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| Friday,
January 18, 2002,
Chandigarh, India
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Immigration racket busted Ludhiana, January 17 The accused has been identified as Naveen Dutta, alias Nikka. His brother Anil Dutta, wife Shabnam Dutta and a British national, Steve Bell, have been listed as co-accused in the FIR. The family is well-known in the city as it runs a fitness clinic called Fit n Fat near the Rose Garden. The accused lured youths by offering to arrange their marriage to British women and then arranging for their immigration. A large number of victims, who had dished out lakhs of rupees for the promised immigration, had complained at various police stations of the city. One such victim came from Kapurthala today to take legal course against the accused. Collective figures show that money has been swindled in lakhs. Two more victims, Narinder Pal Singh and Naresh Puri, today, talking to Ludhiana Tribune, aired their apprehension of losing money, despite the accused’s arrest as police officials investigating the case were not plugging “legal loopholes”. They said while the Palampur police had acted
swiftly and arrested the man, posing as a CBI officer in that city, an ASI of the Ludhiana police sent by the district police authorities to bring the accused had not brought with him the records of the case. These were still with the Palampur police. The victims fear that the accused might again slip out of the hands of the police as the British Embassy has not been informed about the accused. The accused allegedly possesses 12-15 passports of different identities. According to FIR’s registered with the division No. 5 police station, the man, Naveen, would contact people at health clubs. According to Mr Naresh Puri, his son Rakesh Puri and Sunil Puri had been lured by the accused, who took Rs 2 lakh from them, but never sent them abroad. Similarly, he took Rs 2.5 lakh from Mr Narinder pal Singh for sending his children abroad. |
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Price for protest: 15 booked Ludhiana, January 17 A Congress and an Akali leader were among those booked for staging dharna on the road and blocking traffic for over six hours in protest against the death of a youth, Harjinder Singh, allegedly due to police harassment. The booked persons include Mr Nirbhai Singh, father of the deceased youth, under Sections 341, 145, 151 and 283, IPC. |
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Riot victims to field nominee Ludhiana, January 17 A meeting of the committee held at Dugri under the presidentship of Mr Tarlochan Singh Dang, observed that over two lakh Sikhs had migrated to Punjab but the so-called Panthic government had deliberately kept them away from political power. As a result, the problems of riot victims had not been taken up. Addressing the meeting, the state General Secretary of the Lok Janshakti Party, Mr Kartar Singh Patna, said a deputation of the Sangharsh Committee had met Union Minister and President of the LJP Ram Bilas Paswan at Jalandhar on January 12 to press the demand for nomination of a riot victim as party nominee from the Ludhiana Rural Assembly seat. Mr Paswan, he claimed, had responded favourably to the demand and assured them that he would personally canvass in the city for the candidate. Mr Patna informed that all bodies of riot victims would jointly nominate a candidate for the Ludhiana Rural seat in the next few days and functionaries of the Sangharsh Committee would launch a concerted campaign to ensure the success of their common candidate. Prominent among those present at the meeting were Mr Rajinder Singh Sheetal, Mr Bhagat Singh Bagga, Mr Jaspal Singh Khalsa, Mr Harbans Singh, Mr Surjit Singh, Mr Parduman Singh, Mr Gurnam Singh, Mr Satnam Singh, Mr Mangal Singh, Mr Gurdip Singh Jamalpuri and Mr Harbhajan Singh. |
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Student
loses degree,
ban on his guide Ludhiana, January 17 The council has recommended cancellation of the M.Sc. degree of Sandeep Kakkar, a former student of the Department of Botany. It has also recommended disciplinary action against Dr M.S. Saimbhi, senior olericulturist and major adviser of the student, besides debarring him from being major adviser of any postgraduate or undergraduate student. The university authorities have decided to cancel the degree of the student concerned and have decided to write to the Council of Universities in this regard. They are thinking of writing to the employer of the student against whom the allegations of plagiarism have been levelled. The case had been brought to the notice of PAU authorities after a former doctoral student of the same department had complained against Sandeep Kakkar. She had stated that Sandeep Kakkar had copied most part of his thesis from the one presented by her a few years back. An inquiry had been ordered and the Vice-Chancellor had instituted a three-member committee to look into the matter. It had been found that the student had copied a part of a former student’s thesis, a copy of which had been submitted to the PAU library. |
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15 hurt as buses collide Ludhiana, January 17 The private bus sufferred the brunt of the accident as after hitting the roadways bus, it was thrown off the road and damaged a handpump and a small hutment. People working or standing on the road berm had to jump to a safe place in order to escape being crushed under the bus. The roadways bus was coming from Jagraon while the private bus was on its way to Ferozepore. The injured have been shifted to the DMC Hospital, Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Raghunath Hospital and Gurdev Hospital. The condition of drivers of both the buses is stated to be serious. Most of the injured were daily commuters, heading towards their respective offices. On the basis of the statement of the injured and some eye-witnesses, the Sadar police has registered a case under relevant Sections of the IPC against the unidentified driver of the Punjab Roadways bus. According to the FIR, the driver has been held responsible for the accident as he was overspeeding while overtaking another four-wheeler when the accident took place. Eye-witnesses said the driver was driving badly. Passengers sitting on the driver side in both the buses recieved maximum injuries. The buses were severely damaged on these sides and some passengers were stuck in the mangled iron structure. A number of unidentified persons present near the site came to the rescue of the injured. Their timely action helped in saving several lives. The Sadar police also acted in time and provided ambulances to transport the injured to the hospitals. |
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First honoured and then harassed Ludhiana, January 17 PSEB sources said though the
bureaucracy had recommended the case of the JE to the political bosses as he was a good worker, the political bosses had refused to budge. An official of the board told Ludhiana Tribune that though some officials had said under norms the transfers could be effected only after taking the unions into confidence, but due to political rivalry, the transfer orders had not been cancelled. According to documents related to the case, Mr Rabinderjeet Singh, Junior Engineer (ad hoc), was honoured by Mr Baldev Singh Mann, Administrative Member of the board, on October 17 last for his good work. Two weeks after that, he was transferred with immediate effect to some border area under the Amritsar division. The transfer orders had come a couple of months after the revoking of earlier orders. At that time, the JE was transferred to some far-off place. The transfer orders specifically said the JE should be posted at some faraway place. The special mention suggested it was a punishment posting, but there was no mention of any questionable conduct or behaviour of the employee. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Mr Rabinderjeet Singh claimed that he was being harassed by a minister to pressurise him into making a statement in his favour in a criminal case involving him and a staunch supporter of the minister along with some other persons. He said he had been approached by some other supporters of the political leader, who had told him to do as the leader wanted if he wanted his harassment to end. The JE’s case was becoming a major issue of confrontation between a number of trade unions and the management. On a call of a joint committee of different trade unions, a demonstration was being planned for tomorrow in front of the PSEB head office here. |
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‘Respect to Tricolour must be ensured’ Ludhiana, January 17 But the residents also want that strict strictures should be passed to stop the use of the symbol of nation’s dignity for promotion of any person, product, idea or service. They want the government to ensure that in no case, anyone should be able to insult the flag. The former captain of the Indian hockey team, Olympian Ramandeep Singh, is of the view that this decision of the Union cabinet is admirable. But at the same time the government must ensure proper use of the national flag by countrymen. He says people often exercise their rights and give a damn to their duties. He opines that if it is our right to use the flag, it is our duty to respect it. Senior citizen Sushil Vohra says the Central Government has taken a good step but the government must pass strict rules to curb the misuse of the national flag. He says there are some who can do anything for power and money and is sure that they will use the national flag for vested interests. An academician, Dr Dipinder Kaur also welcomes the decision, describing it as a sign of increasing self-empowerment. She says since India is the largest democracy in the world, this should have been done much before. She says those find mishandling the flag or making a mockery of this right should not be spared. A postgraduate student, Kamal Sharma, also fails this landmark decision. She has certain apprehensions that it is possible that the flag is misused by some people who may neither feel proud of being an Indian nor have any respect for the Tricolour. She says the government should not spare anyone found insulting the flag. Another postgraduate student, Maninder Kaur, says the flag is our national identity. She says the government should make and enforce special rules so that nobody dares to insult the Tricolour. |
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‘Black day’ by cable operators Ludhiana, January 17 Criticising the decision, Mr Sriraman Saini, president, New Ludhiana Cable Operators Association, said, “The hike in rates will adversely affect millions of viewers and about 50,000 cable operators. We have decided to observe January 18 as black day to protest against this decision.” |
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Fog hampers traffic flow Ludhiana, January 17 Today, the early morning fog was too dense to allow smooth movement of vehicular traffic in and around the city. Visibility was reduced to a great extent. It was only after 12.30 pm that the city had some sunshine for about an hour, after which it again became cloudy. Again, there was a brief spell of sunshine in the later part of the afternoon, but it was feeble. The current cold spell gave another boost to the city’s hosiery trade. All shops in Chaura Bazar and other markets as well as roadside sellers selling winterwear did brisk business. |
Electioneering picks up as candidates reach out to voters Ludhiana, January 17 A former Speaker of Punjab Assembly, Mr Harnam Das Johar, a Congress nominee from Ludhiana West, opened over six election offices and addressed meetings at Haibowal Dairy Complex, Model Town, Manjit Nagar, Engine Shed, Basti Abdullapur and Harnam Nagar. The Mahila Congress also organised a meeting in Model Town area to strengthen the prospects of Mr Johar. Prominent among those present at the meeting were Ms Gurnam Kaur, Ms Asha Kailey, Ms Usha Malhotra, and Ms Surjit Kaur Heera. The BJP candidate from Ludhiana North, Mr Pran Nath Bhatia, today formally launched his election campaign with a whirlwind tour of many localities in the segment, including Basti Jodhewal, Sunder Nagar, Basti Mani Singh and New Madhopuri, where he was accorded a rousing reception. Prominent party leaders accompanying Mr Bhatia on the occasion, were the district president, Mr Harbans Lal Sethi, the vice-president Mr Ramesh Sharma, the mandal president, Mr Bhushan Verma, Mr Chander Mohan Sharma, Ms Nirmala Jain, councillors, Mr Charanjit Kala, councillor, Mr Harish Tandon, councillor and a score of activists of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. A meeting of the district unit of the BJP has welcomed the nomination of Mr Sat Pal Gosain and Mr Pran Nath Bhatia as party nominees from the Ludhiana East and the Ludhiana North constituencies, respectively. Addressing the meeting, the party district chief, Mr Harbans Lal Sethi, claimed that the BJP would win both the city seats and the SAD-BJP combine would once again form the government in Punjab. Mr Ram Niwas Dubey, president, BJP Ward No 5, has also expressed the gratitude to the party leadership for allotment of party ticket from the Ludhiana North Assembly segment to Mr Pran Nath Bhatia on behalf of the electorate from Salem Tabri, Nanak Nagar and Chhawni Mohalla localities. Meanwhile, great resentment prevailed among rank and file of Shiromani Youth Akali Dal (Badal) over nomination of a former MP, Mr Amrik Singh Aliwal, as the SAD candidate for Ludhiana (rural) seat. A meeting of the party, held at Jamalpur under the presidentship of state vice-president, Mr Kulwant Singh Ranike set up an 11-member committee, which would meet the party President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to impress upon him to replace Mr Aliwal with the Youth Wing president, Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, who had nursed the Ludhiana (rural) constituency over the years. The Janata Dal (United) national President and the Union Labour Minister, Mr Sharad Yadav and a former Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr Ram Krishan Hegde, would visit Punjab to seek support for the party candidates in the coming Assembly elections. According to Mr Sukhchain Singh, chairman, parliamentary board of the party, several trade associations, as well as Bhatra community, the Parvasi Mazdoor Sangh and the Danga Peerit Association had extended support to Mr Mehar Singh Devgan and Mr Sanjiv Kumar, contesting election as Janata Dal (U) nominees from Ludhiana (rural) and Ludhiana East seats, respectively. |
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Resentment
among RSS, BJP workers Ludhiana, January 17 The workers blamed the Rajya Sabha member, Lala Lajpat
Rai, for his reported opposition to Mr Mehra’s candidature. Mr Mehra’s was the only name which had been recommended by the RSS for nomination from Ludhiana North. However, the move was set aside by Mr
Rai, who reportedly used his clout in Delhi and got the ticket allotted to Mr Pran
Bhatia. The workers pointed out that Mr Bhatia had been expelled from the party for six years and it was surprising that he had been rewarded for ‘anti-party activities’. The resentment and indignation among the workers was such that they raised slogans against Mr Rai and alleged that he was writing the doom of the party in Ludhiana and had allegedly entered some secret understanding with the Congress candidate, Mr Rakesh
Pandey, to ensure a weak candidate is fielded against him. The senior RSS leaders, Mr Sen and Mr Sat
Prakash, failed to pacify the angry workers who were demanding that the party high command reconsider the nomination of Mr Bhatia or they would field Mr Mehra as an Independent candidate from Ludhiana North and ensure that the official candidate did not retain even his security deposit. Interestingly it was not for the first time that Mr Mehra had been denied ticket at the last moment. In 1997 although he was allotted the ticket, the party authorisation letter was issued in the name of another candidate, Mr Veer
Abhimanyu, as a result which nomination papers of both of them were rejected and Mr Pandey won comfortably. Mr Mehra had challenged the rejection of his papers in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and won the case. Mr Pandey appealed against the High Court order in the Supreme Court and lost there as well. Despite that the party then again refused him the ticket in the by elections that were to be held following the apex court decision. The party fielded a little-known person, Mr Rajinder
Bhandhari, who lost to Mr Pandey by a huge margin. Lala Lajpat Rai had reportedly played spoilsport even at that time as well by opposing Mr
Mehra. This time the local RSS and BJP workers were expecting Mr Mehra to get the party nomination and had recommended his name only, which was again rejected by the high command thus leading to resentment. |
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Cong puts up unity show Ludhiana, January 17 Expressing gratitude to the party high command for his appointment, Mr Bawa assured all workers and party candidates of his support during the elections. He claimed that if the party presented a united front like it had presented today, victory was sure. Mr Rakesh Pandey contesting from Ludhiana North, Mr Surinder Dawer from Ludhiana East, Mr Harnam Dass Johar from Ludhiana West, Mr Milkiat Singh Birmi from Ludhiana Rural and Mr Milkiat Singh Dhakha from Dhakha Assembly segments were present. The local MP, Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib, and Youth Congress leaders, Mr Pawan Dewan and Mr Amarjit Singh Tikka, were also present. Mr Bawa appealed to party workers to ensure victory of all Congress candidates. He alleged that the Badal government had been involved in corruption cases and had taken the state back by years. He warned that in case the Badal government was returned to power, it would spell doom for peace and development in the state. The DCC president pointed out that the sacrifice of Beant Singh had ensured the return of peace and prosperity in the state. He alleged that the Badal government had been trying to sabotage that peace. |
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Lok Morcha bays for Badal’s blood Ludhiana, January 17 Addressing a press conference here today the morcha leaders suggested that Mr Badal should also pull out of the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre. They claimed that the review petition being said to be filed was just an eyewash as he did not act when it was needed. They criticised the Chief Minister’s statement that he would not allow a drop of water to Haryana asking, ‘‘What does he mean by it?’’, while adding that he simply wanted to shrug off his responsibility and conceal his own failures. They pointed out, it was the Akali government which had accepted Rs 2 crore for the construction of the SYL in Punjab. Referring to the forthcoming elections, the morcha leaders said that they would fight on the issue of corruption, economic decline and the problem of law and order in the state. They hoped that they would reach an understanding with the Lok Bhalai Party of Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia. In fact they already had held one round of talks yesterday and Mr Khanna’s residence here. The morcha also announced the list of 44 candidates fielded from different constituencies. The morcha would support Mr Jagmohan Sharma from the Ludhiana East constituency and Dr Jagpal Kaur Sangha from Kapurthala , both Independent candidates. |
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EC appoints 7 observers Ludhiana, January 17 According to Mr
S.K. Sandhu, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Mr R.B.
Kanade, Mr C. Ashk Vardhan, Mr Y. Tsering and Mr V. Vibhu Nair would be election observers for general purpose while Mr
D.P. Singh, Mr Vinodanand Jha and Mr Amitabh Shukla would act as observers for expenditure. |
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10-cr grant for
Animal Board Ludhiana, January 17 Stating this in a press note, Dr Sandeep K. Jain, a member of the executive committee of the board, said the amount would be used for carrying out various animal welfare activities, including maintaining gaushala shelters, ambulanes and veterinary hospitals. Of the total amount, Rs 2,25,000 would be given to the People for Animals, Ludhiana, which would be utilised to provide relief to animals and birds in distress, give them shelter, protect them and provide them with veterinary care and medicines. |
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Registration
of pups must Ludhiana, January 17 The Act also states that the owners of the pet dogs would be responsible for controlled breeding, immunisation, sterlisation and licensing of their dogs, while the stray dogs would be sterlised and immunised with the participation of animal welfare organisation and other local authorities. Under the Act, a monitoring committee would be constituted by a local authority for planning the dog management programme, issuing instructions for catching, transporting, sheltering, sterlising, vaccination, treatment and release of vaccinated dogs, authorise veterinary doctor to handle specific cases of dogs, create public awareness and provide guidelines to pet owners and dog breeders. The committee would comprise a commissioner, a representative of the Public Health Department, a representative of the Animal Welfare Department, a veterinary doctor and a representative of the SPCA. |
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Gift of sight Ludhiana, January 17 |
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Residents complain of erratic power supply Ludhiana, January 17 Mr Sardul Singh, a retired principal and member of the Model Town Council said they had complained a number of times, but the defect had not been rectified. Lower-rank employees had told them that there was some defect in the transformer. |
Doctor kidnapped, released Khanna, January 17 The kidnappers were demanding Rs 1 lakh from the doctor. The same robbers had reportedly looted Rs 15,000 from the same doctor twice in November. According to the victim, Dr Hardev Singh Billing, two unidentified youths came with a pistol to his clinic around 9 a.m. in a car. One of them entered his clinic and demanded Rs 1 lakh. On his refusal, they kidnapped him and took him towards Amloh in their car. In the meantime, the police was informed by a shopkeeper. When the kidnappers reached Galwadi village, the victim assured them to arrange the money at his residence. They took him to his residence, 100 m from his clinic. His father was at home and his wife, who had the locker keys, had gone out. Then kidnappers demanded Rs 10,000, but the doctor expressed his inability to pay the amount. Another shopkeeper came to his residence. The kidnappers directed him to sit with them. They fled after threatening the family to come again. The family members informed the police about the number of the car used, which had been noted by some shopkeepers. The police raided some places and got sketches of the robbers prepared as per details given by the doctor. |
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