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| Monday, July 31, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
Statute
review: SAD gets more time Another
Pak militant nabbed
Rain water
damages crops Caste
groups clash; cops use
force Women
recruited as Home Guards: CM |
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Saluja’s RSS links
embarrass Cong
Ghalib
joins issue with dissidents Bhattal
rushes to Delhi
Flood
threat to villages Demolition
‘no threat’ to Baba
Atal
CM discriminating against Patiala,says Kohli
Cops refuse to register case
Bambi denies being Sidhu’s classmate
Court
verdict misinterpreted, say pensioners Nanavati
panel: DCs to assist victims
Inmate’s
death: no FIR lodged Graft
case against JE Scribes
flay minister Caller held
for bad intentions
‘Fill teaching posts
in med college’ Sikh
Educational Council set up Cancel transfers,
say teachers
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Statute
review: SAD gets more time CHANDIGARH, July 30 — While the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, discussed in New Delhi on Saturday night the memorandum to be presented to the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, the latter accepted the state’s request and extended the date for the submission of its views to August 31. Consequently, the two committees, one of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the other of the government, having met in New Delhi, are now scheduled to meet in Chandigarh on August 5. The SAD secretary, Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, told TNS on the telephone from New Delhi today that four-hour meeting discussed all aspects on which the state and the party were to give their views on the 10 issues on which panels had been constituted by the commission. Since the SAD represents a minority community, it has requested the commission to constitute a separate panel on the minorities. The commission has acknowledged its concern regarding the interests of the "Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the other backward classes and the minorities". Besides much else, it is the issue of Centre-state relations which is engaging the attention of the SAD. Mr Badal is keen on Punjab preparing a well-argued and sustainable document to be presented to the commission. That is one reason he has obtained the services of key legal experts and other knowledgeable persons who will give their views on political, legislative, constitutional and executive matters. The SAD did a commendable job while presenting its case before Justice R.S. Sarkaria, who had headed the commission on Centre-state relations. Therefore, while preparing its case for the commission, it has drawn heavily on that document on the restructuring of Centre-state relations on "true federal principles" in accordance with the spirit of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. The essence of this was reiterated in Resolution No 1 passed by the All-India Akali Conference in Ludhiana in October, 1978. Besides the government and the party, several other bodies have responded to the national commission’s invitation. The Sikh Core Group, Chandigarh, has submitted a representation. It has commented upon the federal structure of the Indian Union and autonomous states, Article 25 which clubs Sikhs with Hindus, Jains and Buddhists, repeal of Article 356, services under the Union and the states, Article 262, the Bill of Rights and trade and cultural relations with compatible and neighbouring countries and states. A member of the Core Group, Brig Gurdeep Singh (retd), says that Article 25 in an important issue. It negates the growth of the Sikhs and the identity of Sikhism, which is one of the religions among many others. It is not a part of the Hindu religion. Moreover, the reference to Sikh institutions is redundant. Deletion of the world "Sikh" is essential for the Sikh psyche. The refrain of the memoranda being prepared by the SAD and the government, or for that matter of the one submitted by the Sikh Core Group, reiterates that the stand taken by the Sikhs has been consistently "nationalistic" and in the best interests of the country. The feeling in Punjab is that yet another opportunity has come the Akalis’ way to project in a cogent manner what they have been seeking all these decades. The idea is how the Constitution, in the light of the past 50 years, can better respond to the changing needs (efficient, smooth and effective system of governance and socio-economic development of modern India within the framework of parliamentary democracy) of the people and the states. The mention of the issue of "trade with neighbouring countries and cultural relations with compatible countries and states" in the memorandum by the Sikh Core Group is something new. It has a deeper meaning. It is argued that this provision is important for economic benefits to different regions based on their natural resources and the same should be manifest in the powers granted to autonomous states, although commensurate with the requirements of the integrity of the country. An example of this is the Mizoram Accord (1986). It reads: "Border trade in locally produced or grown agricultural commodities could be allowed under a scheme to be formulated by the Central Government, subject to an international arrangement with neighbouring countries". The 13-member government Constitutional Review Committee has SAD and BJP ministers besides the Advocate-General, Mr Hardev Singh Mattewal. The other members include Justice R.S. Narula, S.S. Sodhi, Harbans Singh and Jaspal Singh. Besides, P.S. Kumedan there is Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia. It has prepared a 40-page memorandum. This committee has made suggestions keeping in view the new challenges posed by globalisation. Besides commenting on various Articles of the Constitution and legislative issues, including Parliament’s powers and provisions vis-a-vis states, it has discussed in detail the imperatives of globalisation seen in the context of the World Trade Organisation regime. A major issue before Punjab is the overarching economic crisis and slowing down of development since the 1980s. Though a pioneer in ushering in the Green Revolution and meeting the country’s needs at a critical juncture, there has hardly been any shift of the labour force from the agricultural sector to other areas. While there was no perceptible change in agricultural labour in 1961 and in 1991, the share of agriculture in the net domestic product has come down from 48.62 per cent to 34.69 per cent (1961-1991). Consequently, the rural-urban gap has widened. The Advocate-General told TNS today that Punjab was preparing its case on the restructuring of the Constitution in a manner that would lead to "greater politico-economic autonomy". "Our views, as Mr Badal says, should enable the review commission to ensure integrated networking between the Centre and the states within the parameters of parliamentary democracy. The states need more political, financial and economic powers to build a strong, modern India. Regional aspirations have also to be respected. This can happen only if there is a level playing field between the two." The 13-member government draft
for discussion gives the historical perspective before commenting on
the 10 "contemporary concerns" selected by the commission
for review and strengthening of the Constitution. Punjab is very keen
that the opportunity now available must not be lost to clinch
contentious issues. |
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Another Pak militant nabbed BATALA, July 30 (PTI) — The Punjab police last night captured an armed Pakistani militant near the Indo-Pak border in the Dera Baba Nanak sector along with a "deadly cache" of arms and ammunition. The arrest of Mohmmed Akram of Sialkot district from Gola Dhola village in Gurdaspur district came after nabbed Pakistani militant Hanif tipped off the police about one of their remaining partners. Punjab Director-General of Police (DGP) Sarabjit Singh told a press conference here today "during interrogation Mohmmed Hanif, who had surrendered before the police along with his fellow Yaqubullah Usmaan after the shooting down of Samual Masih and Hafiz Allarakha, told the police that one of their gangmen had also crossed over the border on the night of July 26 and 27.’’ Akram on being challenged by a police party yesterday, opened fire on the police which returned the fire. The police overcame the militant after an exchange of fire, he said. The captured Pakistani militant revealed that the fresh recruits were being imparted training at Jaffarwal and Shakargarh in Pakistan under the supervision of Captain Assadullah and Sher Khan, the DGP said. He said the consignment, these terrorists were taking, was suspected to be meant for use in Jammu and Kashmir and was sent on Pakistani intelligence agency the Inter-Services Intelligence instructions. UNI adds: Preliminary interrogation of Akram revealed that he had been asked to target buses in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The police said this confession was significant in the aftermath of two bomb explosions, including one in a bus near Jalandhar, in less than a month, which left nine people dead and 26 injured. The police said the group of five terrorists, belonging to Harkat-ul-Zahad-e-Islam, were inducted to target senior politicians and police officers in Jammu and Kashmir, besides planting bombs in buses. Of these five, Samuel Masih alias Sher Khan, a resident of Ballia village under Narowal police station, and Hafiz Allahrakha of Faisalabad were killed, while Mohmmed Hanif and Yakubuallah alias Usmaan of Mannpur village in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, were arrested after the encounter on July 28. The DGP said the group entered Indian territory by crossing the Ravi at a time when vigilance became difficult during the monsoon period. Sher Khan, who was killed in the encounter, was a nephew of Jaika Masih, who had dug three tunnels along the Indo-Pak border in Punjab. The Punjab police chief said
the attempt of the five-member-strong heavily-armed gang of Pakistan
terrorists clearly indicated the resolve of terrorists groups camping
across the border to create trouble in India. |
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Rain
water damages crops PAKKI TIBBI (Muktsar), July 30 — Jugraj Singh and his brother residing in this village were hoping that their 30 acres of land will yield bumper paddy crop this season. But their hopes were dashed to the ground when the rain water accumulated in their fields and submerged their paddy crop. The water got accumulated in their fields as the drain dug up for removing water logging overflowed. Now the two brothers are disappointed as they have spent more than Rs 2 lakh on the cultivation of paddy this year. More than 30 acres of land of Avtar Singh and Harwal Singh also got submerged due to the overflowing of the drain. A number of farmers of this village have suffered heavy losses as their sugarcane crop and ‘kinnow’ orchards have suffered damages due to accumulation of rain water. Sources said more than 10 hours of rain which lashed this region about a week ago inundated hundreds of acres of land in the village. The drain which had been dug up to this village had no outlet for the water to flow further as some legal dispute was pending in the court regarding its course and alignment. Moreover, the area where the drain was to be dug up further by the authorities concerned fell in Ferozepore district while this village falls in Muktsar district. Due to the absence of outlet of drain, water from Sarawan, Kattianwali and Punnukhera and Bhagwanpura villages which used to flow in the same drain also got accumulated in the village. Mr K.J.S. Cheema, Deputy
Commissioner, when contacted, said two motors which were installed in
the village had been working round the clock to pump out the rain
water. He added that the drain for removing waterlogging had been dug
up to the boundry of Muktsar district and in Ferozepore district it
was yet to be dug up. |
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Caste groups clash; cops use force JALANDHAR, July 30 (UNI) —The demand for the release of a suspect in a theft case from police custody snowballed into an inter-caste tension at a city police station last night when two warring caste groups exchanged brickbats and the police used force to quell the clash. Suspect Husan Lal, who was rounded up in a case of theft which took place in March, was released on the assurance of former minister Mahinder Singh Kaypee and Congress councillor Ram Lal that he would be produced as and when wanted by the police for questioning in the case registered on March 5. When Mr Ram Lal and Mr Paras Ram of the Congress and Mr Pawan Tinoo of Bahujan Samaj Party were negotiating with the police for the release of the suspect, somebody from the crowd hurled a casteist abuse at police station sho vijay Kumar. This led to the division of the group along casteist lines and stone pelting began. The police briefly wielded the baton to quell clashing casteist groups. They dispersed after the accused was let off. One caste faction, which harboured a grudge against the SHO, then went to a disputed temple at Basti Danishmanda and tore away a police tent, forcing five police personnel to spend the night in the open. The police guard had been stationed at the temple site pending outcome of litigation in the high court. The second caste faction, which took umbrage at the abuse hurled at SHO Vijay Kumar, mobilised supporters under the leadership of Raj Kumar of Basti Danishmanda and Bishan Dass of Basti Sheikh and marched to the residence of Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Yadav this morning. When told that the SSP was not at home, the agitated group was directed to meet SP (City) Pawan Uppal in police station division number two. The protesters demanded the arrest of Mr Kaypee and Mr Ram Lal, alleging that the duo had incited their supporters in hurling abuse at the police station. Even as their leaders were
pressing their case with Mr Uppal someone tipped off the agitators
about the presence of Congress state president Amarinder Singh in the
city. The agitators then marched to a city hotel and met the state
Congress chief, reiterating their demand for action against Mr Kaypee
and Mr Ram Lal. |
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Women
recruited as Home Guards: CM TUR (Tarn Taran), July 30 — The Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has expressed hope that the Bill regarding merger of Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed hill state of Uttaranchal will not be passed and the question of withdrawing support from the Union Government by SAD will not arise. Mr Badal disclosed this while talking to mediapersons after addressing a well-attended rural gathering on the occasion of the 21st death anniversary of Jathedar Mohan Singh Tur, former SAD president. Mr Badal condemned the Congress party’s "misrule" of 45 years during which the party failed to do any development works in Punjab. Mr Badal claimed the SAD-BJP led state government had got a large number of development works sanctioned from the BJP-led Union Government which included grant of Rs 100 crore to the Punjab Government on the occasion of the tercentenary celebrations, Rs 16,000 crore refinery to be installed at Bathinda, compensation of Rs 3,000 per acre to farmers holding land across the fencing, exemption of a loan of Rs 8,400 crore, international airport at Raja Sansi, thermal plant at Goindwal Sahib and the completion of Thein Dam. Mr Badal further said a handful of other works too were going to be started, including the repair of border area roads and the renovation of water supply schemes. Mr Badal said 2,000 women Home Guards were being recruited who would assist the BSF deputed at the border fencing in Punjab. This move would help in providing jobs to the women in the area besides providing protection to the women going across the fencing for working in the fields. The Sports Minister, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Prof Jagir Singh, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Raj Mohinder Singh Majithia, MP, also spoke. Mr Badal also laid the
foundation stone of a 66 KVA substation at the nearby village, Kot
Mehmadkhan, the native village of Vice-President Krishan Kant. |
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Saluja’s
RSS links embarrass Cong FEROZEPORE, July 30 — The association of Kapil Saluja, the slain Congress activist, with the RSS has baffled the Congress, which has all along been protesting against his murder inside the city police station here on July 12. Since the day of the incident, the Congress has been describing the deceased as its "soldier" and demanding the arrest of Ashwini Mehta, alias "Tiddi", a BJP activist, allegedly involved in the murder. With the RSS confirming Saluja’s association with the Sangh Parivar, the Congress is facing embarrassment. The general secretary of the Ferozepore division of the RSS, Mr Deena Nath, confirmed that Kapil, despite being a Congress activist had not only attended a couple of its training camps, but had participated in the Ram mandir movement. "Our doors are open for anyone willing to join us for character building" he said. Several BJP youth wing leaders also remember having attending an RSS training camp with Kapil Saluja. A "secular" Congress is not only surprised at their activist’s association with the "saffron brigade", but confused as to how to react to the situation. Even the Punjab Congress Vice-President, Mr Bal Mukand Sharma, who considered Kapil as his loyal soldier expressed his ignorance over the victim’s RSS links. The Pardesh Congress Committee Secretary, Major Harminder Bhullar, who is spearheading a campaign in protest against the murder said: "I had never launched the agitation because Kapil was our party activist. Our rallies are aimed at exposing the killing of an ordinary man killed inside the police station." To prove himself right, he added that the Congress alone was not participating in the campaign, as several Bahujan Samaj Party and Akali Dal (Amritsar) leaders had also lent support to them. The Former Congress Chief Minister, Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who had threatened to intensify the stir said: "It is more shameful for the ruling BJP, if the deceased was associated with the RSS". We should not merely go by the victim’s political leanings to protest the murder. It is our duty to condemn the incident on humanitarian grounds", she said at a press conference a few days ago. Meanwhile, Major Bhullar
announced that an effigy of the Lok Sabha member, Mr Zora Singh Mann,
who is allegedly shielding the accused in Kapil’s murder, will be
burnt tomorrow. The agitating members of the action committee, earlier
floated by him and his supporters would also march through the city. |
Ghalib
joins issue with dissidents LUDHIANA, July 30 — The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Vice President and MP from the city Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib, alongwith several other activists of the party today joined issue with the dissidents, led by Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, and asked the AICC President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to set up a committee, which should look into the alleged secret relations of certain Congress leaders with the Akali groups in Punjab. In a statement, Mr Ghalib and others reacted to Mrs Bhattal’s tirade against the PPCC chief Captain Amarinder Singh, describing it as a sign of frustration and a gimmick to gain cheap popularity. He said the PPCC chief was the undisputed leader of the party in Punjab and enjoyed the confidence of all sections of people. With massive attendance in the rallies organised by the party in Khemkaran and Nadala recently, the popularity graph of the Congress, as well as the PPCC leadership, had gone up and the dissidents were getting scared. Without naming anyone, Mr Ghalib observed that those responsible for rout of the Congress in 1997 elections in Punjab had been isolated. "By making irresponsible and malicious statements against the party leadership, they (the dissidents) had proved that they did not care for the organisation and were out to grab political power by all means." He said the electorate in Punjab were looking forward to a Congress Government in the state after the next elections and if the dissidents continued with their anti-party activities and acts of indiscipline, they would face rejection at the hands of the voters, alongwith the Akali Dal-BJP ruling combine. The other signatories to the
statement are Mr Nahar Singh Gill, general secretary, PPCC, Mr Malkiat
Singh Dakha, Mr Krishan Kumar Bawa, Mr Gurdev Singh Lapran, Mrs
Barjinder Kaur, Mr Surinder Dawar, president, DCC (Urban), Mr
Harmohinder Singh, president DCC (Rural), Mr Pawan Diwan, president
DYC, Mr Gurkirat Singh, Mr Gurmeet Singh, former ministers Mr Darshan
Singh Brar, Mr Isher Singh and Mr Harnek Singh Mangewal. |
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Bhattal
rushes to Delhi AMRITSAR, July 30 — Even as the infighting in the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) has intensified Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, a former Chief Minister, has rushed to New Delhi to apprise the party high command of the latest developments. On the other hand Mr Amarinder Singh, President, PPCC has reportedly urged the party high command to intervene immediately to stop the open criticism of the PPCC by Mrs Bhattal and her supporters at a time when the party is expecting a mid-term poll in the state. Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, a general secretary of the PPCC and a former minister today took strong exception to the statement of Mrs Bhattal in which she had criticised PPCC chief for allegedly ‘communalising’ the party. Mr Bajwa said Mrs Bhattal was a seasoned politician and belonged to the family of patriots and hence she should not have given public statements which could harm the party interests. He said such statements would not only harm the party prospects in the forthcoming elections but help the Shiromani Akali Dal. He said the opposition parties like the Shiromani Akali Dal, the BJP, the RSS and the CPI had never doubted the secular credential of Mr Amarinder Singh, such serious allegations levelled by Mrs Bhattal were unfounded. He wanted Mrs Bhattal to withdraw her statement. The supporters of Mr Amarinder Singh said Mrs Bhattal should not have given the statement that Mr Amarinder Singh had been raising the ‘Sikh cause’. They said raising the genuine demands of the Sikhs should not be considered as ‘communal’. On the other hand Mr Gurinder Singh
Kairon, a close confidant of Mrs Bhattal, criticised those who had
levelled serious charges against her. He said Mrs Bhattal had aptly
pointed out the ‘infiltration’ of some ‘communal’ persons into
the Congress. He said the Congress was a secular party and the party
high command should take appropriate steps to maintain the secular
image of the party. |
Flood
threat to villages NABHA: There is a flood threat to Paheri, Ranjitgarh, Ghaniwal, Bhode-Lopay, Bhojomajri villages along Patiala Second Feeder. The feeder starts from Joday Pul, near Malerkotla, to Rohti Pul, near Nabha. The banks of the canal are widening downstream due to silting. The canal is not in a position to carry half of the water of its original capacity. How can it bear the fury of monsoon is a question which begs an answer from officials of the Irrigation Department. The department has spent lakhs on repairs and desilting. A sum of Rs 40 lakh has been sanctioned for the repair and desilting. Villagers allege the amount has been misappropriated. When this correspondent contacted Executive Engineer, Lehal sub-division, under whose jurisdiction this canal lies, on the telephone, he said the responsibility of the canal was of the Superintending Engineer. When the SE, Mr Jagjit Singh, was contacted on the telephone, he said it was the responsibility of field staff, including the XEN and SDOs. According to reliable sources, the Irrigation Department has consumed the whole grant on papers only. The canal is in a pathetic condition. The Joday Pul, (RD 79514), head has been designed for 1470 cusecs of water. But the canal can carry less than 800 cusecs of water. The Irrigation Department is aware of this fact, so it does not release water to its full capacity i.e. 1470 cusecs into the canal. The breadth of the feeder from RD 7954 to RD 1,10,000 is 98.90 feet. Due to downstream growth of berms its breadth has reduced between 45 and 50 feet. From Bhode Siphon to Rohti Pul the feeder width has reduced to sheer 40 feet. The "minors" and "tails" which originate from the canal and feed Bhagwanpur, Birdhno, Mohalguara villages are without water.This makes farmers of these villages dependent either on tubewells or on monsoon. The farmers have to purchase diesel to run their tubewells. The panchayats
of these villages demand widening of Patiala Second Feeder immediately
so that the farmers get water for paddy and flood threat recedes. |
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Demolition
‘no threat’ to
Baba Atal AMRITSAR, July 30 — The SGPC, which is faced with a fresh controversy over demolition of the age-old historical Baradari building close to the nine-storey Baba Atal has justified the demolition as the building had been declared a dilapidated structure and could have collapsed at any time. The SGPC secretary, Dr Gurbachan Singh Bachan, thus, dispelled fears that the demolition of this building would pose threat to the structure of Baba Atal, which was connected to Baba Atal Rai, son of the sixth Sikh Guru, Hargobind. Dr Bachan said the building experts, who were consulted to preserve this building, had advised against any renovation since it was in a highly dilapidated state and beyond repairs. They said it could had collapsed at any time. The head of the civil engineering wing of the Punjab Engineering College, Dr I.C. Sial, who examined this building, had declared it "unsafe" and said it could had caused loss of human lives. The SGPC
secretary said the experts had further in their report stated that
since more than 10 ft separated the two buildings, there would be no
danger to Baba Atal building at the time of laying foundation of the
new Baradari building. |
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CM discriminating against Patiala,says Kohli PATIALA. July 30 — The Patiala city MLA, Mr S.S. Kohli, has alleged that the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, was discriminating against the people of the Patiala constituency just because he was close to Mr G.S. Tohra, President of the SHSAD. In a press note, Mr Kohli alleged that the Chief Minister had blocked an amount of Rs 50 lakh which was meant for the construction of the second bundh on Bari Nadi on the Rajpura road. He said had this bundh been constructed, it would have helped check floods. He added that the scheme initiated by the government to build an overbridge over the 22 number railway crossing should be put on hold, as it would prove a bane for more than 500 shopkeepers of the area. Mr Kohli thanked Mr G.S. Tohra, member of the Rajya Sabha, for giving Rs 16 lakh for the beautification of the city. |
Cops refuse to register case KURALI ( Ropar), July 30 — The Ropar Police appears to be oblivious of the directives of the Punjab Police regarding registration of cases. A local handicapped person is running from pillar to post for the past four months to get a first information report (FIR) registered at the Kurali police station against certain persons for allegedly detaining his truck. The complainant, Mr Harbans Singh, who had bought the truck after arranging funds from different sources, was now being forced to do petty jobs following detention of the his truck allegedly at the behest of the police. Narrating his tale of woe, Harbans Singh, whose left arm was amputated in an accident, said his mini-truck was attached with the LCV Operators Union. On March 7, he took his vehicle to a leather unit to load goods for Jalandhar, he says. After some time, about 30 persons led by Mewa Singh, Surmukh Singh, Balraj, Chama Lal, Sajjan, Gurmit, Pappu, and Karam Singh reached the spot and detained the truck. Repeated complaints at the police station did not yield any result. The complainant along with the President of the Kurali LCV Operators Union, Mr Gurmeet Singh, approached the civil court, Kharar, seeking injunction to prevent the members of a rival truck union from interfering in the functioning of the affairs of the LCV operators' union. The court passed the injunction orders, said the complainant. "I again approached the police to register an FIR but the Station House Officer (SHO) refused to do the same," lamented Harbans Singh, adding that despite orders from the State Home Department and orders from the SSP, Mr GPS Bhullar, the case had not been registered. He has now approached the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. |
Bambi denies being Sidhu’s classmate PATIALA, July 30 — Mr Jagatbir Singh Bambi, whose father is involved in a court case with Mrs Surinder Kaur, a relative of former Patiala SSP Harinder Singh Chahal, today said he had never been a classmate of the present district police chief, Mr Harpreet Singh Sidhu. Mr Chahal had alleged yesterday that Mr Sidhu had dragged his name into a criminal case to help his classmate Bambi. The Patiala police is probing the role of Mr Chahal in a case involving intimidation and assault of a Nabha resident, Shemsher Singh, who had been appointed as a technical expert in the case in July, last year. This follows a confession made by the two assailants before the Illaga Magistrate that they had fractured the leg of Samesher Singh on Chahal’s instance. Mr Bambi said he had never taken any undue advantage from the Patiala SSP. He said he only met him during public hours to represent his case. He alleged that former SSP Chahal, who is at present serving as Commandant, Commando Battalion at Bahadurgarh, near here, was trying to obstruct justice by not letting Shamsher Singh appear in court. He said there were other cases pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court which were related with this case. He said the high court had asked the local court to clear the matter of possession within a year. He said Shamsher Singh, was being
harassed. |
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Sangat
darshan on Udham Singh’s martyrdom day SANGRUR, July 30 — The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, will preside over a state-level function on the martyrdom day of Shaheed Udham Singh at the new grain market at Sunam tomorrow. He will also hold sangat darshan at the PWD rest house. Mr Om Prakash Chautala, the Haryana Chief Minister, will also visit Sunam to pay tributes to Udham Singh. A number of village panchayats
have also been reportedly invited to the ‘sangat darshan’. The
urban organisations will also be given sufficient time for their
grievances as the traders are not happy with the functioning of the
SAD government. |
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Gen
Malik given warm send-off BATHINDA, July 30 — The Chief of the Army Staff, Gen V. P. Malik, was accorded a warm send-off today by all ranks of the local military station, including Lt-Gen G. K. Duggal, GOC, Chetak Corps and his wife Mrs Kusum Duggal. General Malik while addressing
a sainik sammelan, said the Indian Army was fully prepared to give a
befitting reply to Pakistan. |
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Thein dam to be operational by August 15 PATIALA,
July 30 — Addressing a gathering at Bhunerheri, near here, today, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance and Planning Minister, said to fulfil the basic needs of the people of the state and for development purposes, Rs 4,550 crore had been earmarked by the government for this fiscal year. Capt Kanwaljit Singh said when the ruling coalition came to power in the state, the people of the state were facing a lot of hardships due to frequent power cuts. He added that electricity to tubewells was not available at that time due to which the farming sector had to suffer heavy losses. To overcome the shortage of electricty, the state government had commissioned the Lehra Mohabbat thermal plant at a cost of Rs 550 crore and the Thien dam project would be operational by August 15. |
Court
verdict misinterpreted, say pensioners BATHINDA, July 30 — Members of Retired Municipal Employees Union today alleged that the Punjab Government had been denying pension to a section of the retired employees of the municipal council on flimsy grounds, including the misinterpretation of a judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mr Jagdish Rai Bansal, president, Retired Municipal Employees Union, in a letter to the Punjab Local Bodies Minister, Mr Balramji Dass Tandon, said about 200 employees of municipal councils had been denied the relief on pension of flimsy grounds. He pointed out that about 200 municipal employees who retired between January 1, 1976 and to March 31, 1990, were not being given pension by the Punjab Government. However, the employees who had retired on April 1, 1990, and afterwards had been given the benefit of pension. He said if the government was not willing to give pension to these 200 employees it should give at least the ex-gratia pension to them. He pointed out that Central Government had introduced ex-gratia relief for the bank officers who had retired before January 1, 1986, as they were not getting any pensionary benefits. Even the Gujarat High Court had given
direction to the LIC management to make arrangements to give ex-gratia
pension to its employees who had retired before January 1, 1986. |
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Nanavati
panel: DCs to assist victims CHANDIGARH, July 30 — The Punjab Government today directed all Deputy Commissioners and SSPs to assist 1984-riot affected persons in preparing and submitting affidavits before the newly set up Justice Nanavati Commission. A meeting on this issue was held here today. It was attended by the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr R.I. Singh, the Advocate-General, Mr H.S. Mattewal and a senior advocate of the Delhi High Court, Mr H.S. Phoolka. The Deputy Commissioners and the SSPs of Patiala, Ropar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar were among those present, besides some riot-affected persons. The commission of inquiry will go into details of different aspects of the 1984 carnage in Delhi and other parts of the country. The state government has already set up a high-level committee, under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, on the case. The respective district administrations will extend all assistance in fulfilling the legal formalities and supply of affidavits through the Red Cross. The Deputy Commissioners are to constitute committees in their respective districts and ensure that NGOs and police officers helped the affected persons submit their claims for justice and compensation by August 15. Mr Mattewal said the terms of reference of the commission, set up by the Vajpayee government, were very wide. All parts of the country where the riots took place had been included in its purview. This new commission had "more teeth." Mr Phoolka expressed anguish over the
delay in granting justice to the affected persons. He said Mr Parkash
Singh Badal had set up a panel of legal experts to plead the cases of
the affected persons before the commission. |
Inmate’s
death: no FIR lodged AMRITSAR, July 30 — The mental hospital authorities here failed to lodge an FIR or a complaint with the police following the death of a hospital inmate who reportedly tried to commit suicide. Satpal (40), a resident of Bathinda, admitted in the mental hospital a year back, is alleged to have attempted suicide by jumping from the terrace, which is nearly 14-15 feet high, a month back. He survived the fall but suffered a serious pelvic fracture from the fall. He was reportedly admitted to Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital’s orthopaedic ward and underwent treatment there. He died after a month of treatment. No FIR was registered or a police complaint made. Sources in the hospital say the case was allegedly made out to be that of an injury suffered while "escaping" from a drainpipe of the new ward where the patient was housed. The hospital authorities on condition of anonymity disclosed the patient had a history of hysterical attacks. During one such attack he hit his mother with a hammer on her head. The patient was suffering from manic-depressive psychosis and though he was admitted a year back he had not shown any improvement. According to psychiatrists, depressive patients are preconditioned to attempt suicide. The number of attempts could vary from a few times in a year to a few times in a few days, says a doctor dealing with patients in the hospital. The hospital authorities, however, admit that after the fall Satpal’s family members were informed but no one came forward to claim him or help him as probably the incident involving violence with his mother deterred them from extending assistance. Satpal died on Wednesday here at SGTB Hospital after undergoing treatment for nearly a month. Again no report has been made to the police who had arrested him in connection with the violence committed earlier, after which it was proposed he should get treatment at the mental hospital. Dr B.K. Khurana, Medical Superintendent of the mental hospital, denied having lodged any complaint or FIR whether with the Amritsar police or at the Bathinda police station. He defended this step by saying that the inmate had just tried to escape and it was considered a routine matter and so it did not seen necessary to inform the police or lodge a complaint. Dr Khurana said he knew nothing of
the patient’s previous record of violence against his mother. |
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Graft
case against JE PATHANKOT, July 30 — The Vigilance Bureau has registered a case against Bishan Lal a junior engineer of the Punjab State Electricity Board posted at Fatehpur subdivision under Section 7/13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to police sources Piara Singh applied to the PSEB authorities for shifting of his tubewell connection. The accused was deputed by the department to make prepare the report for the shifting the tubewell of the complainant. The complainant approached the accused along with Tarsem Lal on July 27 who demanded Rs 3000 for giving favourable reports. The matter was settled in Rs 2000 and
the complainant reported the matter to Vigilance Bureau. On July 28
the accused was arrested by the police while allegedly taking the
bribe from Piara Singh. |
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Scribes
flay minister FATEHGARH SAHIB, July 30 — The district unit of the Punjab Chandigarh Patarkar Parishad at its meeting held here today strongly criticised the behaviour of Mr Gobind Singh Kanjhla, Minister for Social Security, for publicly threatening a journalist from Sangrur for writing against his department and the alleged transfer and suspension of his wife working as stenographer in his department. In a resolution the journalists urged
the Chief Minister to intervene in the matter as it was a direct
attack of the freedom of the Press. The parishad decided to submit a
memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner in this regard.They also urged
the journalists of Sangrur to extend full support to the affected
journalist. Mr Surjeet Singh, state president of the parishad briefed
the meeting about the high-handedness of the minister. |
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Caller
held for bad intentions BATHINDA, July 30 —The local police has arrested a property dealer, Sukhdev Singh for allegedly making phone calls to women with a view to exploiting them. In a press note issued here today, Dr Jatinder Kumar Jain, SSP, said the accused would become friendly with women of well-to-do families on the telephone after coming in contact with them on the pretext of sale and purchase of property. Then the accused would make phone calls to them and would talk to them with a view to exploiting them. He said the police on receiving the
information caught the accused red-handed. A case has been registered
and the accused has been sent to jail. |
‘Fill teaching posts
in med college’ PATIALA, July 30 — The PCMS Officers Association of Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital today demanded immediate filling of vacant posts of senior lecturers, lecturers and other teaching posts in the state medical college. In a press note, the association President Dr D.S.
Bhullar, said that many PCMS doctors had been assigned teaching duties although no teaching experience is given to them. |
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Sikh
Educational Council set up CHANDIGARH, July 30 — The Shiromani Akali Dal President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has constituted the Sikh Educational Council to lay down policies and manage Sikh educational institutions in Delhi. The council will be headed by Mr Avtar Singh Hit, president, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. Mr Kulmohan Singh will be the secretary of the council. The other members of
the council are Justice Jaspal Singh, Dr P.S. Bajaj, Dr J.S. Neki, Dr
Amrik Singh, Principal Nanak Singh, chairman, Mata Jai Kaur School,
Delhi, Mr Mohinder Singh Mathroo, Dr Jaspal Singh and Mr Surjit Singh. |
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Cancel transfers,
say teachers PATIALA, July 30 — The Punjab Government College Teachers Association today urged the state government to cancel the postings of those teachers who were uprooted in the recent transfers. Expressing concern over the transfer policy of the government, Dr P.S. Bhatti and Prof B.S. Sandhu, President and General Secretary of the association, in a statement said that the teachers should be adjusted in the same station. |
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