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| Thursday, August 10, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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‘Kidnapped’ woman admits running away with lover LUDHIANA Ms Grewal was brought to Ludhiana late last night from Pathankot. She had earlier maintained that she had been kidnapped by four persons in a maroon coloured Tata Safari from outside Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, when she had gone there to get a few books. (She is a teacher in the school.) She told the police that she had been pulled into the car by one of the four men and then taken towards Moga. On the way, the kidnappers let her off at a dhaba near Jagraon to answer the call of nature and it was then that she had called up her mother, Mrs G. Bajwa, at her residence and informed that she had been kidnapped and the kidnappers were heading towards Ferozepore. She said that she was then drugged by the kidnappers and when she gained consciousness, she did not know where they were headed. Carrying on her tale further, which was recorded by the police and the taped conversation played to TNS today, Ms Grewal alleged that every time she gained consciousness, the kidnappers would again drug her. She said that between her bouts of consciousness and unconsciousness, she realised that they had changed the car and were now travelling in a Lancer. She said that she had had a providential escape from the kidnappers yesterday only when she was made to sit in the car near the door and seeing the right time, she dashed out of the car on a busy road. "An Army jeep was coming from the other side and I asked the incumbents for help. Colonel Sudhir, posted at Pathankot, was travelling in the jeep and he took me to Pathankot. From there, he called up my mother and then arranged for me to be sent back to Ludhiana," she says. However, the police had already known about the woman' s affair with Col. C.S. Dayal and ever since she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Kuldeep Singh, formed a special team headed by DSP Sarabha Nagar, Mr Harmanbir Singh Gill, to look into the case after the family informed the police about receiving a telephone call from Piya. "We began our investigations with the information that Piya was heading towards Ferozepore. There are seven telephone exchanges between Ludhiana and Ferozepore — at Baddowal, Mullanpur, Jagraon, Ajitwal, Moga, Talwandi Bhai and Ferozepore. After tapping the phones at the residences of Piya's parents and her in-laws, we sent our personnel to all the divisional engineers' offices concerning these exchanges. However, we got to know that no call from any of the telephones situated under these exchanges had been made to Piya's mother," informed DSP Harmanbir Singh. He says that the police also got to know of Piya's affair with Colonel Dayal and gathered the transcripts of telephone calls made to Colonel Dayal in Pathankot from Piya's DoT number and the calls received and made from her mobile phone to her lover. After establishing their links, the police approached the Colonel's wife and told her about their rendezvous. She then called up her husband. He was confronted and told that the local police was likely to approach the Union Home Ministry for his interrogation in the kidnapping case of Piya. It is believed that the Colonel then developed cold feet and the duo concocted the story of the kidnapping as a follow-up of her earlier telephone call to her mother. They then sought the help of the Colonel's friend, Colonel Sudhir and he agreed to help. However, upon her return, she yielded under the questioning of the police and soon conceded that she had run away and gone to the Colonel of her own free will. In a written application submitted to the SHO, Police Station Division No. 5, Piya Grewal has stated that she had gone to the Colonel and was not kidnapped. She has said that she had been with Colonel Dayal all along and had made the telephone call to her mother from Bhogpur about her kidnapping as she wanted to conceal her relationship with Colonel Dayal and that she wanted to spend her life with him. |
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Rs 13.12 cr for development works in Ludhiana LUDHIANA The Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.K.Sandhu, informed that Rs 7.97 crore would be spent for implementation of different beneficiary oriented schemes and a sum of Rs 2.07 crore had already been disbursed. The infrastructural development, to be carried out by various government departments, would account for Rs 2.75 crore and Rs 67 lakh already stood released under the plan. Another Rs 81 lakh were earmarked under area specific schemes and for the completion of on-going projects. According to Mr Sandhu, financial assistance would be made available under beneficiary oriented schemes to widows and destitute women, old-age pensioners, dependent children and handicapped persons. In order to provide nutritious food to children below the age of three years and pregnant women, 1239 anganwari centres had been set up in the district and an amount of Rs 47 lakh would be spent for this purpose. During the current financial year, 23 drinking water supply schemes would be commissioned in the villages at a cost of Rs 2.69 crore. Under the projects, another 18 villages would get piped water supply at a cost of Rs 1.88 crore while Rs 25 lakh would be spent for augmentation of water supply schemes in three villages of kandi area. Mr Sandhu further said that Rs 43 lakh were set aside for disbursement under the Golden Jubilee Self-Employment Scheme and the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Scheme for providing self-employment to the unemployed youth. The Deputy Commissioner said he had directed all the district officials to pay personal attention to ensure timely execution of developmental projects and quality of work. The involvement of the respective village panchayats in the execution of development works was also being encouraged in order to ensure optimum utilization of funds, he added. |
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Youth attacked outside court LUDHIANA Eyewitnesses said the youth, Rana, a resident of Haibowal and henchman of the Bitta group, was attacked allegedly by men owing allegiance to the Lovely group. It is learnt that Rana was driving a white Fiat car (PUU 4080) and was being chased by a group of six to seven youths on two-wheelers. They forcibly stopped his car and started attacking him with lathis and sharpedged weapons. They tried to drag him out without much success. While all this was going on, some police personnel who had come to the court in connection with different cases, rushed to the spot. Seeing this the assailants tried to make good their escape. While one of the assailants was running on foot, he was given a long chase by Inspector Santokh Singh, SHO Police Station No. 5 and ASI Arjun Singh and was captured. The accused, Ravinder Singh, was then taken to the Kailash Nagar police post. Rana has been sent to hospital for treatment. |
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A private
adalat giving justice LUDHIANA The Shiv Sena leader, who shot into limelight about six months before operation Bluestar, has over the past 15 years or so gained clout in the administration and elsewhere. According to Mr Tangri, the lok adalat has been functioning since the beginning of 1998. The adalat is a five member jury comprising Mr Kailash Komal, Mr Rakesh Toni, Mr Sunil Tangri, Mr Sudesh Bir Kapur and Mr Tangri himself. The adalat attracts 30 to 40 cases a month mostly of a domestic and personal nature, claims Mr Tangri. He thinks that if there are adalats like this everywhere, there would be no need for the courts. Mr Tangri narrates the case of a married man who transported expensive household items one by one to the house of his beloved, hailing from Bengal. After his wife approached the lok adalat with her tale of woes, an investigation team was sent by Mr Tangri which found the complaint to be true. The Bengali girl was brought on some pretext to the Shiv Sena headquarters in Gur Mandi and threatened. The girl confessed to having relations with the man and having received all those gifts. Everything was settled to the satisfaction of the aggrieved wife, claims Mr Tangri. Mr Tangri thinks he is doing a great service to the justice-starved society and serving humanity at large even if it is illegal to do so. Last year, his Shiv Sena had only about 8,000 members. Today the number of Shiv Sainiks stands at 19,609. To supplement its income, the Shiv Sena runs an exclusive shop dealing with conventional Hindu armaments in Gur Mandi, the headquarters of the organisation. A signboard urges one to buy these “divine” armaments and become strong. |
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CMC faculty divided on ‘misconduct’ row LUDHIANA Following a complaint by a doctor about the alleged misbehaviour with his wife, three postgraduate students of paediatrics were asked to “keep away” from the hostel. The incident occurred on the night of August 3. Some students said the altercation had begun when three students “brushed past” the German wife of a doctor. She, reportedly, scolded the students that led to heated arguments between the couple and them. The situation was saved after some other students intervened. The doctor immediately rang up the Deputy Director of the hospital and complained about the incident. He alleged that the students had tried to molest his wife. Next day, the college authorities decided to suspend the students, but the Principal, Dr A.B. Thomas, objected to the suspension. He said, instead of instant suspension, the matter should be probed. The decision to suspend the students did not find favour with most faculty members present at the yesterday's meeting. Dr Thomas and the Head of the Department of Paediatrics, Dr Manorama Verma opposed the suspension. They said the students had been suspended on flimsy evidence and any action should be taken after the completion of the inquiry that had already been ordered. The acting Director of the college, Dr J.L. Joshi, however, told the TNS on Monday that only the services of the students had been suspended and they had been allowed to attend classes. Dr Thomas said, “I am the one who can suspend anyone and I have not done it so far.” He said different versions of the incident had been given by the two parties and details were being verified. “Till the inquiry is finished, the students will keep away from the hostel, but attend their classes.” he said. The Principal said the issue had been blown out of proportion. He said the college was yet to appoint an inquiry officer and had sought explanation from the three students. The Head of the Department of Paediatrics in the CMC, Dr Manorma Verma, however, refused to comment on the issue. |
Training course on soil management LUDHIANA, Aug 9 — The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), has sanctioned a project on, “sustainability of rice-wheat production system” under the NATP project to Punjab Agricultural University, with an outlay of over Rs 127 lakh for a period of four years. This advanced training course for the Indo-Gangetic plain for scientists from state agricultural universities and ICAR institutes is in progress at the Department of Soils, PAU, here. Ten scientists sponsored by different institutes are attending the course, which will conclude on September 8. Dr M.S. Bahwa, Director of Research, PAU, inaugurated the course. Dr Yadwinder Singh, senior Soil Chemist, who is co-principal investigator of the project is coordinating the course. Dr M.R. Chaudhary, senior Soil Physicist, is the subject matter coordinator and has prepared the course outline. Intensive training on soil management is being provided to the trainees, which includes both lectures and practical classes. Resource persons from within PAU, retired scientists and well-known scientists from other institutes will be invited to deliver lectures and provide practical training to the scientists attending the course. Visits to the field, experiments at PAU and the Central Soil Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, Chandigarh, and HPKVV, Palampur, have also been planned. Rice production has increased tremendously over the years and the rice-wheat cropping system has sustained the increasing population of India. The increase in rice-wheat production has occurred mostly in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, particularly in the non-traditional rice belt of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Punjab contributes the maximum, about 40 per cent of rice and 60 per cent of wheat, to the central foodgrain pool of the country. The rice-wheat system is an intensive input driven cropping system and an exhaustive exploiter of the soil resource. It has been observed for the past some time that this system has started showing signs of fatigue and there is concern about its sustenance. Therefore, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research under the auspices of Human Resource Development Project of National Agricultural Technology Programs at Department of Soils, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana has formulated a series of training programmes to provide comprehensive training on various management aspects of the rice-wheat cropping system to the scientists and extension workers of Indo-Gangetic plain. |
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Workshop at PAU LUDHIANA Dr K.S. Aulakh, officiating Vice-Chancellor, PAU, will inaugurate the workshop and Capt Deep Singh Sahota, Director of Agriculture, Punjab, will preside over the inaugural session. Dr J.S. Kolar, Director of Extension Education, said that extension strategy of maximising the productivity of the rabi crops would be chalked out during the workshop. |
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PAU Kisan Mela
on Sept 21, 22 LUDHIANA According to Mr Sarjit Singh Gill, Additional Director of Extension Education, more than one lakh farmers are expected to visit the university during the mela. |
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ASHI unites estranged couples The Association for Social Health India (ASHI) met yesterday to sort out marital problems of couples under the chairmanship of Mrs Bubble Sandhu, wife of the Deputy Commissioner. In one case, the girl had left her husband because his family had sold everything except two kilas of land. She wanted the land to be transferred to her son’s name first and return on the condition that she would live separately with her husband. She had been given a fortnight to decide. The ASHI
members were able to convince her of the benefits of a joint family and Baljeet finally decided to go back to her husband. In another story, a woman constantly reminded her husband of past infidelity and never treated him with respect. She alleged that he neglected her and never tried to be her soul mate. On the other hand, the husband accused her of neglecting him. The wife contends, “I get very tired looking after my handicapped children. By the time my husband comes home, I am asleep.” The members tried to reason out with both and asked them to give attention to one another and to be more loving in future. They also asked the couple to develop trust in one another. ASHI meets at the Red Cross Bhavan at 11 o’clock every alternate Tuesday. During this time, the parties are able to think coolly over the problems and members get time to investigate the matter. — AA |
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Women’s club inaugurated LUDHIANA Ms Babli Sandhu, the wife of the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, opened the club banner, while Ms Balbir Kaur Sohal, the wife of the Chairman, PSEB, lit the lamp in the presence of 61 other members. Members had set up a typical Punjabi village scene. They dressed themselves up in Punjabi suits, with Patiala salwars and phulkari all around, against the background of other women working on charkhas. Members and guests enjoyed ethnic Punjabi culture, with presentation of chakki, baagh, pankhiyan, sandookchi, chhaj, thal and ghare. They sang traditional songs like Teeyan nu saure tor ke mera ni lagda ji and Jatta jaag bai hun jaago aayee hai. The inaugural function of the club was held to celebrate teej and sawan. Office-bearers of the club were also introduced on this occassion. They include President — Ms Ranbir Kaur Randhawa, Vice-President — Ms Veena Seth, Secretary — Ms Deepa Sethi, and Joint Secretary — Ms
N.P. Singh. |
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MC men seek bonus, arrears LUDHIANA Addressing the rally, Mr Vijay Danav, adviser to the ruling SAD (B), urged the government to put an end to contract labour system and discontinue the practice of having mohalla safai committees. He said persons employed by these committees were not being paid minimum wages as ordered by the Supreme Court. He said the ban on the new recruitment in civic bodies should be lifted so that Class IV employees could be hired. He criticised the non-payment of bonus from 1992 to 1997 by the government and demanded cash payment of the arrears. The Convener of the Bhartiya Valmiki Dharm Samaj, Mr Lakshman Deavid, and the Municipal Karamchari Dal President, Choudhry Yash Pal, demanded recruitment for persons of scheduled castes, exemption from water and sewerage charges for civic employees, removal of anomalies in pay scales and development of colonies for the Dalits and the poor. The employees also wanted payment of overtime charges to them for working on Saturdays and the other holidays, reintroduction of option forms for pension, regularisation of the services of ad hoc employees, hike in dearness and uniform allowances and payment of bonus and arrears according to the fourth pay commission. |
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Quit India movement’s anniversary LUDHIANA Koshish, a social awakening group, organised a conference in Islamganj, which was presided over by Mr Sabhajit Pandey. The chief guest, Mr Parminder Mehta, member, PCC (I), said just as every Indian had joined the struggle on the call given by Mahatma Gandhi, it was the need of the hour to work collectively to root out terrorism and corruption from the country, which were on the rise. Every Indian should rise above caste, religion and politics to be one and be able to put up a united fight against these, he asserted. Those who garlanded the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi included Mr Surjit Kaushal, Mr Babli Sidhu, Mr Sat Pal, Mr Surdiner Dhiman, Mr Harbinder, Mr Sarabjit 'Bunty', Mr Mohd Abbas, Mr Pankaj Sood, Mr Gogna and Mr Inderjit Makkar. A gathering of doctors, Youth Congress workers, women and shopkeepers observed Quit India Day at Gaushala Road under the leadership of Dr Benarsi Dass Malhotra. Gandhiji's Quit India movement and the Indian National Congress were remembered. It was resolved to follow in the footsteps of freedom fighters. Others who spoke on the occasion were Dr Mohal Lal, Dr S.K. Vohra, Prof Som Parkash and Mr Jai
Parkash. |
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Sikhs flay Badal over US Nagar LUDHIANA The three groups have asserted that there seemed no difference between the Congress and the BJP as far as the minorities, especially the Sikhs, were concerned. “The Congress leadership has been betraying, discriminating and depriving the Sikhs of their land and natural resources since 1947 and the BJP also has now ditched its staunch political ally, the SAD, and betrayed the faith of the people of US Nagar district,” added the groups . Describing the Union Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, as being a stooge of the ruling parties, the Sikh League Secretary General and IHRO Chairman, Mr D.S. Gill, IHRO General Secretary, Mr Mohinder Singh Grewal, and PSLC President, Mr Gurdish Singh Grewal, in a statement said here that the people of US Nagar had mainly suffered because of the unconditional support extended by the SAD to the Vajpayee government for mere political gains. They added, “We mainly blame Mr Badal and his yes-men in the Parliamentary Affairs Committee for not taking the right decision of parting ways with the BJP, even at this juncture, when they had been betrayed.” They have also condemned the statement of the National Minorities Commission Vice-Chairman, Mr Tarlochan Singh, hailing the inclusion of US Nagar in Uttaranchal, who, they added, had played “his masters voice (BJP’s tune) to justify the loafs and fishes graced to him, only to betray the minorities’ cause.”
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‘J&K
situation mishandled’ LUDHIANA He observed that all sorts of irrational and unpatriotic demands were being made by the selfish and self-appointed representatives of Kashmiris with the sole purpose of wresting and retaining political power in the state. Colonel Kahlon rued that the present political leadership in the Centre lacked the will and the wisdom to solve the J and K problem and to deal with the groups which were responsible for loss of many a human life in the valley, including innocent people and valiant soldiers. “In fact the Kashmir policy, being followed by India right from 1947, has been faulty and it was only due to the professional skill and readiness of the soldiers to make extreme sacrifices that freedom of Kashmir was in tact.” The ARS Chief Coordinator commented that the statements of politicians from time to time had been sending wrong signals and creating problems for the security forces. It would be in fitness of things and a great service to the nation, if the political leaders maintained silence on the issue and left the state of J and K in the hands of the armed forces for five years. The government, he added, should confine its activities to looking after the needs of the armed forces and their families. |
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Breathing right for a better life LUDHIANA The inspiration behind 'Art of Living' is Sri Sri Ravishankar born in 1956 in south India. At the age of four, he could recite the Bhagavadagita. He studied Vedas and ancient Indian Vedic literature under Vedic masters. In 1982, Sri Sri Ravishankar emerged from a period of silence and deep meditation and the Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique spontaneously came to his awareness. The Sudarshan Kriya has proved to be a powerful tool of transformation which eliminates deep-rooted emotions and physical toxins. It purifies and cleans every cell of the body, and restores the natural cycles of harmony to the body, mind and emotions. The Art of Living programme starts every alternate Tuesday in Mata Durga Mandir, B.R.S. Nagar and ends on Sunday. Lectures and discourses are held and practical work shop for 24 hours is to be experienced. The members of the group say that most of us are not breathing in a correct manner. So, correct breathing is practised. First, slowly and then faster and faster. The breathing technique followed by Sudarshan Kriya comprises pranayams, yogic kriyas and finally meditation. Sri Sri Ravishankar believed that the body suffers due to lack of rhythm in our breathing. Rhythm abounds everywhere in nature, day follows night, tides rise and fall, seasons come and go. Countless biological rhythms are in synchronisation, we feel a sense of harmony and well-being. When stress throws us off balance, chaotic rhythms are created within us and we feel a sense of discomfort and discontent. The mind wavers, vacillating between worries about the future and regrets of the past. A solution can be found in the breath .... the link between body and mind. Like other rhythms in nature, our breath also moves in specific patterns at particular times. Every emotion is instantly reflected in the rhythm of the breath. When we introduce natural rhythms into our breath, our body and emotions can be brought back from a condition of chaos to a state of balance. This is the practice of Sudarshan Kriya. People practice breathing for half an hour every evening and morning. With good breathing, the effects are immediate and tangible. The internal discord from past sorrows and disappointments is returned into a soothing symphony of peace. Vishal said, "I practice deep breathing everyday. Can you believe, I do not need to take medicine for my blood pressure any more? I have given up smoking too. My body does not crave for it anymore." Mr V. Dhiri has this comment to make, "I feel healthier. I am more in control of things. I can handle stress better." Pawan Puri said, "I have learnt that life is to be lived richly. The Art of Living has helped me to handle stress better. I am a stock broker, and my B.P. was always fluctuating with the rise and fall of share prices. But now I have learnt to handle the pressure well." "The service activities of the Foundation are covered under the 5H programme: 1. Health — Organising health check-up camps, providing free medical facilities. 2. Hygiene — Providing sanitation facilities and clean drinking water. 3. Harmony In Diversity — promoting harmony through inter-religious conferences value based interactions. 4. Homes For The Poor — Providing low-cost houses to the homeless. 5. Human Values — promoting human values through the medium of basic and advance courses and an awards function. The Art Of Living Foundation has been accredited as an NGO in special consultative status to the United Nations. Sri Sri Ravishankar has addressed many international gatherings, including the United Nations. He is regularly featured in university symposiums and televisions around the world. |
Resentment over child’s killing KHANNA According to the SSP Khanna, Mr R. L. Bhagat, the Khanna police is still searching for the killers of the child. According to other sources, the abductors killed the child the day after the kidnapping in a sugarcane field at Kalal Majra village, near here. Mr Bhagat said the child could have been saved had the villagers informed the police immediately after hearing his cries coming from the field. Though the report of the post-mortem is not available, doctors say that the cause of the death is strangulation. |
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Boy missing for a month LUDHIANA The child, Rahul, alias Golu, is a son of a police, constable, Mr Rajesh Kumar, and was studying in class VI in St Joseph's Convent School, Phillaur. He is the eldest of three siblings. It is learnt that on July 10, Rahul was pestering his father to take him to a fair being held in Laddowal village, near here. When Rajesh Kumar did not concede to his child's demand and instead went to work, Rahul is reported to have been upset and left home around 10.30 am to buy a few household articles. When he did not return till late in the afternoon, his parents got worried and started searching for him. Incidentally, Mr Rajesh Kumar's family had earlier been residing in the government quarters in PPA, Phillaur, with his father was still in Phillaur. When the worried parents went to search for their son in Laddowal and later at Phillaur, they were informed that Rahul had been spotted in Phillaur around 12.30 pm, although he did not visit his grandparents. "Since then, we have no knowledge about his whereabouts and in spite of frantic search, we are unable to trace him, " says an inconsolable Rajesh Kumar. |
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Theft in gurdwara LUDHIANA According to the FIR, the President of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha Baba Deep Singh, Mr Mohinder Singh, alleged blasphemy, theft and criminal trespass by some unknown persons in the gurdwara past evening. He alleged that the granthi of the gurdwara, Baba Kuldeep Singh, had gone to his native village on leave and he, along with another local resident, Mr Darshan Singh, went to the gurdwara to offer prayers and switch lights on. He further alleged that when he switched on the lights, he found that the Guru Granth Sahib had been thrown on the floor and the lock of one of the rooms had been broken. Someone had also allegedly tried to break open the locks of two other rooms. Poppy husk seized Around 40 kg of poppy husk was seized by the police from Mohan Singh of Jassian village, who was held during a special naka. He reportedly confessed that he smuggled the poppy husk from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and was planning to sell it here. A case under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused. Fire in factory A big fire broke out in the assembly hall of Laxmi Fans at around 10 pm past night in the Focal Point area. Fire tenders were rushed from Mata Rani Chowk and Focal Point fire stations to overpower the fire. It took nearly an hour to douse the fire, that was confined to the assembly hall. Mr Iqbal Singh said the loss was being assessed. There was no loss to life, he added. |
Seminar on import export LUDHIANA, Aug 9 — The Ludhiana Management Association organised a seminar in collaboration with the ICICI Bank Limited on ‘Risk management in Export and Import’. Addressing the seminar, Mr K.S. Harshan, executive vice-president and head, international banking, ICICI Bank Limited, gave details about the various risks involved in exports and imports. He also suggested various measures for assessing risk factors involved in the management of imports and exports. Mr Harshan emphasised the need for proper, regular and updated feed-back about the functioning of the international currency market. He pointed out that many factors can have a far reaching impact on the trade and business prospects world over. Mr V. Prakash, vice-president corporate banking, ICICI Bank Limited, said a professional approach was needed for forex management for good results. The seminar generated a tremendous interest and a lively question-answer session followed the two lectures. The members of the LMA, bankers and senior executives and industrialists attended the seminar. While Mr Mahest Munjal, genertal secretary LMA introduced the guest speakers, Mr S K Rai president of the LMA presented the vote of thanks. |
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