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Punjab Shamlat
Plunder-7
Minister to staff: Initiate steps to free shamlat land
Farmers’ plight: Centre may relax procurement norms
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DSGMC asks poll panel to act against Rahul
Judicial panel members meet Pak prisoners in Amritsar jail
Pak top lawyer to come searching for his roots
UK Sikh woman accused of theft let off
Case against dera chief
adjourned till March
High Court penalises govt for not replying to petitions by doctors
Man behind 20 robberies held
SAD leader booked for thrashing ASI
Cops, drug smugglers in battle of wits
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Punjab Shamlat
Plunder-7
Jalandhar, October 26 The land belongs to Begowal nagar panchayat. At least 2-3 acres is under occupation of Sant Prem Singh Khalsa High School, a 95 per cent grant-in-aid school run by Bibi Jagir Kaur and her family. The remaining land is being used by the Bholath MLA for agriculture. Such blatant is the violation that despite a panchayat notice in August 2009, a boundary wall was constructed around the land. "Seeking a probe, local resident George Subh had approached the Lok Pal in 2011. The Lok Pal had entrusted the probe to its Inspector General, but it failed to take off. Bibi Jagir Kaur and her family continue to pocket money earned from the common land," alleged Khaira, who has been pursuing the case for over three years. "RTI queries have shown that the land belongs to the nagar panchayat. There is no record as to how and on whose orders the name of the school's president entered in the revenue records. In the initial girdawaris, only the school's name was mentioned. Bibi got her name entered in the records without orders from the competent authority," alleged Khaira. Though the land was shown as given on lease to Bibi's school, no lease money was ever paid to the nagar panchayat. "The community or residents of Begowal have not been benefited in any way from this land," said Khaira. "As an MLA, I had filed a formal complaint with the Chief Secretary on June 23, 2010 against Bibi. The Chief Secretary had promised to get a report from the Kapurthala DC and take necessary action. But, no action has been taken and nobody bothered to inform me on the status of my complaint," rued Khaira. Refuting the allegations, Bibi said: "The shamlat land has been with the school for over 60 years. The land was given in 'murabbabandi' as there was no school in the area at that time. Thousands of students have been benefited since then. It is a different matter that the records still show the nagar panchayat as its owner. I don't know what Khaira wants to prove by raking up the issue again and again," Bibi said, adding that she had already provided all the documents pertaining to it to the Lok Pal. DS Mangat, Deputy Commissioner, Kapurthala, said he had not received any complaint in this regard. "Before my taking over the current assignment, an inquiry was conducted by the SDM and report sent to the government in 2011. I can only take action if there is a complaint," said Mangat. The Principal Secretary, Lok Pal, was not available for comments. ‘Misuse of power’ *
Begowal nagar panchayat's 12.2 acres of land is under "illegal possession" of Bibi Jagir Kaur *
At least 2-3 acres is under occupation of Sant Prem Singh Khalsa High School, a 95 per cent grant-in-aid school run by Bibi Jagir Kaur and her family *
The remaining land is being used by the MLA for agriculture for monetary gains
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Minister to staff: Initiate steps to free shamlat land
Chandigarh, October 26 Rakhra, who reviewed various rural schemes today, also sought a report on the extent of land that had been encroached upon. He directed the Deputy Directors, posted at divisional headquarters, to prepare a detailed report. The Minister sought to know how much panchayat land had been leased out, what proportion of it was in illegal possession and how much was under litigation? He directed the officials to file cases in appropriate courts irrespective of the influence or political affiliations of the encroachers. For the last one week, The Tribune has been highlighting how thousands of acres of shamlat land has been usurped by the land mafia allegedly in connivance with politicians, panchayat representatives and revenue officials. At several places, land has been leased out at rates much lower than that prevailing in the market (Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 per acre a year).
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Farmers’ plight: Centre may relax procurement norms
Chandigarh, October 26 With the central team reportedly finding paddy coming to the mandis as discolored and damaged more than the prescribed limit, the government is likely to come to the rescue of the farmers by allowing procurement agencies to procure paddy damaged beyond the 4 per cent limit. Sources said the team, headed by Mahinder Kumar, Deputy Director, Ministry of Food; and AK Sinha, assistant general manager, quality control, FCI; had visited 33 mandis in 11 districts. They collected 70 samples of paddy from mandis in several districts, which will be analysed by the Central Grain Analysing Laboratory in Delhi to assess the extent of damage and discoloration (expected in four days). The government will then take a call on relaxing specifications for procuring damaged/discolored food grains. It may be noted that the team has been sent to Punjab on the request of Food and Civil Supplies Minister Adesh Pratap Kairon, who had said that because of damage to paddy in certain parts, the procurement agencies were unable to buy the produce. The past one week also saw distress sale of paddy by farmers. Some farmers even dumped their produce in canals after it was rejected by the agencies. Farmers in some districts were being forced to sell paddy at Rs 200 per quintal less than the MSP to private millers/traders. Due to this, the share of private traders in the purchase of paddy is high this year. Of 67.89 lakh tonnes paddy procured so far, private millers have purchased 4.85 lakh tonnes. The state procurement agencies have managed to procure 60.14 lakh tonnes of paddy, while the FCI's share is just 3.01 lakh
tonnes. Relief on the way *
Untimely rain has adversely affected the quality of paddy in the state * Procurement agencies have denied buying paddy damaged beyond the prescribed limit *
There are reports of distress sale of paddy by farmers * Agencies may be allowed to procure paddy damaged beyond the 4 per cent limit
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DSGMC asks poll panel to act against Rahul
New Delhi, October 26 In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, the DSGMC has demanded appropriate action under the People’s Representation Act against Rahul for hurting Sikh sentiments and “violating the election code of conduct”. “SAD is pained to read the speech delivered by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in his election rally on 23.10.2013 at Churu in Rajasthan in which he had stated his grandmother was killed. My father was assassinated and perhaps I may also be killed one day,” states the letter by DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK, who has demanded strict action against Rahul. “While delivering such a communal speech, he has reopened and refreshed old wounds of anti-Sikh carnage of 1984,” pointed DSGMC general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
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Judicial panel members meet Pak prisoners in Amritsar jail
Amritsar, October 26 The committee includes former Pakistan judges Mian Mohammad Ajmal and Abdul Qadir Chaudhary and Justice MA Khan (retd) from the Indian side. Talking to mediapersons, Mian Mohammad Ajmal said they had interacted with Pakistani nationals and found overall living conditions in the jail satisfactory. "There are few problems. We have taken up these with the jail authorities," he said. The committee is looking into ways to expedite the process of repatriation of prisoners who have already completed their sentence. "Some of the prisoners have completed their sentence. Our purpose is to identify them and expedite their repatriation," said Ajmal. He said the Pakistan government would reciprocate efforts by the Indian government. He said issues concerning prisoners of both the countries needed to be taken seriously. He said some prisoners had lost their balance of mind because of prolonged stay in jails.
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Pak top lawyer to come searching for his roots
Jalandhar, October 26 Having held the post twice from July 1993 till November 1993 and from 1996 to 1997, Sajjad would be visiting his birthplace. He was born on March 30, 1941, at Suraj Ganj locality near Jyoti Chowk. Currently in India on a six-day personal visit with his family, Wasim, however, does not remember the exact location of his ancestral house, which he never visited post-Partition. He called up Jalandhar-based advocate Navtej Singh Toor --- both have a common acquaintance in Pakistan --- seeking his help to locate the house. “Wasim called me from Pakistan about a week ago before he embarked on his Indian visit, which ends on October 28,” said Toor. Sajjad’s grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Sharif too was a lawyer. He used to practise in Jalandhar and he went on to become a Judge in the Lahore High Court in 1943. Toor, a former chairman of the Punjab and Haryana Bar Council, today visited Suraj Ganj and tried to locate the house that once belonged to Sajjad’s grandfather. He is learnt to have zeroed in on three locations. Jalandhar Sub-Divisional Magistrate (II) Paramjit Singh has been deputed to receive the visiting dignitary. “The former Pakistan acting President will reach Jalandhar at 8 am and stay here till noon.” He will then return through the Wagah border.
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UK Sikh woman accused of theft let off
London, October 26 Satnam Kaur was due to go on trial over the allegations centred around the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) at Albyn Place in the Scottish city of Aberdeen last week. However, a sheriff at Aberdeen Sheriff Court ruled that the paperwork was incompetent as the words "by authority of Her Majesty's Advocate" were missing from the indictment against 30-year-old Kaur, the BBC reported. The blunder meant the document failed to show that the case had been officially authorised by Scotland's top legal officer. Kaur, from Aberdeen, was alleged to have taken cash from two accounts while working as a customer adviser for RBS. It was claimed she withdrew money as euros and deposited a 120,000-pound cheque into her own account. The court was told that the customers suffered no financial loss as a result of the alleged incidents and she was sacked from her job after the allegations came to light. — PTI
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Case against dera chief
adjourned till March
Bathinda, October 26 Dera head's counsel Kewal Brar said the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bathinda on April 2, 2012 passed orders of personal appearance of the dera head and the same were upheld by the Additional Sessions Judge. A petition challenging both the orders was moved in the High Court. Its next date of hearing is February 17, 2014.
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High Court penalises govt for not replying to petitions by doctors
Chandigarh, October 26 Justice Ajay Tewari took serious view of the Punjab Government’s conduct in not filing reply. The retired doctors had challenged the exclusion of non-practicing allowance (NPA) for computation of pay towards calculation of pension. The petitions were filed in 2010-2011, but the state government did not file its reply for a considerable period, and eventually filed its reply through principal of Government Medical College, Amritsar. The High Court did not accept that reply and issued directions that since a notification issued by the state government had been challenged, the reply be filed by the Principal Secretary, Department of Finance. Still, the State Government did not file its reply.
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Man behind 20 robberies held
New Delhi, October 26 The man has been identified as Iqbal alias Babu, resident of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said Iqbal was arrested in 2006, but escaped in 2007 when he was brought to Delhi for a court appearance.
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SAD leader booked for thrashing ASI
Mohali, October 26 A casr has been registered against Parminder, a zila parishad member from Sohana zone, and his three accomplices. ASI Jagmal Singh, a driver in the pilot vehicle of Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, was shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Sector 32, from where he was discharged post-treatment. Sources said Jagmal reportedly failed to make way for the car in which the accused were travelling, which infuriated the latter. The victim alleged he was forcibly stopped near Mauli Baidwan village and thrashed. Sohana, however, refuted the allegation. He claimed it was Jagmal who had hit his vehicle and sped away. The SAD leader even called a press conference to plead his case. Deputy Superintendent of Police Ajinder Singh said a case had been registered and investigations were on.
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Cops, drug smugglers in battle of wits
Bathinda, October 26 Hundreds of miles away in Punjab, a group of policemen would be, at some point of time, concentrating hard on the same mode of transport to pre-empt where the smugglers would store the booty next. Over the years, this particular means of transport has been at the centre of the battle of wits between men in khaki and drug smugglers. Every time, policemen think they have seen the last place - a new culvert, a hole, a cabinet, a compartment, improvised floor, roof, toolbox - for concealing drugs, the smugglers seek to outwit them by devising a new means of hiding the contraband. Officials of the Counter Intelligence Wing of the state police say they have found over 35 ways of stuffing drugs somewhere in a truck. IG Counter Intelligence Jatinder Jain says right from the front part of the vehicle to the rear, the smugglers have used every possible space they can find to smuggle drugs. “And when they can’t find space, they create cabinets, make a false floor, a compartment or a culvert. They have already exhausted places like tool box, fuel tank, tyres, engine, chassis, seats, steering wheel, gear box, doors and the all-time favourite space under the sack,” Jain says. The IG says they have found at least two cases each of smugglers creating a long cabinet along the sides of the truck and beneath the floor. “Such concealing of drugs went unnoticed initially. In one case, we let the truck driver leave with the vehicle, only to catch him later when we thought the sides of the truck may have been improvised”. Narinder Bhargava, SSP, Mansa, says they have caught smugglers hiding the booty in the fuel tank, well packed in polythene bags. They even create cavities in the rear cover and on the sides.” Last month, the Mansa police nabbed two smugglers who had created a compartment on the floor to store opium. “They had welded it so neatly that we could bust the place only when it sounded hollow when tapped,” Bhargava says. “For poppy husk, the standard practice is to conceal it in gunny bags containing fruits and vegetables, especially onions so that even sniffer dogs cannot find out the hidden drug. Two months ago, we found drugs packets inside glucose powder bags,” the SSP says. On an average, at least 10 FIRs are lodged and 11 drug addicts/ smugglers are nabbed daily in the Bathinda zone covering Mansa, Bathinda, Fazilka, Faridkot, Muktsar, Ferozepur and Moga districts. NS Dhillon, IG, Bathinda zone, says 2,308 cases were registered till August 31 this year. About 2,700 persons were nabbed and 281 vehicles were impounded. The counter-intelligence wing nabbed 134 smugglers and seized 47 kg of heroin, 25,000 kg poppy husk, 60 kg opium, seven imported weapons and about Rs 5 lakh in fake currency till August this year. Where’s the booty *
Every time, policemen think they have seen the last place for concealing drugs, smugglers devise a new means of hiding the contraband *
Common places to hide drugs in a truck are tool box, fuel tank, tyres, engine, chassis, steering wheel, gear box, etc Pak criminals using sophisticated weapons Amritsar Drug smugglers based in Pakistan seem to have changed their strategy for pushing contraband into the Indian territory. While they earlier used to prefer wee hours, they have now started carrying out the illegal activity in early hours of the night. Besides they are now increasingly coming armed with sophisticated weapons at the border to execute their nefarious designs. This is perhaps for the first time that an AK-47 rifle has been recovered from smugglers. Earlier, they used to be armed with country-made or Chinese pistols. In fact, the seizure of the AK-47 has worried the BSF officials. MF Farooqui, DIG, said the smugglers had changed their strategy following the operational changes made by the BSF to counter their activities.
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Sukhpal Khaira, former Bholath MLA and PPCC spokesman, alleged Bibi's proximity to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had been working in her favour and that probes, instituted by the authorities from time to time, had failed to yield anything.