The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, June 24, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

PUNJAB

FATEHGARH SAHIB
DECRIED: The district unit of the Punjab and Chandigarh Patarkar Parishad has criticised the registration of a false case against the certain scribes by the Khanna police. The parishad at its meeting held here on Thursday expressed concern over the unnecessary harassment’ of the scribes by the Khanna police and termed it as an attack on the Press.

GURDASPUR
COP HELD: The police on Thursday arrested constable Darshan, posted in Batala police district, for allegedly extorting Rs 6,600 from Bharat Bhushan of Bhagwanpur village on the promise of getting him posted as Special police officer. A case under Section 420, IPC, has been registered against him in Dinanagar police station.

MALERKOTLA
APPOINTED: Sarpanch Nirmal Singh of Bodai Kalan village has been appointed Chairman of the Market committee, Ahmedgarh, by the Secretary, Punjab Agriculture Department.

DEMANDED: The Malerkotla Welfare Association has demanded that the Postal Department open a speed post centre at Malerkotla. Mr Bimal Pahuja, president of the association, has said that the courier companies are overcharging the public.

NAWANSHAHR
MEETING CALLED: Mr Vijay Kumar Nayyar, Executive Officer of the local Municipal Council, has said that a special meeting of the council would be held on July 5. The meeting has been convened in the wake of a notice served by the 10 municipal councillors for moving a no-confidence motion against the council president, Mr Chamkaur Singh Kauri.

PHILLAUR
TRAIN FACILITY: The Railways has decided to provide the facility of second class AC and third class AC coaches in the weekly 2317 up/2318 Dn Akal Takht Express running between Sealdah and Amritsar from July 1.

SCOOTERIST KILLED: A scooterist, Ram Labhaya of Apra village, was killed on the spot when his vehicle was hit by a speeding truck on the GT Road near the local JCT Mills on Thursday. The truck driver escaped. The police has registered a case and sent the body to the Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

MORCHA UNIT: At a meeting of the Bahujan Samaj Morcha held under the presidentship of Mr Joginder Ram, a unit of the morcha has been set up at Pharala village and Mr Sucha Ram has been appointed president of the unit. Mr Baljinder Singh will work as its vice-president, Mr Baljinder Ram as secretary, and Mr Surinder Paul as treasurer.

SANGRUR
MURDER SOLVED: The Malerkotla police has solved the murder case of a rickshaw-puller, Imamudin Ali of Pipla Muni village in Bengal, with the arrest of Nazir Mohammad of Malerkotla. Another accused in this case, Naeem Mohammad, also from Malerkotla, has absconded. Mr Jatinder Singh Aulakh, SSP, stated here on Thursday that some persons had strangulated Imamudin Ali on May 30 last and had thrown his body into a graveyard near Ludhiana bye pass at Malerkotla.

TARN TARAN
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of Indian Medical Association (IMA)A: President — Dr Manmohan Singh; vice-president — Dr Kuldeep Singh Kochhar; general secretary — Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal; joint secretary — Dr Gurjeet Singh Dhaliwal; and treasurer — Dr Kuldeep Singh Chug.

CONDEMNED: The Goindwal Cooperative Spinning Mills Empolyees Union has condemned the reappointment of Mr R.S. Biala as the chief executive of the mills by the MD, Spinfed. Mr Kulwinder Singh Khehra, president of the union, in a press statement issued here on Thursday said that a special inquiry into irregularities to the tune of Rs 2,44,065 was already being done by the Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Jalandhar. If Mr Biala was reappointed, he would tamper with the records relating to the inquiry, Mr Khehra claimed.

CHANDIGARH

DHARNA: Members of the All-India Punjab and Sind Bank Officers Union staged a dharna in support of their demands in Sector 17 on Thursday. According to Mr R P Singh, organising Secretary, the protesters urged the management to shed its policy of witch-hunt and vindictiveness towards its employees who had been pressing for justice. Their demands include revamp of the promotion policy upto scale III, a fair and rational transfer policy, a CBI inquiry against the corrupt, waiving of outstanding loans in case of death of employees, appointment of director with a clean track record and restoration of the pre-gulf war petrol reimbursement.

FINALE: Career Education Alliance (CEA) is organising the grand finale of the summer workshop by the Welfare Department, PGI, in collaboration with the Institute of Creative Arts and Media Presentation. The workshop covers dance, aerobics and personality grooming.

DONATION: Giani Nirmal Singh of Sector 44 donated Rs 2,100 to the night school at Government High School, Sector 40, for stationery and refreshment of the poor students studying in the night school. He presented a cash packet of the same amount to the Headmaster, Mr Bahadur Singh, at a simple function on Thursday.

SAS NAGAR
ASSOCIATION: The following have been made office-bearers of the Know Thy Neighbour Association, Phase IV: President — Mr Bhupinder Singh; Vice-President — Ms Paramjit Puri; Secretary — Mr Bachan Singh Mundra; Treasurer — Ms Kulwant Ajit Singh; and Executive members — Mr Rajinder Randhawa, Mr V.S. Malhotra, Mr Manjit Singh Juneja, Capt Harcharan Singh, Ms Kuldip Kaur Mann, Ms Charanjit Grewal, Ms Nirmala Rani Agarwal, Ms Harvinder Ghuman, Brig J.S. Sivia and Col K.S. Dhaliwal.

HARYANA

FATEHABAD
LAND DISPUTE: A dispute over a piece of land claimed two lives at Azad Nagar near here, on Wednesday. Mohinder, a resident of Kuleri village in Hisar District, had a property dispute with his cousin, Ram Swaroop, a resident of Azad Nagar. He came to the residence of his cousin and after an altercation, allegedly shot at Ram Swaroop with an unlicenced pistol. But the bullet hit Sukhi, wife of Ram Swaroop, who died on the spot. Seeing this, Mohinder shot himself.

SONEPAT
GANG BUSTED: With the arrest of two persons, the local police on Friday busted an inter-state gang of robbers operating in parts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for the past few years. SSP K.P. Singh told mediapersons here that the arrested members of this gang were Afeez, alias Satpal, alias Kaina, and Nikka, alias Khalid, alias Chhotu. Seven more members of this gang — Mit, Bhola, Makki, Mian, Talin, Putla, Dumpa and Zakir Ghulam — are still at large.

SUICIDE : Twenty two-year-old Satpal allegedly committed suicide by swallowing a poisonous substance in his house at Asawarpur village, about 15 km from here, on Thursday. A family quarrel is stated to be the main cause of the suicide.

SUICIDE ATTEMPT: Mr Bhagat Singh (40) allegedly made an attempt to commit suicide by taking insecticide tablets in his house in Janata Colony on Thursday. He was immediately taken to the local Civil Hospital, where he is stated to be in a critical condition. The police is investigating the case.

SHAHABAD
DEVELOPMENT WORK: The Haryana Government will spend Rs 1 crore on various development schemes in Shahabad block this year. This was announced by the District Development and panchayat officer, Mr A.L. Bathla, here on Wednesday. Addressing a sammelan of sarpanches of this block Mr Bathla said the state government had abolished the post of up-sarpanch to enable them to work independently for the development of their villages.

SIRSA
SUICIDE: A married woman, Poonam, allegedly burnt herself to death in her parent house, according to information received here on Thursday. Married to Mithun of Fatehabad in 1996, she was allegedly tortured by her in-laws and husband for dowry. However, when the matter was taken to court, Mithun apologised and Poonam’s parents decided to send her with him, which allegedly made Poonam take this extreme step.

THREE HELD: The district police chief on Thursday said that Darshan of Moriwala village was arrested with 60 kg of narcotics while Shyam Sunder and Joginder Singh of Ellenabad and Kirpal Patti village, respectively, were arrested for possessing illicit liquor.

REWARI
LOOTED: About 10 armed youths looted at pistol point about Rs 9500 from Kataria filling Station on the Delhi-Jaipur highway chowk, about 10 km from here, on Wednesday. A case in this regard has been registered by the Dharmhera police.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
SENTENCED: The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ghumarwin, near here, on Wednesday sentenced Vikram Singh (38) to three years’ Jail and imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on him for abducting a two-year-old girl of Kallar village on July 5, 1999.

DIRECTED: The Deputy Commissioner has ordered the block development officer (BDO), Bilaspur Sadar, to make immediate payment of wage arrears of 20 villagers who had constructed the Galla Swana link road last year and have not been paid their wages till now. The villagers alleged that while the officer concerned made full payment to a bulldozer contractor last year, their wages had not been paid.

NAHAN
OPD SHEDS: Under an ongoing reproductive health project in the district, Health Secretary S.S. Parmar has announced that 10 temporary low-cost sheds for OPD would be erected in the rural areas. Laboratory tests would also be made available in these sheds besides regular health check-up facilities.

PARWANOO
MEMBERSHIP FOR BANK: State Bank of Patiala, Parwanoo, has become a member of Chandigarh clearance house. According to Mr Gupta, the manager of the bank, the clearance drawn on Chandigarh, SAS Nagar and Panchkula are being cleared within two to three days. Mr Gupta said the bank was also giving loans to industrialists, traders and individuals for the purchase of consumer items, vehicles and houses.

WELFARE BODY: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Senior Citizens Welfare Society: President — Mr V P Sharma; Senior Vice-President — Mr
S.N. Goel; Vice-President — Mr B R Kapoor; General Secretary — Mr S S Thapa; Treasurer — Mr N L Joshi; Organising Secretary — Mr K L Dutta; and Adviser — Lieut-Col K B Mohiyal (retd).