The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Committing crime under police protection?
From Ruchika Mohindra
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Sept 7 — Can a person commit crime under police protection? A case in point seems to be of Banarasi Dass and his two sons who have been provided two police constables at the instance of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. They are alleged to be involved in several case of theft even after they had been provided a security cover.

This is a classic case of a person using all legal nuances to his advantage in order to evade any action in several cases he is alleged to be involved in. And to top it all, the police is unable to arrest him following the High Court order of November 1998, wherein it was ruled that the police could arrest him or any other member of his family after giving them a 10-day notice as per the provisions of Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

According to information available, Banarasi Dass and his three sons — Varinder Kumar, alias Vicky, Surinder Kumar, alias Sonu, and Rajesh Kumar, alias Babu — are alleged to be involved in at least 13 cases of theft, attempt to murder and under various sections of the Excise Act and Arms Act over the past decade. Over the years, the three brothers have been booked in three cases relating to illegal possession of illicit liquor, one case of attempt to murder, seven cases of theft and one each for carrying arms and indulging in obscene acts.

It is learnt that the first-ever police case to be registered against the accused Rajesh Kumar was in 1991and a kamanidar knife was recovered from him. A stolen scooter was also recovered from his possession and a case under Section 102 of the Cr. P C was also registered. After this, a case under section 109 of the Cr. P C was registered against the two brothers — Rajesh Kumar and Surinder Kumar — in February 1995. The accused, Rajesh Kumar, was finally arrested in this regard on August 28, 1995, and illicit liquor bottles was were also recovered from him.

In the meantime, a case under Sections 307 and 34 of the IPC and under Section 25 of the Arms Act was also registered against Surinder Kumar, alias Sonu, and three others on May 3, 1995, when they had fired at a police party led by SI Shamsher Singh, then SHO police station division no. 6. All accused were alleged to be traveling in a truck that was allegedly stolen by them from Transport Nagar on April 30 the same year.

After Surinder Kumar was rounded up by the police, his mother, Devki Devi filed a habeas corpus writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging harassment by the police. This writ was later dismissed, and on November 11, 1995, another case under different sections of the Excise Act was registered and bottles of illicit liquor were recovered from another brother, Varinder Kumar, alias Vicky.

Another case of illegally carrying illicit liquor was registered against Rajesh Kumar, alias Raju, in the General Reserve Police Station in the same year and the family again filed a writ petition in the High Court alleging harassment . In the meantime, another writ petition in the case relating to obscene acts was also filed against the Ludhiana police. And the reference of the earlier writ petition was also given in this. A third consecutive writ petition, with number 1001/ 96 was also filed in the High Court.

Meanwhile, Rajesh Kumar was arrested by the police in a case of theft of car on November 25 and the stolen car with registration number PB-11E-9118 was also recovered. It was then that the accused was sent to the Ludhiana Central jail after being sentenced. He, however, died during his judicial remand on December 21, 1996.The mother of the deceased, Devki Devi, then knocked at the doors of the High Court again and demanded security against the Ludhiana police. She also demanded that the circumstances leading to the death of Rajesh Kumar be investigated by the CBI, which was granted by the court.

Later, when the police reportedly did not comply with providing security to the family, a Contempt of Court Procedure, with number 22/97 was filed and on November 16, 1998, the High Court ruled “... in order to remove the fear of Banarasi Dass and his family, the SSP, Ludhiana, is directed to provide adequate security to the petitioner and his family so that they may live peacefully or they shall not be harassed by the police of district Ludhiana or the state of Punjab unnecessarily. If the petitioner or any other family member is required by the police, they may be summoned as per the provision of Section 160 of the Cr. P C.”

The court also ordered that the police station division number 3/ sadar to provide security to the wife and daughter of Banarasi Dass. The CBI was also directed to complete the fact finding inquiry within six months of the order being received.

It may be noted that the brothers were also accused of theft during broad daylight twice — in November 1998 and in April 1999. They were reportedly also arrested by the police in these two cases.

Subsequently, the Ludhiana police decided to give security to Banarasi Dass’ family, but this could not be complied as the address of the petitioner given to the court was found to be incorrect. A new address was also given to the Court and forwarded to the local police, which was again found to be incorrect. It was then that on January 19, 1999, the then SP( Hqs.) Ms Gurpreet Deo wrote to the Assistant Registrar (Writs) expressing the local police’s inability in complying with the court orders following the wrong submission of address of the petitioner.

It was only on November 4, 1999, that two constables of the Punjab Police were provided to the petitioner as security.

Man sells brother’s land, not once, but twice
By Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Sept 7 — In an interesting case, a man allegedly sold the land belonging to his brother not once but twice. And the real owner of the land still awaits possession despite the fact that he possesses all legal documents and records of ownership with him.

Rattan Singh of Gosain village in Samrala tehsil sold 86 kanals and 17 marlas of land to Jeet Singh and four others way back in 1964. However, 19 kanals and 10 marlas of this land belonged to his brother Kesar Singh, which he reportedly sold without his (Kesar Singh’s) knowledge.

He had obviously sold the land in connivance with the revenue officials of the area. While the purchasers of the land had got the registration in their name, the said patwari had reportedly not forwarded the registration to the revenue records for obvious reasons, as it could have alerted an unsuspecting Kesar Singh.

After coming to know that the transfer of land had not been included in the revenue records, Rattan Singh allegedly sold 2 more acres of the land in 1974. One acre of this, included the land he had already sold in 1964.

Kesar Singh came to know about it in 1978, when he sold two acres of land to Harmeet Singh of the same village. When Harmeet went for ploughing the fields he came to know that the land was already in possession of Jeet Singh and others who had purchased it way back in 1964 from Rattan Singh.

Since 1978 it has been a long and unending ordeal for Harmeet Singh to get possession of the land he has paid for and had also got the documents. He has moved from pillar to post to get the possession, but is yet to succeed.

His long pursuit for possession started in 1978 itself when he approached the tehsildar of Samrala, who heads the revenue department in the tehsil. The tehsildar decided the case in his favour in 1985. The opposing party Jeet Singh and others went for an appeal with the Sub Divisional Magistrate Samrala, who also decided the case in favour of Harmeet Singh in the same year.

Jeet Singh and others again went to the local court, which pronounced the judgment in Harmeet Singh’s favour in 1986. They approached the Divisional Commissioner, Patiala, in 1987 who also decided the case in favour of Harmeet Singh. Finally, they approached the Financial Commissioner Revenue (FCR), Government of Punjab against the Divisional Commissioner’s order. The FCR directed the tehsildar Samrala to restore the rights of land to its real owners in 1993. The tehsildar restored the land to Kesar Singh, its original owner.

Surprisingly on May 31, this year on the last day of his service the tehsildar Mr Pyare Lal reportedly ‘filed’ the case and closed it for good, thus ensuring a status quo about the possession. The land continues to remain in possession of Jeet Singh and others, while Harmeet Singh, who has paid for the land in 1978, continues to console himself with the possession of all legal documents and copies of revenue records that establish his ownership of the land (at least in papers).

Harmeet Singh today raised the matter with the Deputy Commissioner S.K. Sandhu at the weekly sangat darshan. He has been pleading that till the case is disposed of, the land should remain in the control of the government and not anybody else.

COMMUNITY

ASHI's bit to save broken marriage
From Asha Ahuja

LUDHIANA, Sept 7 — Members of the Association of Social Health India (ASHI) once again met to bring together a couple who had divorced their earlier partners for infidelity and mental cruelty and remarried. Coincidentally, both of them have a girl and a boy of 10 years of age, respectively, from the first marriage.

Unfortunately, their second marriage also lasted just 15 days. The seeds of discontent were sown right on the second day of the marriage when they were on their honeymoon. The woman wore a mini dress, which was objected to by the husband on the ground that his family would not tolerate such kind of modernity. The woman agreed not to wear such dresses.

Before the marriage, the girl and her family had insisted that her son would go with her and the would-be husband would adopt the child legally. The boy was to be made legal heir of Mr S. Jain, but in return the woman, who had received Rs 4 lakh as compensation for her first marriage, was asked to give Rs 2.5 lakh to help Mr Jain stabilise his business. Both these deeds were drawn before the marriage took place.

During honeymoon, the second issue arose was to have or not to have a child. The woman refused to have a baby. This soured the relationship. When she came back, things did not work out. According to the wife, she was beaten up by her mother-in-law on small pretexts like not switching off the light. The husband said he was not aware of the beatings. After a fortnight, the wife went to her parents' house and she was told not to come back. When her relatives went to ask for the reason, they told them that they had filed a case to the effect that no marriage had taken place. The garlands were exchanged in a temple and they had brought the girl to stay in their house.

The girl's brothers were horrified and they, in turn, filed a suit for the recovery of the money. At this stage, the man said, "They are asking to return Rs 6 lakh, whereas they had given only Rs 2.5 lakh."

The brothers contended that during the past six years, the interest had accumulated and the sum worked out to be Rs 6 lakh.

Later the man withdrew the case of non-marriage. According to the girl and her family, now the girl is about to receive the money through the court, for the court has recognised the marriage. So there are a number of calls for reconciliation.

The man and the woman met a couple of days ago for the first time after six years. Both are ready to give their marriage a try. The wife wants to stay with her mother-in-law but the mother-in-law refuses to live with her. The mother-in-law lives with her granddaughter who is 10 years old. The man wants to live in a separate house with his wife minus the son, which is not acceptable both to the wife and her parents.

The woman and her parents are wondering what is the motive of keeping her away from his mother.

Later, Mrs Bubble Sandhu, chairman, Ashi, told the man to bring the mother next time so that they could sort out the problem.

Resolve to clean up city by 2010

LUDHIANA, Sept 7 — Sambhav is committed to transforming Ludhiana by 2010. “It is possible,” say members of this voluntary organisation. According to them, every resident is a prospective member of this organisation. They want all residents to feel that the city belongs to them and they should take care of it.

“I wondered why somebody didn’t do something. Then I realised that I was somebody,” Albert Camus had said. Every person is somebody who has to do something. There are three kinds of persons — those who make things happen, those who watch things happening and those who wonder what has happened. At Sambhav, residents make things happen.

Already, 2,000 persons have been vaccinated against hepatitis-B by the body. Their main aim is to make people do things without the support of the government. Members of the body say that people should actively participate in administration and should not just criticise it all the time.

A former Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai, Mr Tinalkar, once said, “Rich persons’ dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place. The same persons turn around to criticise the authorities for dirty pavements. What do they expect the officials to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In some foreign countries, everyone who owns a dog has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Will Indians do that here?”

Most Indians will not do it because everyone thinks that it is the job of the civic body. We need to change our attitude. If we do this, Sambhav’s aim to make Ludhiana a clean city will not be a dream anymore, but a pleasant reality.

Sambhav has already adopted a park near Krishna Hospital here. 750 students and 35 teachers of the nearby Government Model School will take care of 70 trees planted in the park. If will is strong, everything is possible. — AA

Farming along border less productive
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Sept 7 — The farming along the border in Punjab has been found to be less productive than in other areas.

According to a survey conducted by Mr Jagdeep Singh under the supervision of Dr Racchpal Singh of the Department of Economics, Punjab Agricultural University, the yield levels, especially of paddy and wheat, in border areas were lower than those in other areas.

While the yield of paddy per hectare was less by about 4 quintals, for wheat it was less by about 1.4 quintal per hectare. The value productivity of milk per milch animal per year was lower by Rs 926 in the border belt. Consequently, the returns per hectare were less in the border belt as compared to other areas. While in the non border areas it is Rs 27395 per hectare, along the borders it is Rs 19182 only.

The business analysis of farming along the border areas showed that although paddy and wheat were the main crops in both the belts, crop-mix was much diversified with vegetable crops in the non-border areas.

Since the Amritsar district is evenly spread in border and non-border areas in Punjab, it was chosen for the survey. The primary data on various aspects of farming business was recorded from a sample of 68 and 67 farmers in six border and four non-border villages, respectively. The information on the status of socio-economic infrastructure at the village level was also obtained for both the locations.

The study showed that public facilities such as education, health care, veterinary cover, transport, communications, marketing, and drainage system were in poor shape in the border areas. Value of farm land and the rentals were lower mainly because of the locational disadvantage of the border belt.

Doubtlessly, the farm operators were equally enterprising in both areas. But the farmers in the border areas were exposed to a bigger risk in the shape of poor fixed assets and low input livestock. There were infrastructural constraints to input procurement, milk, fruit and vegetables.

The study suggests ameliorative measures for the uplift of the border farmers. These include adequate physical and financial insurance against border disturbances. Appropriate quantitative and qualitative upgradation of infrastructure in terms of education, health care, farm input supply, vegetable markets and veterinary services were also needed.

Growing plants is good business

When Lt Col R. N. Kapoor sought premature retirement from the Army to start a nursery, all his friends and members of his family had their apprehensions about the project. But his wife Neelam backed him all the way.

On a trial basis, he ran a nursery for one year before putting in his papers. After one year, he resigned from the Army and got into this business in right earnest. The Kapoors decided that their nursery would be run on scientific lines. They bought a number of books on this subject and studied them. They started by buying plants from all over India—from Kalimpong in the East to Thiruvananthapuram in the South, besides Bangalore, Pune and Calcutta, home to some of the most popular plants.

Lieutenant-Colonel Kapoor says: “I had two choices. Either I am on the road or I succeed. So I thought I had better succeed.” And they took about three acres of land on lease in Pamal village.

They were the pioneers in setting up a green house which required no electricity. The green house is the heart of a nursery where cuttings of plants are sown. Each plant takes its own time to germinate. Almost all types of plants which are grown from suckers or by other means of propagation grow in the green house. They have 934 varieties of plants. Three supervisors and 16 gardeners take care of five lakh plants, the total value of which is estimated at Rs 10 lakh.

The indoor plants which find favour with the people are crotons, diffenbachias, philoclendrous and dracaenas and trees like Ashoka, Silver Oak, Hibiscus, Chandani, Raat ki Rani and roses.

Not that they grow only plants. Grass of three different kinds—Korean, Calcutta doob and Selection Number 1 is also grown commercially. Korean and Calcutta doob is sold by the bag whereas Selection Number 1 is sold as turf by square foot area.

At any given time, they can supply up to 50,000 plants of one kind. Every year Colonel Kapoor goes for Bharat Darshan to find new varieties of plants for his collection. Some plants like Ashoka Pendula are uneconomical to grow in Ludhiana. It grows up to a height of 6” in Ludhiana in one year whereas it will grow 3 ft in Hyderabad. Areucaria or the Christmas tree grows only in Bangalore.

The couple has been studying the latest techniques of nursery management and they are planning to set up a ‘sale point’, a new concept of selling plants. Colonel Kapoor said, “We feed the computers with all the data about our plants. We are making a complete inventory, which will tell us the number of plants, the varieties of plants and the fertilisers needed. The information that the customer needs will be a click away. Our green house has been set up by a firm from Mumbai. It is of the latest design. It has split roofing for cross ventilation. It will have no slush on the ground. The high tension wires used will not allow the net to sag and the plastic ropes will not be corroded by rust. This kind of green house has never been used in Punjab before. — AA

‘Strengthen eye donation campaign’

India has the largest number of blind persons in the world. Out of a total of four crore blinds in the world, India houses a blind population of about 1.5 crore. Under the National Programme of Control of Blindness which is especially for curable blindness due to age-related cataract blindness, we have a good response due to active participation of the NGOs at the village, district, state, national and international levels. But every year the number increases due to increase in population.

Now we are facing blindness due to glaucoma, diabetes, injuries and corneal opacities. Due to lack of health education such blindness sometimes becomes irreversible. In glaucoma, early detection and timely care is very important. In the cases uncontrolled diabetes, blindness is almost irreversible and difficult to treat. Ocular injuries, especially in children have also proved fatal in many cases. Infection and injuries of cornea lead to corneal opacity which leads to corneal blindness.

Out of the 1.5 crore blind population in India we have 25 lakh blind persons with corneal anomaly which are mostly children. So we should put in collective efforts for the prevention of ocular injuries and infection by educating the public about it.

Corneal blindness is curable if the diseased cornea is replaced by a donor’s cornea. In our country, 80 to 90 lakh deaths occur because of lack of knowledge about the remedial measures. If we start a movement of eye donation with the help of NGOs and the government, we can overcome corneal blindness in a short span.

According to last year’s statistics of the Eye Bank Association of India, Hyderabad, approximately 16,000 cornea were donated voluntarily in India. Out of these Punjab had less than 5 per cent of share.

In western countries people are much aware about eye donation but we are still clinging to age-old social myths. We can contribute to the cause of eye donation, by pledging our eyes to the nearest eye bank.

Ideally we should pledge our eyes with the acknowledgement of our family members or do so in groups. Many a time, family members forget the decision of the donor for eye donation after his death. So if we pledge in a group, any group member can give reminders of the donation at the death of the donor. Eye donation is complete only after death. The best results are within six hours of death. We should timely close the eyes of the dead person. In case of delay, the eye should be covered with a wet cloth and a pillow placed under the head. If possible an airconditioner should be used in the room. Eye bank personnel, when informed, visit the home and procure cornea usually within 10 to 20 minutes. Artificial eyes are usually replaced in donor’s body, so that there is no disfigurement of the face for last glimpse (darshan).

From the age of three years onward, we can donate our eyes. Donors of younger age group, mostly due to accidental deaths such as road accident, burn, poisoning etc., are the best for corneal transplant. Other deaths at home, even old age-related deaths are also suitable for eye donation. Operated eyes, spectacle users, diabetes and hypertension patient can also donate their eyes. However, in some cases such as AIDS, rabies, septicemia, blood cancer, encephalitis, etc, donation is not acceptable.

Donor cornea is examined by eye bank ophthalmologist for its viability and some basic tests for AIDS, hepatitis, etc are done before its use.

In the hands of a good surgeon, success of corneal transplant is about 70 per cent. Eye banks are non-government and non-profitable charitable institutions mainly for the propagation of eye donation on voluntary basis. September 8 is National Eye Donation Day. We should pledge our eyes to the nearest eye bank as a gift to the nation to serve our unfortunate 25 lakh corneal blind population. We can motivate family member of the deceased, for eye donation.— Dr Ramesh

MEMORIES OF PARTITION
Brutalities still rankle in mind

After more than half a century, the trauma of partition has turned into tragic tales even for those who had experienced it physically and emotionally. But the hangover of the same continues to lurk in some corners of their heads and hearts.

The memories of the childhood days still bring along the fragrance of the soil of Dhan-Pothohar, now on the other side of the border, and often overwhelm me. While it reminds me of the love and affection among the people of all communities, the flashback of the bloody and inhuman brutality perpetrated there by the villains of peace during the partition days, still sends a shiver down the spine.

As life always overtakes death, the goodness also overwhelms evil, and it did so even at that time. Luckily, the frenzy of communal hatred failed to defeat the goodness and fraternity and good sense prevailed, though rarely, despite all threats and onslaughts. When majority of Muslims were butchering the Hindus and Sikhs alike, some true Muslims were giving shelter to them. One such experience by me as a young lad of about 10 years has always kept the flame of humanism in tact in me.

I was born in the Rawalpindi district of Dhan-Pothohar region, where my father, an ex-serviceman, used to run a ration depot granted to him by the British Government due to his meritorious services. The days were passing on nicely when the satanic forces were let loose in the shape of partition of the country. There was a bloodbath and the courtyards turned into slaughter houses.

The rich were turned into paupers and the title holders (i.e. Sardar Bahadurs, Rai Bahadurs etc.) into refugees. Like thousands of others, we too were uprooted, our house was looted and set ablaze. We could do not anything but watch helplessly our property being burnt to ashes. We were given shelter by a Muslim friend of my father who at the cost of his own life and that of his family did everything for us. Staying at different refugee camps for more than couple of months, we reached Ludhiana and stayed at the Jawahar Camp. My father started search for our fortune afresh. An impoverished father put his children in school.

I still remember the day when I had to leave the school because the family failed to pay 13 annas of my school fee for the fifth class. Helplessly, I stood watching my dreams shatter. But the restless and resolute boy in me did not let me rest in peace.

The restlessness shaped N. S. Nanda of today who yearns that alas! his father were alive to relish the attainments of his son, who, with the grace of God has not only made a fortune but also earned the love and respect of others.—N.S. Nanda

BUSINESS

Single income tax office sought
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Sept 7 — Mr Ashok Juneja, Convener of the Taxation Advisory Committee of the Chamber of Industries and Commercial Undertakings, has demanded that various scattered offices of the Income Tax Departments should be shifted to the main office at Rishi Nagar here.

In a press note issued here, he said, at present, income tax offices were in four buildings. The main office is in Rishi Nagar, the office of the Central Range and Director of Investigation is at Dandi Swami Chowk, the Salary Ward is in Udham Singh Nagar and the Valuation Cell is in the Red Cross building at Tagore Nagar. The Bar members and assessees have to roam from one place to another because documents related to any case are to be submitted in various offices.

Mr Mangal Sain Grover, President of the District Taxation Bar Association (sales tax), said that Lawyers who specialised in sales tax cases had to visit the office in the new court building which was far away from all the other offices. “If the offices are in one building, member of the Bar will save a lot of time.”

In a separate press note issued here, Mr Mohinder Paul Jain, Chairman of the Fasteners Manufacturers Association of India, has urged the Income Tax Commissioner to make arrangements at Ludhiana for the allotment of PAN. He also urged the Commissioner to issue the pending refund orders at the earliest.

Traders throw light on chandelier business
By Shivani Bhakoo

LUDHIANA, Sept 7 — These objects brighten your homes. As soon as you enter somebody’s living room, these objects attract your attention. These are chandeliers, the decorative lights that are seen in almost every home in Ludhiana.

These have been in the local markets for many years and continue to be in great demand as ever. Over the years, a full-fledged chandelier market has come up here. It has a variety of chandeliers, bed lights, table lamps, lighting bells and wall lights.

A lot of hard work is involved in crafting these beautiful chandeliers. Most of the glasswork is done at Ferozabad in Uttar Pradesh. Skilled craftsmen with inherited creativity have been in this business for ages.

Mr Mohtash of MG Electricals says that manufacturing chandeliers is not a simple job. “We are not manufacturers. The glasswork is done at Ferozabad and the metal base is brought from Delhi and Bombay. We only assemble the parts here,” he said.

Reportedly, some manufacturers also use material that is smuggled from Taiwan. Traders in this business have to keep their profit margins high. All of their stock is not sold in time as it keeps piling up. Many times, all this becomes a dead stock which they have to dispose of at throwaway prices.

However, this does not prevent traders from stocking the goods. The prices of the products range from Rs 700 to lakhs of rupees. A trader who has a showroom in Bhadaur House, said, “The price depends on the quality of the product — duplicate products are cheaper than the rest. For the past few years, there has been a recession in the market. We can not compare ourselves with wholesalers. Their products are cheaper than our because they may be using products of a cheaper quality.”

Mr Satinder Garewal of Garewal Electricals said the sale of chandeliers usually increased in the festival season. He said his profit margin was about 10 per cent. “We try to introduce unique products for our customers and try not to repeat the models. Variety attracts customers,” he said.

He said Indian chandeliers were popular, but customers also liked imported products. The popularity of chandeliers helps businessmen make good profits, even during the recession. Showrooms and the wholesale market are flooded with a huge variety of these objects.