|
|
|
|
|
Waterlogged villages worst-hit
Draining out rainwater
|
|
|
At Sangat Darshan, Akali leaders plead for party posts
To check unbridled power, YAD cut down to size
Ahead of civic poll, govt to modify property tax
Need to assert yourself, BJP members tell leaders
Akalis' dual face exposed: Amarinder
Govt fooling people over MoUs: Cong MLA
Patient dumped at deadhouse by mistake!
Rape victim refuses medical examination
No funds, CM wants Centre to take up project
Projects in limbo in Abohar: Jakhar
Jaitu flooded, angry residents block highway
Finally, Balad Kalan land row ends
Ropar MC to have 21 wards
Carcasses found in drain, tension in Malerkotla
Sikh woman to sue UK gurdwara for injuries
Impose fine on litterbugs: HC
2 get life term in dera chief’s murder case
HC notice to state on Pinki’s release
SC rejects Centre’s plea on relief to Patiala farmers
BSP leader shot dead
|
Waterlogged villages worst-hit
Fazilka, September 10 Prem Kularia, a former sarpanch and member of the Zila Parishad, said at least 1,000 acres of land was already waterlogged. The recent rains had only added to the farmers’ losses, he said. “No effort is being made to drain out water from the fields. Successive governments have failed to check the menace of waterlogging and seepage effectively despite several surveys,” said Babu Lal. The latter’s cotton crop grown on 8 acres has been badly damaged. Another affected village is Shajrana where about 400 acres of land has been rendered barren because of waterlogging. “Another about 700 acres of land has been inundated. Cotton and paddy crops have been badly damaged,” rued Bhagwan Dass, village sarpanch. Government Primary School and panchayat buildings in the village have been flooded. In Bahadur Khera village, standing crop over 600 acres of land has been submerged. Two rooms of 113-year-old historical building Raghuvar Bhawan collapsed yesterday as the district witnessed the highest ever 233 mm of rainfall in the last one week. Residents of the town had been staging dharnas seeking heritage status for the building. Farmers allege they have been making efforts to salvage their crop without any government
help. SGPC steps up relief Amritsar: The SGPC has set up a relief camp at Gurdwara Shaheed Bunga in Srinagar where 5,000 flood-hit persons have taken shelter. Employees of the SGPC will contribute their two days’ salary to the relief fund. Talking to mediapersons today, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said they would send a 12-member team, led by junior vice-president of Kewal Singh Badal, to Srinagar to supervise relief operations. He announced free treatment for the affected persons at Guru Ram Das Hospital here. Additional SGPC secretary Daljit Singh Bedi, who is in Srinagar, said 16 gurdwaras in Srinagar had been affected by the floods. Patiala trust pitches in Patiala: The local Sarbat Da Bhala Trust has sent relief material to the flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir. SP Singh Oberoi, managing trustee, said the trust had decided to send 2,500 superior quality blankets to Kashmir along with other relief material such as medicines, milk and food products. He said since the road connectivity was not possible, they were sending the relief material via air route. He said Indigo airlines had agreed to carry 500 blankets a day from Chandigarh to Srinagar. Special girdawari ordered Chandigarh: The Revenue Department has asked all deputy commissioners to conduct a special girdawari in areas where crops have been damaged because of heavy rain, said official sources.
Earlier, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had ordered an assessment of the damage caused in Muktsar, Abohar, Fazilka and Gurdaspur districts.
Now, the damage caused by incessant rains will be assessed in all districts.
|
|
Draining out rainwater
Muktsar, September 10 They also blame the administration for the slow pace of work on draining out water from the villages. Davinder Singh, sarpanch of Fatehpur Manian village said: “Of the five approach roads to our village, three are flooded with up to 3 feet of rainwater. People are manually draining out water from their houses as half of the village is flooded. We are afraid that a number of houses will collapse. “We have been facing the problem for the past 20 years, largely owing to faulty drains ,” he said. Partap Singh, a resident of Fatehpur Manian, said: “Despite our village being in the Chief Minister’s constutuency, we have been facing a lot of hardship due to waterlogging. The Chief Minister should find a permanent solution to this problem.” Rajinder Singh of Panniwala village said: “Our village is flooded. We are commutingthe on tractors as no other vehicle can ply in knee-deep water. The Chief Minister should visit the area and take stock of the situation. We believe that officials do not give him the correct feedback.” Sources said Badal, who was earlier scheduled to visit Rattakhera village in Lambi tomorrow, has deferred his visit. Rattakhera is among the worst-affected villages in the district. The Chief Minister had last week ordered a survey of the village and had sent bureaucrats from Chandigarh to monitor the situation. Jaskiran Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Muktsar, said: “To carry out relief work, 27 teams are working across the district.”
Abohar lawyers block highway Abohar: Angry lawyers blocked traffic on the Abohar-Malout highway on Wednesday, demanding that rainwater standing at the subdivisional complex and offices of the Revenue Department be drained out. The SDM, Rajpal Singh, pacified the protesters. He assured them that the situation would improve byThursday. Hundreds of residents jammed traffic near Ramsara village on the Abohar-Hanumangarh highway over the unchecked flow of water diverted from Lambi areas. They claimed that crops on hundreds of acres of land had been submerged and cracks had appeared in residential buildings. — Raj Sadosh
|
||
|
Cong seeks arrest of BJP men ‘involved’ in liquor smuggling
Hoshiarpur, September 10 They also raised slogans against the police alleging that they were acting as agents of the BJP to cover up their “misdeeds”. The protesters demanded that the BJP leaders indulging in liquor smuggling should be exposed and strict action should be taken against them. In the absence of District Congress Committee president and MLA Sunder Sham Arora, his wife led the protesters. The party workers were carrying a symbolic bier of the Punjab Police. Congress leaders addressing the protesters said the police was helping the accused and on the direction of a BJP stalwart, the accused were let off without being booked. They said there had been many cases where anyone found carrying even three to four bottles was booked by the police, then why leniency was shown to BJP leaders. They said after recovery of seven cases of liquor from a BJP leader’s car on Monday night, police let him go and the case was handed over to the Excise Department. Later, the driver of the car was fined. The dharna was lifted after talks between protesters and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, during which the Congress workers gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the police to book and arrest the accused.
The background The Sadar police had on Monday night seized a BJP leader’s car containing seven cases of country-made liquor. The leader ‘named’ a local BJP stalwart, saying the consignment was being carried to his home. The BJP stalwart denied it. A large number of BJP supporters gathered at the police station. After a night-long drama, the police forwarded the case to the Excise Department next morning. Later, the BJP leader’s driver was fined
Rs 1 lakh.
|
||
|
At Sangat Darshan, Akali leaders plead for party posts
But he was also approached by Akali leaders, seeking a position in the re-organised SAD and yet to be re-organised YAD. Sukhbir also assured the wards of 1984 riots and terrorism victims that the state government would soon provide jobs to them on compassionate grounds and instructed heads of departments to expedite the process in this regard. He also promised a government job to Paralympics athlete Balwinder Kaur Noori, after she apprised the Deputy CM of her achievements. Sukhbir instructed the departments to look into such cases and take immediate action to provide justice to deserving candidates. Balwinder brought to the notice of the Deputy CM that she had won 15 gold, four silver and two bronze medals besides bagging the bronze medal in World Athletics meet held in February 2014. On the plea of Punjab Police Welfare Association, Sukhbir asked his Principal Secretary PS Aujla to look into the problems being faced by dependents of police officers, who had sacrificed their life during terrorism, in getting pension after superannuation period. He assured the association that the problem would be fixed soon. Marriage Palace Owners Association and Lottery Stockers Association also shared their grievances with the Deputy CM. He assured the associations that the state government had already been working on the issues. He said many of their problems would be resolved once the government took a decision to rationalise VAT and Excise Tax. The Deputy Chief Minister also met the officials of Lalru-based Panacea Biotec, which
has been grappling with labour problems.
Sukhbir promises help
|
||
|
Ram Tirath temple dispute resolved
Amritsar, September 10 The police today handed over the premises of “pathshala” (believed to be the place where Lord Ram’s sons had studied), “living place of Sita” and an old temple in the vicinity of the shrine to Mahant Baldev Giri, who had won a decade-old legal battle for the possession of the shrine. “Dhuna sahib” and the langar hall area will be under the occupation of the Bhagwan Valimiki Tirath Vikas Board, which was formed by the state government for the development of the temple. Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner, said the matter had been resolved amicably after marathon meetings between members of the two factions and various organisations of the Valimiki community. He said an agreement was reached between three parties — Mahant Baldev Giri, Bhagwan Valimiki Tirath Vikas Board and Dhuna Sahib Trust. Mahant Baldev Giri expressed satisfaction over the compromise and said he would withdraw his petition from the court.
The compromise
|
||
|
Shoe-hurling case
Dhanaula (Barnala), September 10 He was accompanied by co-accused Mahinderpal Singh and Harwinder Singh. All three have been granted bail by a Ludhiana court. They reached Dhanaula villageat at about 11 pm last night after their release from jail. Babbi said he had been working for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since December 2013 but neither AAP nor any other party had cpme to his aid. He was all praise for Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira and advocate Rajdev Singh Khalsa for speaking up for him. Bikram, who is jobless, said he had thrown a shoe at the Chief Minister as he was disappointed with the state of affairs and felt that the Punjabis had no future. He refuted the allegation that he had torn the uniform of a policeman. Bikram said his wife taught at a private school as a science teacher. Her services were terminated after his arrest. He said he had not quit AAP. “ We will remain staunch followers of Arvind Kejriwal as long as he stands by his principles,” he said. Bikram worked with the Trident factory near Barnala for some time.
Won't intervene: PSHRC Chandigarh: The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has decided not to interfere in the shoe-hurling case.
Disposing 36 complaints in the case, the PSHRC chairperson, Justice Jagdish Bhalla, said the matter was in court. "The prosecution as well as a court of law proceeds in accordance with the law and in these circumstances, no interference by the commission is called for," he said.
— TNS
|
||
|
To check unbridled power, YAD cut down to size
Chandigarh, September 10 As SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal announced the formation of a new party executive this week, he also announced the decision to trifurcate the youth wing. The party will
now have separate presidents for all three regions of the state — Majha, Malwa and Doaba. The Malwa region (being the largest) will have two presidents. A SAD general secretary will be made coordinator for a better coordination between all four presidents. The new team is expected to be announced later this month. Lobbying for the posts of presidents has already begun and some young MLAs and sons of senior Akali leaders are being considered. Sukhbir says the reason to have separate party presidents in all regions was necessitated as they had discovered that aspirations of the youth in all three regions were different. “It’s best to have a person from each region looking after the affairs of his area. It also helps the party expand its reach,” he says, maintaining that former president Bikram Majithia had led the YAD well “at a time when the party faced rebellion by Manpreet”. However, party insiders say that the real reason for recasting the YAD structure is to have fresh faces as youth presidents and give them limited power so that they can be controlled by the SAD leadership. Last week, Majithia had offered to step down as YAD president and said he did not want a “re-appointment”. The move came after months of speculation that the SAD leadership wanted Majithia to step down after his name cropped up in the synthetic drug case. Though various investigating agencies have so far failed to nail Majithia, Chief Minister and SAD chief patron Parkash Singh Badal has on many occasions made known his “dislike” for Majithia. However, many still feel that his close association with SAD president and his having led the YAD for four years would help him get the job of general secretary, coordination, for all four YAD presidents. For the past few years, the YAD had been in the eye of storm, with several of its office-bearers and members being involved in serious cases of crime. During the previous tenure of the SAD-BJP government (2007-12), the SAD-backed Student Organisation of India (SOI) had assumed unconstitutional authority and its leaders were indulging in unlawful activities. An embarrassed SAD leadership was then forced to distance itself from the SOI. It had instructed all district administrations not to entertain the student body and to pull down all hoardings glorifying these leaders. It was then that the YAD was formed and a new set of leaders was put in place under the patronage of
Majithia.
Towards decentralisation
|
||
|
Ahead of civic poll, govt to modify property tax
The government has also decided to simplify the procedure for paying the tax and change the formula for its calculation. A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting between Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi and state BJP president Kamal Sharma here today. The three leaders reportedly agreed on granting certain exemptions to property owners, besides delinking the property tax from collector rate. Areas which are declared as slums will also be exempt from any property tax. Sukhbir said it had unanimously been decided to remove the grievances of the public on the property tax by giving certain exemptions and simplifying the procedure. “We have decided to change the formula for calculating the tax. It was earlier calculated by taking into account the collector rate of the area. Now, the tax will be calculated on per square metre or per square yard basis for both commercial and residential property. Each area will be divided into three or four zones and as many slabs of tax will be imposed,” he said, adding the new formula would be tabled in the next Cabinet meeting for approval. This is the second important decision taken by the Akali-BJP alliance to win over the urban voters. The government has already changed the mining policy to make sand and gravel available to the common man at reasonable rates. Amid growing voices against the property tax, the ruling alliance had lost a sizeable chunk of urban voters in the Lok Sabha elections. Keeping in view the forthcoming elections to the municipal bodies and 2017 Assembly elections, the alliance is now trying to make amendments. On cards
|
||
Need to assert yourself, BJP members tell leaders
Chandigarh, September 10 To expand its base in the state and to cash in on its popularity after the recent Lok Sabha elections, the party also decided to launch a membership drive. The state president directed heads of different units of the party to conduct a massive membership drive on September 25, the 98th birth anniversary of party's founder late Pandit Deendayal Upadhya. Some district presidents and morcha heads asked the party leadership to walk out of the coalition government, if the Akalis continued their confrontationist policies and ignored the rightful due of the party in the state polity. The leaders want more seats from the Akalis in the municipal elections. However, despite the internal frustration of party leaders and external irritants like the Akali support to the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), the party leadership wants to continue with the coalition government. "We are not happy with the way Akalis treat the BJP. You can judge the relationship from the fact that a minister had to take up issues of traders openly for the Akalis to react," said a district president. Another leader said the state unit of the party should openly express its displeasure with the Akalis for their continued support to the INLD in Haryana. They objected to the reports that CM Parkash Singh Badal was named the star campaigner for the INLD. State BJP party president Kamal Sharma said the meeting was organised to take stock of the ground situation and prepare a strategy for the municipal elections. He refused to join issue over Arun Jaitley's denial of a financial package to Punjab.
|
||
|
Akalis' dual face exposed: Amarinder
Chandigarh, September 10 Reacting to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal's assertion that the INLD and Akalis would form the government in Haryana, Amarinder dared them to clarify their stand on various interstate issues with Haryana, like the transfer of Chandigarh and the sharing of river water before leading the INLD-SAD campaign there. Badals' decision to align with the INLD in Haryana was their personal decision as they had not taken their party into confidence over it, he said. "The Badals owe an explanation to the people of Punjab as to how they can be the alliance partners of a party in Punjab while opposing the same in Haryana," he said.
|
||
|
Govt fooling people over MoUs: Cong MLA
Amloh, September 10 Information sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed that the SAD-BJP government in the state signed 128 MoUs during the Progressive Punjab Investor Summit in December 2013, he said. Not a single project had been set up since the signing of MoUs two years ago, he claimed. The government had been boasting of bringing big projects to the state, but no investment had actually come, he said.
|
|
Patient dumped at deadhouse by mistake!
Amritsar, September 10 A few passersby spotted the patient lying on the floor outside the deadhouse and brought the matter to the notice of the police and hospital authorities.The patient was shifted to the medicine ward. Brought to the Emergency ward of the GMC yesterday by Ambulance Service 108, he has been admitted to Medicine Unit I, which is headed by GMC principal Dr Santokh Singh. “He is not in a condition to speak right now and, therefore, his identity cannot be established,” said sources. Some persons persons have recorded a video tape in which a person identifying himself as a ward boy is seen confessing that he had dropped the patient at the deadhouse “by mistake”. However, it is learnt that the “ward boy” is not officially employed at the college. Doctors at the ward said he did small tasks for them.The doctors said had received two unattended patients last night and one of them had died. They said the “ward boy” had probably misunderstood instructions and shifted the alive patient to the deadhouse. The College principal said: “As soon as the matter came to my notice, the patient was brought back to the ward and his treatment was resumed.” He said the doctors had been attending to the patient all through the night and there was no lapse on the part of the hospital staff. The person who had dropped the patient outside the deadhouse was not on the rolls of the college, he said, adding that the college would hold an inquiry into the incident.
|
||
|
Rape victim refuses medical examination
Mansa, September 10 The police have arrested two of the four accused under Sections 363, 376-C, 342, 506 and 34 of the IPC. They are Balwinder Singh and Lakhwinder Singh. Both were sent to a two-day judicial remand by the court of Judicial Magistrate Daljit Kaur, Budhlada, today. The police claimed the victim did not want to reveal her identity and had refused to give her parents’ phone number. In her complaint to the police, she had said that she had arrived in Budhlada on September 7 to meet her ailing friend Raman Kaur, who was related to Balwinder Singh.The latter promised to accompany her to the hospital where Raman Kaur was admitted. But he took her to a solitary place near Hassanpur village where he and his accomplices raped her. The DSP, Gurmeet Kaur, who is probing the case, said: “The victim is not cooperating with the police. Our team will visit Delhi to gather more information about her.”Bhupinder Singh Khatra, SSP, Mansa, said the police were looking for the other two accused in the case.
|
||
|
No funds, CM wants Centre to take up project
Chandigarh, September 10 In a letter to Gadkari, the Chief Minister informed him that the NH-95 was being four-laned from Chandigarh to Samrala Chowk by the NHAI, but a portion of about 10 km from Samrala Chowk to the MC limit of Ludhiana had not been included. The CM said there was heavy vehicular traffic on this stretch, which resulted in frequent traffic jams due to number of busy intersections such as Bhai Bala Chowk, Aarti Chowk, PAU gate no.1 and 2. Badal told the Union Minister that the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, did not have sufficient funds for improvement of this stretch.
|
||
|
Projects in limbo in Abohar: Jakhar
Abohar, September 10 He was speaking during his visit to the Peerkhana shrine complex in Rajiv Nagar. Jakhar said the state government had submitted the project in January, following the directions issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a public interest litigation filed by Vimal Thatai and other councillors. He said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had laid the foundation stone well before the final approval outside Nehru Park here in February but the project remained in limbo. “I fear the state may divert the funds to pay liabilities or hold Sangat Darshan programmes as the ruling Badals had been reportedly doing in the past. I will lead protest by people of Abohar at the CM’s residence if the funds are not utilised on priority basis for the prescribed purpose,” he said.
|
||
|
Jaitu flooded, angry residents block highway
Faridkot, September 10 Several senior police and civil officers pacified the protesters. The local municipal authorities are already in the dock for poor maintenance of the drainage system. Some time ago, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had filed a complaint with the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Faridkot, alleging that the Jaito municipal authorities were not disposing the sewage as per the norms. The PPCB had sought legal action against the authorities. The CJM’s court had issued warrants to arrest municipal officials. However, the latter were granted anticipatory bail.
|
||
|
Finally, Balad Kalan land row ends
Sangrur, September 10 Around 112 acres of the village panchayat land (reserved for SCs) was given to nine Dalits on lease through an auction for Rs 29.98 lakh in June. ZPSC member Gurmukh Singh said the committee hoped the district administration would make every effort to get the agreement implemented in letter and spirit. Deputy Commissioner Gurloveleen Singh Sidhu said the district administration had succeeded in resolving the controversy. According to the compromise, the agitating Dalits will give Rs 14.99 lakh to the Dalits (cultivating land during kharif) for sowing crops in rabi season.
|
||
|
Ropar MC to have 21 wards
Ropar, September 10 The city will now have 21 wards. Out of these, 3 wards have been reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, while one ward for Backward Class. Seven wards are to be reserved for women, including one for a woman from the SC category.
|
||
|
Carcasses found in drain, tension in Malerkotla
Sangrur, September 10 The protesters said these could be that of cows.They demanded the arrest of “guilty persons.” A heavy police force has been deployed in Malerkotla. Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Gurloveleen Singh Sidhu and the SSP, Mandeep Singh Sidhu, took stock of the situation.The Malerkotla DSP, William Jeji, said the skeleton of a cow, stuffed into two plastic bags, had been taken out of the drain. Sources said a case had been registered against unknown persons under the Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act.
|
||
Sikh woman to sue UK gurdwara for injuries
London, September 10 Kuljit lost the bottom part of her right leg in the blast and was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. After the investigation, the local police had said there were no suspicious circumstances behind the blast. Bahia has now lodged an action at Scotland’s Court of Session, claiming damages from the “Sikh Community of Dundee” as well as three named individuals — Manjit Singh Athwal, Satwant Bhachu and Gurdev Singh –- all members of the gurdwara’s operating committee, Herald Scotland reported. Refuting the charges, Gurdev said: “I was not even there at the time of the explosion.” — PTI
|
|
Impose fine on litterbugs: HC
Chandigarh, September 10 In a judgment having potential of changing the way the streets are littered, the Division Bench of acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu asserted: “The writ petition is ordered to be closed with a direction to the states of Punjab and Haryana as well as the Union Territory, Chandigarh, to ensure that residents do not resort to throwing garbage at public places and in case any person does so, appropriate fine be imposed”. A Single Judge of the High Court had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of “pathetic and horrible sanitation conditions, defacement and destruction of public property by the residents of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali”. The matter was then directed to be treated as a public interest litigation before being placed after the Division Bench. During the course of hearing, amicus curiae or friend of the court Divya Sharma visited apni mandis held weekly in different sectors of the tricity before reporting that the sites were not cleaned till next afternoon, resulting in accumulation of garbage. Counsel for the Chandigarh administration, in response, undertook that the apni mandi sites would be cleaned by 11 am the next day. He added fines were being imposed in case someone was found littering. Counsel for the Punjab Mandi Board stated that a safai contractor had been appointed to clean apni mandi sites and the work would over by 11 am the next day as per the contract. A suggestion was also made by the court that in future a clause should be inserted while awarding the contract that the contractor concerned would be responsible for cleaning up the place by 10 am the next day. Haryana Deputy Advocate-General Palika Monga told the court that an agency had been appointed for cleaning apni mandi sites in Panchkula and an incinerator had also been purchased for treating the garbage. She submitted that the sites would be cleaned by 11 am the next day. “In case any person is found throwing garbage, appropriate fine has been prescribed on vegetable sellers and other vendors,” she added. The counsel for the respondents also submitted that frequent surveys were carried out to check encroachments in market corridors and the encroachers were dealt with in accordance with law.
Acting tough While closing a writ petition, the High Court has directed the states of Punjab and Haryana as well as the Union Territory of Chandigarh to ensure that residents do not resort to throwing garbage at public places and in case any person does so, appropriate fine be imposed.
|
|
|
2 get life term in dera chief’s murder case
Abohar, September 10 A religious leader in Punjab, Baba Amritpal Singh of Barnala, and Sewak Singh of Dhurkot (Barnala) have been acquitted. The court gave them the benefit of doubt. Sikhs from Punjab and Rajasthan had in large numbers gathered outside the court complex. Heavy police force was deployed to check any untoward incident. The background
The immersion of a partially damaged holy book in a canal by some followers of Suraj Muni had triggered strong protests in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in 2012. The incident had triggered strong protests in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Suraj Muni had explained that the holy book had been partially damaged during the demolition of a part of the dera complex on the directions of the Rajasthan High Court on a PIL against encroachments. His followers had silently immersed it in a canal, he had added. As some Sikhs spotted some pages in their fields, they informed religious leaders. A case was registered. Suraj Muni was arrested and remanded in judicial custody. Two weeks after his release on bail, three armed persons had entered the dera premises and killed him.
— OC
|
|
|
HC notice to state on Pinki’s release
Chandigarh, September 10 Taking up the matter, Justice K. Kannan fixed December 1 as the next date of hearing. In his petition for setting aside the impugned order of his release, victim’s father Amrik Singh contented that the Punjab Police and the state government were helping him in the murder case from “the very beginning”. His counsel RS Bains contended that the police was initially reluctant to register an FIR against Pinki “due to his influence”. The FIR was registered only after protests were held by the area residents. After registration of the FIR, efforts were not made by the police to arrest him. “He was arrested only after the intervention of the high court. Even investigating officer of the case, Inspector Santokh Singh, made best efforts to exonerate the accused by conducting dishonest and defective investigation”. Bains added the trial court, in its conviction order of September 2006, passed strictures on the investigating officer on the basis of which departmental proceedings were initiated…. But the departmental proceedings have not been concluded till date. Pinki was sentenced to life in October 2006 for shooting Avtar Singh on January 7, 2001. Accusing Pinki of manipulating the parole procedures, the petitioner further alleged information obtained from jail revealed that he had taken or was granted parole against the rules six times in last one-and-a-half years before he was finally released.
|
|
|
ASI murder: Bhola appears in court
Jalandhar, September 10 Bhola was arrested in a synthetic drug case by the Patiala police in November last year. Thereafter, the Kapurthala police booked him for supplying arms to four accused in the ASI murder case. Bhola's name cropped up in the case after the police reportedly got clues to his links with Rajinder Singh Mintu of Fatehgarh Sahib, booked for the ASI's murder. The accused killed the ASI who chased them after coming to know that they were carrying drugs.
|
|
|
SC rejects Centre’s plea on relief to Patiala farmers
The Centre had acquired the land in Bir Kheri Gujran, Sher Majra, Haji Majra and Pasiana villages for Rs 1.5 lakh-Rs 2 lakh per acre. For one set of land, the reference court had enhanced the compensation to Rs 9 lakh per acre, which was reduced to Rs 4.54 lakh by the high court. For another parcel of land, the reference court had enhanced the compensation to Rs 2.33 lakh, which was further increased to Rs 4.48 lakh by the high court. The farmers had accepted the HC ruling, but the Centre came to the SC contending that the high court was not justified in relying upon the sale transactions cited by the landowners. The cited transactions were close to the city, but the acquired land was not so, it pleaded.
|
|
BSP leader shot dead
Abohar, September 10 Preliminary investigation indicated that more than eight persons alighted from a black Bolero car. They reportedly threatened Vikas against pursuing a case that was registered following firing at his liquor shop in Kutana Nathasari village in Sirsa last year. After an hour, they came back again and one of them shot at Vikas. The police was informed immediately and a message was sent to all police posts on the highway but the culprits could not be nabbed. A police team has been dispatched to Haryana, officials said.
Farmer shot at in Abohar
In another incident, a transporter reportedly fired two rounds at a farmer, Madan Lal (50), of Dhaban Kokrian village today. Madan was shifted to the Civil Hospital, where doctors referred him to Faridkot as his condition was found to be critical. A police team has left for Faridkot to record his statement, sources said.
|
|
| 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, September 10
Chandigarh, September 10
New Delhi, September 10