 |
|
| Thursday,
August 30, 2001, Chandigarh, India
|
|
||||
|
PAU raps students for ragging Ludhiana, August 29 Sources in the university disclosed to Ludhiana Tribune that as many as nine students, including five girls, of the College of Agriculture, three girls of the College of Home Science and some students of the College of Basic Sciences were found to be involved in various incidents of ragging at their respective hostels. The university had imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 each on three students and even ordered some students to vacate the hostels. They were also put on Conduct Probation for some time. The university, however, withdrew the orders of vacating the hostels as the parents of the girls, who were allegedly involved in ragging, asked the authorities to lessen the punishment. They requested the authorities to re-consider the case of the girls sympathetically and allow them to stay in the hostels as it would be unsafe for them to live outside the university. The authorities then agreed and asked the girls to tender a written apology. As the girls were given the permission to stay in the hostels, the boys were also given a chance after they submitted a written apology. The two students, however, had to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 each. The Vice-Chancellor had ordered an inquiry into the case after he had received complaints from freshers that they were being harassed by their seniors in the hostels. After receiving the complaints the Vice-Chancellor, Dr K.S. Aulakh,
constituted an inquiry committee comprising heads of various departments. The committee found the allegations to be true and recommended action against those involved in harrassing the freshers. Later, they were issued warnings not to resort to such actions in future failing which they would be told to leave the hostels. Although the university had issued several warnings to the students at the time of new admissions, the students resorted to such acts of harassing the juniors. The warning notices explaining the punishment were pasted on the notice boards of all departments and hostels. While the Vice-Chancellor confirmed the developments to Ludhiana Tribune, no Dean of the colleges was willing to give the information to the Press. The VC had directed this correspondent to Dr S.K. Mann, Dean, College of Home Science but she was not available for comments as she was busy in a meeting. |
|
Army martyr cremated Ludhiana, August 29 Bikramjit Singh (14), son of the deceased, lit the pyre. Sub Paramjit Singh was born in July 1958. A native of Kaunke Kalan, he later shifted to Sudhar village. He leaves behind a widow Karamvir Kaur, son Bikramjit Singh, and two daughters aged 12 years 4 years, respectively. Mr S.R. Kler, Additional Deputy Commissioner, sympathised with the grieved family and laid a wreath on behalf of the
administration. Paying homage to the martyr, Wing Commander M.S. Randhawa, Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare, said Sub Paramjit Singh was the 28th soldier from the district to achieve martyrdom after the Kargil conflict. Among others who attended the funeral included Mr Jagjit Singh Talwandi, Chairman, PSIEC, Mr Inderpreet Kahlon, SDM Raikot, Col. H.S. Toor, Major K.K. Tanwar, Col. R.H. Sohi, Capt. M.S. Sidhu and Mr Amrik Singh, DSP, Raikot. |
|
NRI alleges rape bid by
cop Ludhiana, August 29 The woman demanded punishment for the cop and some reward for her saviours. Describing it as a horrifying experience, she alleged that she had recently arrived in India to look after her ancestral property. On Saturday last, she travelled to Nangal in a bus to visit a gurudwara. She alleged, “When the bus, which was of a private company, reached Nangal, it was dusk and there a few passengers left in the bus. She overheard a passenger asking the conductor not to allow me to leave the bus and that he would arrange for a bottle of liquor. This comment enraged the conductor, who had a quarrel with the passenger. When the fight ended with the intervention of driver and a couple of persons, they came to know that the passenger concerned was a cop”. The stunned woman said she was terror-stricken for some time. She was told by the bus conductor and the driver that the name of the cop was Mangal Dass and his number was 3cb/2455. The woman claimed that she was in a shock and hurriedly left the place. However, later, she realised that she should have reported the matter to the police and also noted down the addresses of the bus conductor and driver to thank them for their help. She said both of them had risked their life to save her. She said she was peeved to note that the Punjab Government had several times invited NRIs to the state and claimed that their property and life was safe. She said her first-hand experience had shook her belief in the claims of the government. |
|
|
Theft case against minor
kids Ludhiana, August 29 Two children identified as Jyoti and Vishal had been booked by the Division No. 3 police on the charge of stealing Rs 130 from the cash-box of a golgappa-rehri on August 27. The accused were allegedly kept in the jail lock-up for a day and a night before being sent to the Borstal jail here by a district court. It remains to be seen what date and time of the children’s arrest was submitted in the court by the police. Sparking off the controversy, a social organisation claims to have ‘information’ that the children were falsely implicated in the case for some ulterioir motive, which they were trying to unearth. The organisation members said even if they believed the police, still then the treatment given to the children, both less than 10 years of age, was questionable. They said the children could have been reprimanded as it seems to be their first theft, if it was true. The organisation feared that the children may become hardened criminals if they were exposed to the criminals and the police station environment at such an age. Mr Jaswant Kataria and Mr Shiv Ram Saroya chairman and president, respectively, of the organisation have claimed that the entire case was false. He said he had gone to the police station for some work and had seen the two children weeping and crying in the lock up. He said on inquiries he learnt that the children had been arrested for stealing some money. Mr G S Sandhu SP(City-I) when told about the case and the allegation said he would depute a DSP to look into the allegations. He said he could comment on the incident only after verification. |
|
Boy clears Microsoft test at
11 Ludhiana, August 29 Confident Harmanpreet feels that if you have the courage and determination, nothing can stop you. “I wanted to achieve prominence and do something on the basis of which I could invite mediapersons to tell them about my achievements. The dream has come true today. I am happy to be with you all”, said Harman, as he is known to his family. Harman’s father Dr R.P. Singh, is a cardiac surgeon with a local hospital. His mother, Dr Kanwaljit Kaur is a gynaecologist. Talking to mediapersons at a press conference today, Harman said, “I had read about the test in my school magazine. I shared my plans with my parents, who not only encouraged me, but got me admitted in Asset International coaching institute for training. I have cleared the first test of MCP, but the other six tests are also to be cleared in same manner to get the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) degree”. At this age, he is too young to decide the goal in his life. He aims to become a computer engineer. He got inspiration from his tutor, Mr Anil. “He has always been a pillar of strength to me, encouraging me all the time”, added Harman. His parents were proud of their son. “He has a bright academic career. Though he is the youngest among our three children, he is very confident, bold and determined,” they said. His hobbies include playing games on computer, listening to music and taking part in declamation contests. “The happiest moment of my life was when I received the certificate signed by Bill Gates”, he said. |
|
Brar-Gupta group
sweep PAUTA poll Ludhiana, August 29 Dr Hari Singh Brar was elected president. He defeated Dr R.S. Brar by 435 votes. Mr M.L. Gupta defeated Dr S.C. Sharma for the post of secretary by 380 votes. Dr A.S. Joshi defeated Dr H.S. Baddesha for the post of vice-president. Dr Ramesh Kumar was elected joint Secretary. He defeated Dr B.S. Bhullar. Dr A.S. Sohi defeated Dr V.L. Sharma. Dr S.S. Thind, Dr L.B. Rishi, Dr Jagjit Singh, Dr J.K. Sangha, Dr K S Sandhu and Dr Rajandeep Singh Sekhon were elected councillors. Dr B.D. Sharma and Dr Anupam Singh of outstation research centres were elected unopposed. |
PSEB employees stage
dharna Ludhiana, August 29 Speaking on the occasion, Mr Radhey Shyam, president, PSEB Employees Federation (AITUC), cautioned the PSEB management to implement the accepted demands in a time-bound manner, failing which the employees would be forced to further intensify the agitation. Other speakers, including Mr Amrik Singh Masita, Mr Tejinder Singh Mohi, Mr Darshan Singh Dhillon, Mr Gurnam Singh Gill, Mr Kewal Singh Banwait, Mr Walaiti Khan, Mr Rajinder Singh Bhathal, Mr Baldev Singh, Mr Bachhittar Singh, Mr Mohinder Pal, Mr Azmat Ali and Mr Jaswant Singh focussed on outstanding demands which include conversion of 9 to 16 years promotion scale into new grades, unconditional grant of 25 years promotion scale to all employees, filling up of all vacant posts and creation of new posts according to load norms of 1995. The federation activists criticised the manner in which the government had changed the fifth Chairman of the board during its four year term. Victimisation of employees at the instance of ruling party functionaries also came in under sharp criticism. The dharna, a part of the serial protest at the zonal level, was attended by over hundreds of employees from the Ludhiana Urban Circle, Suburban Circle and Khanna Circle, besides their colleagues from transformer repair workshops and tower lines. |
|
No Star for
viewers Fatehgarh Sahib, August 29 They blocked the telecast of Star channels without prior information though all outstanding dues of the Star TV had been paid. The Star TV network had also suddenly increased rates and connection connectivity of its pay channels without warning. All cable operators placed their decoders at one place and decided that they would not resume telecast of Star channels till the network stopped its highhandedness. They warned that an agitation would soon be launched at the state level if the channel did not change its attitude. Resentment prevailed among the residents against the suspension of the telecast of Star TV channels. The people demanded the immediate restoration of these channels. They urged the district administration to take action against the regional office of Star TV in Chandigarh for causing inconvenience to the public. |
|
Journalists continue protest Ludhiana, August 29 Earlier, the journalists held a meeting, which was attended by representatives of all news organisations. It was disclosed at the meeting that the Punjab Information Minister had sought time till Friday for sorting out the issue. Till then, the journalists decided to continue the boycott of all police functions. However, there will be no boycott of the district administration since it remained cooperative with the scribes. The scribes reiterated their demand of magisterial inquiry, besides shifting of the guilty officer. They pointed out that the demand was justified and moreover they had not demanded any stringent action against the cop. They regretted that the SSP, Ludhiana, had adopted a stubborn attitude which had led to the current situation. |
|
‘Smart’ NRI
outsmarted Ludhiana, August 29 According to the investigations being carried out by a Jalandhar-based private detective agency, at the behest of Mr J.C. Owens, who is investigating the mediclaim case submitted by one, Ms Chadha a Canada-based NRI. She had submitted bills to the tune of over Rs 6.85 lakh claiming that the expenditure had been incurred on a surgery performed to remove stones from her kidney. The amount was believed to be “too much inflated from all standards” prompting the insurance company to get it investigated and verified. Ms Chadha had claimed that she got stones removed from a hospital in Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Ludhiana. The address mentioned was 290 Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Ludhiana. The name of the hospital was mentioned as J.S. Kalra Hospital, owned by Dr Jagdeep Kalra. She also mentioned in her
claim that Dr Kalra was a surgeon with MBBS and FRCP (surgery) degrees. According
to sources the investigations revealed that there was no hospital of this name situated in BRS Nagar, or anywhere else in the city. In fact the plot number 290, BRS Nagar, where the hospital was claimed to be located belonged to Mr Kailash Kundra, who had constructed a house there recently. Interestingly, there was no building on the plot at the time when Ms Chadha claimed that she had been operated. The claimant had also committed another mistake by mentioning false telephone numbers on the “prescription” slips, which obviously were fictitious. While the telephone number series in BRS Nagar starts with the digit ‘4’, she had mentioned the number starting with the digit ‘8’. When the insurance company officials in Canada tried to confirm the authenticity of the claim on the telephone numbers mentioned in the documents, it was found that the telephone number belonged to a resident of Lalton Kallan village. In fact, the wrong information about the telephone numbers led to suspicion in the mind of the insurance officials, who decided to get the case verified. They reportedly handed over the case to a private investigator Mr J.C. Owens. Mr Owens in turn has taken the services of a Jalandhar-based private detective agency, which is reported to have completed the investigations. It had also inquired from some leading doctors in Ludhiana about the where abouts of Dr J.S. Kalra, if there was any and the hospital. It was the local doctors who confirmed that there was no such hospital in such name. According to some local doctors the removal of stones from kidneys should not cost more than Rs 20,000 in any case. They pointed out, since the amount was highly inflated it was natural for the insurance company in Canada to get suspicious and ask for an investigation. This, they observed, can lead to further doubts about the credibility of other claimants as well. |
|
Pensioners resent
govt inaction Ludhiana, August 29 Mr Yash Pal Ghai alleged in a press note issued here today that though more than four months had passed since the notification of the benefits of the allowawnce at the age of 65 and 75 years to pensioners, the government had not started giving the benefit to pensioners. He disclosed that about 1,50,000 pensioners were not getting their due from the government. The Finance Minister, Mr Kanwaljit Singh, had made an announcement to this effect while addressing a state-level pensioners’ convention, held at Fatehgarh Sahib in April last. The scheme had not been started by the government, Mr Ghai added. |
|
|
Cong to observe Beant’s death
anniversary Ludhiana, August 29 Disclosing this here today, the chairman of the organising committee of the function, Mr Lal Singh, announced that the focus of the rally would be against the terrorists for which Beant Singh laid down his life. The PCC leadership will remind people of the sacrifices of the Congress during the terrorism. Mr Lal Singh heads the 64-member committee constituted by the PCC president, Capt Amrinder Singh, to finalise the arrangements for the rally. He said all party leaders and workers had been directed to mobilise maximum number of people to ensure that the rally is a big success. This has already sparked hectic activity among local leaders, more so among those who are aspiring for the Congress tickets. Asked whether the PCC will bring out the charge-sheet against the Parkash Singh Badal government on the same day, Mr Lal Singh said it would take sometime. He also ridiculed the claims of Mr Badal as having been adjudged the number one Chief Minister of the state. “He may be number one in corruption and nepotism, but not in performance”, he remarked, while adding that such surveys are usually sponsored and do not reflect accurate public opinion. He also criticised the attitude of the police towards journalists who are seeking action against the DSP who misbehaved with two press photographers. He demanded an impartial probe into the incident and said the Press should be allowed to function in independent manner. Among others who attended press conference were Mr Milkit Singh Dhaka, Mr Milkit Singh Birmi, Mr Gurmeet Singh, Mr Gurdev Singh Lapran, Mr Amarjeet Singh Tikka, Mr Darshan Singh Virk, Mr Pankaj Prabhakar, Mr Gurkirat Singh, Mr Parminder Mehta and Mr Manjit Singh Humbrah. |
|
Technocrat dies
in accident Ludhiana, August 29 |
|
125 saplings planted Amloh, August 29 |
|
DCC meeting
on Sept 3 Mandi Gobindgarh, August 29 |
Police unearths brothel, 14 held Fatehgarh Sahib, August 29 Mr H.S. Saran, SSP, while talking to The Tribune said the residents of that area had been complaining regularly about the immoral activities being run by a woman in their area, and the police kept a close watch on their activities. He said that last night the SP, Mr KS Sandhu, got specific information about their activities, and a police party led by Mr Sukhwant Singh Gill, DSP, and a CIA Inspector conducted a raid on the brothel and arrested 10 customers and three sex workers. The owner of the brothel had been identified as Karamjit Kaur alias Kamoo. He said the owner used to supply sex workers to customers at her residence, and also used to send them outside as per the demand of the customers. He said she used to charge from Rs 300 to Rs 3,000 as per the requirement of the customers, and used to give a small amount to the sex workers. He said she had a variety of customers ranging from farmers, students, workers to top VIPs. While talking to The Tribune exclusively, a young sex worker, Gogan (19), narrated her tale of woes with tears in her eyes. She said that she had been forced by ‘aunty’, a partner in the brothel and her neighbour to adopt this profession two years ago. She said that she had no brother and father and used to live with her mother. She got married and after sometime she came to know that the ‘aunty’ got the thumb impression of her mother on certain papers on the pretext of getting her pension from the department. Actually she got our house transferred on her name. She said when she enquired, ‘aunty’ said “your mother had taken a huge amount on debt from me. So clear the amount”. She said aunty started pressurising her to adopt this profession. She said whenever she went out with a customer. She wore jeans, and her customers included top police and civil officials, even at Chandigarh. She said that she had just arrived from Chandigarh after accompanying a top police Official. She said that she wanted to come out from this profession as she got only Rs 200 daily. She said that if her house was vacated, she would live peacefully. Karamjit Kaur, owner of the brothel, said that she had been running the brothel for the last 20 years. She said as she was married to a poor driver, who had no land and house to live, she adopted this business. She said now she had a house costing Rs 25 lakh. Twenty to 25 customers came daily to her brothel. She said she was being victimised. There were more brothels running in the district. Though she had already been arrested four times, she continued to do the business. She said she had filed four cases in the High Court against the former SSP of the district. She said she was always informed by police personnel in advance about a raid, but she did not bother as a majority of the police personnel were either her customers or known to her. Meanwhile, those arrested have been identified as Paramjit Kaur, Karamjit Kaur, Surinder Kaur Goga, and the customers are Hardial Singh, Tek Chand, Jarnail Singh, Bhupinder Singh, Harbans Lal, Lakhbir Singh, Amar Singh, Ranbir Singh, Harinder Singh and Major Singh.
The police has registered a case u/s 3,4,5,6, Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act, 1956. |
|
Patwari booked on
graft charge Ludhiana, August 29 According to Mr R. P. S. Bajwa, SP (Vigilance) the complainant Gurdip Singh had informed the Vigilance Bureau that the accused had demanded money from him in lieu of doing some official duty regarding the registration of his property. The complainant’s work was allegedly being delayed by Naib Tehsildar Rajesh Kumar Nehra, who later on advised the complainant to meet his Patwari Kuldip Singh who, he, said would settle his work. The patwari demanded Rs 4,000 which included share for the senior. Both accused have been booked under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. |
|
Man beaten up for
eve-teasing Sahnewal, August 29 According to the FIR, Inderjit Singh, the complainant, was going along with his father, Mr Piara Singh, from Jandiali village to Buddewal at 6.30 p.m. on August 26 when he accidentally brushed against a woman, who was coming from the opposite direction along with three other women, near Buddewal Mills. He added that Dharamjit, Paramjit, Jagjit, Monga, Kamalpal, Jagir Singh, Ninda and Roop Singh started beating him up for intentionally brushing against the woman. He complained that they forcibly took him along with them, poured sand and water into his mouth and threatened and tortured him. When he called for help, they ran away. The husband of the Sarpanch of Buddewal tried to make them arrive at a compromise, but to no avail. |
Punjab may drop focal point project for
Ladowal Ludhiana, August 29 According to official information available here today, the Punjab State Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) has been having negotiations with different groups of industries to set up units in the proposed industrial focal point. The state government has earmarked 1350 acres of land out of the total land of 2,800 acres belonging to the Central seed farm and now transferred to the Punjab Land Development and Reclamation Corporation on the plea of the Punjab government. The Punjab government has already transferred more than half of the land to Punjab Agricultural University for seed multiplication and research on different crops. Nearly 200 acres of land have been earmarked for the houses for policemen to the Punjab Police Housing Development Corporation. The PSIEC had originally fixed the reserve price for the industrial focal point at Rs 700 per sq yard. But the industrialists pressed for the reduction in the price, and at a meeting with the Chief Minister on May 15 last, it was reduced by Rs 100 per sq yard. The industrialists further pressed for reduction and it was brought to Rs 550 per yard. Finally the PSIEC put the offer at Rs 535 per sq yard but the industrialists did not agree and maintained that this was flood-prone area and they needed all facilities, including flood protection bundh which would have provided a guarantee for 100 years. Inquiries reveal that the PSIEC needed at least Rs 30 crore to build the infrastructure for the establishment of the industrial focal point at Ladowal. According to PSIEC sources, a sum of Rs 6.5 crore was needed to be paid to the Punjab Land Development and Reclamation Corporation (PLDRC) as first instalment out of a total sum of Rs 13.50 crore as price of the land at the rate of Rs 1 lakh for each acre. Rs 15 crore were needed for the flood-protection bundh which was to be constructed by the Irrigation Department. Since the focal point is to have state of the art facilities, it will have four laning which would cost Rs 10 crore, and Rs 3 crore were needed for the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) for laying power lines. The representatives of the industries were willing to pay up to Rs 350 per sq yard to which the PSIEC did not agree. When contacted Mr Kulbir Singh, Managing Director of the Punjab State Industries and Export Corporation, said three to four meetings were held with the representatives of the industries and the government had accepted all demands, including moratorium on the rate of interest on the loans. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had shown a lot of interest in the development of this project as he wanted to have a dream industrial project of its kind in the state. Mr Kulbir Singh said the state government would take the final decision regarding the future course of action in this project. If the industries fail to come up, the land earmarked for the industrial focal point may be transferred to the Punjab Agricultural University. Besides allotting land at the Ladowal seed farm to PAU, the state government has already decided to transfer the land belonging to the Nabha jail to Punjab Agricultural University for seed multiplication. |
|
Concern over inflow of migrant labourers Khamano, August 29 This was stated by general secretary of the Dalit Kisan Dal Mr Bhinder Singh Ranwan, while talking to mediapersons at Khamano. He said due to the inflow of migrant labourers, Punjabi labourers, mostly Dalits, had been rendered jobless. He said the inflow of migrant labourers should be limited to 10 per cent of the total labour requirement of the state. He demanded that a law should be made to stop their movement freely specially to cities. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
