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Fresh spell of rain ruins paddy crop
CM visits affected villages
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cross-border
smuggling
Trade timings at ICP cut by 2 hours
Former Mandi Board official joins Aam Aadmi Party
1.74 lakh beneficiaries await financial aid for months
DGP told to probe Vidhu murder case on priority
Sarpanches protest private audit of panchayat accounts
Stop sewage flow into Ghaggar, CM tells HP
Project clearance in 30 days: Dy CM
SGPC to send medical teams to J&K
Centre agrees to reconsider rice procurement norms
Deceased couple’s kin lathicharged
Girl students suffer for Punjabi University’s fault
Officials told to make property returns public
PRTC contractual workers’ leader on fast for 13 days
Sarna : Kar sewa of Lahore shrine from November
Poverty drives girl student to suicide
Delimitation boards under judicial lens
All accused in Bikramjit case arrested
HC tells Barnala municipal body to ensure cleanliness
Teaching fellows with fake papers ‘thrown out’
Boy pushes sister into canal
Looting case: College student surrenders
TET protesters booked
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Fresh spell of rain ruins paddy crop
Amritsar, September 15 Bishan Singh, a farmer from Attari, said: “The rain, accompanied by high-velocity winds, caused more damage this time. It led to lodging of the 1121 variety which was nearing maturity.” He said they had installed motors to drain out the water from their fields. He said the downpour had wiped out hopes of a good harvest. Makhan Singh, a farmer from Majitha, said at this stage, more rain meant more losses. He said many farmers were about to start harvesting but now that their fields had been inundated, they would have to wait for another week, at least. “The unexpected rain has left us counting our losses,” he added. But Amritsar Chief Agriculture Officer Paramjit Singh Sandhu claimed the latest spell of rain had not caused much damage to paddy, despite reports of lodging. Farmers’ leader Satnam Singh Ajnala said that the basmati crop had been flattened and this would certainly affect the yield. He said paddy on 13,000 acres had been destroyed in the Ajnala subdivision alone. He said paddy grown on 42,000 hectares and cotton grown on 45,000 hectares had suffered damage. Tejinder Singh from Rasulpur and Pargat Singh from Chamba village in Tarn Taran district said the paddy crop had been flattened on vast stretches of land in Khadoor Sahib and Khemkaran as well.
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CM visits affected villages
Fazilka, September 15 The Chief Minister was accompanied by local MLA and Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani, Member of Parliament Sher Singh Ghubaya, the Secretary, Irrigation, KS Pannu and Chief Engineer (Drainage) Gurdev Singh. “The state government has prepared a master plan to eradicate the menace of waterlogging in Fazilka. Things will be rectified within a fortnight,” said Badal. He said the government would initiate measures to prevent floods and all drains would be widened. Badal barely spent a few minutes in each village. As requested by Jyani, the Chief Minister announced that the government would soon re-align the Baam drain, known as the “sorrow of Fazilka”. He announced an Irrigation Department division at Fazilka so that the problem of seepage could be tackled effectively. The Chief Minister did not interact with most of the farmers. Surinder Kumar, a resident of Wazidpura village, approached Badal as he was about to sit in his car and spoke about the farmers’ anguish. On the issue of the police booking 200 persons protesting diversion of flood waters from Ghallu village to nearby areas, the Chief Minister said if anybody had a grievance, an inquiry would be held. Abohar: The Chief Minister visited the rain-hit colonies in the town and heard grievances of residents at a public darbar organised by Congress Legislature Party Leader Sunil Jakhar. Jakhar thanked the Chief Minister for releasing Rs 42 crore for a sewage treatment plant, but regretted that Rs 12.7 crore sanctioned for renovating water works was not utilised. He handed over a charter of demands to Badal. Jakhar complained that Abohar and Balluana segments had suffered losses due to excess water released through drains from waterlogged villages of Muktsar district.
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MLA Nagra abused me, alleges SDM
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 15 Nagra, however, refuted the allegations and said he did not use any abusive language against the SDM. He alleged the SDM was not following the protocol and had insulted him in the public. She told people to directly contact her, instead of approaching their elected representative from the area, he said. He told the SDM that it was against the protocol, he said. He would submit a complaint to the Vidhan Sabha Speaker in that regard, he added. In her complaint to DC Arun Sekhri, the SDM said she had just asked the people that they could directly approach her for getting their grievances redressed. She alleged the MLA got agitated over this and indulged in heated arguments and later used foul language against her. The MLA said he visited the MC office as a meeting was called on the issue of encroachments in the old Sirhind grain market. He alleged the attitude of the SDM was not cooperative. She did not reach the meeting at scheduled time of 10.30 am and when he tried to contact, her she did not attend his call. He said later he approached the DC and it was on his (DC's) intervention that the SDM reached the MC office at 11.30 am. Confirming the development, DC Sekhri said the SDM had come to her and communicated that the MLA had used abusive language against her in public. He said he had asked here to submit a written complaint so that it could be forwarded to the state government.
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cross-border smuggling
Chandigarh, September 15 In an affidavit submitted before the court, the police claimed that open arrest warrants had been obtained against them from the courts concerned after declaring them proclaimed offenders. “The matter has been taken up with the Centre through the CBI’s Interpol wing for their extradition from the countries concerned”. The court was told that the extradition proceedings were underway to bring back Madan Lal, Harbans Singh Sidhu, Gursewak Singh, Amarjit Singh Koonar, Dara Singh, Pardeep Singh Dhaliwal, Lehmber Singh, Sarabjit Singh, Nirankar Singh Dhillon, Parmod Sharma and Maninder Chinna. The police also claimed that they seized 27 kg heroin in the last week of June. The number of arrests and FIRs had registered an increase in the past decade. In 2003, 3,545 FIRs were registered as compared to 10,830 this year and 4,195 persons were arrested then against 12,695 now. Taking up the matter, the Division Bench of acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu asserted: “Advocate-General, Punjab, is directed to place on record the status reports which have been filed from time to time before this court in a sealed cover”. The case will now come up for further hearing on November 27. The court, on a previous date of hearing, was told that 58 persons allegedly involved in international drug racket case had been arrested and seven FIRs registered. The government also claimed that charges have been framed against four. Another three accused were likely to face charges. The government had also informed the court that police had so far arrested 58 persons and seized 74 vehicles, besides 9,050 US/Canadian dollars, weapons and other drugs.
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Trade timings at ICP cut by 2 hours
Amritsar, September 15
The LPAI has issued directions as per which import consignment requiring manual unloading would be allowed entry only till 5 pm. Those not needing manual unloading would be permitted till 6 pm. Prior to it, the trade timings at the Attari border were 7 am to 7 pm. The Pakistan Government and the India’s Customs Department have expressed reservations about the move, saying it would adversely hit the trade. Leading dry fruit importer BK Bajaj said, “The move is bound to take a toll on the trade between India and Pakistan. It will hit the volume of trade. If the LPAI did this in view of security concerns, it would have been better if it had installed full-truck scanners at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Attari. We have been crying hoarse over the issue for long.” He said the step would further increase the “prevailing red-tapism”. Gypsum importer Iqbal Singh Bedi also felt it would have a negative effect on the trade. “It seems nobody is thinking about the trade, which is already suffering due to various reasons,” he said. Leading exporter Rajdeep Uppal also said that decreasing the timings would adversely hit the volume of trade. However, he felt the volume could be managed in the current scenario when exports were lean, though it would again be a problem when exports pick up. Gunbir Singh, CII Task Force on Governance member, said cutting down two hours of trade traffic would not augur well for the trade. He termed the move as regressive while stating that the government should instead work towards containerised and swift movement of cargo across the border. On the other hand, All India Cement Importers Association president MPS Chatha said the move would be beneficial for the trade as it would lead to timely clearance of files from the Customs Department, which wasn’t possible when the consignments arrived late in the evening. He said it would have no negative impact on the trade and would rather make it easier. Another trader, Manav Taneja, said, “It is good for the trade as the unloading of goods at the ICP at Attari-Wagah border will finish off well in time.”
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Former Mandi Board official joins Aam Aadmi Party
Chandigarh, September 15 Sanghera, who is based in the US, has returned to the state to join
AAP. He said there was a need to cleanse politics, especially in states like Punjab, and he was sure that the AAP leadership had the capacity to do so. AAP state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur welcomed Sanghera to the party fold. — TNS
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Illegal taverns go unchecked in Muktsar
Muktsar, September 15 Even the Muktsar Club, which is located in the holy city area, is selling liquor to its members. The Deputy Commissioner is the president of the club. Information procured from Excise and Taxation officials revealed that the city had only 14 authorised taverns, two hard bars and a beer bar. However, liquor is being served almost everywhere in the town, also near educational institutes and during the day time too. Some hotels in the city even serve liquor to their customers in their rooms and that too without
entering their names in the register. A visit to some hotels and eating joints in the city at night revealed that restaurants had been converted into illegal taverns and bars. Some eating joint owners had even put their photographs with police officers on their walls so that nobody interferes in their business. Some locals said policemen and Excise officials were shielding such violators. They said it was not possible to run an illegal business, and that too for a long period, without getting noticed by the authorities concerned. When contacted, SS Sodhi, Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Muktsar, said, “I will look into the matter and stop this practice, if it is prevalent anywhere.” On the issue that Muktsar Club serves liquor within the holy city area, Excise officials alleged that a few years ago, the matter had been taken up with the club management but, with the Deputy Commissioner being the club’s president, the case was “dumped”. Asked about fine collected from illegal taverns within the municipal limits in the recent past, the excise officials failed to give any satisfactory reply. When the owner of an illegal tavern was asked how he manages to run the business, he said, “Everything is fair as everyone, from the top to the bottom in the line, has his share.”
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1.74 lakh beneficiaries await financial aid for months
Sangrur, September 15 Sources said amounts for the months of January, February and March had been given to the beneficiaries in April and for the month of April had been sent in July. However, beneficiaries were yet to get their due for May, June, July and August. In Sangrur and Barnala districts, there are over 1.74 lakh beneficiaries of old-age pension and financial assistance schemes for widows, dependent children and differently abled persons. Some of them reportedly visit sarpanches of their villages and banks in urban areas to get the amount. In villages, sarpanches distribute pension/financial assistance amounts while in urban areas, the money is sent to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. There are over 1.10 lakh pensioners, over 16,300 beneficiaries of financial assistance to widows, over 5,400 beneficiaries of assistance to dependent children and over 13,700 differently abled beneficiaries in Sangrur and Barnala districts. Sources said the beneficiaries could not be paid for four months as the districts’ social security offices had not received funds for the purpose. They also said it was
difficult to say when the beneficiaries would get their due. An official of the Social Security Department confirmed that payment to these beneficiaries was due from four months. However, he claimed that the state government would soon release funds for at least two months for the beneficiaries of Sangrur and Barnala districts.
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DGP told to probe Vidhu murder case on priority
Sangrur, September 15 Vidhu was burnt alive on September 30, 2013, in broad daylight at Malerkotla in Sangrur. The Director General of Police has also been
asked to ensure safety of the complainant (Vinod Jain) and his family members. Vidhu’s uncle Vinod Jain said he had received a letter in that regard from the office of Minister of State for Home Affairs, Government of India. Jain said when they did not get justice from state government, they sent letters to the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister to get the murder case cracked and provide justice to the deceased’s family. The victim’s family had pleaded to the state government for justice several times, but to no avail.
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Tourism Director blames govt ‘laxity’ for damage to Lahori Gate
Jalandhar, September 15 The team will prepare a plan to scaffold the building in a week to keep the remaining portion intact. The damaged portion of the building will be reconstructed with funds from Manila-based Asian Development Bank. Secretary, Tourism, Raji P. Shrivastava, Director Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa, Chief General Manager (projects) Brig Charanjit Singh, conservation architect Neha Jain and Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Daljit Singh Mangat visited the site. The team took photographs of the gate and collected samples of the fallen material so that restoration could be done with material of similar composition. Randhawa said iron scaffolding would be done within seven to 10 days to prevent the remaining portion from crumbling. “We will get it done with the help of experts so that not a brick falls apart. We intend to reconstruct the minar in its original form. We have got a team of architects, conservationists and experts who will undertake a thorough study. They will send us the plan which we will execute at the earliest,” he said. Randhawa admitted that there had been a delay on part of the state government in protecting the historical monument. He said he would hold a meeting with conservationist and vocalist Bhai Baldeep Singh in Chandigarh soon to study the proposal made by his Anad Foundation. On shifting the police station and the DSP’s office from Qila Sarai, Mangat said a new location would have to be identified for the purpose, which could not be done immediately. The government intends to take Rs 7.2 crore loan from bank for restoration of historical buildings in Kapurthala, including Qila Sarai, Durbar Hall, Moorish Mosque, Buggey Khana and Gol Kothi. Bhai Baldeep Singh has proposed that he could arrange funds from business houses and 17 acclaimed architects are ready to work with him if the government accepts his proposal.
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Sarpanches protest private audit of panchayat accounts
Moga, September 15 Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka had recently stated that one chartered accountant (CA) would be given the audit work of the villages falling under two blocks and over 54 CAs had been assigned for the task in the state. He had also stated that funds received under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act would also be audited and action would be taken against anyone
found guilty of misappropriation of funds. The state government has also decided to put up display boards in villages regarding the grants sanctioned so that these were not misused by any public functionary or government official. The district president of the association of sarpanches and panches of Moga, Nihal Singh Talwandi Bhangeria, said the state government should conduct the audit through government agencies instead of handing over the task to the private auditors. They raised slogans against the SAD-BJP Government, particularly against Maluka, alleging that the audit by private auditors would lead to widespread corruption in the Panchayati Raj system. The sarpanch of Datta village, Gurinder Singh Guggu, said the introduction of private auditors would increase the level of corruption in the panchayats. He said leaders of the ruling party leaders would try to create undue pressure on the sarpanches of opposition parties to toe down their lines by “threatening to slap false cases of corruption”. The sarpanches demanded that relaxations be given in providing PAN and TIN numbers to the auditors for minor and small purchases below Rs 25,000. They further alleged that the sum of Rs 20,000 fixed for each panchayat to pay for the audit fee would also add to their financial burden.
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Stop sewage flow into Ghaggar, CM tells HP
Chandigarh, September 15 In a letter to Virbhadra, Badal appealed for putting in place a joint monitoring mechanism for cleaning the river, which flowed from the hill state to Punjab. Badal apprised Virbhadra about deterioration of the water quality of the river and the discharge of domestic sewage generated from the territorial limits of Himachal into it. He pointed out that the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had conducted a survey to check sources polluting the river. “The survey also found that untreated or partially treated industrial effluents and sewage of Nahan, Parwanoo and Kala Amb areas enter into the Ghaggar through various streams, choes and drains, which contaminate its water quality,” said Badal. He sought Virbhadra’s directions to the officers of departments concerned in Himachal for taking steps to check the discharge of untreated waste into drains or nullahs that merged into the Ghaggar. Badal emphasised on preparing a time-bound plan to check the problem. He also requested Virbhadra to finalise a convenient date for a meeting at their level in Shimla to discuss the issue. Badal also mentioned that this crucial matter was of public interest and huge significance. He claimed Punjab was taking every possible measure to improve the quality of water in the rivers flowing in the state.
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Project clearance in 30 days: Dy CM
Chandigarh, September 15 Sukhbir said the government would clear a proposal to give incentives to the existing units in the next Cabinet meeting on September 23. He told the investors that any investment made within a year of initiation of a project would be counted as a new project. Sukhbir assured the industrialists investing in the food processing sector that the state would coordinate with the Union Food Processing Ministry to ensure that the central subsidy for food processing units in the state be released on time. He said the government was open to revise its policy regarding peak load charges on the industry. “We will consider levying the charges for four months only instead of the entire year,” he said, adding being a power-surplus state, Punjab had issued a tender to sell 3,000 MW in the open market, following which power tariff would be slashed. On incentives for the expansion of existing industrial units, the Deputy Chief Minister said the government was revising the industrial policy to make it more investment friendly. He assured the industrialists that all benefits would be given to them with retrospective effect. Some industrialists raised issues regarding delay in clearances from the National Highway Authority of India, Ministry of Forest and the Central Drug Authority. The Deputy CM said he would take up the matter with the ministries concerned. The Deputy CM told the industrialists that the Forest Ministry had already amended the procedure for clearances. He said compensatory deposits would now be counted as clearance. Earlier after depositing the compensatory fee, industrialists had to wait for a certificate of clearance from the Forest Ministry. On suggestions made by the investors, Sukhbir said the government would take up the issue with the Centre to set up a national tourism office in Amritsar as the city had a huge potential to emerge as a tourism hub. He said Punjab was all set to launch the tourist travel circuit to increase the inflow of tourists from the existing 2.9 lakh per annum to 10 lakh. Some of the investors came out with the details of their projects. These included the expansion of its tractor unit by Sonalika group with an investment of Rs 300 crore, setting up of a superspeciality hospital by MKL group in Zirakpur, a Rs 1,130 crore hotel in Amritsar by Singapore-based DJB, a Rs 15 crore project by DSM Pharmaceutical at Taunsa village in Ropar, besides three projects by Sportking in
Bathinda.
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SGPC to send medical teams to J&K
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 15 Avtar Singh Makkar, SGPC chief, who flagged of relief material here today, said the first medical camp would be held at Gurdwara Shaheed Bunga in Srinagar. He said a team of three doctors of Guru Ram Das Medical College, Amritsar, accompanied by paramedics, would leave for J&K tomorrow. Seriously ill patients would be shifted from Srinagar to SGPC-run hospitals in Punjab and treated free of cost. Makkar said Gurdwara Shaheed Bunda in Srinagar was providing food and shelter to the flood-hit. He said after stranded migrant labourers from Bihar and UP were brought to Amritsar, they would be given travel expenses to reach home. The SGPC president said the SGPC would give Rs 5,000 to students from J&K studying in SGPC-run professional colleges to meet monthly expenses till the situation improved in that state.
Truck carrying relief flagged off Amritsar: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state convener, Sucha Singh Chhotepur, on Monday flagged off a truck carrying relief material for the flood-hit in Jammu and Kashmir. He said AAP would ensure that candidates for the civic elections were “selected by the people alone.” Chhotepur demanded death sentence for those accused of raping a five-year-old girl in Chananke village a few days ago. IAS officers’ gesture Chandigarh: All Punjab-cadre IAS officers have decided to donate a day’s salary to the Jammu and Kashmir Flood Relief Fund, general secretary of the Punjab IAS Officers’ Association said here on Monday. — TNS
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Centre agrees to reconsider rice procurement norms
Chandigarh, September 15 Grewal said he had urged the Centre to accept rice beyond 14 per cent moisture with a value cut, as was being done earlier. In its latest order, the Centre had informed the state that rice with more than 14 per cent moisture would not be accepted for the central pool. The Punjab Rice Millers Association had opposed the order. It had stated that it was not possible to give rice with 14 per cent moisture because the foodgrain was prone to gain wetness promptly in winter season. Grewal said the Centre had agreed to release 80,000 tonnes of wheat, which it had earlier refused, under the food security scheme to the state. The foodgrain was to be released in December last year, but the Election Commission of India had stalled the process.
Workers threaten to boycott procurement
Employees of the state procurement agencies today threatened to boycott paddy procurement if the government failed to exonerate employees who were chargesheeted in various cases. Bhupinder Singh, president of the employee federation, said a coordination committee had decided to intensify their agitation as the government had “wrongly” chargesheeted employees over buying “below quality” and high moisture produce in the past. He said the employees were agitated as they had been sitting on a dharna since August 25, but the government had not paid any heed to their protest.
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Deceased couple’s kin lathicharged
Muktsar, September 15 The bereaved family members were demanding registration of a case against some persons. However, the police said they were investigating the matter. The situation turned volatile, following which the police lathicharged them. Jaskaran Singh (50) and his wife Charanjit kaur (45) were found dead at their house yesterday. Their relatives had come to the local Civil Hospital today to take their bodies after their post-mortem examination.
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Girl students suffer for Punjabi University’s fault
Patiala, September 15 This is despite the fact that the Punjabi University authorities have directed the college Principal to admit them by creating additional seats as their merit was higher than the students already allowed admission. The girls had submitted their applications before the last date, but the university failed to declare the results of their additional papers, including Punjabi and English, in time. The college released the final merit list on August 18, but the university declared their result on August 25. Navjeet Kaur was a member of the kabaddi team that won the gold medal in 2005 National Games where she was declared the best raider. Her friend Paramjeet Kaur is a silver medallist in kho-kho. They did their Bachelor of Physical Education from the same college. Navjeet and Paramjeet said they could not get admission earlier due to a delay in the declaration of their result. When they approached college Principal Dr Jasvir Kaur, she refused to admit them as they had led a protest against her last year, they alleged. The girls then approached senior officials of the university. A committee of senior officials was constituted to look into the matter and finally the university directed the college Principal to allow them admission, but to no avail. They have also deposited late fee of Rs 2,000 for getting admission. Dr Jasvir Kaur said she had nothing against the girls. “I am simply following the norms. The university has asked me to make a proposal to create two additional seats, but it is not in my jurisdiction,” she said. Dean (Colleges) Dr JA Khan said the university had already written to the college management and the students should be given admission. “We will decide tomorrow,” said Khan.
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Officials told to make property returns public
Chandigarh, September 15 The decision was taken by Sukhbir here while presiding over a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary (Home) and DGP (Vigilance), an official release said. Sukhbir asked the three officials to initiate process in this regard so the property details of all categories of officers in civil and police cadre in the state could be uploaded on websites at the earliest. He directed that property details of all officers should be in public domain and asked to issue necessary directions to the officers appointed at headquarters and in field.
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PRTC contractual workers’ leader on fast for 13 days
Patiala, September 15 Inderjeet, who hails from Lehragaga, has reportedly lost over 15 kg weight since the beginning of his fast. Neither the PRTC management nor the district administration has bothered to meet him or get him medically examined so far. Inderjeet says he is committed to continue his fast till their demands are met. He said, "The ruling SAD-BJP government does not pay attention to any issue until and unless someone dies and if my death can secure a job for any of my kin, I am more than ready to sacrifice my life. If my death can make our voices heard, nothing like it." PRTC Chairman Avtar Singh Brar said, “When we started the process to regularise their services and asked them to produce necessary documents, they went to the court and took a stay. How can we regularise them against court orders."
Special cell merger
The PRTC has merged its special cell with the Punjab depot. The entire administrative control of the cell would be with the General Manager of the Patiala depot now. Patiala depot GM Pardeep Sachdeva confirmed the development and said the move would save Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh per month.
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Sarna : Kar sewa of Lahore shrine from November
Amritsar, September 15 Talking to the mediapersons on his return from Pakistan today, Sarna said they held a meeting with officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), that looks after the gurdwara affairs in Pakistan, and discussed the master plan for the ‘kar sewa’. He said ETPB officials had given the go-ahead to reconstructing the gurdwara building. On the blueprint, he said the new gurdwara building would have a hall to accommodate 1,000 devotees. It would have a spacious ‘langar’ hall too. He said the existing gurdwara building was in bad shape. He said the ‘kar sewa’ would be launched in the first week of November in the presence of religious leaders. The PSGPC had invited Sikh organisations across the world on the occasion.
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Poverty drives girl student to suicide
Mansa, September 15 The victim, who was a Dalit, belonged to Tahlian village in the Budhlada subdivision. She was studying at the government-run DIET in Ahmedpur, Budhlada. She left behind a suicide note, stating that she wished to do the GNM course on completion of ETT, but did not want to burden her parents and was, thus, ending her life. Residents of Tahlian village paid for the girl’s cremation. The victim’s parents, who are labourers, had to sell wheat, given to them under the Atta-Dal Scheme, to pay for her bus fare. Lakhvir Singh, a neighbour, said: “The girl was very intelligent. Sadly, her family was unable to pay her tuition fee.”
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Arrest warrant issued against suspended IG
Mohali, September 15 Sources said the magistrate ordered the police to produce Cheema in the court before September 27. Cheema has been booked in two cases. A case was registered against him on August 30 for allegedly kidnapping a proclaimed offender, Sumedh Gulati, from the Phase 1 police station in Mohali. Another case of alleged molestation was registered on September 2 on the complaint of Kricpy Khaira, wife of “conman” Devinder Singh Gill who was an associate of Gulati. Kricpy had also filed a complaint in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the Mohali police over their “inaction” in the case; the next hearing is tomorrow. Apart from Cheema, the police had booked Ajay Chaudhary for allegedly kidnapping Gulati. Chaudhary, as per police records, is a suspended chief executive officer of the Ambala cantonment board and was accompanying Cheema during Gulati’s alleged abduction. The case was registered on the complaint of an Assistant Sub-Inspector. Later, Cheema was booked on the complaint of Kricpy, wife of coloniser Davinder Singh Gill, under Sections 452 (trespass, assault or wrongful restraint), 323 (causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and the Arms Act.
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Delimitation boards under judicial lens
Chandigarh, September 15 In his petition, Congress worker Rajeshwar Singh alleged that the malafide and arbitrary action of the SAD-BJP government was writ large. The “rules have been twisted” to accommodate workers, members and leaders of both the parties in the delimitation boards. He said: “In all delimitation boards of all municipalities in the entire Punjab, only the members/workers and leaders of the SAD-BJP ruling alliance have been nominated…. No member/worker or leader of the Congress, which is the main opposition party in the state, or of any other party has been nominated on the boards under the aforesaid clause/provision.” The significance of the petition can be gauged from the fact that it has been filed against the state of Punjab and 245 other respondents. Seeking directions for quashing the Delimitation of Wards of Municipalities Rules, the petitioner has added that the words, “two members”, have also been substituted for “one member”. Directions have also been sought for quashing notification dated August 14 issued by Punjab’s Department of Local Government (Municipal Elections Office), nominating the members of the delimitation boards. The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Jaspal Singh asserted: “Since the petitioner impugns nomination of members of delimitation boards of the municipalities, it is stated by his counsel that the writ petition is essentially in public interest. Let the same be listed on September 17 as per roster.”
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All accused in Bikramjit case arrested
Chandigarh, September 15 As the case came up for resumed hearing, the Punjab Police told the High Court that those arrested included main accused Inspector Naurang Singh. The court was also told that the final report in the matter too had been filed. The claims came on a petition filed by the victim's cousin, Rajbir Singh. Seeking probe by an independent agency, he had alleged that fair, impartial and unbiased investigation was not expected from the local police as senior police officers were involved in the case. Moreover, "the police was conniving with the accused and aiding them in evading the process of law". — TNS
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HC tells Barnala municipal body to ensure cleanliness
Chandigarh, September 15 In his petition placed before the Division Bench of acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu, Dinesh Kumar and other petitioners had averred that the entire town was “littered with filth and garbage and there is a likelihood of spread of epidemic diseases in the town due to strike by the sweepers”. Directions were also sought to the respondents to take appropriate action for cleaning the city, removal of garbage and unblocking of drains. “The Executive Officer, present in the court today, has stated before us that the strike was called off by all safai karamcharis on September 4 and the entire Barnala town has been cleaned and there is no more garbage lying either on the roads or on the streets…. “In view of the statement made by the Executive Officer as well as the short reply that the town has been cleaned and filth has been removed, no further interference is called for in the present writ petition. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of with the direction to the Executive Officer to ensure that proper cleanliness is maintained in Barnala town in future”.
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Teaching fellows with fake papers ‘thrown out’
Chandigarh, September 15 Taking a note of the claim, Justice Mahesh Grover has made it clear that a “person who seeks employment on the basis of forged, fabricated and bogus certificates has no right to be in public service”. The assertion came after a candidate, Sarabjit Singh, alleged discrimination in the appointments of teaching fellows. His argument was that “many” candidates with fake and bogus certificates were issued appointment orders, while the authorities concerned singled him out. The petition in the matter was filed in 2011. As it came up for resumed hearing, Justice Grover also took note of the fact that the petitioner had been denied appointment on the basis of bogus experience certificate. Fixing March 26, 2015, as the date of hearing, Justice Grover added: “Finding that the other persons who sought entry into service on the basis of bogus certificates have been weeded out, the case of the petitioner will also have met the same fate. However, counsel for the petitioner prays for some time to place on record some material to support his case.” On the previous date of hearing, the court had asked the Punjab Director, Public Instructions, Elementary Education, to explain the issuance of appointment orders to candidates with bogus or fake experience certificates. Sarabjit Singh had earlier submitted that he was not the only one. “Many other candidates were also having bogus experience certificates,” he had said. His counsel said the petitioner was feeling aggrieved over the “discriminatory action taken by the respondent authorities”.
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Boy pushes sister into canal
Abohar, September 15 Pappu Ram of Bhakhranwali village told the police that his son Om Parkash Shanker (18) had taken Sharda Rani (16) to the fields on the pretext of collecting fodder on Sunday. On the way, he allegedly pushed her into the Sri Karni branch canal near RD 86 and fled. Some villagers, who were witness to the incident, informed Pappu Ram. Divers recovered the body near RD 53. It was taken to the Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination, the police said. A case has been registered. Pappu’s wife had also drowned at the same place last year. — OC
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Looting case: College student surrenders
Abohar, September 15 A student of DAV College here, Laddi had assisted Muktsar Government College’s self-styled president Amarjit Singh in looting Rs 21,000 from a departmental store in Sriganganagar on July 23. The sketches released through social and print media had helped in the arrest of Amarjit earlier.
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TET protesters booked
Ropar, September 15 A case has been registered under Sections 283 and 341 of the IPC against them, SP Varinder Pal Singh said. The union organised a dharna at head works bridge for over five hours yesterday, leading to a traffic jam. They were demanding an assurance on employment.
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Fazilka, September 15
