Monday, May 3, 1999
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Monday, May 3, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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SAD open
to alliances SAD angling for 4 LS seats |
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 AmritsarBathinda Fatehgarh Sahib Ferozepore Hoshiarpur Jalandhar Ludhiana Patiala
Tohra faction has no agenda:
Kanwaljit |
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Bhai
Ranjit Singh ‘can’t issue ultimatum’ Sikhs do not favour
‘Khalistan’: BSP Sale of uncertified seeds up Computerisation plan cleared From prosperity to penury Chawla publicly snubs mayor ‘Caste war has hit
development’ Encyclopaedia of Sikhism 3 die in jeep-truck collision Journalist attacked by mob |
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SAD
open to alliances AMRITSAR, May 2 — Apart from the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Morcha, Shiromani Akali Dal was ready to have seat adjustments with any other party which could help it in defeating the Congress in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Addressing a Press conference after the 42nd annual prize distribution function of DAV College here today, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister and President Shiromani Akali Dal, said the main aim of the Akali Dal would be to defeat the party headed by a foreigner. He, however, said the SAD-BJP and the BSM alliance was permanent. Mr Badal claimed that like previous Lok Sabha elections the SAD would win all the 13 seats. Mr Badal said it was a prerogative of the party to decide whether his son, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, should contest from the Faridkot constituency or join state politics. Mr Badal said the SAD was a democratic party hence such decisions would be taken in a democratic way. Speculations are rife that the SAD may field Mr Manpreet Singh Badal (nephew of Mr Badal) from the Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency from where Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal had won with a margin of few thousand votes during the last Lok Sabha elections. Mr Sukhbir Badal wanted to contest the next Assembly elections from Gidderbaha. (Mr Manpreet Singh Badal had won twice from Gidderbaha). When asked whether the SAD would support the candidature of Mr Inder Kumar Gujral, Mr Badal parried the question. Mr Gujral had won last time from Jalandhar with the active support of the SAD. In spite of opposition by the BJP, the SAD had openly announced that 'come what may' it would support the candidature of Mr Gujral who was instrumental in getting the Rs-8500-crore loan waived. However, the SAD was being criticised for its 'magnanimity' when the Vajpayee government lost the confidence vote. The opponents of the SAD feel that had the party not got Mr Gujral elected Mr Vajpayee would have won the confidence vote. In yet another significant statement, Mr Badal said the SAD would urge the Chief Election Commissioner to hold the Lok Sabha elections at the earliest. It may be mentioned here that Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Secretary General of the SAD, would attend the all-party meeting convened by the CEC tomorrow at Delhi. Mr Dhindsa would raise the demand at the meeting. The Chief Minister said his government was keen on holding Zila Parishad and Panchayat elections at the earliest. However, Mr Badal was non-committal on the proposed expansion of his ministry before the elections. Mr Badal had announced last month that he would expand his ministry within a fortnight. Mr Badal said that sack of Bhai Ranjit Singh won't affect the results of the Lok Sabha elections. The voter of Punjab had been voting for the mainstream Akali Dal only. Mr Badal said there were no efforts going on to bring about rapprochement between him and Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra. When asked reasons for not taking appropriate action against Mr Tohra for violating the party discipline. Mr Badal said it would be taken at an appropriate time. Let Mr Tohra leave the party as he has been trying to forge a third front for the mid-term elections. The Chief Minister said his government had been planning to give more powers to market committees. Mr Badal said the main plank of his party during the forthcoming elections would be the "terrorism free" governance. He said terrorist crime in the state had come down after his government assumed office. When Mr Baldev Raj
Chawla, Deputy Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Mr Laxmi
Kanta Chawla, a BJP MLA and Mr M.L. Aeri urged the Chief
Minister to donate at least Rs 7 crore for the
development of DAV College. Mr Badal announced a donation
of Rs 20 lakh from his discretionary fund. |
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Seats
in Rajasthan, UP, Delhi & Haryana AMRITSAR, May 2 — The Shiromani Akali Dal headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal will stake its claim on at least four Lok Sabha seats one each in Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, from the BJP's kitty. The SAD had claimed the four seats during the previous Lok Sabha elections also in these states but was refused by the BJP high command. The opponents of Mr Badal had strongly criticised him for forging, "permanent political alliance" with BJP, which refused to accommodate SAD in the four Lok Sabha constituencies. Sikhs in particular and Punjabis in general were a deciding factor. Though Mr Badal maintained that his meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, at New Delhi on "May Day" was aimed to discuss the latest political situation in the country and refused to divulge the details, the political sources, however, claimed that Mr Badal had also stressed the BJP leadership to allocate at least four Lok Sabha seats to Akalis outside Punjab. Mr Badal, when asked about the seat adjustments in four states said it would be decided at party fora. According to highly placed sources in the SAD, Mr Badal had insisted on his party being adjusted in the four states for "face saving" as the Akali Dal had not only supported the BJP at the time of acid test but was also instrumental in securing the support of the Indian National Lok Dal (Haryana), led by Mr Om Parkash Chautala. The party had also not withdrawn its support from the BJP in spite of the pressure from Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra on the issue of Udham Singh Nagar. It may be mentioned here that Lok Sabha constituencies of Nainital which, included Udham Singh Nagar, one in Delhi, Kurukshetra and Ganganagar are dominated by Punjabis. The Akalis' demand of seat adjustments during the Assembly elections was also not conceded by the BJP. The SAD had been claiming that Punjabis had dominance in at least seven Assembly constituencies in Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts (Rajasthan) and New Delhi. Avtar Singh Hit, President of the Delhi unit of the SAD, had also threatened to field parallel candidates during the Assembly elections if the BJP failed to accommodate Akali candidates. Mr Hit, however, was persuaded by Mr Badal not to go to that extent as the party had "permanent alliance" with the BJP.
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Tohra faction has no agenda:
Kanwaljit FATEHGARH SAHIB, May 2 — The breakaway Akali faction led by Mr G.S. Tohra has formed an alliance with the Congress with the sole aim of weakening the SAD. Moreover, it did not have any programme or agenda, alleged Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Minister for Finance, while talking to reporters here today. He said it was with the help of the Congress that the Tohra faction won the block samiti elections at Sirhind yesterday. He said the Congress was responsible for mid-term elections in the country. Answering a query about the impact of the breakaway group on the poll, he said it would become isolated as it would play a negative role during the elections. Earlier, Capt Kanwaljit Singh addressed a workers' meeting. He had come here to make arrangements for the May 14 Akali conference to be held at Fatehgarh Sahib, from where the election campaign would be launched by the party president and Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Interestingly, the meeting got a poor response and a majority of the workers complained that their grievances are not redressed. Addressing the workers, Capt Kanwaljit Singh assured them that it would not be tolerated if the SAD workers felt isolated during the SAD government regime. He warned officials that they had to obey and attend to the grievances of the workers. He asked the workers to make the conference a success adding that only those circle jathedars would be considered as members of the SAD who organised meetings and made the conference a success. Others would have to face disciplinary action, he said. Mr Balwant Singh Sahpur, MLA, Mr Swaran Singh Chanarthal, District Jathedar SAD (B) Mr R.S. Cheema, former minister, Mr Tejinder Singh Salana, president, Distt Bar Association also addressed the meeting. The Badal faction led by
Mr Didar Singh Bhatti did not attend the meeting. |
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Bhai
Ranjit ‘can’t issue ultimatum’ PHAGWARA, May 2 — The SGPC President, Bibi Jagir Kaur, today asserted that Bhai Ranjit Singh had no locus standi to issue an ultimatum to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to present himself before the Jathedar (Bhai Ranjit Singh) by May 20. Speaking to newsmen here, Bibi Jagir Kaur first tried to dodge the issue by saying that Bhai Ranjit Singh should be asked what right he had to summon Mr Badal when he himself was no longer the Jathedar of Akal Takht. Besides, what wrong had Mr Badal done to be summoned to the Takht, she asked. She did not rule out mischief by vested interests behind the floating of a gurdwara parbandhak committee in Pakistan. She refused to comment when asked whether her predecessor could be behind the mischief. "We have taken up the issue with the government and lodged a protest against the Pakistan Government's constitution of a parallel committee," she said. She did not rule out taking up the matter at the United Nations. When asked to react to the plan of the SAD (A) to make "Khalistan" an issue in the Lok Sabha elections, she quipped that the people would give a befitting reply to such gimmicks. She denied that the SAD would suffer a setback in the Lok Sabha poll. She said she would campaign in the elections as she was still an MLA. "I will address panthic conferences, she said. Alleging misuse of gurdwara funds, Bibi Jagir Kaur said she would get an internal audit done and then set up a panel to probe the matter. Later, she launched kar
sewa of the Gurdwara Sukhchainana sarovar building.
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Sikhs
do not favour ‘Khalistan’: BSP FEROZEPORE, May 2 — The Sikhs will not support the agenda of a separate state of "Khalistan" if it was floated by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) in the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll, the vice-president of the state unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Mr Lal Singh Sulhani, said. Talking to TNS here today, Mr Sulhani said he would not like to comment further on the issue as it was the SAD (A) president, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann’s issue. He, however, said Mr Mann would see the fate of his party’s agenda, if floated, for the ensuing Lok Sabha poll. He said a majority of the Sikhs did not favour a separate state, as Mr Mann had claimed. Condemning both Congress and the SAD (Badal) , Mr Sulhani said the policies of both parties were similar and that their ideology was against Dalits and farmers. He alleged that atrocities on Dalits were on the rise during the rule of the SAD-BJP combine government in Punjab. The BSP leader condemned the alleged attack on certain Dalit families on the issue of drainage of sullage water at Jethumajra village in Nawanshahr district and demanded action against those guilty. In case no action was taken against the culprits, the BSP would launch an agitation, he warned. He said a state-level training camp named "Bahujan Samaj banao training camp" would be held at Jalandhar on May 15 and 16. Workers would be apprised about the latest political situation, adding that the party chief, Mr Kanshi Ram, would address the training camp on May 16. The BSP leader said the party would highlight the alleged "anti-people" policies of the Congress and the SAD(B). Reacting to the
identification of Siddharth, alias Manu Sharma, son of Mr
Venod Sharma, a former Union Minister and Chandigarh
Congress Committee chief, as the alleged main culprit in
the killing of model Jessica Lal in Delhi on Friday, Mr
Sulhani said this incident had reflected on the Congress
"culture". |
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Sale
of uncertified seeds up BATHINDA, May 2 — Owing to an acute shortage of PAU-recommended paddy seeds with the government agencies, farmers here are buying uncertified seeds at high rates. Official sources said Punseed (Punjab State Seed Corporation) which had prepared about 7000 quintal of PR-106 paddy seeds had sold off all the stocks during March and April at Rs 1200 per quintal. With the rise in the demand of this seed, traders are selling its uncertified variety at prices ranging between Rs 2500 and Rs 3000 per quintal. The sources said Punseed had prepared a large quantity of PR-111 seed as it was declared the best by the PAU and was selling it at Rs1075 per quintal. But the farmers stopped buying it as it was not suitable to rice millers. After rejecting PR-111, the farmers started purchasing PR-106 variety and its demand went up from private seed traders. The sources said the Agriculture Department had also written a letter to Punseed on April 15 asking it to discourage the sale of PR-111 paddy variety, but did not suggest an alternative. Earlier, farmers of the cotton belt had been facing an acute shortage of certified cotton seeds as its sowing had started from April 15. The farmers were forced to buy cotton seeds at double the price from traders. Mr Ashok Dhir, Chairman, Punseed, when contacted other phone said against the requirement of more than 50,000 quintal of paddy seeds, Punseed had a stock of 17000 quintal. He pointed out that there was a shortage of PR-106 seeds. Earlier its demand was limited. He pointed out that in the absence of certified PR-106 seeds certain traders were selling substandard seeds. He added that there was no truth in the claim of rice millers that the State Government had banned PR-111 variety of paddy. He said Punseed was
making efforts to develop an adequate quantity of PR-114
variety of Paddy which had been found the best by PAU
scientist during two-year-long trials. |
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Computerisation
plan cleared PATIALA, May 2 — Issuing of hand-written slips in Out Patient Department in government hospitals attached with medical colleges may soon be history with the Punjab Government finalising a proposal to computerise the entire Out Patient Department operations in the government hospitals of Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot medical colleges. A memorandum of understanding is to be signed with Puncom soon under which the company will undertake the project to computerise out patient departments as well as all accounting operations in the three hospitals at an estimated cost of Rs 8 crore. Rajindra Medical College and government hospital principal Dr S.S. Sidhu told TNS that under the scheme a smart card with a computer chip would be evolved which would replace the age old slips issued to patients. He said the smart card, which would contain the entire medical history of the patient, could be easily accessed by doctors at various OPDs as all of them would have computer terminals. Dr Sidhu said the unique feature of the scheme was that the government would not have to invest any money in it, as Puncom would develop the system and post employees to operate it. In return it would take the proceeds for a period of four to five years depending on returns. He said after that the systems would be handed over to the three hospitals. The medical college and hospital principal said all three medical colleges and hospitals stood to gain tremendously from the system which was likely to be put in operation by the middle of July. He said the secretary, medical education and research was coming to Patiala on May 5 to oversee the setting up of the project in the hospital. He said the hospital authorities had decided to establish the project at the new main OPD created in the central hall of the hospital. Dr Sidhu said besides computerisation of the OPD, all departments in the medical college would now be linked by computer and would be able to avail on Internet and e-mail services. The project would also give a fillip to research as the medical college would now be connected with the PGI and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. International connectivity would also be possible. The principal said
accounting work and daily clerical work would now done on
computer in the medical college and hospital which is
likely to improve efficiency. All information about the
hospital, including the list of patients, admitted in
every ward, those admitted in the emergency, the position
of the blood bank as well as inventories would be
available to the public in the office of the principal
and the medical superintendent under the scheme. |
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From
prosperity to penury MALOUT — The landlords of yesteryear of the cotton belt of this region have been reduced to dailywagers as the severe water-logging has rendered their land unfit for agriculture. The farmers whose fields have been invaded by the water-logging have been forced to do petty jobs to eke out their livelihood. Most of the farmers suffering with ego problem prefer to remain vacant than to do menial jobs. The once-mighty farmers of this region now sell vegetables, pull rickshaws and work as construction labour to make both ends meet. Some of the farmers have started their own daily units to earn enough to keep the kitchen fires burning. Mohan Singh of a water-logged village of Muktsar district told TNS that his six acres of land was under four to five feet deep water. He had started a dairy unit to meet his social and family needs. "I sell all the quantity of milk to nearby Gidderbaha town due to my poor state of economy. Even my little grandson have not tasted the milk so far". Gurbax Singh, another farmer, said now he had engaged himself as a farmhand with another farmer and did odd jobs to make enough for his and his family member's existence. Most of the farmers, who suffer from ego problems, pass their time by playing cards. They survive merely on the help of their relatives as their patches of agriculture land have been inundated due to water-logging. Mehar Singh of Innakhera village said for the last six years, he had been dreaming of cultivate his piece of land which was water-logged but it did not turn true. He had taken up a job of conductor with a truck and earned his livelihood. His two sons were also working as construction labour. Successive crop failures and with the coming of large patches of agriculture land under water-logging had resulted in a life of penury for most of the farmers were known for prosperity throughout the state. Apart from farmers, the farm labourers were on the brink of starvation. Finding no job suited to their skills, some of them had started indulging in the illegal profession of illicit distillation of liquor to generate much-needed cash to meet their pressing needs. The farmers of this water-logged region are also finding it difficult to arrange fodder for their livestock as in certain pockets of agriculture land, not a single blade of grass has been growing for many years. In such situation, they have to depend on their relatives to get fodder for their livestock. A fallout of the prolonged water-logging has been the en masse decay of trees. In the last three years, more than 15,000 trees, including sheesham and kikar, in the water-logged Malout range have lost their green cover while hundreds are on the verge of collapse. Official sources said about 13898 trees including "sheesham" and "kikar" belonging to the Punjab Forest Department, had decayed in this range itself. Official sources said that due to accumulation of water, the oxygen in the soil was displaced. Therefore, the roots of the trees had to face an anaerobic conditions leading to their gradual death. Another factor which affected trees was the upward movement of salt to the surface and most of varieties were prone to disease under such soil conditions. Official sources said about 60 per cent of the area under forest cover had been affected badly in this range while the loss in other ranges of Muktsar district was not so high. Mr Parveen Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer, Muktsar, when contacted said to compensate the loss of green cover, the Forest Department had undertaken plantation in a big way. In 1997-98, trees were planted on 90 hectares while in 1998-99 about 100 hectares were covered. He said this year about 200 hectares was being brought under plantation by the department. He added that species of saplings being planted now were being selected carefully, keeping in view the water-logged conditions. He added that "Arjun", willow and eucalyptus were being grown in large numbers. Mr Kumar said the Punjab State Forest Development Corporation (PSFDC) had been asked to cut all the dead trees. On the other hand, a number of trees were being lopped by the residents of the area as they were facing acute shortage of fuel wood due to repeated failure of cotton crop. Mr Kumar added that
people were being motivated to plant trees instead of
cutting them so that forest area which had been depleted
could be saved. He added that kerosene shortage had
forced the residents to lop the trees for their fuel wood
requirements. |
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Chawla
publicly snubs mayor AMRITSAR, May 2 — Infighting within the BJP Amritsar unit came to the fore when Mrs Laxmi Kanta Chawla party MLA from Amritsar openly criticised the local municipal corporation for its 'callous' attitude towards the basic needs of the residents in the presence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The Mayor, Mr Subhash Sharma, a senior BJP leader, was also present. Mr Badal faced some embarrassing moments when some residents of the area complained to Mr Badal that his son-in-law, Mr Adesh Partap Singh and the "Kairon family" had been interfering in the functioning of the administration. Earlier, Mrs Chawla too had alleged that the "Kairon family", including Mr Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, MLA from Patti, was responsible for the MC's failure to shift dairies out of Amritsar city to places earmarked by the corporation despite the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mrs Chawla had also raised this point in the meeting of mayors, MLAs and other concerned officials at Chandigarh with the Chief Minister. Mrs Chawla said the corporation had not shifted the dairies from the city under pressure of the "Kairon family". When Mr Subhash Sharma tried to intervene, Mrs Chawla openly said that he was not invited to the "sangat darshan" arranged by her. "If you have come uninvited, please don't intervene as the people, especially from the weaker sections, have come to highlight their grievances before the Chief Minister". It is pertinent to mention here that when a group of sweepers were sent by the mayor in the morning to clean the venue, Mrs Chawla directed them to go back saying she wanted to show the real condition of the weaker sections to the Chief Minister. The residents of Rajiv Colony complained that as many as 22 dairies had been shifted from the walled city to their colony at the instance of the "Kairon family". With this the colony had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Mrs Chawla urged the
Chief Minister to shift the wine shops and acid factories
from Lahori Gate to open areas as they were a health
hazard in their present location. |
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‘Caste
war has hit development’ ROPAR, May 2 — Former Congress MP and film actor Sunil Dutt today declined to comment on a question regarding his suggestion, given in the late 1980s during his peace march to Amritsar, that Punjab should be named as "Khalistan". Talking to newsmen at the International Youth Hostel here, Mr Dutt said as the issue had now been buried, he did not want to comment on it. Mr Dutt was here along with an 18-member group of the expedition "Hands across the borders". The group, led by Mr Akhil Bakhshi, a former Director-General, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, and president of the Yuva Shakti, an NGO, consists of members from five South-Asian countries — India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The group started its expedition from Sri Lanka on March 3 which will end on May 22 in Delhi. The expedition is being undertaken to build an environment of peace, friendship and development in the South-Asian countries. Earlier, the expedition was given a warm reception at the youth hostel by the district unit of the Yuva Shakti, the Youth Hostels Association of India and the district administration. Regarding basic differences between the foreign policies of the previous Congress governments and the BJP government, Mr Dutt said as he was on a peace mission, he did not want to discuss the matter. He said he only wanted peace in the subcontinent, which was the main aim of the expedition. Addressing the gathering, Mr Bakhshi, leader of the group, said the expedition would cover about 15,000 km in South Asian countries. He said the youth of these countries wanted a tension-free South-Asia region. He said the problems of poverty and illiteracy in South Asian countries could be solved by imposing cuts on defence expenditure. The speakers included Mr K.S. Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner, Mr N.S. Sitta, district president of the Yuva Shakti, Mr Devinder Singh Walia, state president of the Yuva Shakti, and Mr Sukhdarshan Singh, secretary, District Red Cross Society. YAMUNANAGAR (FOC): Uncertainty prevails in India on account of the "caste war", which has hampered development. Stating this here on Saturday, Mr Sunil Dutt, film actor, said a country like China also got independence along with India but now it was competing with the Americans because there was no barrier of the caste system. Mr Dutt, who was addressing a function organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra said priority should be given to primary education, basic health care, safe drinking water, assured irrigation, electrification of all villages and linking all villages with all-weather roads. He laid stress on peace in the world because the arms race could lead to disaster. He said 50 crore people in South Asia were living below poverty line and 63 crore people had been deprived of drinking water. Mr Dutt, who belongs to Mandoli village in Yamunanagar district, passed through here as part of an expedition, 'Hands across the borders'. Mr Akhil Bakshi, expedition leader and president of the Yuva Shakti, said 90 per cent of the blind persons in the world were living in South Asia. Mr Bakshi demanded expansion in the employment opportunities for the youth of South Asia through joint manpower training and development programmes and by lifting all barriers to free trade. He said a peaceful environment in South Asia could only be achieved if the people themselves went a step further than their governments. The expedition members
who visited Yamunanagar included Arjun Singh and Nazir
Chagala from India, Sonam Tashi and Karma Tscing from
Bhutan, Popy from Bangladesh and Wijitha Kannagarh and
Asoka Ranjani from Sri Lanka. |
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Encyclopaedia
of Sikhism JALANDHAR, May 2 — The revised version of the "Encyclopaedia of Sikhism" will be released shortly through out the world simultaneously. Mr Raghbir Singh Bains, the author of the encyclopaedia told reporters here today that initially, it will be released by the President of the United States of America, Mr Bill Clinton at Washington in the last week of May, 1999. He said he had completed the comprehensive project over ten years working day and night and spend Rs three crore to compile the C.D. ROM of 160 hour duration. The revised edition has been updated upto the tercentenary of Khalsa celebrations which concluded at Anandpur Sahib recently. Mr Bains was conferred the prestigious "order of the Khalsa" for his achievements at the tercentenary celebrations on April 13 at Anandpur Sahib. The CD ROM has animations, graphics and hundreds of rare photographs recording Sikh history tradition culture and heritage. It also include a
"Mini Encyclopaedia for children", mostly
catering to the needs of the children of NRIs for
learning Punjabi.
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3
die in jeep-truck collision HOSHIARPUR, May 2 — Three persons, including one woman, were killed and four others were injured seriously, when the jeep in which they were travelling collided with a truck at Khakhan level crossing near Tanda, about 40 km from here, yesterday. The deceased were identified as Joginder (45), Paramjit (18) and Charan Kaur (54). The injured were admitted to Civil Dispensary, Tanda. All the persons including deceased, belonged to Nawan Pind Jattan and on their way to Dalhousie. The driver of the truck fled after the accident. Tanda police has registered a case against the truck driver under Section 304 of the IPC. In another accident
Amrik Chand of Faridpur succumbed to his injuries at a
private hospital at Bulhowal last night. His scooter
dashed in a stationary tractor-trailer near Fattowal at
about 8.30 p.m. Bulhowal police has registered a case
under Sections 304A, 427, 279, IPC against Pargat Singh
of Pajjodeota, owner of the tractor-trailer. |
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Journalist
attacked by mob LUDHIANA, May 2 — A correspondent of the Indian Express, Mr Amit Sharma and a photographer, Mr Gurmeet Singh, were manhandled by an irate mob of some 150 persons, while trying to gather reports of mass copying in department examination being conducted by the Telecom Department for linemen held at Punjab Agricultural University, today. It is learnt that the duo who had gone to the venue, found that most of the 400 candidates appearing in the examination were copying answers to the objective-type paper from already prepared answersheets and there was no examiner in the examination hall. When Mr Gurmeet Singh
clicked some photographs, he was caught by companions of
some of the candidates standing outside the hall. Mr
Singh was manhandled, but managed to flee. Mr Sharma, who
was also present, was caught and assaulted by the mob. |
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