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Govt’s fast-track approach pays off
Sukhbir unveils housing policy
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Ludhiana acid attack accused succeeded after 2 attempts
No let-up in vendetta cases, says PPCC chief
Fissures to fore as SAD, BJP leaders spar in Gurdaspur
Patiala ayurvedic college fails to get nod to enrol students
Eviction notice to more traders near plaza
Punjab Mandi Board annuls fee waiver on basmati
Lure to don khaki catching up with women
PRTC employees up in arms against overtime
Dera row: Peace restored in village
Fasting Sikh radical released from Ropar jail
Inmate accuses Faridkot jail superintendent of frame-up
BJP holds workshop on ‘Statue of Unity’
Flood-hit farmers get Rs 5.5-cr relief
HC contempt notice to Transport Principal Secy
Court notice to college trust, principal in molestation case
Girl abducted from hospital; parents allege police inaction
7-yr-old Faridkot boy beheaded
Four killed in mishaps
Student dies in accident
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Govt’s fast-track approach pays off
Chandigarh, December 9 Much to the discomfort of his detractors, Sukhbir has succeeded in not just getting globally acknowledged industry leaders here but has also secured their commitment to investing Rs 55,000 crore in the state. In times of economic meltdown, it is no mean achievement to get investment in manufacturing, telecom, IT and ITeS, real estate and the services sector. Industry captains like RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, Arcelor Mittal chairman LN Mittal, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, ITC Chairman YC Deveshwar, Hero Moto Corp vice- chairman Sunil Kant Munjal, GVK Group chairman GVK Reddy and DLF vice-chairman Rajiv Singh, who participated in the investor summit, said Punjab's USP was none other than the Deputy Chief Minister himself. Lauding him for ably selling Punjab’s growth potential, they said they were now becoming Punjab’s brand ambassadors. “Sunil Bharti Mittal and Sunil Kant Munjal are Punjabi by birth and have a natural affiliation with the state. But I am so impressed with the Deputy CM that I have become Punjabi at heart and I believe that the polity is not just creating a new Punjab, but will help create a new India too,” said a visibly impressed Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. He said the company already had a good presence in the state in various sectors and that they would now be a part of creating a digital revolution in the state by setting up a 4G platform to provide free services in schools, colleges and hospitals. LN Mittal, too, said that the business environment in Punjab was unmatched and that was the reason they were expanding their refining capacity at the Bathinda refinery by 25 per cent. ITC Ltd’s YC Deveshwar said he was ready to invest in Punjab only because of the state’s proactive Deputy CM. Ever since the SAD-BJP victory in the 2012 assembly elections, Sukhbir Badal has pursued a single-point agenda- of steering the state from the agrarian to industrial growth track. The new industrial policy, sound law and order and a trouble-free labour-industry arrangements have created a buzz and make the industry sit up and take note of Punjab. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, acknowledging his efforts, said that Sukhbir deserved praise for his efforts in getting Punjab on the fast track to industrial growth. The praise brought a twinkle in his son's eyes.
Important MoUs signed
Prominent participants
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Sukhbir unveils housing policy
Chandigarh, December 9 Inaugurating a session on "Propelling Sustainable Infrastructure", he said Punjab was focusing on overall development of 147 cities and this held an investment potential of Rs 2,280 crore in water supply and sewerage sectors besides Rs 732 crore in solid waste management. Unveiling the Housing and Urban Development Policy 2013, he said the floor area ratio had been upgraded from 1:75 to 1:30 and density per gross acre increased from 175 PPA to 300 PPA for general housing and to 400 for EWS houses. The Deputy CM said Punjab was targeting to operationalise a 200 MW solar power and 1,000 MW biomass power in the next three years. A Venu Prasad, Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Anurag Aggarwal, MD, PIDB and TRANSCO, gave a presentation on urban development and renewable energy policies. He answered queries of investors on various policies.
Health players
Punjab is all set to emerge as a new pharmaceutical hub, with major health sector players like Biocon, Ranbaxy, Max and Merck eying big investment projects here in the next three years. Kiran Mojumdar Shaw, MD Biocon Ltd, Banglore, said Biocon, the country's leading company, was looking to invest Rs 3,000 crore for expansion of its facilities, especially in the area of oral insulin and setting up an integrated bio-pharmaceutical company with research focus on diabetes, oncology and auto-immune diseases. KG Anantkrishnan, president and managing director, Merck & Co, said Punjab had the potential to move from "farmer to pharma". Dr Ajay Bakshi, MD and CEO, Max, said the group had launched a door-to-door drive in the state to screen cancer patients so that their treatment and rehabilitation could be started at the earliest.
IT sector
Information Technology Minister Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon said that that Mohali and Amritsar were being promoted as key IT destinations. In Mohali, at least 1,700 acres were available for IT City.
Technical Session
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CM reminds corporates of their social responsibility
Mohali, December 9 In a major initiative towards including the youth in sports activities, Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani announced providing basketball coaches in government schools, targeting at least one lakh students. “This is not merely a business partnership. We are providing basketball coaches as a part of our social commitment towards serving society in general and the youth in particular,” he said. The Chief Minister, in his speech at the end of the session, reminded business giants of their social responsibility. “The results (financial gains) should be shared with the people. It is a pity that after 66 years of Independence, people are still suffering,” he said. “Any policy that does not reach the poor is not a good policy. Each industry should plough at least 10 per cent of its earning back into the social sector,” he said quoting Guru Granth Sahib and making a reference to Mahatma Gandhi. Badal requested the big industry to set up skill development centres in the state and give employment to trainees in their units. ITC chairman YC Deveshwar said: “We will definitely set up skill development centres, particularly for the poor.” The chairman and managing director of the GVK Group, GVK Reddy, said: "We have constructed 100 houses for the poor. We will hand over the keys to the government which will provide these houses free of cost to the poor”. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, said the company had partnered with the state government in five Adarsh Schools. The group was providing quality education at its Satya Bharti Schools. Malvinder Mohan Singh, chairman of the Fortis Group, said: “We look forward to working in collaboration with the Ambanis and the Bharti Group in school education and health
progammes.” Badal also asked the industry to open schools, particularly for the poor and bright students. “I must point out that every time I go to the CII, I hear of industries making a commitment to social causes. However, not even a fraction of these have taken off. I will ask Sukhbir Badal to keep in regular touch with industrialists to ensure action on the MoUs," he said. The success of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi had forced political parties, including the Congress, to rethink on public expectations, he added.
Lighter moments...
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Ludhiana acid attack accused succeeded after 2 attempts
Ludhiana, December 9 Parvinder borrowed a car from his paternal uncle Nirmal Singh and changed its number plate. He bought an acid bottle from a shop selling car batteries. Parvinder involved his cousin Sunnypreet and friends Gurtej, Rakesh and Jaspreet in the crime. They first went to victim’s house in Barnala on December 1. But, the girl was not at home. On December 4, they went to Honey's native village in Doraha and defaced walls of their house with blood hours before a pre-wedding party there. The groom’s relatives had thought of postponing the wedding, but Honey and the victim decided to go ahead. The accused made their second attempt on December 6 when they again went to the victim’s house in Barnala. The house was locked as the family had shifted to Ludhiana for the wedding. Pari then found out from the groom’s parents that the wedding was being organised at a marriage palace on the Pakhowal road on December 7. She learnt about the girl’s visit to the beauty parlour in Sarabha Nagar for bridal makeup. Pari then talked to beauty parlour staff, introducing herself as bride’s sister-in-law and got information about the time of her visit. She passed on the information to the accused. Parvinder emptied the acid bottle in a mug and entered the parlour. He asked for the girl, handed over a letter to her before throwing acid on her face. The police were initially probing the incident as a handiwork of a jilted lover and had even rounded up some youths from Barnala. Another police team probing the case from a different angle found out a heavy exchange of messages between Parvinder and Pari. On learning the content of the messages, the police came to know that Pari had allegedly orchestrated the crime to settle scores with her ex-husband and his family. It is learnt that Pari had taken a huge amount to divorce Sunny, who is a kidney patient. How it all happened
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No let-up in vendetta cases, says PPCC chief
In a statement issued here, Bajwa said, “The SAD-BJP government had given a clean chit to all its ministers and senior Akali leaders involved in serious offences while false cases were registered against Congress leaders.” He said it was shocking that government in response to a query on criminal cases pending against politicians by Election Commission of India submitted “false information”. He said criminal cases pending against Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka, former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Bibi Jagir Kaur, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Inderbir Singh Bularia and Amarpal Singh Bonny, SAD leader Alvinder Pal Singh Pakhoke and MLA Joginder Pal Jain were either shown cancelled or untraced. He said Bibi Jagir Kaur and Congress spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira were booked in similar cases under Sections 336, 160, 427, 148,149 and 188 of the Indian Penal Code. The police have filed a cancellation report in case of Bibi Jagir Kaur, but chargesheeted Khaira. Bajwa alleged that in the 2009 Parliamentary elections, Congress supporters were attacked by SAD workers led by Majithia near Talwandi Sabo. A case was registered, but the police filed untraceable report in the court. The next day (May 8), a case was registered against Congress MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu under IPC Sections 341, 342, 353, 186, 148, 149 and 188.
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Fissures to fore as SAD, BJP leaders spar in Gurdaspur
Gurdaspur, December 9 As Langah was about to unveil the bust, Dhuppar along with scores of his supporters arrived at the venue to disrupt the function. At this, Langah’s right-hand man, Youth Akali Dal (YAD) Gurdaspur President Paramveer Singh Laddi, hit out at Dhuppar. The skirmish was taken a step ahead when Langah asked Dhuppar to leave the venue or “face the consequences from his fired-up supporters”. Sensing that he had been outnumbered by SAD supporters in his own backyard, Dhuppar backed out preventing the situation from snowballing into a major controversy. Senior leaders of both parties are viewing today’s development seriously as the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency comprises nine assembly seats. They say that any misunderstanding between the alliance partners at this stage will help the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections. Today’s incident comes close on the heels of Chandigarh-based alliance leaders sending a word to their leaders and supporters to dissolve the differences in view of the general elections. A month ago, Dhuppar managed to get his close ally installed as the Dorangla block samiti chairperson. He did not seek the support of Langah for getting his man installed and, instead, sought Dinanagar Congress MLA Aruna Chowdhury’s help. Chowdhury had supported Dhuppar’s man as chairperson to neutralise Langah’s growing influence in her Vidhan Sabha constituency. The SAD-BJP combine enjoyed a majority but Chowdhury and Dhuppar pulled off a ‘political coup’ by joining hands to keep Langah out of the scheme of things. The SAD area in-charge has been sulking ever since. Even as SAD and BJP leaders sparred, Congress leaders of the area are watching from the sidelines gleefully. “First, Chowdhury managed to marginalise the powerful Langah. Now, she and other Congressmen are watching with joy the fissures developing in the SAD-BJP combine. The development augurs well for the Congress ahead of the elections,” a senior Congress leader said.
What transpired
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Patiala ayurvedic college fails to get nod to enrol students
Patiala, December 9 The denial of permission to the college for enrolling students for the third consecutive session has dashed to ground the tall claims of the authorities that all is well with the institute. An inspection team, constituted by the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), Department of Ayush, had visited the college on June 3 and June 4. The team had been asked to assess the available facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the college and to verify the compliance of shortcomings informed by the Government of India. It has submitted a report to the CCIM, a copy of which is with The Tribune, on the basis of which the Department of Ayush has decided not to recommend the college to the Centre for grant of permission to run undergraduate courses this session. The report states that the college has a lot of shortcomings. While the bed occupancy is only 15.2 per cent against the requirement of 40 per cent, there are no teachers in four departments. Moreover, only four senior faculty members are available against the requirement of 11. There are 210 instruments against the requirement of 311. Moreover, the report states that 116 OPD patients were available per day from July 19, 2012, to November 31, 2012, against the requirement of 120 per day. The copy pertaining to the decision has also been forwarded to the President of CCIM, New Delhi. The bed occupancy at the hospital was 42.17 per cent during the inspection conducted in 2010. This indicates that the condition of the hospital has deteriorated. The report has also put forth a questionable fact. The total number of beds available on the day of the visit was 60 and out of 52 ‘patients’, as many as 43 had been admitted on the day of inspection itself. The report states that in March, only one patient had been admitted; in April, none; and in May, four patients had been admitted. It was for the first time that 43 patients had been admitted on record, it stated. Even the Superintendent, Government Ayurvedic Pharmacy, had issued medicines to this hospital, which were not meant for it as the budget allotted to the pharmacy for medicines were only for state dispensaries. The Government Ayurvedic College and Hospital is under the control of the Director, Research and Medical Education, not under the Director of Ayurveda. Moreover, out of 32 medicines available in the OPD from January to December 2012, three medicines were not utilized at all and large quantity of the remaining 29 medicines, too, remained
unutilised.
Shortcomings
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Eviction notice to more traders near plaza
The SGPC has asked them to vacate their shops to facilitate beautification of the shrine’s main entrance area under the ongoing Golden Temple Entrance Plaza project. The SGPC is, however, silent on the issue of their rehabilitation. The traders who have been running their shops here for decades are a harried lot. There are 17 shops in the area where traders mostly sell religious books, “kirpans”, portraits and other such merchandise. Besides, there are two banks, a railway ticketing office, SGPC’s information office and its book store. The traders have been told to vacate shops before December 21. The harried traders had approached Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar to rehabilitate them, but neither the state government nor the SGPC has so far offered any solace to them. Talking to The Tribune, Parminder Singh, president, Golden Temple Shopkeepers Association, said they had been earning their livelihood through these shops for over four decades. “We continued with our business even during the dark days of terrorism. The SGPC is now out to ruin our lives on the pretext of shrine’s beautification.” Kuljeet Singh, a trader, said they been doing business here for generations. “Our displacement will also deprive the pilgrims an opportunity to purchase religious items from the premises of Sri Darbar Sahib as our shops are located along the main entrance.” The shopkeepers said on one hand, the government was raising investments and holding events in this regard and on the other it was forcing them to shut their shops. The traders said if left with no option, they would move the court. They said though SGPC officials had assured them to offer an alternative site at the new plaza, nothing had been finalized yet. Makkar said the traders had been told to vacate shops to pave the way for beautification of the shrine’s entrance area. But, he refused to comment on the rehabilitation of the traders.
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Punjab Mandi Board annuls fee waiver on basmati
“We have issued notices to purchasers of basmati for the recovery of 2 per cent RDF and 2 per cent market fee,” he said. Traders are in a big shock as they have to cough up over Rs 160 per quintal as fee on basmati they had purchased a month ago. In Kotkapura, Jaitu, Faridkot and Sadiq mandis of the district, over 5 lakh quintal of basmati was purchased by the traders this season. “It is unethical on part of the government. Three months ago, the government had announced to waive the fee on basmati to boost its cultivation, but now it is taxing us. This is unfair,” said Mohan Singh Matta, president, Kotkapura Arhtiya Association. Sikander Singh, General Manager, Punjab Mandi Board, said: “The fee was waived to help farmers get remunerative prices and to promote basmati cultivation. But, the produce fetched attractive prices due to its high demand this season, so there was no need for any incentive”.
70 get notices
The Punjab Mandi Board has issued notices to over 70 traders in the district for the recovery of over Rs 8 crore fee. The authorities have said the decision has been taken as per the directions of the state government.
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Lure to don khaki catching up with women
Bathinda, December 9 Though the education qualification is graduation, most of the applicants are post-graduates, sources said. The recruitment will witness a stiff competition. Never before so many women had shown interest in the police service, the sources said. In 2011, less than 4,000 had applied for 30 posts of the same rank. The department had received 13,000 applications against the posts of 130 men and 30 women sub-inspectors. The state government was also not encouraging women to join the police force earlier since very few posts were available. This is the first major recruitment of women police officials in more than two decades. The state hopes to come close to providing 33 per cent jobs in the police to women compared to 6 per cent at present. G Gupreet Deo, a member of the recruitment board, said she was overwhelmed by the interest shown by women to join the police force. “At present, the number of women SHOs in the state will not be more than five. The government is stressing on giving more representation to women in the service. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and DGP Sumedh Singh Saini have also underlined the importance of having more women in the service”. She said steps like introduction of special women squad WASPS last year had made women more confident about the police service. Shedding tradition
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PRTC employees up in arms against overtime
Patiala, December 9 PRTC Workers Union (Azaad) state president Jasmer Singh said they were compelled to work for about 16 hours without any rest, which led to accidents, but the management was not paying any heed to their problems. He said that the union had decided that the employees would leave after their eight-hour duty and would not work overtime unless they are given extra payment. Union leader Gurdhian Singh said the PRTC was running in huge losses due to the wrong policies of the state government. "The government makes policies which are beneficial for private transport companies, which causes major losses to the PRTC. Earlier, the ratio of the PRTC buses and private buses was 40:60 but now, private buses form over 60 per cent of the state's transport. Secondly, in order to save the PRTC's income, there were a few monopoly routes, but these too are being invaded by private transporters. No action is being taken to curb the menace. We want the management to ensure that no private transporter invades the monopoly routes," he said. Meanwhile, the employees held a gate rally at Patiala today to demand fulfilment of their long-pending demands, including regularisation of the jobs of contractual workers and timely release of pension.
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Dera row: Peace restored in village
Hoshiarpur, December 9 The situation became tense when supporters of Balbir and Sant Mohan Dass protested, staking claim to the dera’s possession. Sant Mohan Dass claimed that the dera was handed over to him by then village panchayat after Sant Sewa Dass' death. Administrative officers led by Naib Tehsildar Manjit Singh and a police party from the Mehtiana police station reached the dera. The Naib Tehsildar attempted to calm the protesters down, but they did not budge. There was a rumour that someone opened fire. The administration has restored the status quo at the dera, citing that the issue of possession was sub judice. The decision was reached after a meeting among Naib Tehsildar Manjit Singh, Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Karnail Singh and representative of the two groups. With this, Sant Mohan Dass will continue be the dera care taker. Meanwhile, on a complaint of dera disciple Onkar Singh of Bainstani village, the police have registered a case under Sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) 448 (punishment for house trespass), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 511 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 25, 27, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against unidentified people, who carried weapons inside the dera. nvestigating Officer, Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Bhupinder Singh said the investigation was on to identify the accused.
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Villagers climb atop tank over land dispute
Bathinda, December 9 The protest came two days ahead of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s visit to the village on December 11. Till the filing of the report, the protesters were perched atop even as the district administration and the police were trying to persuade them to
climb down. The protesters have been demanding solution to a dispute between the community and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) over the possession of the land, which also houses
a gurdwara. But, sources said the high value of the land was the main factor in the dispute. For the last two years, the land is being managed by a committee under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner. Trouble started soon after a meeting of the community members in Rampura. They expressed displeasure over the Justice GC Garg Commission, set up in February to resolve the dispute, failing to submit its report within the stipulated three months. The protesters have been regularly staging protests and blocking road and rail traffic to voice their demand. Senior Superintendent of Police Gupreet Singh Bhullar said nobody would be allowed to disturb law and order, and that efforts were on to convince the protesters to climb down.
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Fasting Sikh radical released from Ropar jail
Gurbaksh Singh has been shifted to the PGI, Chandigarh, from the Ropar jail. His blood pressure was
significantly low when he was admitted but later, his condition was said to be stable. Kurukshetra-based Gurbaksh Singh was whisked away by the police from Gurdwara Amb Sahib here on the night of December 5 and taken into preventive custody since the authorities apprehended a threat to peace. He was first taken to the Mohali Civil Hospital and then shifted to the Ropar jail. He has been on fast since November 14. Acting SAD (Panch Pardhani) president Harpal Singh Cheema said it was not clear how the fasting leader was being released when no surety or bond had been furnished by anybody in the court of the SDM. He alleged that the police was putting pressure on Gurbaksh's family to sign documents and take his custody. He said members of his family were reluctant to accept Gurbaksh's custody in the absence of medical reports on the condition of the fasting leader. The family was also not aware of the treatment meted out to him in the Ropar jail, he added.
SDM’s orders
Mohali SDM issued orders for release of Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa — who has been fasting to seek release of Sikh youths languishing in jails — after police said there was no threat to peace
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Inmate accuses Faridkot jail superintendent of frame-up
Chandigarh, December 9 Taking up a petition filed by the inmate, Sardul Singh, Justice Daya Chaudhary has granted him bail in the case. His counsel Ramdeep Partap Singh had earlier contended that the petitioner, in custody in Faridkot jail, has been raising his voice time and again against the highhandedness of the jail officials and drug supply in the prison. As a result, the superintendent and the assistant superintendent were “deadly against” him. Giving details of Harsha’s death case, Ramdeep said the complainant-jail superintendent alleged the ailing victim died as a mob prevented timely treatment. In all, 14 “innocent” persons, including the petitioner, were booked. Taking up the matter, Justice Chaudhary asserted that some of the petitions were pending before the High Court for consideration wherein an independent inquiry has been sought. Unless the petitions were decided, it could not be said that the petitioner was really involved or not. “It would not be in the interest of justice to comment whether the petitioner was involved or not. Moreover, the investigation has been completed and a challan has been presented and petitioner is also undergoing his sentence in a murder case (FIR dated May 9, 2005) and because of this order, he cannot avail parole as submitted by the counsel for the petitioner…. “Since the investigation has been completed and nothing is to be recovered from the petitioner and he being in custody shall always be available in case his presence is required at any point of time and also the fact that the trial will take some time to conclude, the present petition is allowed and the petitioner is directed to furnish his bail/surety bonds to the satisfaction of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot. But, he cannot be released on bail at this stage as he is undergoing sentence in a murder case and this relief in this petition would be applicable for the grant of parole only”.
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BJP holds workshop on ‘Statue of Unity’
Chandigarh, December 9 Loh Sangrahan Samiti coordinator and BJP Kisan Morcha president Om Prakash Dhankar alleged the ruling Congress had always promoted the Gandhi family and never allowed the likes of legendary Sardar Patel, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and others to come forward. Speaking at the event, Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said Sardar Patel’s picture was put up in Parliament 40 years after Independence and that too due to the initiative of the NDA government. He said now it was due to the BJP’s efforts that the huge statue was being built in his memory. BJP vice-president Laxmi Kanta Chawla, Gujarat Ministers Vasuben Trivedi and Chhattar Singh Mori and the party’s state unit presidents spoke on the occasion.
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Flood-hit farmers get Rs 5.5-cr relief
Tarn Taran, December 9 She said the sanctioned amount included Rs 4.7 crore for the affected farmers and Rs 87 lakh for people whose houses were damaged during the last floods. Kairon said it was the Central Government’s duty to release compensation among the flood-hit people. “The Congress has forgotten the interests of the farmers and other people for its petty political motives,” she alleged.
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HC contempt notice to Transport Principal Secy
Chandigarh, December 9 In his petition against Punjab Principal Secretary (Transport) SS Channi and another respondent, advocate Ravinder Singh Rana alleged intentional and deliberate violation of the order dated August 17, 2010. His counsel Bale Singh Sidhu contended that the petitioner supplied the judgment’s copy to the authorities concerned in September 2012. However, the non-compliance of the orders became evident when on October 9, a truck carrying pilgrims to Mata Chintpurni met with an accident. Over 15 persons had died and about 30-35 persons had sustained serious injuries in the mishap. Sidhu said the injured passengers and the kin of the deceased could not claim insurance benefits as the vehicle could not be used for carrying passengers. Moreover, in all probability, he said the owner of the vehicle or the driver would not be in a sound financial position to compensate. He added lives of those killed in the accident could have been saved
had the directions issued by the high court been adhered to by the respondents.
Case file
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Court notice to college trust, principal in molestation case
Chandigarh, December 9 The college librarian had accused the principal of passing “colourful remarks” and for trying to terminate her services. Justice Grover directed a status quo with regard to her job. Counsel RS Bajaj contended that the principal, taking advantage of his position, would make “colourful remarks” at the petitioner on finding her alone. On several occasions, he had called her to his office and tried to interfere in her personal relationships. Bajaj said when his client objected, she was threatened that along with her friends and relatives, she would be implicated in false and frivolous cases. Bajaj said the principal intentionally created a suffocating environment to pressurise the petitioner into “obeying his illegal demands”. Bajaj said the principal had demanded sexual favours and this clearly amounted to sexual harassment at workplace. Annoyed at receiving court summons, the principal had now issued an advertisement in a daily newspaper, inviting applications for the post of librarian and library attendant on an ad hoc basis, Bajaj said.
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Girl abducted from hospital; parents allege police inaction
Moga, December 9 They along with two unidentified youths came in a white car. The youths scuffled with the girl’s parents and roughed up hospital staff before forcibly taking away the girl, a Class XI student. The youths tried to strangulate the girl’s mother, besides assaulting hospital’s security guard Bahadur Singh. They also took away his .12 bore gun. Jaswinder Singh, Station House Officer, Nihalsinghwala police station, said a case had been registered against the four youths. Special teams had been constituted to trace the girl, he said, adding a message had been flashed in all districts and the neighbouring states to nab the culprits. Girl’s father Gurdeep Singh alleged that the accused had been threatening his family for the past some time. He alleged that he had reported the matter to the police, but they failed to take any action. “Had the police acted in time, this unfortunate incident would not have happen,” he added.
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7-yr-old Faridkot boy beheaded
Faridkot, December 9 The victim, Lovepreet Singh, was returning home from his school when the incident happened. Sources said before attacking the boy, Harjinder tried to nab two other schoolchildren, but they escaped. Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police Varinder Pal Singh said they were looking out for Harjinder, who had fled the spot after committing the crime. He said announcements had been made from gurdwaras in the area about
the murder, asking people to help in nabbing the accused. Sources in the village said a few days ago, the accused had attacked his own mother but his family did not report the incident to the police. Karnail Singh, the father of the deceased, said he had adopted Lovepreet five years ago from a relative as he was issueless.
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Four killed in mishaps
Abohar, December 9 In the second incident, Subhash Chander, who was a computer teacher in Swami Pran Nath College near Padampur in Ganganagar district of Rajasthan, was killed when an unidentified vehicle hit his motorcycle. He was on his way to the college. In another incident, an unidentified vehicle hit a camel cart loaded with cotton, killing two people and the camel. The victims have been identified as Sandeep and Kishan, both aged about 30. The victims were on their way to Hanumangarh in Rajasthan to sell off their produce. The bodies are at the district hospital for the post-mortem examination.
Woman crushed to death in Hoshiarpur
Hoshiarpur: A post-graduate student was crushed to death by a truck on the Anandpur Sahib road here on Monday. The victim, Manjit Kaur, of Bagwain village in the district and her cousin Mani were retuning to home after writing their exam when the truck hit their vehicle, killing Manjit on the spot. She was riding pillion. Mani cousin was injured in the accident. The truck driver tried to escape, but people present at the spot nabbed him and handed him to police.
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Student dies in accident
Nawanshahr, December 9 The accident occurred when Harjinder was returning from a market in Phagwara after supplying vegetables this morning. The truck (HP-20-C-5751) coming from the opposite direction overtook another vehicle before hitting Harjinder’s jeep. The truck driver fled the spot. On a complaint of victim’s maternal uncle Gurcharan Singh, the police have registered a case against the truck driver under Sections 279 (rash driving), 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs 50,000) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Gurcharan had met Harjinder at an eating joint on the highway, from where he was following his jeep on his motorcycle.
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Chandigarh, December 9
Amritsar, December 9
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