet was suffering from depression because she failed to clear English paper in the BA second year examination. It was due to this reason, Harpreet took the extreme step", said a source close to the family of the victim.

The lecturers who taught Harpreet at Lajpat Rai DAV College said Harpreet was a bright student.

“Apart from being good in academics, Harpreet was equally good in sports and cultural activities. She used to take part in cultural activities with a lot of enthusiasm. But she declined to get involved in cultural activities in the current session to concentrate on her studies", said a lecturer on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the police handed over Harpreet’s body to her family members after conducting a post-mortem examination this afternoon. 

Doraha, September 21
The 46th State Junior Boxing Championship organised by Guru Nanak Model Senior Secondary School at Dr Ishwar Singh Memorial Hall of Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, concluded today.

Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, PWD Minister, Punjab, was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony. Dhillon was highly appreciative of the grand endeavour undertaken by the school and the college in organising the state-level boxing meet. He lauded the efforts of the school to promote various sports, especially boxing. Jaipal Singh, boxing coach of India, was the special guest on the occasion. It was attended by vice-president of the school, Harpartap Singh Brar, manager Tarlok Singh Jaggi, Jogeshwar Singh Mangat, director Jaswant Singh Gill, Rajinder Singh Khalsa, principal Dr NS Sidhu, principal DP Thakur, among others. They encouraged the participants and wished them luck.

Boxers from various districts of Punjab like Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Patiala, Batala, Hoshiarpur, Fazilka, Muktsar, Ludhiana, Tarn Taran, etc., showcased their skills on the concluding day of the championship.

The results of the final day are as follows. Akahsdeep of Barnala; Gurwinder of Ludhiana-B; Sodish of Patiala; Jaideep of Batala; Manish Sharma of Shaheed Udam Singh Academy; Karandeep of Chakar; Kuldeep of Patiala; Anil of Patiala; Jatinder of Patiala; Lovejot of Ludhiana; Ashok of Sai Training Centre, Mastuana; Navjot of Moga; Teja of Sangrur; Jaskirat of Patiala; Sandeep of Sai Training Centre, Mastuana; Sanjay of New Generation Youth Academy, Jalandhar; Ajay of Amritsar; Jeevan of Mansa; Kulveer of Amritsar; Azadveer of Ludhiana; Jagdeep of Malerkotla; Gurkirat of Ropar; Sukhjit of Moga; Amit of Patiala; Taranjit of Patiala; Jasmeet of Jalandhar; Gurwinder of Jalandhar; Punjab of Patiala; Jarmanjit of Tarn Taran; Gurwinder of Patiala; Varinder of Patiala; Ashish of Ferozpur; Manbir of Tarn Taran; and Sukwinder of Ludhiana emerged victorious.

The other winners are:

Men’s Bantam (56 kg): Navjot of Moga, Sunil of Sangrur; Men’s Welter (91 kg): Sandeep of Ludhiana, Harpartap of Amritsar Sahib, Arshdeep of Ferozpur, Akashdeep of Sai Training Centre; Men’s Light Fly (46-49 kg): Akashdeep of Barnala, Sudeesh of Patiala; Men’s Fly (53 kg): Karandeep of Chakar, Kuldeep of Patiala; Men’s Bantam (56 kg): Jatinder of Patiala, Navjot of Moga; Men’s Light (60 kg): Lalit of Sai Training Centre, Jaskirat of Patiala; Men’s Welter (64 Kg): Sandeep of Sai Training Centre, Ajay of Amritsar Sahib; Men’s Welter (69 kg): Kulvir of Amritsar Sahib, Gurkirat of Ropar; Men’s Light Heavy (81 kg): Punjab of Patiala, Gurvinder of Patiala; Men’s Heavy (91 kg): Ashish of Ferozepur, Mandeep of Tarn Taran; Men’s Super Heavy (91 kg), Harpartap of Amritsar Sahib, Akashdeep of Sai Training Centre; Men’s Middle (75 kg): Amit of Patiala and Jasneet of Jalandhar.