|
|
|
|
|
Patients suffer as chemists strike to protest police raids
Badal seeks fiscal package
DC orders probe into jail inmate’s death
Girls seek panchayat land cultivation right for Dalits
No water, residents of 24 villages forced to shift to camps
Cops on toes, caution villagers
World Day Against Child Labour
Anandpur Sahib ropeway project to be revived
Zira placated, Deputy CM promises to ‘adjust’ him
Kaushal takes over as Chief Secretary
41 officials found absent from duty
Akali sarpanch up in arms against halqa in charge
Civil Services: Ferozepur doc 28th
Rajpura PCS officer too makes it
Martyrdom Day Of Guru Arjan Dev
Home Guards office without power supply for 18 months
Protest against rail authorities
in Abohar
Fazilka villagers protest police inaction in kidnapping case
Polls to 75 MCs pending from 10 months
State can’t be selective in filing appeal, says High Court
Former terrorist held in Amritsar
Patwari held for graft in Tarn Taran
|
Village pond continues to spew bombs & bullets
Jagraon, June 12 This is the third major recovery of ammunition from the village pond during the past eight days. Eleven hand grenades and 115 cartridges of AK-47 rifle were found in the same pond two days ago, while 14 hand grenades and 33 cartridges of AK-47 rifle were found from there on June 4. The recoveries were made during the cleaning of the pond. Members of the anti-sabotage team, who launched a search operation in the pond today, found 8 kg RDX, around 560 detonators, five hand grenades, four magazines and more than 100 live cartridges of AK-47 rifle. Jagraon DSP Surinder Kumar said, "The police have taken all the ammunition recovered from the pond in its custody. We have called a bomb-disposal squad from Jalandhar for disposing of the ammunition. An investigation has been launched to establish the source of the ammunition." Police personnels have been deployed in the village to deal with the situation if anymore suspicious recoveries were made during the cleaning of the pond.
|
|
Patients suffer as chemists strike to protest police raids
Chandigarh, June 12 Dubbing the raids “illegal”, the chemists argued that their field was covered under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and not under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, “as was being projected by the Punjab Police”. Surjit Mehta, association president, said, “How can a policeman identify the composition of a chemical substance without any expertise in the field? In one case, the Health Minister had to intervene and call up a Senior Superintendent of Police when a chemist was being wrongly booked.” Mehta said the government had made permission from the Drug Authority of India a must to store six drugs, including proxyvon, fortvin injections, lomotil tablets, nitrszepam, codeine syrups and norphin. “We are willing to exclude even more in case given a list. But, it is unfair to harass us for normal medicines,” he said. Mehta said there were 31,470 chemists in Punjab. “Beginning July 1, we will be forced to commence a chain hunger strike in different districts, which will be followed by bigger protests,” he said. Association general secretary Surinder Duggal said, “There are several cases where chemists or their family members were harassed by the police. The former president of Mansa District Chemists Association, Lachman Dass, committed suicide after he was trapped in a false case by the police.” Dissatisfied with the “free hand” given by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal to the police for raiding chemists during the ongoing drive against drugs, even Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani come out in support of the agitating chemists and called the raids “totally uncalled for”. The office of the Deputy Chief Minister refused a comment on the issue. Ludhiana Unaware of the strike, people could be seen unsuccessfully knocking the shutters of chemists in various parts of the city. Led by Amandeep Singh, president of Retail Chemist Association, the chemists submitted a memorandum to the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Baldev Singh, raising voice against the alleged harassment during police raids. Amritsar All private shops remained closed in the city because of which patients had to face inconvenience. A huge rush was seen at the Jan Aushadi Store at the Civil Hospital and Seva Bharti’s counter at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital where free medicines are given to patients. Even free of cost pharmacies at the government hospitals had long queues. Fazilka Around 200 members of the District Chemists Association, led by its president Ashok Chhabra, took out a procession in the town. They also staged a protest before the office of the Civil Surgeon and presented a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner. “The police should not be allowed to check the drugs lying in chemist shops as they are technically not qualified to identify non-scheduled drugs,” pleaded local unit president Sandeep Bhusari. Jalandhar More than 800 chemist shops, including 250 wholesale units, remained closed in the city. Rakesh Gupta, Jalandhar Wholesale Chemists Organisation president, said while giving the call for strike, they did not include the chemist shops located in hospitals so that emergency patients were not harassed. Gurdaspur Nearly 800 chemists of the district and neighbouring Pathankot downed their shutters to protest the police raids. Satish Kapoor, Gurdaspur District Chemist Association president, alleged the state government had given unauthorised powers to the police to raid their shops as part of its anti-drug drive launched after the Lok Sabha elections. Patiala Patients all over the city faced inconvenience as they could not get the prescribed medicine. Only a few chemist shops in private hospitals and other emergency centres remained open. However, most of the people could not reach these shops. Ropar The Rupnagar Chemist Association district president, Sudarshan Chaudhary, submitted a memorandum to the district administration and the Civil Surgeon. He alleged that the registration of cases by the police against the association members under the NDPS Act was unjustified. Moga The district president of the chemists association, Rajiv Garg, claimed that more than 300 chemist shops remained shut in the district. A delegation of the association also met District Magistrate Parminder Singh Gill, apprising him of the alleged police harassment. Sangrur District Chemists Association president Naresh Jindal said there were 1,400 shops of chemists in Sangrur, Sunam, Dhuri, Malerkotla, Lehragaga and Moonak areas. He said all of them observed strike. Mansa The chemist shops here remained closed throughout the day. There are around 400 shops in the district. Mansa Retail Chemist Association chief Radhe Sham said, “The government must withdraw its decision of police raids.”
|
|||
|
Badal seeks fiscal package
New Delhi, June 12 Requesting a waiver of an outstanding debt of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, Badal told Jaitley that Punjab had fought a “battle for the nation" for which it should not be penalised any more. Badal sought Rs 5,000 crore as non-Plan grant for the current financial year till the 13th Finance Commission’s report was out. He sought Jaitley’s intervention for settling dues pending with the FCI. Jaitley reportedly told Badal that a panel would be constituted to look into the issue. Badal's request for speedy clearance for international flights from the Chandigarh airport. Demands accepted
|
|||
|
DC orders probe into jail inmate’s death
Gurdaspur, June 12 Sukhwant Singh Gill, SSP said a departmental inquiry under the SP (D), Jagjit Singh Saroya, had been initiated against the inspector. Earlier in the day, kin of the deceased blocked traffic on the Kahnuwan road, forcing the police to give in to their demand that the narcotic cell in charge be suspended. They claimed that the latter had "intentionally" booked Kulwinder under the NDPS Act though there was not an "iota of evidence" that he was on drugs. Kulwinder, a father of three, was a resident of Bathwala village. His family claimed that he was whisked away from his spare parts shop on July 7 and sent to a day’s police remand. Later, he was sent to judicial custody for two weeks. Subsequently, he was lodged in the Central Jail here where he committed suicide yesterday afternoon. The police claimed that Kulwinder, a drug addict, was arrested at a naka near Gaznipur village. He was found carrying 1.5 kg of poppy husk. Kirpal Singh and Charan Singh claimed that Inspector Baldev Singh had planted the contraband on their brother as he nursed a grudge against him. “Unable to take the insult, Kulwinder hanged himself in the jail bathroom," they said. Sukhwant Singh Gill, SSP, contested the charge, insisting that Kulwinder was an addict. “He was a driver before he opened his spare parts shop on the outskirts of his village and would regularly consume poppy husk,” he said. “If his family members suspected a frame-up, they could have approached me after he was arrested on June 7. They are needlessly raising a hue and cry,” the SSP told mediapersons at a press conference. A senior officer, who did not want to be identified, said Kulwinder, unable to get dope while in jail, went into depression and committed suicide. “We are acting against the drug addicts and suppliers both. We have personal enmity with none," said the SSP. The Gurdaspur police claim they are being ‘unfairly’ blamed for the prisoner's death. Kin contest police claim
2 prisoners die in Sangrur jail Sangrur: Two prisoners lodged in the Sangrur district jail have died in two days. Both died while being shifted to the local Civil Hospital, Jail Superintendent Jagwant Kumar Sharma said on Thursday. The deaths raise a question mark on the healthcare facilities in jails. Jeet Singh (45), a resident of Falerra village in the jurisdiction of the Dharamgarh police station, died at 9.15 am on Thursday. The jail authorities said he was a drug addict. Sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment under the NDPS Act, he was lodged in the Sangrur jail on June 5. Prisoner Surjit Kaur, 68, undergoing a six-year term, was diabetic. She died on Wednesday. — TNS
|
|||
|
Girls seek panchayat land cultivation right for Dalits
Sangrur, June 12 Coming together under the banner of the Zamin Prapati Sanghrash Committee, Sandeep Kaur, Tejpal Kaur, Gurmeet Kaur and others today reached Sangrur to seek panchayat land for the SCs. They also held a press conference here. The girls said 17 bighas of panchayat land was reserved for the SCs in their village. This time, members of the Dalit community wanted to cultivate it, but some landlords, who had been cultivating it for the past several years by misleading the Dalits, did not want that to happen. When they tried to fight for the SCs, some upper-caste people tried to gag them and did not allow auction of the land to take place, they alleged. The girls said the auction of the land had been cancelled by the administration twice so far. They demanded that the land should be given to SC claimants for cultivation at the minimum reserved price for a year. SCs belonging to Baopur (Moonak), Namol (Sunam) and Balad Kalan (Bhawanigarh) villages are already up in arms against the landlords in their villages.
|
|
No water, residents of 24 villages forced to shift to camps
Anandpur Sahib, June 12 The government has failed to provide water in these villages situated along the Himachal Pradesh border. The residents get the supply only twice or thrice a week that too for just an hour. In the absence of any industry or other avenues, villagers are dependent on dairy farming. Though the Water Supply Department had installed taps in many houses in these villages, the supply comes only in one or two taps in streets on alternate days only for an hour or two. The wells and ponds in these villages have gone dry and there is no source of irrigation. Resultantly, no fodder is available for the cattle, forcing the residents to leave the area. “It is not an easy task, but we have no choice,” said Rajkumar, a resident of Samlah village who is camping with his 10 buffaloes at Lodhipur. “For decades, we have been shifting our base during the summer season to places such as Agampur, Lodhipur, Thane wali Beli and Dasgrain. The successive governments have failed to solve our problems,” said Baalu Ram, who has also left his home at Lakher village. “With no drinking water supply in Lakher village, 10 km from Anandpur Sahib, the residents depend on a well. But the well goes dry by the middle of June, following which the resident fetch water from a ‘bowli’ (spring) located three km away,” said Gulam Hussain, a resident of Lakher village. Ram Lok, a shopkeeper at Samlah village, said all governments promised water supply to them during elections, but nothing worthwhile was done in this direction. Interestingly, water was supplied to these villages everyday during the recent Lok Sabha election. Jeet Ram, sarpanch, Lakher village, said despite efforts by panchayats in the area, nothing could be done to bring relief to the locals. HPS Dhillon, Executive Engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation, said the state government had asked the department to prepare a list of villages facing water shortage so that remedial measures could be taken. He said they had already submitted a list of 81 such villages in the area. Summer fury
|
||
|
Cops on toes, caution villagers
Ludhiana, June 12 Questions are being raised as to how such a huge quantity of explosives was sneaked into the state and brought here with the intelligence agencies not getting any whiff of a lethal explosive like RDX. In a fix, the Jagraon police today launched an investigation to establish the source of the seized ammunition. Sources said the seized quantity of RDX was enough to leave a trail of destruction in the entire state. Police sources said the persons who dumped these weapons in the pond must be well acquainted with the area. They could be the residents of this village or of some nearby area. The recoveries made from the village pond over the past eight days have created fear among the villagers. The police have appealed to the panchayats of nearby villages to remain alert while getting cleaned the ponds in their respective villages and inform the police if they notice anything suspicious. Jagraon and the Sidhwan Bet area once remained a hotbed of militant activities. In the past also, recoveries of weapons had been reported from these places. The weapons were found dumped either in the fields or in water bodies. On April 28, the Ludhiana police recovered 10 rocket launchers, an IED (bomb), an AK-47 and two other rifles, besides carbines, six magazines, and a country-made bomb from the bed of the Abohar Branch Canal. On December 25, 2010, a retired veterinary pharmacist, Pritpal Singh of Gujjarwal village, found an earthen pot containing grenades and cartridges buried in his plot. The accidental recovery was made while he was constructing his house in the village. Two hand grenades, 132 cartridges (9mm) and 52 cartridges (7.65 mm) were found wrapped in polythene sheets.
|
||
|
World Day Against Child Labour
Chandigarh, June 12 The NGO's Chief Execitive Officer, Thomas Chandy, launched a project titled "Strengthening Child Rights in the Cotton Farming districts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan," at the CII, Northern Region, here today. On the World Day Against Child Labour, the NGO and its partners, Breakthrough and Pratham, and the IKEA Foundation unveiled a Rs 50 crore programme to protect 7,90,000 children in the three states. The project was launched by state Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Haryana Health Minister Rao Narender Singh. Chairman of the "Save the Children" organisation Harpal Singh said there were 12.67 million child labourers in India as per Census- 2001, 0.18 million in Punjab, 0.25 million in Haryana and 0.13 million in Rajasthan ( in the age group of 5-14 years). He said a study by the Global Research foundation in 2006-07 on ‘Child Labour in Indian Cotton Supply Chain’ revealed that an estimated total number of 4,14, 390 children worked in the cottonseed farms. Of them, 2,23,940 were below the age of 14 and 1,90,450 in the age group of 15-18 years. Prof Sucha Singh Gill, director, CRRID, said: “The magnitude of the problem is large. A study shows that more than five lakh children from Punjab and 3.58 lakh from Haryana work as labourers in the agriculture sector.” He said there were four main reasons for this- livelihood crisis, shrinkage of labour, suicide among peasants and poor quality of education.
|
||
|
Anandpur Sahib ropeway project to be revived
Anandpur Sahib, June 12 The project was shelved by the Himachal Pradesh Government after a Congress government took over the reins of power from a BJP government last year. Thandal was here to pay obeisance at Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib after his induction into the state Cabinet on Wednesday. He said work on the memorial of Bhai Jaita Ji at Anandpur Sahib would also be started soon. A five-acre plot for it had already been earmarked and the work on its design was in progress, he said. Thandal said he would also work to improve condition of the jails in the state so that these could become reform houses for the convicts. On the statement of former DGP Shashikant that drugs were easily available in Punjab jails, he said Shashikant should have brought it to the notice of the state government during his tenure as the DGP.
|
||
|
Zira placated, Deputy CM promises to ‘adjust’ him
Chandigarh, June 12 Sources say former minister Phillaur played a crucial role in placating Zira with whom he held several rounds of parleys in the past two days. Accompanied by Maluka and Bhunder, Zira and his son Avtar Singh met Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal at his residence here this afternoon. The latter promised to “adjust” Zira “with a befitting position”. Zira and his son could not be contacted for comment. However, Phillaur told The Tribune that the issue had been resolved amicably. Zira had threatened to chalk out his future plans after consulting his supporters on June 15. The threat seems to have worked, at least for the time being. The SAD had faced a jolt when Zira, senior vice-president of the party, his son Avtar Singh, MD, Punjab Cooperative Bank, and daughter-in-law Jaswinder Kaur, an SGPC member, resigned from their posts on June 9. Zira, who is from the Ferozepur-Moga belt, and some area MLAs had objected to the inclusion of Tota Singh in the state Cabinet, despite his "tainted" past. Tota Singh was convicted by a Mohali court for misusing his official vehicle. Though Zira has been placated, three-time Akali MLA from Sham Chaurasi (Hoshiarpur) Mohinder Kaur Josh continues to sulk. She too had expected a berth in the government. No senior leader has approached her so far, she says. Earlier, hundreds of party workers, including sarpanches, block samiti members, traders and commission agents, had expressed solidarity with Zira. Accusing the Badals of nepotism, they had threatened to quit the party en bloc if Zira was not given a ministry.
|
||
|
Kaushal takes over as Chief Secretary
Chandigarh, June 12 Rakesh Singh is said to enjoy a good rapport with the Central Government. He is reportedly close to Union Home minister Rajnath Singh. Back from leave, he is likely to shift to New Delhi on deputation. He could be posted with the Home or Finance Ministry. Kaushal has held various important posts. He has been Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur, Secretary PWD, Senior Regional Manager, FCI, and Special Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. He got close to the Chief Minister as Principal Secretary, Irrigation. Badal Senior has always taken a keen interest in the department. Addressed as “Guruji” by friends, Kaushal is an alumnus of DAV College, Jalandhar. An avid golfer, before joining the IAS, he taught at DAV College, Jalandhar, and at Ramgarhia College,
Phagwara.
|
||
|
41 officials found absent from duty
Ropar, June 12 Among those found absent were three excise and taxation officers (sales), an excise and taxation inspector, the district controller of finance and accounts, a doctor, a sanitary inspector, a Home Guards district commander, a deputy registrar, an assistant registrar of cooperative societies, a senior fishing officer and a deputy director.
|
||
|
Akali sarpanch up in arms against halqa in charge
Muktsar, June 12 He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had sanctioned Rs 12 lakh for the development of the village during a Sangat Darshan programme in January. He claimed that cheques for the works were issued too. But SAD's Gidderbaha constituency in charge, Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, had not handed over the cheques to the village. Surjit Singh said a sum of Rs 1.10 lakh was sanctioned for constructing a dharamshala, Rs 5 lakh for a gym and Rs 4.50 lakh for an anganwari centre. “I have met the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, a former Faridkot MP and the Muktsar Deputy Commissioner in this regard, but to no avail. Dimpy is deliberately withholding the cheques. “He wants the panchayat to approach him through an SGPC member,” he alleged. He said he had been earlier told that the payment had been delayed owing to the election code. Now, he had been told that the cheques had lapsed. “The delay has hit development works in the village. I am an elected representative and answerable to the people,” he said. Surjit Singh said he had filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to know about the status of the cheques but had not got any reply so far. He said he had mentioned the details of the cheques. When contacted, Naval Kumar, District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO), said: “I have no information whether any cheques were issued for Dhulkot village on the instructions of the Chief Minister. If indeed any cheques were issued, these would have lapsed by now.”
|
||
|
Civil Services: Ferozepur doc 28th
Ferozepur, June 12 Incidentally, both are doctors and have cracked this exam in their first attempt. Himanshu attributes his success to his teachers and parents. Having studied from the local DC Model Senior Secondary School, he has been a topper throughout his career. He pursued MBBS from the Government Medical College, Faridkot. At present, he is posted as Rural Medical Officer. His father Surinder Aggarwal is an Army contractor while his mother Shakuntala Aggarwal is a housewife. Dr Saloni completed her MBBS from Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi. She remained a gold medalist in biochemistry, physiology and forensic medicine. Her father Anish Sidana is a rice mill owner in Jalalabad. Another local boy, Sumit Sharma, whose father VK Sharma is posted as Commissioner, Ferozepur division, stood 575th. He pursued computer science engineering from Panjab University and is currently posted as Excise and Taxation Officer in Mohali. He had cleared the Punjab Civil Services (PCS) last year. 2 from Faridkot in list
Simarpreet Kaur of Kotkapura and Amarpreet Kaur Sandhu of Sayian Wala village in the district also cleared the exam. A gold medalist in physiotherapy, Simarpreet Kaur had cleared the PCS last year. The daughter-in-law of a former block samiti member, Amarpreet’s husband is a farmer.
|
||
|
Rajpura PCS officer too makes it
Patiala, June 12 Sakhi had stood 88th in the PCS exam that was conducted last year. She has cleared the UPSC exam in her fourth attempt. Speaking to The Tribune, Sakshi said PCS happened incidentally as she cleared it in her very first attempt. “However, being an IAS was my goal and today is the happiest day of my life. I had come very close to clearing the exam in my earlier two attempts as well. I appeared in interviews but failed to make the final cut. But I did not give up. I continued to work hard and finally my fourth attempt has turned out to be a lucky one for me,” she said. Her father SP Verma, senior manager with a bank, said Sakshi had always been a brilliant student who focused on her goal and it was due to her hard work that she had cracked the exam. Sakshi’s mother Rama Verma, Punjabi lecturer at Government Senior Secondary School, Rajpura, is equally excited and gives the credit to her daughter’s “never die spirit”.
|
||
|
Martyrdom Day Of Guru Arjan Dev
Amritsar, June 12 The event is being observed twice in Pakistan due to confusion following the calendar row. Around 300 pilgrims from India have already reached Pakistan. Sarna said a 67-member jatha had been sent by SAD (Delhi) to Pakistan, which would observe the ‘gurpurab’ there on June 16 (as per the original Nanakshahi Calendar). He opined that Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh should step in to resolve the controversy surrounding the Nanakshahi Calendar as it had created a lot of confusion among the Sikhs in the country as well as abroad. He said the Jathedar must call a meeting of all Sikh organisations to evolve a consensus over the issue and sort it out once for all. Sarna raised a question mark over the current system being followed in this regard, as per which the dates of some ‘gurpurabs’ were fixed while for others it was decided every year. “The SGPC-run gurdwaras observed the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev on June 1, as per the amended Nanakshahi Calendar. However, they celebrated the Gurtagaddi Diwas of Guru Hargobind Sahib on June 11. How is it possible that Guru Hargobind Sahib succeeded Guru Arjan Dev 10 days after his martyrdom?” he said. The Nanakshahi Calendar row has divided the Sikhs in Pakistan too as a section of them had already observed the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev on June 1 while others would be observing it on June 16.
|
||
|
Home Guards office without power supply for 18 months
Hoshiarpur, June 12 Bills amounting to over Rs 60,000 are pending and the authorities say they have no funds to pay them. Being at the top floor of the District Administrative Complex, the Punjab Home Guards office faces direct sunlight from all four sides. With the temperatures on a rise, as many as 33 employees working the office are at the receiving end. The problem started in 2012 when electricity bills were not paid due to the unavailability of funds. The District Commandant came forward with a voluntary contribution and so did the office staff and the bill was paid by contributing the amount. It continued for three to four months but in June 2012, the bill of Rs 19,220 was not paid as the staff was fed up of contributing for it. Thereafter, bills piled up. An amount of Rs 27,000 that was paid by the employees and the commandant has also not been returned to them by the department. On December 13, 2012, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited snapped the power connection of the headquarters. Jasbir Singh, District Commandant, said, “I had taken up the matter many times with the higher officials and at the DG office level too but every time I got the response that there were no funds and so, we have to continue like this. We had also requested the Deputy Commissioner to lend us a line from the District Administrative Complex’s main power connection and that we were ready to pay for our consumption but this request was also not considered.” Pending bills
|
||
|
Protest against rail authorities
in Abohar
Abohar, June 12 Dr Kuldeep Singh, who led the protest, said many passengers had to board the train without getting tickets. He added that many others, including senior citizens, could not even take the balance amount. Earlier, commuters claimed ticket window staff were gossiping inside the booking room even as the Divisional Railway Manager, during the annual inspection, directed that the windows should remain open round the clock. The station superintendent, when approached by the protesters, expressed inability to take action. The commuters then went to the sub-divisional complex and submitted a memorandum to SDM Rajpal Singh seeking disciplinary action against the ticket counter staff. The protesters also complained that staff on duty usually tried to detain balance amount citing non-availability of change. They demanded that ticket windows should be opened at least half an hour before the scheduled arrival of morning trains which leave for Delhi and Haridwar as the number of commuters had increased manifold due to summer vacations.
|
||
|
Fazilka villagers protest police inaction in kidnapping case
Fazilka, June 12 Anuj Kumar of Muthianwali village of Fazilka district had reportedly kidnapped a minor girl on May 27. The villagers held a dharna outside the office and raised slogans against the police. The girl’s father, Jagdish Kumar of Karnikhera village, in his complaint to the Sadar police alleged that Anuj Kumar had waylaid the girl and had taken her with him on May 27. The duo has not returned yet. Jagdish has now alleged that the police did not initiate any action against some relatives of Anuj who were reportedly involved in the alleged kidnapping of the girl due to “political pressure”. They said the police had also failed to find Anuj and the girl despite repeated reminders. They demanded immediate arrest of the accused. “We have already launched a search and the girl would be found soon and handed over to her parents,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Fazilka, Manjit Singh.
|
||
|
Polls to 75 MCs pending from 10 months
Sangrur, June 12 The elections were supposed to be held within six months as per the provisions of the Punjab Municipal Act. In the absence of elected municipal councils for over 10 months, the common man has been facing inconvenience in getting their routine works done. In case of any problem at the council level, a majority of the persons avoid approaching administrators (Sub-Divisional Magistrates) of the councils to get their works done. Sources in the Local Government Department said elections to these 75 municipal councils and many other newly created nagar panchayats would take five to six more months as a lot of work in this regard was yet to be done. The Delimitation Boards for finalising delimitation of wards in these cities and towns are yet to be notified. A delimitation board is set up for every municipal council under the chairpersonship of the administrator or president of the council. Besides official members, a non-official member is also included in the board. Sources said drafts of delimitation of wards were ready and were with the Department of Local Government. These drafts will be discussed by the Delimitation Boards and after that objections will be sought from the people. After that, a notification with regard to creation of the wards will be issued. After this process is complete, the elections to the councils will be announced. State BJP secretary and former local municipal councilor Jatinder Kalra said people had been running from pillar to post to get their routine development and administrative works done, which were earlier easily got done through their councillor. He urged the state government to expedite the work related to holding of the elections.
|
|
State can’t be selective in filing appeal, says High Court
Chandigarh, June 12 In the remaining cases, the judgment was accepted by the government and relief granted. Making it clear that the state cannot be selective in the matter of filing appeals, a Division Bench of the High Court has now refused to interfere with the orders, saying judicial intervention in the two cases would be discriminatory against the respondents. The ruling by the Bench of Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu came on two appeals filed by the state of Punjab and other appellants against Baldev Raj Mittal and other respondents. Initially, the respondents and a "large number" of other similarly situated JBT and JV teachers had moved the High Court by filing no less than 18 writ petitions. They were seeking the grant of higher benefits for acquiring higher qualifications. All 18 writ petitions were disposed of by the High Court by passing the impugned judgment on April 15, 2009. But the state moved the High Court in appeal only in two matters. The Bench asserted: "Surprisingly, out of 18 writ petitions so decided, the appellant state has preferred to file an appeal only in two cases." Dismissing the two appeals, it asserted: "... If any interference is made in these two cases, it would amount to gross discrimination with the respondents herein. No case is made out to cause interference by this court in the present appeals".
|
|
Former terrorist held in Amritsar
Amritsar, June 12 He was awarded life imprisonment by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1997 in a murder case registered against him at the Patti police station in Tarn Taran. He had absconded in 2005 after his bail plea was dismissed by the High Court. Gaurav Yadav, IG, counter intelligence, said Chatra, a former militant associated with Bhindrawala Tiger Fore (BTF) outfit, was held near the interstate bus terminus. He said he would be handed over to the Tarn Taran police. He said six cases including that of criminal trespass, theft and robbery had been registered against him in Ferozepur, Kapurthala and Tarn
Taran.
|
|
|
Patwari held for graft in Tarn Taran
Tarn
Taran, June 12 Sources said the Vigilance Bureau had laid a trap to nab Patwari Om Parkash of Maluwal circle on the complaint of Partap Singh, a farmer of Maluwal Santan village. The Patwari had sought the bribe for issuing a copy of mutation of the farmer’s land. In another case, the government has terminated the services of Patwari Avtar Singh. The official while working in Sarhali Khurd (Tarn
Taran) was booked in a corruption case in 1998. He was convicted in the case and was imprisoned for two years in July 2004. The accused was not given any personal hearing by the state Personal Department.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, June 12
New Delhi, June 12
Sangrur, June 12
Anandpur Sahib, June 12
Chandigarh, June 12
Patiala, June 12
Hoshiarpur, June 12
Fazilka, June 12
While Dr Himanshu Aggarwal bagged the 28th rank, a girl from Jalalabad, Dr Saloni Sidana, secured the 74th rank.