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DGP Sumedh Saini told to appear before trial court
BHOLA’S DRUG RING
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Son seeks justice for his ‘abused’ mother
Sangat Darshan grants to be displayed on boards
Escape of prisoners: Police yet to plug loopholes
Bar Ajnalas from poll: Cong to EC
State govt patronising the corrupt, alleges Amarinder
Donations for U’khand victims stuck in red-tape
Probe youth’s death in US, NRI panel to SSP
School board asks Mohali SSP to probe forged signatures case
No buyers for organic basmati
Sikh body gets more time for plea against Sonia
Fissures in Brahmin Sabha over pilgrimage
Contempt petition against Yadav withdrawn
PTU introduces reforms in distance education programme
UK’s first Indian-origin woman magistrate dead
Sangrur MC to sell old office building to Trust
Ludhiana dist tops the list of dengue cases in state
DC orders fresh action against encroachers
2 labourers run over, mob damages bus
Dowry death: Residents block highway
World Cup Kabaddi from November 30
Sanjeev wins bronze in para badminton c’ship
High Court notice to govt on Rent Act amendments
Yet another accused flees
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DGP Sumedh Saini told to appear before trial court
Delhi Special Judge AK Mendiratta in his order has asserted: “It has been pointed out by complainant/witness Ashish Kumar that the defence has already taken over 27 dates for cross-examination and there is a deliberate attempt to delay the trial…. “It is a matter of great concern as serious allegations of pressurising of witnesses have been made in the application. This court cannot be a mute spectator to the fact that cross-examination (of Ashish Kumar) has continued for a considerable time and is yet to be concluded on behalf of accused SS Saini…. “Considering the serious allegations made in the application, accused SS Saini is also directed to appear during cross-examination of the witness and his exemption is withdrawn for the aforesaid dates till further orders”. In his application, Ashish Kumar alleged that the accused were delaying the trial by adopting “one coercive method or the other”; and till date the defence had already taken more than 27 dates, only for Saini. Seeking day-to-day proceedings in the case, Ashish Kumar said the accused had adopted a new way to harass the complainant mentally. Elaborating, he said that the presence of his mother, 90-year-old Amar Kaur, was exempted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a case registered at Ludhiana to "implicate" him. Despite the order, Amar Kaur received summons on October 20, directing that she be present in court. “When summons were received, an official from the Delhi Police also accompanied Punjab Police officials. These officials threatened her that if she refused to sign the summons, she would be picked up forcibly… Thereafter, another summon was received by Amar Kaur on November 4 at odd hours (10.30 pm), which were from the same police station”. He said it was clear that the entire exercise was being undertaken to put pressure on the complainant through his mother. Saini is accused of being involved in the abduction and physical liquidation of three persons in 1994. After a detailed investigation, the CBI had framed charges and Saini is out on bail. Delhi businessman Ashish Kumar had earlier created a flutter in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, claiming state Vigilance chief Sumedh Singh Saini was out to eliminate him. Already, Justice Daya Chaudhary has quashed the warrants issued by a Ludhiana court against him and his mother Amar Kaur. Ashish Kumar has all along been saying his brother Vinod Kumar, brother-in-law Ashok Kumar and their driver Mukhtiar Singh were kidnapped and later eliminated and that the CBI had found Saini and three other police officials directly responsible for their disappearance. His family was chief financier to Saini Motors, run by ex-husband of Sumedh Singh Saini’s sister and the Ludhiana case was an offshoot of their struggle for justice, Ashish Kumar has maintained all along. Amar Kaur is virtually the complainant in the case against Saini. Abduction Case
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BHOLA’S DRUG RING
Amritsar, November 21 Keeping a low profile, the duo has not made any public appearance in the past few days. They are not taking calls from mediapersons. It was the arrest of their "aide" Maninder Singh Bittu Aulakh by the Patiala police last week that spelled trouble for the Ajnala family. It was revealed that Bony Ajnala had reportedly provided Aulakh his gunman and a red-beacon car. It also came to light that Aulakh had used a red-beacon car to transport chemicals used in making ICE (synthetic drug) to Bhola. Bittu Aulakh was known for his proximity with the Ajnala family. While the Opposition Congress is targeting the Ajnalas over the issue, a senior SAD leader has confirmed Aulakh’s links with the Ajnala family. At a recent press conference in Amritsar, former SAD MLA Veer Singh Lopoke, who also holds the post of the party vice-president, said: “Aulakh had close association with the Ajnala family, which is an open secret”. He claimed he had intimated the party high command about Aulakh’s anti-party activities and the latter was expelled from the Youth Akali Dal. Yet Dr Ajnala and his son continued to support him. A photograph published in a leading vernacular daily on September 26 shows Aulakh (he is named in the photo caption) greeting Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal with a bouquet. The latter is flanked by Dr Ajnala and his son. Also seen in the photograph are Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Inderbir Singh Bolaria. Even as the Ajnalas have been maintaining a silence over the issue, observers feel that they should come out in the open if they’ve nothing to hide in the matter. On reports in a section of the media that the Ajnalas may be interrogated, IG (Border Range) Ishwar Chandra said: "The case is being probe into by the Patiala police. We can't make a move on our own. We will carry out any operation here either on the directions of higher-ups or on getting a lead from the Patiala police." Repeated attempts to contact Dr Ajnala and his son proved futile. When sent a text message on the need to speak to them on the issue, they did not respond. More raids likely in Punjab, Haryana The Patiala police is contemplating more raids to track the illegal sale of banned drugs across Punjab and Haryana. The police has already booked two persons in Jalandhar. Kamalraj Chawla of Pratham Medicos, Dilkhusha Market, was arrested on October 11. Chawla was simultaneously operating from Karnal. On November 9, the police had booked Rajesh Sehgal under the NDPS Act after conducting raids at his place in New Jawahar Nagar. Sehgal is yet to be arrested. In trouble
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Son seeks justice for his ‘abused’ mother
Chandigarh, November 21 He was seeking action against his alleged kidnappers and a DNA test on the accused who allegedly forced themselves upon his mother. Taking up his petition this morning, Justice Rameshwar Singh Malik directed the Hoshiarpur Senior Superintendent of Police to carry out a probe into the matter. For the purpose, Justice Malik fixed a month’s deadline. Sant Ram alleged he was kidnapped by a policeman with the connivance of an observation home superintendent before being tortured and maltreated. Counsel Simranjit Singh told the court that Sant Ram decided to end his life. But he was rescued from the life of drudgery by a priest who kept him in a gurdwara as a sewadar. After he moved the Punjab State Human Rights Commission, he found from the records that his mother was “mentally upset”. A further inquiry into the matter by the rights commission revealed that his “mother was sold again and again. There were a total of 35 persons involved. The report indicated that initially she was purchased by one Pritam Singh from one Bakshish Singh who further sold her to Teja Singh for Rs 1,200, and this went on. Horrifying charges
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Sangat Darshan grants to be displayed on boards
Lambi, November 21 Beginning with Muktsar district, the Chief Minister has directed the Deputy Commissioner to finalise the design of boards and get them installed. Speaking to The Tribune at Gurusar Jodha village, Badal today said, “The system is being adopted to bring in more transparency. Once the boards are installed, everyone will be able to know the details of development works in the village.” Asked whether the step had been taken following the Congress leadership’s charge that there was no record of Sangat Darshan funds, Badal said, “Wherever I have held Sangat Darshans, deputy commissioners concerned have record of every paisa spent. The Congress leaders envy this flagship people-government interactive programme. So, they are opposing it tooth and nail.” He said grants of Rs 10 lakh and above would be sanctioned by superintending engineers. On being contacted over the phone, KJS Cheema, Special Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, said, “Installing boards is a cheaper method to give information to entire village about developmental works. It will also make the village sarpanch accountable. If any work is getting delayed, people will be able to raise their voice because they will be in the know how much money has been sanctioned.” On the Congress’ demand for a CBI probe into the drug racket, Badal said the state government was conducting the investigation in a transparent manner and all those persons whose names had figured in the case had been booked. The board will resemble the ones put up for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana projects. Sangat Darshan in schools; studies hit The district administration once again today organised the Chief Minister's Sangat Darshan programme in some government schools, which affected studies of students. The students at Government Middle School, Gurusar Jodha, were seen appearing in a test when politicians were addressing the public on loudspeakers on the school ground.
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Escape of prisoners: Police yet to plug loopholes
Patiala, November 21 The government, a few months ago, had claimed that standard operating procedure (SOP) would be adopted while escorting criminals to court hearings. But nothing in this regard has been done. The escape of Jaspreet Singh Jassa, an undertrial in the murder case of former SAD legislator from Barnala Malkiat Singh Keetu, on Friday after a court appearance, has once again raised a question mark over the working of the police wing. Jassa escaped from an eatery at Jagraon when his hHis handcuffs were off. Instructions have already been issued making the Superintendent of Police (Hq) in each district as the nodal officer. The latter is required to ensure adequate security for moving criminals from jails to courts for a hearing. Earlier this year, three criminals had escaped from police custody. Two of them were shot in an encounter after they had killed Head Constable Avtar Singh in Bathinda. The state government had then decided to refurbish the entire process of escorting prisoners for court hearings. “The SP, Headquarter, will be directly responsible till the police teams from their district hand back the criminals after court hearings,” Principal Secretary (Home) DS Bains had said in April. However, six months down the line, the government is yet to plan a strategy to plug the loopholes. Additional DGP Dinkar Gupta told The Tribune: “We are making arrangements for escort parties to halt at police stations on highways en route courts for food. They would then not have to stop at wayside
dhabas.” Problems galore
ADGPSPEAK We are making arrangements for escort parties to halt at police stations on highways en route courts for food. They would then not have to stop at wayside
dhabas.
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Bar Ajnalas from poll: Cong to EC
Amritsar, November 21 Congress workers, led by PPCC vice-president OP Soni and Amritsar (Rural) Congress chief Harpartap Singh Ajnala, took out a protest march in Ajnala today, seeking a CBI probe into the matter so as to expose the nexus between political leaders and the drug mafia. Congress MLAs, former ministers and former MLAs participated in the march. In its memorandum, the Congress claimed that Aulakh was appointed Youth Akali Dal general secretary in 2011. Khadoor Sahib MP Dr Rattan Singh Ajnala, who heads the Amritsar Rural unit of the SAD, had later appointed him treasurer of the party unit. The Congress claimed that Aulakh was also Dr Ajnala's election agent during the 2009 Lok Sabha poll and his son's in the 2012 assembly elections. The party alleged that Aulakh had made crores in the drug trade and could not have done so without political patronage. Besides urging the EC to bar the duo from contesting any poll in future, the Congress demanded a probe into Bony's election from Ajnala in 2012. Partap Singh Bajwa, PPCC chief, was to lead the party's protest march, but he could not make it owing to some engagements in the Capital.
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State govt patronising the corrupt, alleges Amarinder
Moga, November 21 “The government is patronising the corrupt, something that has disturbed the socio-economic balance in the state. In the absence of employment, our youth are taking to drugs, which is a matter of concern. We need to rise above party lines to tackle this issue,” he said. Amarinder had last visited Moga during the assembly bypoll around nine months ago when the Congress had lost to the SAD. He took a brief halt in the city on his way to Ferozepur. Appearing elated over a sizable number of party workers, he said, “Winning or losing an election is part of politics. But, our fight against the power-hungry Akalis will continue. To give them a befitting reply in next Lok Sabha elections, you all (party workers) need to go to the masses and make people aware about their anti-people policies.” Former MLA Vijay Sathi and SGPC member Sukhjit Singh Kaka Lohgarh were there to greet Amarinder. Several senior leaders, including former ministers Darshan Singh Brar, Dr Malti Thapar and district president Jagdarshan Kaur, were conspicuous by their absence. Lashing out at the Akalis for levying property tax, he said Punjab was headed for a financial mess. Amarinder also took a dig at the state government for failing to protect the rights of farmers who were allegedly harassed by officials of Punjab procurement agencies on the pretext of high humidity content in paddy and forced to sell their crops at lower prices. 'Not keen to contest from Bathinda' Amarinder said he was not interested in contesting the Lok Sabha election from Bathinda. He said he had already conveyed it to Congress president Sonia Gandhi that he wanted to work in her team and that was why he had been given the responsibility in the party's Central Working Committee. Complaints against SAD supporters A woman broke down when Amarinder was addressing a press conference. She alleged that a supporter of a SAD leader had grabbed their three acres of land. Similarly, a BPL card holder, Jaspal Singh, showed Amarinder an electricity of Rs 66,000, which he alleged was a punishment for supporting the Akalis
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Donations for U’khand victims stuck in red-tape
Bathinda, November 21 The amount — in the form of cheques for Uttarakhand Relief Fund — was donated way back in July by teachers from across the state. The cheques all this while remained either with the district or state-level school education offices. The Director Public Instructions (Schools) has now returned the cheques to district education officials asking them to re-send these after getting them re-validated —cheques are valid only for three months — from respective banks. “The act is inexcusable as all of us wanted to help the victims of Uttarakhand tragedy in their hour of crisis… We have now learnt the cheques were not encashed,” a teacher said. The cheques were submitted with the District Education Officer in each district. These along with a list of the donors and the amount were sent to the office of the Director Public Instructions (Schools) in Chandigarh. From there, these were supposed to be forwarded to the relief fund. Director Public Instructions (Schools) Kamal Garg said the department had already deposited cash donation of Rs 2.34 crore. “The cheques amounting to Rs 41 lakh were delayed in transit. The delay cannot be attributed to any particular district,” he said. After the flashfloods, The Punjab Government had asked all teachers to donate a day’s salary to be deducted at source. But, they were subsequently told to donate as per their wish through a cheque, to be submitted with the District Education Officer. Official apathy
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Probe youth’s death in US, NRI panel to SSP
Kapurthala, November 21 Paramjit, a resident of Mohabblipur village in Kapurthala, had gone to the US through illegal means for employment, after being misled by unscrupulous agents. Depressed, he committed suicide on the intervening night of October 22-23. On account of Paramjit being an illegal immigrant, his family members had to face a lot of difficulty in bringing the body to India. Paramjit was cremated in his native village on November 13. KS Nagra co-convener, Centre for Human Rights Initiative, Training and Research Association (Punjab) had sent the news clipping, appeared in The Tribune on November 9, under the headline “Depression victim’s body being sent home: NAPA” to the Punjab State Commission for NRIs. In his representation to the commission, Nagra had mentioned that six months ago, Paramjit had gone to the US to secure his livelihood after paying Rs 25 lakh to an agent, who misled him. Nagra further mentioned that after failing to find a suitable job in the US, Paramjit committed suicide by hanging himself. Nagra had requested the commission that necessary instructions be issued to appropriate authority to end the network of agents, who misled the youth for making money fraudulently. The commission, in its orders mentioned, “After perusal of the contents of the news, it transpires that the complaint is about unemployment prevalent in Punjab. In order to have a livelihood, the unemployed youths adopts various ways to go abroad. Taking advantage of these unemployed youths, some unscrupulous agents, who have a strong network in the state/abroad, promise them greener pastures on foreign shores, exploit them and in return charge hefty amounts.” The commission further observed that Paramjit’s case is a glaring example of such illegal activities of such agents. “Taking suo motu cognisance provided under clause (c) of section (2) of Punjab State Commission for NRIs Act 2011, the commission refers the matter to SSP Kapurthala to look into it at his own end and take appropriate action, but in accordance with law,” reads the order. Victim of fraud
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School board asks Mohali SSP to probe forged signatures case
Mohali, November 21 In order to get promotions and show the full quorum in certain high-level board meetings in 2007 and 2008, a few officials had forged signatures of some senior committee members on the attendance registers of the meetings in question. These members were not present in the meetings. The decision to probe the case has been taken following directions from Punjab Government in this regard. On June 4, 2006, the Punjab Education Department had sent a communiqué to board authorities in which directions were issued to register an FIR to probe the forged signatures on the attendance registers of the meetings of the Regulation Committee of the board on December 3, 2007 and other board meetings that had taken place on March 20, May 13 and August 6 in 2008. In his letter, Batth stated no progress was made in the inquiry at the office level. Batth also assured the police of providing all documents and official records to Mohali police in this connection. “I sent the communiqué to Mohali SSP yesterday evening,” said Batth. A retired joint secretary (open school) Om Parkash had filed a complaint to Punjab Government, alleging that an official had forged signatures on registers in question to facilitate his promotion. Mohali SSP Inder Mohan Singh said that he had received the communiqué and ordered that the investigation be launched. The FIR is yet to be registered in this regard. The complaint A retired joint secretary (open school) Om Parkash had filed a complaint to Punjab Government, alleging that an official had forged signatures on registers in question to facilitate his promotion
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No buyers for organic basmati
Sangrur, November 21 He is not happy at the price being offered to him. Arhtiyas are willing to buy his organic basmati paddy produce at the rate of normal basmati paddy ranging from Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,300 per quintal. Bikkar Singh has now begun selling his produce in packets at a lower rate of Rs 80 per kilogram (kg) against its rate of Rs 90 per kg. “Since, the yield of organic produce is lower than normal basmati paddy, it is more expensive. But I am forced to sell my produce at a lower price,” he said. Singh had adopted organic farming more than one-and-half-years ago and had been producing organic vegetables on six bighas at Badrukhan village. However, he experimented this year and grew organic basmati paddy on three bighas. But, failing to get market rate for his nine quintals of produce, he got one quintal of paddy milled to sell rice on his own with the help of friends and well wishers. He has only been able to sell 30 kg of basmati rice so far. President of a local NGO, Scientific Awareness and Social Welfare Forum, Dr AS Mann, who also promotes organic farming, said the government should fix the minimum support price (MSP) of organic basmati paddy to attract more farmers to it.
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Sikh body gets more time for plea against Sonia
New York, November 21 Despite opposition from Gandhi's attorneys, the federal court here Monday granted the Sikh rights body’s request for more time to amend its complaint about her role in protecting and shielding Congress party leaders, who allegedly participated in the November 1984 anti-Sikh
violence. SFJ and violence victims are seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Gandhi for allegedly shielding and protecting Kamal
Nath, Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and other Congress party leaders. —IANS
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Fissures in Brahmin Sabha over pilgrimage
Chandigarh, November 21 The Brahmin Sabha organises a three-day pilgrimage, known as “rin utar
yatra”, from Anandpur Sahib to various historical gurdwaras in New Delhi. Surinder Pal Sharma, an advocate from
Bathinda, who is associated with the sabha, said more than 35 buses carrying pilgrims would leave from Maisarkhana to Delhi on November 22. He said the pilgrimage was apolitical and had nothing to do with any party. Senior leader of the Brahmin Sabha Bihari Lal Saddi said: “We owe a lot to Guru Teg Bahadur who sacrificed his life to protect our religion,” he said. The other group led by Brahmin Sabha chief Devi Dayal Prashar is considered close to the CM. This group will leave from Anandpur Sahib. The convoy of buses will be flagged off by the Chief Minister.
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Contempt petition against Yadav withdrawn
Chandigarh, November 21 Justice Mahesh Grover allowed him to withdraw the contempt petition. In August, the Jalandhar police had moved a Judicial Magistrate’s court seeking orders to conduct investigation against the former minister for commission of a
non-cognisable offence. The High Court was informed that officer-in-charge of Braider Police Station had moved the Court of Judicial Magistrate under directions of Jalandhar Police Commissioner Gaurav
Yadav. Yadav had initially taken the stand that he had requested the Regional Deputy Director, Urban Local Government,
Jalandhar-cum-Returning Officer to initiate legal action under Section 125 -A of Representation of the People Act against Henry, as the offence was
non-cognisable.
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PTU introduces reforms in distance education programme
Jalandhar, November 21 Dr Rajneesh Arora, Vice Chancellor, PTU, said the university was in the process of restructuring the DEP curriculum as well as the courses. “We will conduct the DEP exams concurrently with those of the regular courses while the results for both will be declared together,” the VC said. The university will not hold exams at the centres that did not follow the standard practices. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) have been drafted and implemented for the conduct of accurate, fair and auditable examinations. He said the possibility of question papers getting leaked had also been removed as these would be transmitted electronically to the centers only an hour before these were printed. He said answer sheets were properly coded and a unique bar code, which could be scanned by a computer, would be generated centrally by the university. These would then be affixed on each answer sheet. He said photographic attendance sheets would also be sent to each exam centre so there was no impersonation by the candidates. Moreover, the Director General of Police of each state across the country had been alerted about the impending exams so that examinations could be held peacefully at the
centres. He said observers and flying squad teams would visit each exam centre to ensure the exams were held in a fair manner. Measures initiated
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UK’s first Indian-origin woman magistrate dead
London, November 21 The report, however, did not mention how and when she died. Chand's husband Daman, now 90, had set up his dental practice in Coventry's Broad Street after arriving from India. Chand used to work on issues concerning women from the Asian community. She was also a police interpreter. "My mother was vivacious, she was full of life. She was a charmer. She was a pillar of the community even during the time of Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech," Chand's daughter Renuka Kapoor was quoted as saying.
—IANS
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Sangrur MC to sell old office building to Trust
Sangrur, November 21 The fire brigade office was shifted to a new building in July. A meeting of members of the civic body and the Improvement Trust in this regard was held 10 days ago under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner. The cost of the building site in question, which is spread over 3,550 square yards, as per the collector’s rate, is Rs 15.50
crore. Sources said it was decided in the meeting that the Improvement Trust would give Rs 15.50 crore to the MC in lieu of the land and prepare a commercial scheme for this land to sell plots and SCOs. After the approval of the state government to this deal, the Trust would first give a sum of Rs 8 crore to the MC and the remaining amount would be given after the sale of plots and
SCOs. The sources said it had also been decided that besides Rs 15.50
crore, the Trust would also give 50 per cent share of the “actual” profit earned by it from the sale of plots and
SCOs. They said the actual profit would be the profit made after deducting development and advertisement charges etc from the gross profit to be earned from the commercial scheme. The MC had recently passed development works to the tune of over Rs 8
crore. However, due to non-availability of funds these works could not be executed. Later, the council asked the local Improvement Trust to execute the works on the plea that it did not have requisite funds. However, the Trust after passing a resolution sent the proposal to the Director, Local Government, whose response is reportedly being awaited by the authorities. After the meeting, both the entities have sent their resolutions regarding the deal to the Director, Local Government, for his approval. An official said if the Director approved these resolutions, the council would be able to execute development works in the city, which include construction of roads, drains, streets, installation of six tube wells and covering of the gandha nullah situated outside Sunami Gate here.
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Ludhiana dist tops the list of dengue cases in state
Ludhiana, November 21 Dr Vijay Sharma, Deputy Director (Health), Malaria, and State Programme officer for the National Vector-Borne Disease Control
Programme, said, "Ludhiana district tops the list of dengue patients with 949 cases till November 20, Patiala is second with 642 patients and Fatehgarh Sahib is third with 414 dengue cases. As many as 11 such patients died this season, out of which six are from Ludhiana district alone." Dr Sharma said as the weather had changed, the number of dengue cases were decreasing. "For the past one week, we have been witnessing a downward trend in dengue cases. From November 14 to November 19, we received 125, 97, 40, 28, 29 and 59 cases from different districts of the state. With the change in weather, the Aedes Aegypti mosquito responsible for spreading dengue becomes inactive." He said,
"Ludhiana is a big district with many slums. People should be cautious about their health. Despite awareness campaigns being run by the health department, many people fail to adopt preventive measures." District Epidemiologist Dr Anil Verma said, "Whenever we come across dengue larva anywhere, we immediately inform the municipal corporation for necessary action." Cyclic pattern of dengue
Dr Sharma said the mosquito Aedes Egypti had a cyclic pattern — one year the number of cases go up and the next year it goes down. He said, "If we analyse the data, the state closely witnessed this cyclic pattern from 2007 to 2013. The number of dengue cases in the state were 28 in 2007; 4,349 in 2008; 245 in 2009; 4,012 in 2010; 3,921 in 2011; 770 in 2012 and 3,686 in 2013 (till November). So hopefully, there will be less number of cases next year." Eight fresh cases
Eight cases of dengue were reported today from different hospitals of the city. Five of these patients are from Ludhiana city, two from rural areas and one from Sangrur district.
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DC orders fresh action against encroachers
Ferozepur, November 21 When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang said Revenue Department officials had been instructed to carry out fresh demarcation of the land to determine the title of the land. He said he had instructed the authorities concerned to close Gate No. 195 to deny access to tillers and farmers to the land so that demarcation could be carried out without hindrance. This move has not gone down well with the farmers. The land mafia that claims to have the “girdawaris” in their favour are also feeling the heat. An affected farmer lamented that they had been shut out during the peak sowing season. Some farmers said they would have to irrigate the land again after which sowing will take another 20 days. A few farmers have secured a stay to prevent the administration from denying them access to the land. Sources said that most of the 1,300 acres of government land in DT Mall Enclave had been occupied by land sharks or tillers. Earlier in 2011, marginal farmers tilling this land had launched a crusade against influential persons attempting to usurp the land across the barbed fence near Bhamba Haji village. At that time, several farmers, including women, were injured in a clash. Two years later, the issue has resurfaced. But this time, it is the administration that is talking tough.
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2 labourers run over, mob damages bus
Abohar, November 21 The bus, owned by Chandra Travels, was damaged by an angry mob. Locals alleged that the authorities had failed to look into their long-pending demand of a divider or a speed breaker on the road due to high frequency of such mishaps and in view of a residential colony and a school in the vicinity. The deceased have been identified as Bhala Ram and his brother Dania of
Sriganganagar. Eyewitnesses said the ambulance had reached half an hour after it was called. Two others, Daleep and Vikram of Uttar
Pradesh, were injured in the accident and taken to the Civil Hospital at
Sriganganagar. As the irate mob was preparing to set the bus on fire, the police reached the spot and took three protesters in custody. The police also reportedly seized a bag with poppy husk and gutka (tobacco) products from near the driver’s cabin in the bus.
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Dowry death: Residents block highway
Moga, November 21 Veer Pal Kaur (29) had died under mysterious circumstances at her in-laws’ house at Bambiha Bhai village of Baghapurana sub-division in the district on August 23. Raising anti-establishment slogans, the protesters accused the police of trying to hush-up the case. They alleged that it was a cold-blooded murder of the woman, whose parents had failed to meet the dowry demands of her in-laws.
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World Cup Kabaddi from November 30
Chandigarh, November 21 The prize money for women’s title this year has been raised to Rs 1
crore. However, the prize money for the men’s winning team would remain the same at Rs 2
crore. The mens’ teams that bag the second and third positions will be awarded a prize money of Rs 1 crore and Rs 51
lakh, respectively. In the women’s category, the team winning the second position would get Rs 51 lakh and the team that comes third Rs 25
lakh. Teams from India, Pakistan, Iran, England, Spain, Denmark, Scotland, the US, Canada, Argentina, Sierra Leon and Kenya would participate in the men’s category. In the women’s category, teams from India, Pakistan, England, Denmark, the US, Mexico, Kenya and New Zealand would participate. The opening ceremony would be held at the multi-purpose stadium in Bathinda on November 30. The closing ceremony would take place at Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on December 14. Both these ceremonies are likely to be star-studded. The league matches will be played at
Patiala, Chola Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Doda, Amritsar, Jalalabad,
Sangrur, Roopnagar and Mansa. The tournament 20 total number of teams (men 12, women 8) Rs
1 crore is the prize money for women's title Rs 2 crore is the prize money for men's winning team Rs
1 cr & Rs 51 lakh for men's teams coming second and third Rs
51 lakh & Rs 25 lakh for womens' teams placed second and third The league matches will be played at Patiala, Chola Sahib,
Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Doda, Amritsar, Jalalabad, Sangrur, Roopnagar and Mansa
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Sanjeev wins bronze in para badminton c’ship
Abohar, November 21 On his return from Germany today, Sanjeev was welcomed by the staff of Government Senior Secondary School at Khuyiansarwer village, near his native village, where his father works as a peon. Sanjeev is pursuing his studies at DAV College,
Abohar. Born with a physical disability, Sanjeev had won the bronze medal in the singles category in the second French International Para Badminton Championship.
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High Court notice to govt on Rent Act amendments
Chandigarh, November 21 Apparently displeased over the amendments, a Division Bench even questioned the rationale behind introducing provisions of taking away powers of the court. The development is significant as the amended provisions come into force from November 30 while the court has directed the Punjab Government to submit its response by November 27. The Bench also issued notice to the state and other respondents on a public interest litigation filed in the matter by the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana. The council submitted that it was an “unconstitutional exercise of the state in overriding its powers vested by the Constitution in an attempt to alter the entire rent jurisprudence of Punjab primarily from the stand point of jurisdiction”. The notice comes within weeks of lawyers staging protests against the amended provision vide which rent dispute between landlords and tenants would be heard by SDMs. The appellate authority was also to be an administrative body. Till now, all rent cases are being heard and decided by the judicial courts. The Bar Council contended: “The government by an enactment and notification has appointed executive officers as rent authorities and also materially altered the structure of appellate courts by setting up appellate tribunals in Punjab”. The Punjab Rent Act, 1995 was enacted to provide for the regulation of rents, maintenance and eviction relating to premises and matters connected therewith in Punjab. “The amendments to the Rent Act will affect functioning of rent courts, appointment of rent authorities, petitions fees, power of review,” the petition added. 'Overriding' court's powers
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Yet another accused flees
Hoshiarpur, November 21 Sanjeev Kumar aka Bhola, a resident of Mukerian, was arrested on April 19 and 100 gm of narcotic powder seized from him. The police have lodged any FIR. City Station House Officer Prem Kumar expressed his inability to provide any details.
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