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I-T payers kept out of food security scheme
State wants monthly sugar quota raised
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BHOLA’S DRUG RING
Capt parades ‘vendetta victims’ in Ferozepur
Jyani raps docs for obliging private medicine shops
Lemon grass proves a hit for Kandi
growers
Drug control wing told to keep check on bogus sales
Security concerns haunt state police
Bajwa seeks CBI inquiry into paddy procurement
Akal Takht decides: No chairs for elderly inside gurdwara hall
Book ‘Ram Leela’ team, police told
Anganwadi workers protest non-supply of ration
Vigilance gives clean chit to Chahal’s wife
Sukhbir: Blue Cards to be
issued from next week
Resource room for differently abled children sans teacher
UGC team arrives to inspect Sikh university
As cigarette sales drop, cancer relief fund dwindles
Form SIT to probe docs’ selection: HC to
govt
CBI court convicts 3 in bank forgery case
2 in CBI net for taking bribe
Three booked for gangrape
Crusher owner hurt in firing in Ropar
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I-T payers kept out of food security scheme
Chandigarh, November 22 This is part of the criteria finalised by the state government to enlist beneficiaries under the programme. About 31 lakh families are to be covered under the programme across the state. These families will get 25 kg wheat at Re 1 per kg and 2.5 kg dal (pulses) at Rs 20 per kg. However, families covered under the Antyodoya Anna Yojana( AYY) will get 35 kg wheat per month. A list of about 15.40 lakh such families (blue card-holders), covered under the state's Atta-Dal Scheme, is already with the government. It will have to identify almost an equal number of families for issuing fresh ration cards linked to the Adhar Card. "We have sent copies of the criteria to identify more beneficiaries to the Deputy Commissioners with the direction that they should start the process of enlisting families and complete the process by December 16. "The state government plans to start giving wheat and dal to the newly identified families from January 26 or by February 1," said DS Grewal, Secretary, Food and Supplies. The already identified families, covered under the Atta-Dal Scheme, will start getting wheat at Re 1 per kg from December 1. The number of such families is about 20 lakh. This includes 1.89 lakh families covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojna and 2.69 lakh BPL families. As the Lok Sabha elections are expected in May next year, the government plans to issue a stock for six months, up to May end next year, to these families on December 1. Under the Food Security Programme, the Centre will give wheat at Rs 2 per kg and not provide dal (pulses) at subsidised rates. However, tweaking the Centre's programme to score brownie points over the Central Government, the state government has decided to give wheat at Rs 1 per kg and dal to all 31 lakh families to be covered under this programme. The additional financial burden that will be borne by the state will be about Rs 150 crore. Those not eligible *
Those with an annual income of more than Rs 60,000 * Those with landed property more than 2.5 acres *
Those employed with a government dept/board/ corporation Those eligible *
Pensioners with an income of less than Rs 60,000 per annum * Physically challenged persons and widows *
Single persons without any source of income
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State wants monthly sugar quota raised
Chandigarh, November 22 The Centre has allowed Punjab to buy sugar from any source such as bulk suppliers and sugar mills. The Centre will now give a subsidy at Rs 18.50 per kg on 1,185 tonnes of the state's sugar quota. What has been bothering the state government is that the Centre has done away with the BPL category. Under the Food Security Act, the Centre has divided the beneficiary families into two categories- those inder the Antoydaya Anna Yojna (poorest of the poor) and the priority category. There is no mention of the BPL category. Earlier, subsidised sugar was given to the families covered under both schemes. Sources said Punjab Food and Supply Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon had taken up the issue with the
Centre. Kairon has urged the Centre to increase the monthly allocation for Punjab to 7,500 tonnes per month. The families covered under the priority category would also get wheat at Re 1 per kg under the Centre's Food Security
Programme. However, the state government is keen to give sugar to such families on subsidy.
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BHOLA’S
DRUG RING
Gidderbaha, November 22 Talking to mediapersons, he said the police was carrying out the investigations meticulously. “ The state government has complete faith in the functioning of the police and Congress leaders should refrain from interfering in the police day-to-day working, thereby allowing it to work independently so as to get to the bottom of the case,” said Badal. Addressing a gathering, the CM said his government was committed to helping those hit by water-logging. He ordered a survey of damaged houses within a fortnight so that adequate compensation could be given. Congress MLA Warring protests * Congress MLA from Gidderbaha Amarinder Singh ‘Raja Warring’ held a demonstration near the Sangat Darshan venue at Chak Giljewala village after he and his supporters were stopped at the entrance. *
A black ribbon tied around his forehead and relief cheques of less than Rs 100 in hand, he demanded justice for the residents who had suffered losses owing to heavy rains. *
The first-timer MLA had raised the issue of water-logging during the recent Vidhan Sabha session. *
He had come to meet the CM to speak up for those who had suffered huge losses on account of waterlogging caused by rains. *
He was stopped by a battery of policemen. At this, he held a protest. * The Congress MLA scaled a wall to address the public, announcing that whosoever refused the compensation cheque of less than Rs 500 would be awarded cash by him.
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Capt parades ‘vendetta victims’ in Ferozepur
Ferozepur, November 22 A member of the Congress Working Committee, Amarinder said he could not see the party workers demoralised. He said he would continue his tour to motivate the Congress cadre in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. Guruharsahai MLA Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi was also present on the occasion. On the absence of other leaders, Amarinder said everybody was busy in their own affairs. Says some sitting MPs may be replaced About nomination of candidates, he said winnability would be the only criterion. He said some weak sitting MPs may have to be replaced. Hundreds of Congress workers who had converged from all over the district to interact with the former Chief Minister raised slogans demanding the Ferozepur Lok Sabha ticket for the Guruharsahai MLA. Amarinder said he would convey their sentiments to the party high command. Calls Badal a ‘dummy Chief Minister’ Amarinder hit out at Parkash Singh Badal calling him a “dummy Chief Minister”. He said Badal’s role was now limited to merely conducting his Sangat Darshan even as his Deputy Chief Minister-son Sukhbir Badal was calling the shots in the state government. “Sukhbir is forward-looking but he too has not been able to provide effective governance. Of late, he has developed the habit of building castles in the air,” he said. Bats for reopening Hussainiwala border Amarinder advocated reopening the Hussainiwala-Lahore border for trade and transit, which has been lying closed after the 1971 India-Pakistan war. “I will raise the matter with the Prime Minister and the Congress high command to take immediate steps for reopening the route,” he said.
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Jyani raps docs for obliging private medicine shops
Abohar, November 22 “You will have to bid adieu to greed for earning commission on medicines,” he told doctors in the hospital. The minister, who visited the hospital with his wife Nirmala, also visited the indoor wards and expressed concern about poor sanitation. The minister was in the city in connection with a religious congregation. The minister told Civil Surgeon Dr Baldev Raj to deploy doctors serving in rural dispensaries at the civil hospital on alternate days if the number of patients there is not more than 12. Replying to mediapersons’ query on shortage of doctors, he said, “You may bring in qualified doctors, I will appoint them under the rules immediately.” “We are going to recruit 333 doctors soon to meet the shortage that has affected the working of hospitals across the state,” Jyani added. He said the dispensary at Ramsara village would soon be converted into a de-addiction centre as drug abuse was on the rise. Senior Medical Officer Dr Lal Chand Thakral told the minister that there was no pucca road to the hospital or a drinking water reservoir besides other amenities. Responding to the matter, the minister sanctioned Rs 3 crore for completing the left-out development works.
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Lemon grass proves a hit for Kandi
growers
Hoshiarpur, November 20 The soil in the area is full of pebbles, which hampers agricultural productivity, and the crops are mostly damaged every season by wild animals. The local farmers were trying to zero in a crop which could bear all these hardships. The answer came in the form of lemon grass and now, more than 20 hectares of land here has been put to use for the cultivation of lemon grass with a cooperative oil extraction plant for the grass. Around 2,000 litres of oil is produced by the farmers every season which fetches them a profit of at least Rs 35-40 thousand per acre and that too from the land which was earlier considered barren or infertile for cultivation of any kind. The idea was introduced by an NGO of local progressive farmers of the area, Unnati Co-operative Marketing-cum-Processing Society Limited, Talwara. The NGO experimented with various medicinal bushy plants here from 2004 to 2007. Finally, lemon grass proved fruitful and it changed the grim scenario for farmers of Kandi into a lucrative business. Punjab Agricultural University’s (PAU’s) Kandi Research Centre and experts from GADVASU helped the NGO in introducing scientific cultivation of lemon grass in the area. Now, farmers of four villages — Sahora Kandi, Seeprian, Ghugwal and Hajipur — are carrying the torch in this regard. Unnati director Jeevan Jyoti said lemon grass had proved to be an economically viable crop for local farmers. “The major problems of the area, i.e. non-availability of sufficient water, destruction of crops by wild animals, poor soil and low productivity, have now vanished for those growing lemon grass,” he said. The consortium was initiated by GADVASU, Ludhiana, as the lead partner along with PAU, Ludhiana, Punjab Dairy Development Department and Unnati. The consortium is now wrapping up and will end up in March next year but the project has been extended to Dhar Block of Pathankot. The project, which started there in 2011, now has two oil units there with numerous farmers joining the movement with the help of the Kelkar Research Foundation and a state government agency. Motivated by the grand success of the idea, the state government has now decided to bring in 1,000 acres under lemon grass cultivation. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal made an announcement in this regard during his recent visit to the area. Reaping the benefit Around 2,000 litres of oil is produced by lemon grass growers in the area every season which fetches them a profit of at least ~35,000-40,000 per acre.
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Drug control wing told to keep check on bogus sales
Chandigarh, November 22 The commissioner ordered the drug control officials to direct all carrying and forwarding agents to supply data of all habit-forming drugs being supplied to various dealers in Punjab every month. The commissioner also directed each drug inspector to check the data to ensure that the consignment is supplied only to the licence holder. This step will weed out bogus sales to dealers, which results in these drugs falling into the hands of drug addicts. It is learnt that from August to October, 2013, a total of 326 licenses in the state had been suspended and two licenses cancelled due to contraventions of the provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rule 1945. Other directions *
The carrying and forwarding agents were directed to supply data of all habit-forming drugs being supplied to various dealers in the state every month *
Each drug inspector was also asked to check the data to ensure that the consignment is supplied only to the licence holder.
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Security concerns haunt state police
Moga, November 22 The state government does not want to take chances since there is an alert by the Intelligence Bureau on the possibility of another attack at the BJP leader's rally. Earlier on October 27, a series of blasts had rocked Modi’s Patna rally venue, killing six persons and injuring more than 100. The local police has already set up a police post at venue to keep an eye on the movement of suspicious anti-social elements in the area. Night patrolling has also been beefed up. The district police has identified at least 200 anti-social elements whose activities are under constant watch. HS Dhillon, ADGP (Intelligence), recently issued a circular to SSPs and district intelligence officers asking them to beef up vigilance at vulnerable points, besides keeping an eye on hardliners who were still in touch with Khalistani militants settled abroad. In his circular, Dhillon has apprehended the revival of terrorism in the state citing recent arrests of 25 militants from four districts. It is learnt that ADGP (Security) Dinkar Gupta is busy preparing a blueprint of Modi’s security taking cues from “Blue Book” of the Special Protection Group (SPG), the central security agency. For this purpose, two DSP-rank officers having six-year experience of working in the SPG, who were recently recruited by the state police for constituting a Special Protection Unit (SPU) on the lines of SPG, are assisting Gupta. These two officers were part of the security of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vaypayee. They would look after the main security team being especially constituted for Modi. There are also reports that a heavy police force from several districts would be deployed at the rally venue. The contingent would include at least 25 IPS officers, 50 PPS officers, 100 inspectors and more than 10,000 policemen of various ranks. Adequate security arrangements would also be made on all highways and link roads leading to the venue.
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Bajwa seeks CBI inquiry into paddy procurement
Hoshiarpur, November 22 He was talking to mediapersons at Garshshankar. He alleged that the state government had helped the traders loot the farmers by allowing them to lift paddy at prices much lower than the minimum support price (MSP). Asked about Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s statement that several Congress MLAs were ready to join the SAD, Bajwa said: “He should worry about his own legislators as many are planning to switch over to the Congress”. On the Kabaddi World Cup, Bajwa said it would only give a boost to the drug trade. “The government’s connivance in the trade has been proved with the recent arrest of those close to certain Akali leaders.” He claimed the “loot” by the ruling alliance was worse than that by Afghan marauder Ahmed Shah Abdali. “The father and son are both busy looting the state,” he alleged.
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Sikh clergy clears ‘Singh Saab’
Amritsar, November 22 Following the meeting at the Akal Takht Secretariat, Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said they had cleared the movie after the filmmaker changed its name by using ‘Singh Saab’ instead of ‘Singh Sahib’ in the title. The compromise was reached at this morning following mediation by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member from Maharashtra, Gurinder Singh Bawa, who facilitated the talk between the Akal Takht Jathedar and the filmmaker. The latter agreed to change the name and also sent a fax about it. Interestingly, the film’s posters put up in the city prior to the Sikh clergy’s meeting already mentioned the title as ‘Singh Saab The Great’. When mediapersons told the Jathedar that it was already ‘Singh Saab’ in the title, he denied it and claimed it was earlier ‘Singh Sahib’, a term which is used to address the Sikh high priests and the ‘granthis’ of Sri Harmandar Sahib, Amritsar. Later, the cinema owners too met the Sikh high priests and intimated the latter that they had already deleted the title of the movie while screening it. They also urged the Sikh clergy to intimate them in advance whenever they had an objection against any movie. Prior to it, activists of the International Sikh Organisation led by Kanwarbir Singh Gill reached various malls in the morning to stop the screening of the film. The protesters argued that the filmmaker should have changed the movie’s title.
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Akal Takht decides: No chairs for elderly inside gurdwara hall
Amritsar, November 22 Terming it as disrespect to the holy book, the Sikh high priests instructed that gurdwaras should make seating arrangements for such people outside the hall. Talking to mediapersons after the clergy’s meeting, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said they had, in July 2009, decided that gurdwaras could arrange seating facility for these two categories. But, it was not specified whether seating arrangements should be in the main hall of the gurdwara. Takht no to ‘patit’ Sikhs in gurdwara panels abroad The Jathedar objected to the presence of ‘patit’ (apostate) Sikhs in gurdwara managements abroad. He said it had been decided that all gurdwaras should have only ‘sabat soorat’ Sikhs (with unshorn hair) in their committees. He also directed the managements not to ban the entry of anybody in the gurdwara premises. Fresh guidelines issued for taking out ‘Nagar Kirtan’ The clergy also laid out guidelines for taking out ‘Nagar Kirtan’ on ‘gurpurbs’. The ‘Panj Pyaras’ will now be followed by the palanquin having Guru Granth Sahib. The Akal Takht Jathedar said it was noticed that people were acting as per their own wish while taking out the procession. It was observed that at times the palanquin was left behind in ‘Nagar Kirtan’, which was disrespect of the holy book. The Jathedar also directed the SGPC to make efforts for the release of Sikh youths languishing in various jails of the country. ‘Act tough against leaders in drug trade’ Responding to the Congress' appeal for his intervention in the alleged involvement of SAD leaders in the drug trade, the Akal Takht Jathedar said the Akali Dal should act tough against such leaders. Supporting the SAD, he said if the accused leader was in the party then one must remember that it was the SAD regime only which acted against him and got him arrested. Film shoot banned at Golden Temple The clergy has banned the shooting of any film in the Golden Temple Complex while stating that such shoots dented the esteem of the shrine. The Akal Takht Jathedar said if anyone wanted to shoot for a religious film, he should seek the permission from the SGPC president in writing.
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Book ‘Ram Leela’ team, police told
Hoshiarpur, November 22 The court has asked the police to submit information on the action taken in this regard. A complaint had been filed under Section 156 (3) of the Criminal Penal Code by Bhagwan Parshuram Sena leaders against film producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actors Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone on November 15. Advocate RP Dheer, citing the Supreme Court verdicts in the Madhu Bala versus the State case (1997) and another in 2008, prayed that the Station House Officer (SHO) of the city police station be told to register a criminal case against the accused under Sections 294 (obscene lyrics) and 295-A (deliberate act intended to outrage religious feelings). After hearing the arguments, the court directed that an FIR be registered and the court informed about the action taken thereafter.
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Anganwadi workers protest non-supply of ration
Fazilka, November 22 A deputation of the Punjab unit of All-India Anganwadi Workers Union met Jyani at his residence in Katehra village of the district. Led by the union’s state president Hargobind Kaur, the workers apprised the minister that they had not received ration for the last three months. Under the Centre-state government joint scheme (90:10 ratio), necessary nutritious food is provided to poor women on family way and children of different age groups at anganwadi centres. Hargobind Kaur said they were not receiving ration despite directions from the Supreme Court to ensure uninterrupted food for women and children in 300 days in a year. Jyani directed the Director, Social Security Department, to look into the matter.
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Vigilance gives clean chit to Chahal’s wife
Patiala, November 22 Chahal was media adviser to former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. The Vigilance Bureau had registered a disproportionate assets case against Chahal. The prosecution had claimed that Chahal, during his tenure as media adviser to Amarinder Singh, had raised assets worth Rs 10,02,95,076 whereas his total income during that period was Rs 1,87,33,881.
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Sukhbir: Blue Cards to be
issued from next week
Moonak, November 22 He was here to lay the foundation stone of three sewage treatment plants at Khanauri, Lehragaga and Moonak. He also inaugurated a road over-bridge (ROB) at Chhajli village. The total cost of these projects is Rs 88 crore. on the Delhi Assembly elections, Sukhbir claimed that the SAD would win all four seats that it was contesting. He called upon the people to reject the Congress in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and to vote for SAD secretary general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Responding to a demand for better canal water supply to the Lehragaga constituency, Sukhbir said special funds for the same would be earmarked in the next state Budget. Others who spoke were Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, MP, Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Sukhwant Singh Sarao, SAD halqa in charge, Lehragaga assembly constituency.
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Resource room for differently abled children sans teacher
Abohar, November 22 Residents said the government had recently set up a gate in the memory of the former minister, who belonged to the Jansangh, but had ignored development projects in the village. Panchayat members Shimla Devi, Surinder Kumar and headmistress of the school Kanta Rani said they had informed the authorities about the vacancy in the special school but no action had been taken in this regard. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan resource room was set up under the Nihalkhera-cluster of Abohar education block-II to impart education to differently abled children. The teacher who was deployed at the centre was transferred on April 3. However, his successor has not appointed so far. Parents of these students said their education was getting affected.
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UGC team arrives to inspect Sikh university
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 22 Led by Prof HP Dikshit, former Vice Chancellor of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the six-member committee would inspect all the departments, laboratories and other facilities during the team’s two-day visit. He said they would also interact with the students and faculty members and submit a detailed report to the UGC within the next two months.
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As cigarette sales drop, cancer relief fund dwindles
Patiala, November 22 The taxation department is now contemplating a proposal to lower the VAT on cigarettes to propel a rise in sales and thus ensure greater funds for cancer relief. Till date, the department has collected Rs 25 crore through the VAT on cigarettes. Sources said the government had expected an additional revenue of Rs 100 crore. " However, the increase in VAT from 22 per cent to 59 per cent saw cigarette sales declining, " they said. Two major companies, ITC and Godfrey, have both seen a dip in their sales. While the ITC had earned Rs 33.58 cr in the first two quarters of fiscal 2012-13, it has earned only Rs 39.46 crore till date, a marginal rise. Godfrey, which made Rs 27.90 crore in the fiscal year 2012-13, has collected Rs 24.90 crore till date. "The low sale is attributed to a high tax structure. The companies have approached us to decrease the tax to 40 per cent so that their can be more sales. This would ensure a greater more flow of funds for cancer relief," said Jaspal Garg, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (VAT). Sources said that VAT evasion on cigarettes could not be ruled out as the market was flooded with packets smuggled from other states where the taxes were low. Cancer relief fund * The cancer relief fund has been set up to give assistance to cancer patients for treatment at empanelled hospitals * The government has directed all departments, semi-government institutions and local bodies to contribute 2 per cent of the income generated from the sale of their properties towards the fund * It has made it mandatory that 1 per cent of the tender amount of all infrastructural projects, costing over Rs 50
crore, will be contributed towards the fund.
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Ludhiana ASI caught incorruption case An Assistant Sub-Inspector with the Economic Offences Wing, Balbir Singh, was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from the relatives of an accused in fraud case. A team of sleuths from the Vigilance Bureau, Mohali, led by SP (Vigilance) Hargobind Singh, caught Balbir receiving graft at the District Courts Complex here on Friday morning. The policeman had allegedly sought bribe for not producing some records in the court, which could have helped the accused in getting bail. Amritsar MC deputes extra staff for tax-collection drive One of the Municipal Corporation's house-tax recovery officials died on duty after suffering a heart attack on Thursday evening. The recovery staff attributed the death of their colleague, Harpal Singh (52), a recovery clerk, to excessive workload. They said they were overburdened ever since the property tax realisation was introduced. The burden of recovery of house tax was allegedly so enormous on teams that they have been conducting camps even on their weekly offs and gazetted holidays. There are 37 MC employees who have been associated with the House Tax Department on field duty. Jalandhar Employees’ strike hits consolidation work The strike by over 70 contractual employees of SSA/RMSA across the district schools has delayed the work on the consolidation of the DISE (District Information System for Education) reports in the district by about a month, causing a considerable delay in the completion of substantial work of the Education Department. More than half of the 3,000 government schools in the district are yet to submit their DISE data books owing to the fact that the employees responsible for this specific work are on strike. Bathinda Drug haul: Ex-sarpanch among three held The Bathinda police on Friday claimed to have arrested a former sarpanch of Jaimal Singhwala village in Moga, along with two others, with 43 quintal of poppy husk. A truck and a Toyota Innova car, in which the accused were carrying 108 bags of poppy husk (40kg each), were also confiscated by the police. The accused have been identified as Sukhmandar Singh of Siriewala village in Bathinda, Suba Singh, former sarpanch, Jaimal Singhwala in Moga, and Mandeep Singh of Lohara village in Moga. A case has been registered.
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Form SIT to probe docs’ selection: HC to
govt
Chandigarh, November 22 The order indicates the junking of the much-hyped Vigilance report in the matter.The Vigilance had probed the selection process and had virtually indicted several PPSC members. But it was not made a part of the High Court's judicial record. Those indicted have all along been raising questions on the objectivity and fairness of the report. The SIT will comprise Punjab Chief Director, Vigilance Bureau, Suresh Arora, and retired CBI Joint Director MS Bali. As the issue came up for hearing before the High Court this morning, Bali's name was suggested by Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul. Issuing detailed directions on the SIT's constitution, Chief Justice Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih asked the probe panel to select officers they would need to investigate the case. The Bench also asked the panel to file its report time before the High Court. Fixing December 18 as next date of hearing, the Bench directed the SIT to hold a meeting to finalise the modalities and made it clear that the state government would provide the required facilities to the panel. The expenses have to be borne by the state. The matter was brought under the judicial scanner after a petition was filed in public interest by Punjab's former Director-General of Police KPS Gill and other petitioners. The High Court, on a previous date of hearing, had asserted the contentions raised in the bunch of petitions boiled down to three issues. Elaborating, the Bench asserted that the first one was regarding an independent inquiry by the CBI or a retired Judge of the High Court. The Bench observed it had been argued that the Vigilance inquiry had been ordered by the Chief Minister to bring discredit to the commission with a view to replacing its members. The other two issues were taking the inquiry report on record and demand for quashing the selections made by unsuccessful candidates. The Bench had added that though in some cases a number of doctors had been made parties, all were not arrayed as respondents. As the issue of selection was to be decided, a notice would have to be issued.
Case file *
In 2009-10, the PPSC had selected 312 medical officers * But, irregularities were later alleged in the selections *
A Vigilance Bureau probe indicted several PPSC members * Those indicted, however, have questioned the objectivity and fairness of the probe report
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CBI court convicts 3 in bank forgery case
Chandigarh, November 22 A press release of the Punjab Government stated Parasram Daryani was residing in Dubai and had deposited about 13 lakh US dollars in FDRs in Rajpura. The main accused along with the bank manager Chartered Accountant Rajinder Kapoor and an expert in forging signatures, Anurag Bawa, forged the documents to take a loan. The conspiracy surfaced when Daryani enquired from the bank that he had not received the FDRs for two months. A bank enquiry found the manager along with others guilty of fraudulent withdrawals. Two of the accused have already died. The guilty have been sentenced under IPC 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) for rigorous imprisonment (RI) of five years and a Rs 30,000 fine; for seven years with a Rs 1 lakh fine under IPC 467 (forgery); three years RI and Rs 20,000 under IPC 468 (forging documents and seven years RI and Rs 1 lakh fine under IPC 471 (using forged document as a genuine). The Punjab and Haryana High Court spokesperson said the case revealed how secret messages were decoded in order to favour the accused in connivance with the bank officials. The bank had to pay back the amount of FDRs to its depositor Parasram Daryani to save its face in the international banking fraternity. The fraud *
Parasram Daryani lived in Dubai and had deposited about $13 lakh in FDRs in Rajpura branch of the State Bank of India *
The main accused along with the bank manager, chartered accountant Rajinder Kapoor, and an expert in forging signatures, Anurag Bawa, forged the documents to take a loan *
After Daryani complained to the bank, the bank in its enquiry found the manager guilty of fraud
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2 in CBI net for taking bribe
Amritsar, November 22 The raid continued late into last night. The accused have been identified as Additional Accounts Officer Yugdip Singh Bakshi and clerk Manjit Singh, who were looking after multi-task services of the department. The duo was approached by Gurdip Singh, son of beneficiary Mahinder Kaur who is the widow of an ex-serviceman. A resident of Baghria village in Tarn Taran, Gurdip had sought initiation of pensionary benefits of his father late Mangal Singh, who had fought the 1965 and 1971 wars against Pakistan. “After retiring from the Army, my father used to get pension. After his death, the pension benefit was to be transferred to my mother. When I approached the department, the accused demanded Rs 15,000 to process the case further. The deal was struck at Rs 12,000,” he said. The complainant alerted the CBI officials in Chandigarh and a trap was laid to nab the duo. Sources said after the arrest, the CBI team also conducted search at the residence of Manjit Singh in Batala and Yugdip Singh in Kharar. The team also took into possession some official documents from their houses and sealed them for investigation. Sources said the accused had been taken to Chandigarh and would be produced in CBI court in Patiala. Defence spokesman Naresh Vig said he could not divulge details as an investigation was on into the case.
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Three booked for gangrape
Fazilka, November 22 The girl, in her complaint to the Arniwala police, stated that Sarbjit, alias Simmi, of the same village, had offered give her a lift from the local bus stand to her house on his bike yesterday evening. However, he allegedly forcibly took her to a deserted area near the cremation ground and raped her along with his two accomplices identified as Rinku Singh and Debi, who were already present at the site. The accused are aged between 16-18 years. It is stated that the three accused aged between 16-18 years are the school students. A case under Sections 376 and 34 of the IPC has been registered. The police said they had launched a search to nab the accused.
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Crusher owner hurt in firing in Ropar
Ropar, November 22 The two were going to Ajwinder's house in Dahinhara village near Anandpur Sahib. They had stopped at Nurpur Bedi to purchase medicines. While Ajwinder escaped the attack, Gurmit suffered minor injuries on his shoulder. He was admitted to a nearby government hospital in Singhpura. Ajwinder was facing a murder case, said Mann.
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Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh today paraded before the media several party supporters who had been allegedly targeted by the SAD-BJP government. Amarinder said the Congress workers had been allegedly implicated in false cases at the instance of the Akali leadership. “As many as 17 cases have been lodged against Jagdev Singh of Changa Rai village alone.
State Health Minister Surjit Jyani today pulled up a doctor of Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital for advising a patient to buy medicines from a private medicine shop. The patient was earlier intercepted randomly by the minister. The prescribed medicines were found to be available at cheaper rates at the Jan Aushadhi Kendra located on the hospital premises.
All Deputy Commissioners in the state have been directed to complete the process of issuing Blue Cards. These will be issued from November 25, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said here today.