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| Tuesday,
August 21, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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2 employees murdered, petrol station
looted
Ludhiana, August 20 The bodies of Ram Krishan (60) employed as a watchman and a servant, Kewal Singh (35), were found lying in a pool of blood at different places in the inner building of the Jakson Filling Station. While the watchman was found dead in the telephone room, the servant was found near the lawn of the petrol station. The bodies presented a ghastly sight as the heads of both the persons were smashed badly, apparently by an iron rod. According to the petrol station staff, the robbers decamped with about Rs 20,000. Mr Harpreet Singh Sidhu, SSP, Ludhiana, however, claimed that an amount about Rs 10,000 was missing. Mr Rakesh Kumar, manager of the filling station, said the incident seems to have taken place between 3:30 a.m. to 5 a.m. He said they learnt about the incident at about 6 a.m. only. The manager said the station opened at about 5:30 a.m. daily, but when he reached at the site at 5:45 a.m., it was still closed. Other employees were knocking the doors of the inner premises. He said when no one answered, some employees scaled the wall and were horrified to see the bodies of the two employees. Later, the police also arrived. When Ludhiana Tribune team reached the site, the dog squad of the police was in action. Forensic experts had found a number of foot and finger prints. It seemed that the servant, Kewal Singh, who was wearing an undergarment only tried to run away from the assailants, but was overpowered near the lawn. Police sources have ruled out the involvement of Kale-Katchewala gang in the incident. The Salem Tabri police have registered a case. The assailants seemed to have planned their act well as the daily night exercise of the police is generally not much tight between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. There was a difference in claims of the police and the petrol station staff regarding the motive behind the incident. While the police said robbery did not seem to be the motive, and it appeared to be personal enmity with the deceased, the petrol station staff was convinced that robbery was the only motive. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune at the crime site, SSP Harpreet Singh Sidhu said the brutal manner in which the assailants killed the two employees suggested that they had some personal scores to settle. Supporting his claim, the SSP said the assailants decamped with the money found in only one drawer, whereas about Rs 50,000 cash which was kept in another drawer was not even touched by them. The robbers would have searched every corner of the place if robbery was the motive. But this was not the case. Mr Ravinder Sharma, owner of the petrol station, said as per his information the two employees had no enmity with anyone. He said if this was the case then the assailants could not have taken the risk to attack them in the petrol station premises, and would have harmed them at some other place. The police theory of personal enmity was based on a recent fight between the watchman and some persons living near the petrol station. Sources said the watchman had confided in a fruit-seller friend of his that he had received life threats from the persons with whom he had a fight. The sources, however, added that a compromise between the watchman and the other persons had been reached at in the presence of the petrol station staff.  |
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Living under the shadow of
death Ludhiana, August 20 Moreover, the live electric wires (440 volts) for domestic supply are at a distance of just feet from many houses in the area. The situation is chaotic in the area as the residents are living under terror. An unfortunate incident of an electric blast in Santokh Nagar mohalla yesterday was an eye-opener. Two members of a family of migrant embroidery worker from U.P, Ubesh Khan (16) and Jishan Khan (6), were badly injured in the blast while they were standing in the verandah. Property worth lakhs of rupees was damaged due to the blast and high voltage of electricity. However, the main reason of the blast could not be ascertained so far. Shahana, the mother of Jishan, disclosed that the voltage suddenly rose so high that all electric appliances in the house and the neighborhood got burnt. the blast was so powerful that it made a big hole in the of roof the house and all articles in the room got burnt to ashes in no time. After the blast she immediately rushed to the first floor and saw her son and her sister-in-law’s son lying on the ground. Both were rushed to DMC where Ubesh was discharged as he had received minor injuries. But the condition of the other boy was serious and he was under observation in the intensive care unit (ICU). According to the relatives of the Jishan, 45 per cent of the body was burnt. It would take a day or two to know whether he is out of danger or not. All family members are so terrified that none of them wants to stay on the first floor of the house. They have cut the main supply of electricity and are waiting for PSEB officials to take the necessary steps. People in the neighbourhood have also shifted their articles lying on the first floor to the ground floor. This is not the only incident. Residents in the area often meet with such accidents frequently due to the chaotic wiring network in the area. However, sources in the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) disclosed that the main supply electric wires carrying 1,32,000 volts were installed in the area before the development of residential colonies in the area. According to senior PSEB officials, the residents of the area were at fault who bought residential plots while they were aware of the fact at the time of buying the plots that there would be a serious problem due to the dangling electric wires. |
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Murder accused
acquitted Ludhiana, August 20 According to prosecution, deceased Balbir Singh’s reported illicit relations with the wife of alleged accused Gurdip Singh was the reason behind the murder. An FIR was lodged against the two unidentified persons on July 1, 1995, at police station Sadar Khanna, on the statement of Parmjit Singh, son of the deceased. Balbir Singh’s body was found in his fields early in the morning on July 1, 1995. Earlier the case file was closed as the police did not get any clues regarding the killers. But later on the police claimed to have solved the murder mystery on April 1, 1996, on the reported extra-judicial confession of Gurdip Singh before Mr Harpal
Singh, former Sarpanch of Barli Kalan, to whom he reportedly admitted murdering Balbir Singh along with accomplices. Thereafter, the police had nabbed all above named persons. Finding no convincing evidence against the accused persons, the court acquitted them. |
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Hosiery
burgled Ludhiana, August 20 According to Mr Bihari Lal, owner of the S.P. Miglani Hosiery, the burglars must have struck some time after midnight. He said all the rooms were ransacked and the burglars also took away several cloth. The police said it suspected the number of burglars to be more than three as the locker was quite heavy. The police took the help of a sniffer dog but it could not do much though the police has found some fingerprints on the locker. |
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Punjab fixes crop production targets Ludhiana, August 20 The target for wheat has been fixed at 155.65 lakh tonnes, for barley 1.75 lakh tonnes, gram 21,000 tonnes, pulses 11,000 tonnes and oilseeds 1.38 lakh tonnes. This was disclosed by Mr S.S. Bains, Director, Agriculture, at an agricultural officers' workshop organised on the Punjab Agricultural University campus today. A meeting is being organised to finalise the package of recommendations and extension strategy for the rabi season. Mr Bains exhorted the scientists of the university to evolve the high-yielding durum wheat variety which could compete with PBW-343 in terms of yield. He said that further research needed to be conducted to increase the protein content of PBW-343 so as to enhance its acceptability in the international market. He called for the revival of the gram crop, the area under which had come down from 8 lakh hectares to 15,000 hectares. Evolution of high-yielding gram varieties with bold grain was the need of the hour. Dr K.S. Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor, while speaking at the workshop, said that instead of getting apprehensive about the transgenic seeds like BT cotton, the scientists should conduct experiments to get the maximum benefit from such techniques. He further said that the funds for research and development were the prime need to reorient the research efforts for minimising the cost of production and evolving value-added techniques. Dr G.S. Nanda, Director, Research Designate, PAU, said that as per a new policy decision no new variety was to be released unless it met with the international standards in terms of quality. While giving the research highlights, he said that during the workshop, five new rabi crops would be proposed for release during the next season. These include durum wheat PDW-274, Kabuli gram BG-1053, lentil LL-699, sunflower DK-3890 and PAC-302. He said that one variety of gram and two of sunflower were in the pipeline and were to be expected to be released next year if these produced good results in the farmers' fields. Dr Nanda disclosed that a new insect molecular biology laboratory had been set up at the PAU and it had the latest state-of-the-art equipment. Dr Joginder Singh, Head, Department of Economics and sociology, said that the diversification of crops was not possible unless other crops were equally economically viable as compared to wheat. Dr Jaspinder Singh Kolar, Director, Extension Education, expressed his concern over the deterioration of natural resources like soil, under ground water-table and natural fauna and flora. |
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Patwari
arrested on graft charge Ludhiana, August 20 The patwari, Hardev Singh, was caught red-handed by the raiding party led by DSP Sarup Singh Chauhan when he was accepting Rs 2,000 from Gurinderpal Singh for issuing him a copy of the mutation. He was accepting the bribe in the presence of eyewitnesses and when the raiding party visited the spot he threw the money on the floor. |
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Church demolition sparks off
row Ludhiana, August 20 Police sources said that an inquiry held by a DSP into the claims and counter-claims put by the warring parties, the UCNI and Church of North India Association (CNIA), had found that the demolition was legal. A police official said the police had not much to do in the case, as the matter was sub judice. He said the police had verified the legal documents produced by both the parties and had come to the conclusion that the demolition was legal. The Kalvary Church, built in 1837 and said to the oldest in North India was, meanwhile, razed completely to the ground. While labourers were employed for the work two days ago, bulldozers were pressed into service last evening and this morning. Meanwhile, Mr B M Fredrick, attorney, Mr Clerence B. Lal, moderator and Mr Karnail Masih, secretary, UCNI talking to Ludhiana Tribune, alleged that the demolition was illegal and demanded a registration of a case against the guilty. Producing a list of valuables allegedly damaged or stolen in the demolition, the UCNI demanded the details of the present status of the valuable artifacts. They said that a pipe-organ, a rare musical instrument whose estimated cost was in lakhs, and an old bell were missing from the prayer hall. Apart from this, several historical marbles on which the names of donors to the church were inscribed were also missing. Some marble stones had few inscriptions of the UCNI, which were also deliberately destroyed, they alleged. The list included several other items also. |
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Cops ‘patronising gambling’ Ludhiana, August 20 Time : Around 5.30 p.m. Place: The park sandwiched between Dasehra ground and the Metro road in the focal point area. Scene: While singers and musicians are preparing for the August 15 show, the stage for which has been put up by some members of the Youth Congress (I) in the Dasehra ground, some people are playing cards with stakes in the adjoining park. Just then a uniformed cop enters the park. As he reaches the gamblers, they get up to disperse. The cop asks them to carry on. But the gamblers decide to entertain themselves with the live music programme. Nevertheless the cop gets an update on the gambling scene before leaving. It is worth mentioning here that recently (August 4), Ludhiana Tribune had carried a story on the same park, mentioning that it had become a gamblers' den. But instead of taking any suitable action to put an end to the menace, the cops, it seems, have chosen to patronise these gamblers in return for money. Inquiries revealed that after the publication of the news-item, the cops visited the park and deputed two of the gamblers to collect money from the rest of the lot on a daily basis and pass on the same to them. The deal was made at Rs 160 per day. One of these men, deputed by the police to collect money, is an auto-driver and the other an ex-convict. According to the agreement or rather the decree issued by cops, every player who wins a game has to dish out Rs 10 towards the “police fund”. Since there are four groups of gamblers with an equal number of players, that makes 16 of them. People around the park see the new development as a dangerous one. Why? First of all, they say, the place would start attracting yet more gamblers as its reputation of enjoying police protection spreads in the area. Already there are some new faces being seen around. Secondly, the touts would soon start behaving as if they were the lords, of the park at least, if not the area. They would not rest for long at just collecting only Rs 160 and forwarding the same to the cops who arrive in the evening to collect the booty. They would surely impose an entry fee to fill their pockets as well. Once that happens, it would not be long before a battle for supremacy of the park starts between the touts. |
Big rush of Cong
ticket-seekers Ludhiana, August 20 In fact the two central observers have set the tone for electioneering in Ludhiana district. According to Mr Sharma he has to attend at least 10 meetings daily. There has been a thorough competition among the prospective candidates to organise "impressive" meetings before the central observers. The substantial response has made the observers feel more than happy. "We are overwhelmed with the phenomenal response of the people, both leaders as well as workers", remarked Dr Degvekar. Dr Degvekar said during the last 10 days of his stay he had already received about 45 applications from prospective candidates for the nine assembly segments falling in Ludhiana (rural). And there was likelihood for a few more applying today. These include four women also. Five freshers, besides several former ministers, MPs and legislators including the sitting one, have also applied for tickets. On an average, there have been five candidates for each assembly segment. There has been more rush for the four urban seats, the Ludhiana East, West, North and Rural. Although the exact number could not be known, Mr Sharma said, there might be about 45 candidates who have applied for these four segments. The maximum applicants have sought nomination from Ludhiana Rural segment. twelve candidates have applied from here. The observers said they had managed to mobilise the workers and a fresh momentum had been generated among the party cadre. The two recent Congress rallies at Issru and Mansa also added to the workers' enthusiasm as all rival factions within the PCC presented a combined show. Listing their observations, Mr Sharma and Dr Degvekar said the people and the party workers wanted candidates with clean image. They were also insisting on local candidates. At most of the places the observers were told that the candidates "must not be imported from outside". Some people had also certain grievances against the local leaders. |
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Tributes
paid to Rajiv Gandhi Ludhiana, August 20 Floral tributes were paid to Mr Gandhi by various leaders and party workers. The speakers also recalled his dynamism as the youngest Prime Minister of India, who had taken over the reins of the country at a critical juncture. They recalled that Mr Gandhi had given a new direction to the nation, particularly in the field of science and technology. Speaking on the occasion the District Congress Committee president, Mr Surider Dawer, recalled the sacrifice of Mr Gandhi for safeguarding the integrity of the country. He pointed out that the Nehru-Gandhi family had a great tradition of sacrifice to safeguard the interests of the nation. Mr Dawer said there was an extra need for seeking inspiration from such leaders who had put everything aside in the interest of the country. Mr Dawer said he had established himself as a dynamic leader within a brief span of time. Addressing the function, the chairman of the Labour and Employment Cell of the Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr K.K. Bawa said the best tribute to him would be to follow in his footsteps. He regretted that he did not survive long to realise the dreams he had nurtured for the country. He pointed out the importance of leaders like him was felt more today, when country faced with the lack of leadership both at the domestic as well as
foreign front. Among others present on the occasion included Mr Suhil Malhotra, Gurmail Singh, Sohan Lal Rajasthani and others. A separate function was organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Youth Welfare Society. Speaking on the occasion Mr Varun Mehta recalled the sacrifice of the late leader and urged the young generation of the country to follow into his footsteps. |
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SPEAKING
OUT Ludhiana, August 20 Ludhiana Tribune in a survey found out the reaction of general public about the growing vulgarity and obscenity found in the advertisements, both in the newspapers and on television. Harpreet Singh, a salesman, said,‘‘We are all aware of the increasing vulgarity shown in the advertisements these
days. Being a salesman, I know that showing skimpily-dressed women do not prove to be very fruitful as their recall value is not much. Specially with the ‘brand names’ the people expect quality stuff and vulgarity in advertisements lowers its image’’. An Army Officer, Capt Parminder Singh, said that such advertisements went against our culture. The companies should not show titillating advertisements as the children were adversely affected by them. The products of good quality would sell on its own merits. We should preserve our tradition. Rajni, a housewife, felt that the companies were trying to attract as many customers as they could, without caring about the middle class sensibilities. In such families the entire family sat together to watch TV. The advertisement of a refrigerator showing a male putting ice cubes into a dress of a young girl was quite ridiculous. The children asked why that man was behaving in such a absurd manner and they tried to copy it much to annoyance of parents. Rommy Singh felt that vulgarity in the advertisements should not be shown at all. There should be a censor board for the advertisements too as the advertisements were explicitly telling about condoms. These advertisements aroused the curiosity of the children and they wanted to find out what they were. One felt embarrassed watching these advertisements with the family. These days even newspapers were carrying advertisements that made one wonder where was our society going in the name of modernity. Savita, a businesswoman, said, ‘‘The advertisements in the newspapers too are causing a lot of embarrassment for me. My son aged 12 wants to know in detail the contents of double meaning advertisements. When the advertisements regarding sanitary towels praising its softness and absorbent qualities were shown, my son insists that he wants to use them’’. Inderpal said that he switched to another channel when advertisements which had obscenity in them, were shown, as he could not find answers to his children’s question. He said where should people go to complain against such advertisements that hurt the sentiments of people? To whom should they complain? There should be a forum which should scan the advertisements before they were released. The media should inform either on the TV or in the newspapers as to where people can complain against the ads that show vulgarity’’. As the consumer courts helped the customers to register their complaints, some similar sort of organisation should be there to register complaints against the advertisers. |
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Where is their childhood! Ludhiana, August 20 They rummage through the heaps of garbage with their naked hands looking for something worthwhile from the junk to sell. Both the girls toil from morning to evening collecting plastic bags, broken plastic pieces, empty bottles and anything that they can sell to the junk seller and assist their parents to support their large family. Over 1000 children like them are engaged in such back-breaking jobs, full of perils. The garbage in which they put their hands for eight hours is full of bacteria and other deadly germs. Many of them contract deadly diseases and die
young. But who cares? There is no record of such deaths and no account is kept. Both the girls do not even have anything to wash their hands with before eating their meagre lunch. At an age when they should be going to
school, these girls and other children like them work for over 10 hours to support their families. Their toil enables them to earn Rs 40 daily. One can also see boys who clean toilets with acids. These boys can be seen carrying acid in plastic bottles and roaming the streets looking for clients . Poverty and ignorance are their worst enemies. They do not wear gloves while cleaning the toilets. They use rags and clean the basins and toilet bowls for mere Rs 5.The acid burns their tender hands and cause violent bouts of coughing as the fumes assail their nostrils. Ms Manjula Jain, President of Inner Wheel Club ,said, "We are planning to start literacy classes for such children but we will have to provide them with some stipend to make up for the loss of income. For this, we are trying to get financial help from Rotary International so that we can establish a corpus fund. Out of the interest, we could pay them the stipend . After a while they would be given some vocational training so that they can stand on their feet and live with dignity." "More NGOs and government agencies should provide schemes to offer them education and help them find self-employment after training them in some field so that they could educate themselves through correspondence courses along with earning their livelihood, " said Rajesh Kumar, a bank employee and a social worker. |
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SSF opposes amnesty
move Ludhiana, August 20 Addressing a press conference here today, the SSF leaders, including its president, Mr Gurcharan Singh Grewal, senior vice-president, Paramjit Singh Dharamsingh-wala, general secretary, Sukhjinder Singh Jaura, and Mr Paramjit Singh Khalsa, criticised Mr Advani for this statement. They pointed out, that while the militants detained in various jails continue to languish there, the Union Home Minister had announced to grant amnesty to guilty cops. These people, they pointed out, had been proved guilty. At the same time they asked if guilty cops could be granted amnesty, why not those youths who were languishing in various jails without any trial. At the same time they pointed out that the government of India was giving special treatment to the militants of J&K, while those in Punjab, with less charges against them, were being victimised. They said it was the External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, went all the way to Kandahar to release dreaded militants. The same government was quite reluctant to give amnesty to the detained youths of Punjab. The leaders said this had exposed the true face of the BJP which was again discriminating against Punjab and Punjabis. |
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Ludhiana
IMA House vacated Ludhiana, August 20 Mr Singh reportedly started vacating the house after he was served with a demolition notice by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation for not getting the permission renewed. He had got a stay order from the court against the demolition order. Mr Singh had also filed a suit against the IMA Punjab president, Dr O. P. S. Kande, and the Ludhiana chapter president, Dr Gursharan Singh. The case is pending in the court. The IMA house is located in a spacious plot of 2,500 sq yds in Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar. However, the local chapter had managed to start its office from here despite some resistance. The land had been allotted to the IMA about 20 years ago at the rate Rs 25 per sq yd. |
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Garbage
piles up as MC keeps eyes shut Ludhiana, August 20 The condition has become worse as the authorities have not taken it seriously. No action has been taken so far by the MC. Despite the publication of many news reports about the unhygienic conditions, even in some of the posh areas of the city, the MC is keeping an eye off from the matter. The MC is responsible to ensure that the garbage is picked at regular intervals. But the callous and careless attitude of the MC has made it inconvenient for the residents to dwell healthily. Number of cases of gastroenteritis, cholera and eye flu have been reported in the city hospitals in the past few days. Unhygienic living conditions are the main reasons for these diseases. The area near the railway line, Kartar Nagar, has become a huge dumping ground as residents of the nearby area dump their rubbish here. As the garbage has not been lifted for the past few days, a huge pile of garbage has started decomposing. The area stinks so much that the passersby feel it difficult to breath. Mr Kaushal Kumar, a resident of the area, claimed that he had approached the MC officials many times but to no avail. The Shiv Shakti Welfare Club also made representation to the authorities concerned to take necessary action but nothing was done. Mr Krishna Sehgal, another resident, said if the MC failed to check the menace soon, residents would protest in front of the MC office. He disclosed that last year a maximum number of dengue cases were reported from the area alone. The residents of the posh localities, like Sarabha Nagar, Gurudev Nagar and Bhai Randhir Nagar, are also facing similar problems. Huge decomposing dumps of garbage in these areas, have left the residents with no option but to live under unhygienic conditions. |
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Mohan Singh Grewal dead Ludhiana August 20 Mr Grewal, (74), was president of the All India Mini-Steel Plants’ Association and Khalsa Dewan Education Society and was also associated with the managing committees of various educational institutes including the Khalsa College for Women, Malwa College for boys and girls, GN college, Narangwal and GTB College, Dakha. A close associate of Pratap Singh Karion, Mr Grewal had contested the assembly elections from Qila Raipur constituency in 1967 against Mr Gurnam Singh. |
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Minister
orders probe against construction company Machhiwara, August 20 The company had put the loss to Rs 25 lakh due to spurt in water level a few days ago. Mr Mukhmailpura expressed surprise at the claim of the company. The Punjab Government would not allow anyone to suspend the development projects by making such lame excuses, he added. Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, said the company would not be given any incentive whatsoever if it did not complete the project in the stipulated period. The Punjab Government had proposed to pay an incentive of Rs 8 lakh for every week, in case the company does its job before the fixed time period of 18 months. Mr Mukhmailpura and Mr Atwal were talking to Ludhiana Tribune after holding the prize distribution function at Kot Gangu Rai village near here yesterday. |
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