 |
|
| Friday,
May 10,
2002, Chandigarh, India
|
|
|
Garg asks govt to forward cases to him Chandigarh, May 9 In the letter addressed to the Chief Secretary, Mr
Y. S. Ratra, the commission also sought the returns of property, if these are available with the government, of the Ministers, bureaucrats and other officers against whom there are allegations of amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. The commission has also sought details about their permanent addresses, etc. The commission has been set up by the Punjab Government to probe the “misdoings” of the previous SAD-BJP government in the state. A copy of the letter has been sent to Mr
S. K. Sinha, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, who is also the Home Secretary as well as the Secretary of the State Vigilance Department. Confirming the sending of the letter to the government, Justice Garg told TNS today that he would not disturb the ongoing inquiries that were being handled by the Vigilance Bureau and other agencies. “I think that those inquiries should continue to be handled by the officers who are already on the job. However, if at a later stage, there is need to hand over any of the inquiries to the commission, a decision can be taken accordingly by the state government,” he added. Justice Garg said that the commission, at an appropriate stage, could take the help of the Vigilance Bureau to procure the relevant evidence and other material pertaining to the inquiries to be handled by it (commission). He said that he had asked the Punjab Government to appoint full time a police officer of the rank of IG to assist the commission. He had also asked for the posting of an IAS officer as secretary of the commission, which was at the moment functioning from Punjab Bhavan and had asked for the provision of an exclusive officer for it mentioning its requirement of rooms, staff, computers, etc. A notification seeking complaints from the public would be issued within a fortnight. The complaints could be sent in Punjabi, Hindi and English, he added. The commission had also received six complaints direct from people in the state till date. Most of these were related to alleged bungling in the recruitment of teachers, lecturers, etc. The state government had not yet forwarded any complaint to the commission, according to official sources. The commission has also sought the appointment or allocation of government approved surveyors, evaluators and assessors for the purpose of determining the worth of assets of the persons who will be under investigation. The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, had alleged that the former Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had property worth several hundred crores of rupees. He had promised to get the property held by Mr Badal’s family inquired into from the commission. As the commission has sought the allocation of surveyors and assessors it appears the government may have hinted to the commission that it would be entrusted with the job of assessing the value of the assets held by Mr Badal. It is a known fact that Capt Amarinder Singh had written a letter to Mr Badal mentioning certain property which he had alleged belonged to Mr Badal’s family. Shortly before the elections, Capt Amarinder Singh had also released a few photographs saying that these were of the houses and other structures owned by Mr Badal. Will Capt Amarinder Singh forward this letter to the commission for holding an inquiry? This is the question being asked by all concerned in political and bureaucratic circles. |
|
Police remand for Pammi Patiala, May 9 The police asked for a remand for both Pammi and Sagar on the basis of a new FIR registered against them at Patiala on April 30 under sections 420, 467, 468, 471-A and 120 (B) of the IPC, besides under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The police said it wanted to question
Pammi and Sagar about the amount they had taken from each candidate and for what purpose. It said it was still to be ascertained as to how many students were selected on the basis of bribes. Both accused, who were earlier in judicial custody, were first arrested after their production warrants had been secured in the court and then presented for being remanded in police custody. Meanwhile, another accused in the case — Randhir Singh Dhira — was presented before the Ilaqa Magistrate here for recording a statement under Section 164. However, when the statement was to be recorded, he complained of chest congestion and the recording of the statement was deferred. Following this, he was sent on judicial remand till May 23. In another case in which PPSC Chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu had applied for bail, his lawyer Sahib Singh Dhindsa filed an application today asking for more time to study the FIR in the case. Mr Dhindsa claimed that he had not got a copy of the FIR and did not know its particulars. The case was adjourned till May 11 by Sessions Judge
S. N. Aggarwal. |
|
Punjab
Vigilance gets 3
SPs, 8 DSPs Chandigarh, May 9 The process was initiated last week when an Inspector-General of Police, Mr Chandershekhar, was appointed Director of the Vigilance Bureau. Those appointed today are — Superintendents of Police: Mr Gurpreet Singh
Toor, Mr Mukhtiar Singh and Mr Amrik Singh; Deputy Superintendents of Police: Mr Harmohan Singh, Mr Ravcharan Singh, Mr Sat Pal, Mr Jasdev Singh Sidhu, Mr Jatinder Singh, Mr Baljit Singh, Mr Bhulla Singh and Mr Charanjit Singh. While three of the newly appointed Deputy Superintendents would be deputed with Mr Jaskaran Singh, Superintendent of Police, handling the PPSC recruitment scam and the Ravi Sidhu case, others would be attached to strengthen the existing cells, including the Economic Offences Cell, as the number of complaints pouring in and the increased number of investigations necessitated additional manpower at the senior level. In the case of the recruitment scam, additional manpower was necessary as not only hundreds of statements would be recorded, but several of documents would have to be collected and examined. Sources in the bureau revealed that not only official documents of the Punjab Public Service Commission, but even question papers and answersheets in all 4,000-odd cases of appointments made by the commission during the tenure of Ravi Sidhu would be examined. The bureau also faced the arduous task of investigating complaints of alleged irregularities not only in recruitments but also in purchases and award of works which were reportedly done for a “consideration”. The bureau was investigating irregularities in recruitments in the Punjab School Education Board and the Punjab Rural Development Department, purchase of substandard material for three government medical colleges in the state and several other cases. Sources in the bureau revealed that none of the newly posted officers would be sent to the field. All 11 officers would be stationed at the headquarters here. Meanwhile, in the Ravi Sidhu case, the statement of Randhir Singh Gill, alias Dhira, the main tout of Ravi Sidhu, was recorded under Section 164 of the Cr PC. The statement under 164 Cr PC is normally made by those accused who tend to turn “approvers” in the case. Bureau officials did not rule out the possibility of Dhira turning an approver in the recruitment scam as Jagman Singh has already turned a approver in the case. The sources said that there would be more than one approver in a particular case. The Vigilance is still hunting for Shamsher Singh, a pharmacist,
G.S. Manchanda, a banker-turned hawala agent and Pritpal Kaur, mother of Ravi Sidhu. |
|
Should selection of lecturers be scrapped? Chandigarh, May 9 This question has become a topic of debate amongst those who had appeared before the PPSC for posts of lecturer and were not selected and those who got selected and are teaching. The persons selected have already formed an ad hoc body, the PPSC Selected College Lecturers Association, with headquarters in Ludhiana. Those who had appeared and were not selected have demanded the scrapping of the entire list of selected lecturers on the plea that the commission procedure was faulty. For instance, against a panel of five members which selects lecturers for government colleges, in respect of the PPSC there was a ‘’single’’ member of the PPSC and one ‘’expert’’, who asked ‘’irrelevant’’ questions, making a mockery of the selection process. The selections thus made were “arbitrary” and the ‘’experts’’ invariably selected their own old students. In a written representation, a few such candidates — Jatinder Kumar, Mohinder Kumar, Navneet Kumar and Harvinder Joshi — have stated that the selections were not according to the UGC guidelines. ‘’The government would do well to scrap all such selections and hold a new test and interview to select candidates on merit as lecturers’’. On the other hand, the convener of the newly formed association, Ms Antar Jyoti Ghai, has pleaded to the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, not to scrap the PPSC selections. The representation says that money did not play any role in the selection of lecturers. Had it been so, the Vigilance Bureau would have disclosed the names revealed by the alleged accomplices of the PPSC Chairman. Even the two-member PPSC probe team had not mentioned irregularities in the recruitment of lecturers. The selected candidates have a good academic record, some of them being gold medallists. Most of the selected lecturers are from middle class families. “We support the campaign against corruption but scrapping the selection of all lecturers without any proof will be unfair”, says the representation. |
|
Manpreet Badal complains
to PHRC against govt Chandigarh, May 9 The petition was submitted to Justice
V. K. Khanna, Chairman of the commission. Informed official sources said that Justice Khanna had listed the petition for putting up before the commission urgently as it contained serious allegations. Initial scrutiny of the contents of the petition will be made tomorrow by the commission, it is learnt. Mr Manpreet Singh was accompanied by his advocate. He also submitted a list of about nearly 40 FIRs, registered in the past eight weeks, to the commission as evidence to show that Akali supporters were being targeted by Capt Amarinder Singh’s government by using the police and other official machinery. Making a request for effective intervention, Mr Manpreet Singh stated that this was required to be done by the commission keeping in view the “rapidly disintegrating situation of public law and order in the Muktsar belt, especially in the Gidderbaha constituency”. He stated that there was a potential for conflagration and breakdown of law and order in Punjab, which enjoyed the fruits of peace and harmony during the five-year rule of the SAD’s fair and just administration that ended just two months ago. He said that those who had been booked by the police now had no history of any “misdoing” in the past 10 years and there was no criminal case against them. How had these persons become criminals within the past two months? He alleged that they had been implicated in false cases. He also stated that the names of Akali workers were not being included in the electoral rolls obviously to deny them the right to vote in the coming panchayat samiti elections. There were also numerous cases of forced dispossession of land of workers and supporters of the SAD, he added. He requested the commission to stop the registration of false criminal cases against SAD workers, to issue instructions for cancelling all false FIRs and to instruct the electoral machinery to include all eligible Akali supporters as voters as per the rules. In the concluding paragraph of the petition, he stated that the proud people of Punjab “do not submit to the arrogance of either Ministers or bureaucrats and police officials, and if the present trend of political vendetta continues, people would take to the streets against the government.
|
|
CM asks Sonia to appoint
new PCC chief New Delhi, May 9 Talking to TNS, he said he had conveyed his wish to the Congress President during two previous meetings with her. A new PCC chief was likely to be appointed next month after the panchayat elections in the state. He said the party would sweep the municipal elections in the state. The Chief Minister said the party would not contest panchayat poll on its symbol. The Punjab Congress also had to decide by May 17 its candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat from the state which would have a two-year term. |
|
SAD MLA Keetu granted bail Barnala, May 9 After hearing the arguments of Mr Rajdev Singh Khalsa ex-MP and counsel of Keetu and Mr Rahul Gupta, APP, the judge accepted Keetu’s bail pleas. Keetu was arrested on March 27, following the registration of a case against him at Bhadaur police station on March 21, for alleged misappropriation of the Bhadaur Truck Union Funds under Sections 406, 408 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. On April 6, another case in Kotwali Police Station Barnala was registered against him for the alleged misappropriation of Barnala Truck Operators Union’s funds under Sections 406, 408 and 120-B of the IPC. Counsel for Keetu said that Barnala and Bhadaur police failed to recover anything from Keetu or collected any evidence adequate for custodial interrogation and investigation. Police remarked in Bhadaur and Barnala cases any recovery or collection of any evidence against Keetu became strong grounds for the grant of bail to Keetu. |
|
HIGH COURT Chandigarh, May 9 On another application filed by the state seeking the cancellation of his pre-arrest bail, a Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Mr Justice
G. S. Singhvi and Mr Justice M. M. Kumar, asked the former VC to join the investigation after appearing before the officer concerned on May 10 at 11 am. Taking up yet another application filed by Ahluwalia for impleading as respondents Chief Secretary
Y. S. Ratra, Secretary Higher Education N. S. Rattan, besides MLA-cum-Political Secretary to the Chief Minister Rana Sodhi, Mr Justice
G. S. Singhvi and Ms Justice Bakhshish Kaur, issued notice for May 28. Ahluwalia, it may be recalled, was apprehending arrest in a first information report registered by the police at Patiala under Sections 420, 415 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, besides under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. As per the FIR, registered on the complaint of the members of the Joint Action Committee, funds earned through self-financing courses and from other sources had been misutilised. Claiming to have been implicated in the case, Ahluwalia had submitted that the committee was formed by persons having vested interests in order to oust him from the VC’s post. Seeking directions for impleading as respondents Mr Ratra and other authorities, Ahluwalia had stated that during a meeting held on March 28 he was told that the cases against him would be settled in case he resigned. His counsel added that the petitioner was also relying on taped conversation between him and Mr Rattan, besides Mr Rana Sodhi, and as such it was necessary to implead them as parties. Claiming that the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, was “deeply interested in ousting him”, Ahluwalia had earlier claimed that a deal was offered to him, according to which criminal cases against him were to be dropped if he submitted his resignation. In an additional affidavit, the VC had stated that, as per the deal, the Punjab Advocate General was to make a statement before the court claiming that the state had no objection in quashing the two first information reports registered against him.
Traffic-aid posts
set up In an affidavit filed before a Division Bench of the High Court on a public interest litigation seeking the enforcement of traffic rules and the maintenance of signal system, Punjab’s Inspector-General of Police (Traffic) R.C. Parsad today claimed that traffic-aid posts had been set up on several roads running through the length and breath of Punjab for taking accident victims to the hospitals as quickly as possible. The officer added that 58 such centres, with vehicles had been set up in the state. In these centres, several police personnel had been deputed and were being imparted preliminary training in first aid. Giving details, he submitted that a total number of 4,406 accident victims were taken to hospitals by the personnel deputed at the posts. He added that traffic education cells had also been constituted in all districts with “suitable police officers”, trained for imparting traffic education. They had been assigned the task of visiting schools, colleges and even truck unions. After going through the affidavit and hearing the arguments in the case, a Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice Bakhshish Kaur, directed the filing of another affidavit by May 15. The case will now come up for further hearing on May 17. In his petition, Mr Harish Kumar Puri of Pipli had earlier asked for the construction of rumble strips along with traffic signals at the crossings. He had stated that his 27-year-old son Ashok had died on May 14, 1996, due to the complete failure of the signal system.
Kahlon files bail plea Mr Justice R. C. Kathuria of the High Court today issued notice of motion for May 13 on an anticipatory bail petition filed by former Akali minister Nirmal Singh Kahlon. In his petition, the former minister stated that the government had adopted a revengeful attitude towards opponents and members of the Akali Dal in order to arrest them in false cases. His counsel added that some police officials had visited his residence in his absence and as such he apprehended his implication.
Naib Tehsildar’s
arrest stayed The Punjab and Haryana High Court today stayed the arrest of Naib Tehsildar Charanjit Singh, who was the former personal assistant of sitting MLA Manpreet Singh Badal, in an attempt to murder case registered on February 13. Seeking the grant of bail, the petitioner had claimed that he was being falsely implicated in the case due to political vendetta. His counsel added that two months after the incident, false witnesses had been introduced in the case. |
|
Punjabi University
dons quit admn posts Patiala, May 9 Teachers aligned with the
UTF, which had actively supported ousted Vice-Chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, today decided to tender resignations rather than “face the humiliation” of being removed from their posts. They tendered resignations en masse in the office of the Vice-Chancellor this afternoon. However, there was no official word on the resignations with the VC being out of station. The PUTA vice-president, Dr Manjit Singh, said a delegation of the UTF had met Mr Rattan two days ago and had assured full cooperation to him. He said the VC had on his behalf promised that he was above groupism and that he would be objective in his dealings with all teachers. He said the subsequent events had belied these hopes with the Joint Action Committee convener, Dr
U. C. Singh, being appointed Dean, Academics, and others associated with the group, including Dr
K. S. Sidhu and Dr N. S. Kapoor being appointed Registrar and Dean, Students Welfare. Dr Manjit Singh said a meeting of the PUTA executive was being convened tomorrow to discuss the “extraordinary” situation under which the new Vice-Chancellor was behaving just like his predecessors — Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia and Dr Joginder Singh
Puar. Meanwhile, those who resigned en masse were Dr D.S. Dhillon as Coordinator, MCA entrance test, Dr
S. K. Verma, Coordinator, MCom entrance test, Dr Manjit Singh as Co-Coordinator, MCom entrance test, Dr
R. K. Chaudhary, Coordinator, PGDCA, Dr Jamshed Ali Khan, Co-Coordinator,
PGDCA, Dr S.M. Verma, Coordinator, MSc entrance test, Dr Harpal Singh
Pannu, MTech Coordinator, Dr Ajit Singh Bhatia, Co-Coordinator, Biotechnology, and Dr Param Bakshish Singh, Coordinator, law entrance test. Three wardens have also resigned from their posts, including Dr
R. K. Chaudhary as senior warden of hostel numbers 4,5, and 6. Dr J. M. Khan has resigned as warden of hostel number 4 and Dr Paramjit Singh Goraya has resigned as warden of hostel number 5. Meanwhile, two more Deans were appointed today with Dr
S. P. S. Virdi taking over as Dean, Colleges, and Dr T. A. Sarma taking over as Dean, Research. While Dr Virdi is perceived to be a neutral figure, Dr Sarma is perceived to be close to Dr
U. C. Singh. Earlier, all Deans in the university had resigned en masse, facilitating the appointment of new heads. |
CIVIC POLL Amritsar, May 9 The Congress list, which has left out eight candidates or their confidents out of the total of 11 sitting councillors, has become a cause for worry. Only Surjit Singh Gill, Om Parkash Gabbar and Bachan Dass from ward No. 33, 54 and 60, respectively, have been retained. Party sources, however, point out that the selection has been done to clear the decks for the Mayoral candidate by minimising all competition. Notably Mr Yoginder Dhingra District President of the Congress Committee is reportedly being supported by all four MLAs and MP Mr R.L. Bhatia for the coveted post. Both sitting women councillors of the Congress Ms Salochna and Bhupinderjit Kaur too have been denied the party tickets. All four MLAs and MP Mr R.L. Bhatia having taken off for Delhi has created much confusion and anxious moments in the party. However the BJP list of candidates too has generated a lot of heat in the wake of 11 sitting councillors from the Balramji Dass Tandon group being left out, including five women out of a total of eight women councillors. The total number of BJP councillors in the house at present are 21. The three who have been retained are Suman Mahajan, Kumari Raj Sharma and Poonam Suri.
Reportedly Ashok Kalia, brother of BJP leader Mr Om Parkash Kalia and two others submitted their resignation in protest. Mr Om Parkash denied any knowledge of the resignation. BJP leadership has reportedly started confidence-building measures by personally pacifying ousted councillors with top posts of party positions to ward off any anti-party activity during the elections. Authority letters of the party were distributed here yesterday. The Akalis cadres too are having a tough time with the ouster of Deputy Mayor Lakha Singh Gumtala, Gurpartap S. Tikka etc. Giving the SAD (Badal) ticket to a member of the other Akali Dal (Mann) faction has also caused a lot of heart burning in the BJP circles which is its alliance partner in the poll. Mr Ram Singh, Akali Dal (Mann general secretary however, did not clearly state whether the selected candidate was of the Mann group. He said his party too had a person named Tejinder Singh Lalli. The BJP-Akali ratio for the distribution of party ticket is 34 of BJP and 24 of the Akali Dal for total of 60 wards in the corporation as against last ratio of 35 and 25 between them respectively. According to reports both BJP and SAD have fielded their candidates from ward No. 14. |
|
MC poll: Kaypee,
Henry have their way Jalandhar, May 9 Civil Aviation Minister Avtar Henry and Technical Education Minister Mohinder Singh Kaypee, who were unhappy over denial of party ticket to their supporters in their home constituencies, met the selection committee chairman and local MP Balbir Singh at his residence to protest in this regard and Mr Kaypee reportedly apprised Mr Balbir Singh of his “awkward” position among his supporters, who were denied ticket by the committee. Mr Balbir Singh heard Mr Kaypee for patiently and later announced change of ticket in favour of two of Mr Kaypee’s supporters. The revised list of candidates announced by the committee here, include the names of Mr Raj Kumar (Ward 6), Mrs Reena (Ward 14), Mr Sawarn Singh (Ward 42) and Mrs Sudha Zulka (Ward 44). Meanwhile hundreds of supporters of sitting Congress councillor from Ward 33 Mr Ram Lal, who had been allotted party ticket from Ward 34 this time, sat on dharna at Congress Bhavan here demanding that Mr Ram Lal be given ticket for ward 33. Mr Ram Lal filed his nomination papers as a Congress candidate from Ward 33 this afternoon, thus, refusing to contest on party symbol from ward 34. Supporters of Mr Sansar Chand also protested against the decision of the committee to allot party ticket to Mr Gulzari Lal from Ward 34. Meanwhile, the Vice President of the block Congress committee and an aspirant of party ticket from ward 55 Capt
H. S. Multani resigned from the primary membership of the party over the denial of party ticket to him. He alleged that the resentment was prevailing at the grassroot level party workers due to allotment of ticket to an Akali worker, who had worked against the official party candidate from Jalandhar Cantonment constituency Mrs Gurkanwal Kaur during the last Assembly elections. “I have decided to contest as an independent candidate, if the selection committee fails to review its decision by tomorrow,” Capt Multani added. |
|
Cong men file nominations in upbeat mood
Patiala, May 9 Even though the administration had made elaborate arrangements by making it possible to file nominations at the Punjab Roadways Transport Corporation
(PRTC) headquarters, the Tehsil office, the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and the Local Bodies, it was impossible to control thousands of people who insisted on touring their wards and the main roads before filing their nomination papers. This resulted in major traffic jams, particularly on the Lower Mall. Congressmen took out processions, some of whom looked more like victory processions all over the city in a buoyant mood in contrast to the candidates of the Shiromani Akali Dal who filed their nomination papers in a more subdued manner. Some Congress candidates like Gopal Singla and Meena Sharma literally stopped traffic due to their large cavalcades. While candidates were visiting gurdwaras and mandirs before starting off to file their nominations, later it became more of a show of strength as to who had more people with them. There were some unruly scenes also with youngsters in high spirits driving Gypsies and other vehicles. Prominent among those who filed their nomination papers today were Gopal Singla from Ward No. 47, Meena Sharma from Ward No. 28, Vishnu Sharma from Ward No. 24, Gurjeet Singh Guri from Ward No. 6, Hardev Singh Balli from Ward No. 8, Pardeep Mittal from Ward No. 26, Anuj Trivedi from Ward No. 36, Sohan Lal Jalota from Ward No. 42 and Kabir Dass from Ward No. 48 (all Congressmen). Meanwhile, some Congress leaders, including Krishan Kumar
Budhu, revolted against the party to file their nomination papers. Additional Deputy Commissioner Jagwant Singh Brar disclosed that a total of 377 nominations had been filed for the 50 seats in the corporation elections to which around 2.15 lakh people will cast their votes on May 19. |
|
Bhatia
camp jittery as rebels get ticket Amritsar, May 9 Agitated Congress leaders belonging to “Bhatia camp” lodged strong protest with the party high command and demanded review of the official list of candidates. The general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and MLA, Dr Raj Kumar said that all Congress MLAs and the member of Parliament were kept in the dark till the last moment on the final list. The change in the list is bound to create sharp differences between Mr Bhatia and Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister Punjab. Rift between Mr Bhatia and Mr Om Parkash Soni widened when the latter slapped the former seven years ago. However, Mr Soni Succeeded in becoming friendly with Capt Amarinder Singh even before the Assembly elections in his capacity as PPCC chief, Capt Amarinder Singh had visited the house of Mr Soni and tried, in vain, to bring rapprochement between him (Mr Soni) and Mr
R. L. Bhatia. With surprise developments it is clear that Mr Soni would be able to assert his clout for the mayoral candidate. During previous mayoral election, many Congress candidates had shifted loyalties and joined the Soni camp held in 1999 following the ouster of Mr Subash Sharma (the then Mayor). Due to this defection the BJP-SAD succeeded to install its own mayor. Dr Raj Kumar said that Mr Bhatia and he had spoken to Capt Amarinder Singh about the ‘shocking’ change of the candidates. He claimed that the Chief Minister had assured him that he would review the list. It is learnt that Mr Bhatia who has been camping in New Delhi met Ms Sonia Gandhi, president, Indian National Congress and sought her intervention in this regard. The sources further claimed that Ms Gandhi had summoned Capt Amarinder Singh to resolve the matter. Mr Joginder Dhingra, District President Congress Committee, said that he was shocked to learn about the last minute change of the list. He said none of the party MLAs know the names of the candidates till 2 p.m. (one hour before the filing of nomination papers). Mr Dhingra said that none of the associates of Mr Soni who managed to get the party ticket had ever applied for the ticket. He said these candidates including their mentor, Mr Soni had been working against the interests of the party. Mr Jugal Kishor Sharma, an MLA, said that Mr Inderjit Singh Sharma who got the ticket for ward number 42 had campaigned openly for the rebel Congress candidate Ms Nirmal Kanta Suri (fielded by Mr Soni) during the recently held Assembly election. The list of the rebel Congress candidates (belonging to Soni camp) who succeeded in getting the party ticket included Surinder Kumar Chhinda (ward 27), Satwant Singh Chadda (ward 30), Kashmiri Lal (ward 31), Rajpaul Chadda (ward 34), Sawinder Singh Chhinda (ward 37), Sushma Arora (ward 38), Baljit Singh (ward 39), Narinder Singh Joga (ward 40), Usha Sharma (ward 41), Inderjit Sharma (ward 42), Dharmvir Sareen (ward 48), Daljit Singh Chhina (ward 43). Dharmveer Sarin who got the party ticket from ward number 48 had contested the Mayoral election. Mr Sunil Datti (of the Congress Party) in 1999 had engineered split. He was among the six Congress Municipal Councillors expelled from the party for defection. In all 639 candidates filed nomination papers for 60 wards today. The highest number of filing nomination papers was in ward number 39 while the lowest nomination (four) was filed from wards number one (44,45,55). The final list of the voters is 756432 who would cast votes during the forthcoming corporation elections. |
|
MC poll campaign disrupts traffic Jalandhar, May 9 There was chaos in almost all parts of the city due to the “failure” of the police to regulate traffic following several processions taken out by candidates. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded at various places, causing inconvenience to thousands of people. Not the police, but youngsters accompanying candidates, were seen “regulating” traffic in most parts of the city. At the BMC and Guru Nanak Mission
chowks, hundreds of vehicles were stranded due to the processions. Similar was the situation at the busy Nakodar and the Kapurthala
chowks. There was no traffic management on the Mai Hiran Gate road, the most congested part of the city. Ironically, instead of regulating traffic, cops were busy “challaning” vehicle owners.
|
|
Decision
on Modi internal affair of BJP: Badal Jalandhar, May 9 Mr Badal today said that his party had nothing to do with the Modi affair as it was for the BJP to remove or not Mr Modi. He further said that maintenance of peace and order in Gujarat was the duty of the Centre and the state governments. Lashing out at the Punjab Chief Minister Mr Amarinder Singh, Mr Badal alleged that the Congress government was harassing Akalis by implicating them in false cases. |
Urs sans Pak pilgrims begins today Fatehgarh Sahib, May 9 The Urs, which is celebrated in the memory of great Sufi saint Sheikh Ahmad Farooqui Sirhindi, will be held from May 10 to 12. Thousands of Naqshabandi Muslims from India and abroad are expected to pay their homage at the holy place. This place is regarded as the second Mecca by Sunni Muslims all over the world. The Sheikh is considered next to Hazrat Muhammad in religious order. Therefore the title Alaf Sanni. Rauza Sharif, situated on the Fatehgarh Sahib-Bassi Pathana road in the vicinity of the great Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, belongs to Sheikh Ahmad Farooqui Sirhindi, popularly known as Mujaddid Alaf-I-Sani. The building was constructed in 1929. It has a separate entrance through Bahishti Gali. Near it, there is a prayer hall where Muslims sit to pay their homage. Sheikh Ahmad was the most eminent of Khawaja Baqi Billah’s disciples. Sheikh Ahmad was the fourth of the seven children of Sheikh Abdul Ahmad Farooqui Kabuli Naqshabandi and was born in Sirhind. From his childhood, Sheikh Ahmad moved in the company of ‘alims’ and saints. Around 1599, he left Sirhind to undertake a pilgrimage and reached Delhi were he was welcomed by Khawaja Baqi Billah and the latter made him a disciple. Once Baqi Billah wrote to one of his friends, “A person named Sheikh Ahmad belonging to Sirhind has acquired immense knowledge and is perfect in action. He appears like a lamp which will illuminate the world.” When Sheikh Ahmad visited Baqi Billah a second time, he was allowed to initiate disciples into the Naqshabandi order and was declared by the Khawaja as his successor. The theory of the appearance of Mujaddid Alaf-I-Sani was based on a tradition ascribed to Prophet Mohammad. “God willing on the eye of every entry, a person will rise in this “Ummat” who would renew religion”. During his lifetime he (Mujaddid Alaf-I-Sani) opposed Akbar’s religious policy Din-e-Ellahi, and made himself the leader of Muslim orthodoxy. Mujaddid Alaf-I-Sani and his successors are regarded highly by Muslims in general and the nobility of Kabul in particular. It is said that the place was the burial ground for the members of the Afghan royal family. The annual Urs of Rauza Sharif has a great attraction for Muslims worldwide and it is celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm shared sometimes by Hindus and Sikhs also. According to the sajjada nasheen, Syed Mohammad Yahya Majaddadi, earlier pilgrims from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangla-desh and Iran used to come to pay obeisance. The Urs would be totally religious and no political activity would be allowed. The district administration has made all arrangements for the annual Urs. According to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Vikas Partap, all the basic amenities like water, food, shelter and medicines will be provided to the pilgrims. A mela officer has been deputed and an inquiry office and dispensary would work round the clock. A bank counter for exchange of currency has also been set up. Mr B. Chandra Sekhar, SSP, said all pilgrims, particularly the foreign nationals, would be provided adequate security. The mela site has been divided into sectors. |
|
“Untrained”
drivers behind fatal mishaps Chandigarh, May 9 According to data analysed by the traffic wing of the Punjab police, 18 per cent of fatal accidents are caused due to the fault of the “other driver”. This is not all. As many as 33.5 per cent of the major accidents, besides 44.3 per cent of the minor mishaps, take place because of the same reason. In 16.3 per cent of cases, the fault is that of the pedestrian, while just three per cent of major accidents take place due to the fault of the driver. In cases of minor accidents, the driver’s involvement is calculated to be 3.4 per cent. As far as the cyclists are concerned, 6.6 per cent of fatal accidents occur because of their mistake. While 1.9 per cent of major accidents take place because of their fault, 2.9 per cent of minor mishaps occur because of their mistake. Just three per cent of the accidents take place due to the fault of the passengers. They are responsible for 2.1 per cent of major and 3.4 per cent minor accidents. Giving details of the reasons behind the accidents, the analysis stated that 20.7 per cent of the mishaps take place due to
overspeeding. Overspeeding is also responsible for 18.5 per cent of the major accidents and 10.5 per cent of minor accidents. Just 6.1 per cent accidents take place because of wrong overtaking. It was also responsible for 8.9 per cent of major and 6.9 per cent of minor accidents. Nearly 0.3 per cent accidents take place because of drunken driving. It is also responsible for 0.8 per cent major and 0.1 per cent of minor accidents. Reversing without “proper guide” is responsible for 1.4 per cent of fatal accidents. As many as 0.7 per cent of major, and 0.8 per cent of minor accidents, are caused due to this reason. Failing to give signal results in 0.6 per cent fatal, 0.8 per cent of major and 0.3 per cent of minor accidents. Mechanical failure is responsible for 0.8 per cent fatal accidents. As many as 1.8 per cent of major and one per cent of minor accidents are caused because of this reason. Not even a single accident takes place because of fatigue. In an attempt to reduce the number of accidents, the traffic police, according to sources, has launched a programme to train investigating officers for studying the cause of accidents. The accidents, sources added, “could possibly be tackled more effectively by tackling the prominent causes”. |
|
Judges
vow to get panel report implemented Jalandhar, May 9 Stating this at a function organised by the Judicial Officers of the Jalandhar Sessions Division here today, Mr Justice C.S. Ramlu, Chairman of the All-India Judges’ Association, said the association would leave no stone unturned to ensure the implementation of the report of the National Judicial Pay Commission. “The association will strive to remove the difficulties in the way of the implementation of the report and continue its fight for the cause of the district judiciary,” he asserted. He said the national conference of Judicial Officers of the country was scheduled to be held in the first week of September in Hyderabad. Mr M.M. Aggrawal, District and Sessions Judge, Jalandhar, said the National Judicial Pay Commission was constituted after a Supreme Court direction in 1993, thanks to the efforts made by Mr Justice Ramlu and the association general secretary, Mr N.S. Saini. He said in spite of the opposition by the Central and state governments, the Supreme Court had accepted the pay commission report and issued directions for its implementation on March 21 this year. He also lauded the role played by Mr Justice Ramlu and Mr Saini towards the cause of district judges. |
|
Start anti-corruption drive, lawyers urged Fatehgarh Sahib, May 9 The association through a resolution appreciated the role of Mr Hari Jaisingh,
Editor, The Tribune, in highlighting the issue pertaining to the high court’s order prohibiting the coverage of stories relating to the PPSC recruitment scam. The Bar welcomed the crusade against corruption initiated by the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. The Bar also urged local lawyers to start a campaign against corruption at the district-level. PHAGWARA:
Members of the local Bar Association on Thursday boycotted courts in protest against the alleged involvement of certain high court judges in the PPSC recruitment scam and recent hooliganism in the court complex of Moga to “intimidate” an advocate there. They demanded probe to unravel the truth for upholding the judicial dignity and peoples’ faith. They hailed the ruling of the Division Bench of Punjab and Haryana Court which said that the right of the public to know, and to be informed, could not be curtailed in the name of secrecy of information. PATHANKOT:
The lawyers’ body on Thursday decided to ask the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to divest the judges of the work whose names had surfaced during the investigation being conducted by the vigilance bureau in the PPSC affairs. The advocates through a resolution appreciated the page one editorial “No My Lord” by The Editor of The Tribune, Mr Hari Jaisingh and “Point of Law” by Mr Anupam Gupta. They unanimously resolved to support all decisions of the Bar Association of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. |
|
Govt in spot over PSEB
proposals Chandigarh, May 9 The Chief Minister, Capt
Amarinder Singh, has opposed the power tariff hike proposals submitted
by the board before the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. In
fact he was not briefed properly by his officer and had issued a
statement that the power tariff hike proposed by the commission was
not acceptable to the state government. The fact was that the
commission had not proposed any hike. It was the PSEB, which had
proposed the hike. The commission is just processing the PSEB’s
case and consulting various sections of consumers who are to be
affected by the hike. However, once the commission make the
recommendations these will have to be accepted by the state government
and the board, according to informed sources. Sources said Capt
Amarinder Singh made the statement yesterday as a reaction to the
announcement made by former Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal,
who had stated that his party would start a public agitation if the
tariff was revised in any manner. Moreover, the elections of the
municipal corporations are to be held on May 19 and it was the
compulsion of the government to keep the tariff hike at bay till the
holding of elections, including that the zila parishads and panchayat
samities which are expected to be held in the first week of June. From
the stand taken by Capt Amarinder Singh it is obvious that the PSEB
will have to fend for itself for some more weeks. Moreover, the CPI
today also opposed the withdrawal of facility of free power to
farmers. |
|
CPI against withdrawal of free power to farmers Chandigarh, May 9 He said that it would not be in the interest of the farming community, which was already neck deep in debt. He said that the state government headed by Capt Amarinder Singh should look elsewhere to fill the coffers of the cash-starved Punjab State Electricity Board. The state government should take a clear stand on the issue of free power to farmers, he said. Speaking on another important issue, Dr Dayal said that no elected democratic institution should be dissolved before the completion of its term. All democratically elected panchayats should be allowed to complete their full term, which was up to June next year. It was not advisable to hold the panchayat elections one year before the completion of their term. He said the elections to panchayat samitis and zila parishads should be held now because these were due to be held much earlier. Dr Dayal said the menace of corruption could not be ended by only pursuing the case pertaining to Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu. There was need to start a campaign against corruption at the social and political levels. There was also need for reforms in various systems pertaining to governance. Dr Dayal said the Punjabi language, which was a mother tongue, should be given preference in every sphere of life in the state. As it was the official language of the state, it should be given due status in official work. Talking about the sending of Mr
K. P. S. Gill to Gujarat, he said that it would not solve the problem there. Without the removal of Mr Narendra Modi as Chief Minister, there could not be peace in Gujarat, he asserted. He said the Union Government had no political will to resolve the Gujarat issue. It was resorting to steps like sending Mr Gill there just to give the impression that it was doing something to handle the violence in Gujarat. |
|
Polling
for RS
seat on May 30 Chandigarh, May 9 The notification will be issued on May 10 and the last date for the filing of nomination papers will be May 17. The next day the scrutiny of nominations will be held and the last date for the withdrawal of candidature will be May 20. The polling will be held on May 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the counting of votes will be done immediately thereafter. |
|
Unemployed
youth to fight corruption Bathinda, May 9 He said the union had taken up the responsibility to mobilise the anti-corruption drive launched by the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. |
|
Vigilance
takes samples of medical goods Patiala, May 9 The issue had been brought to the notice of the government by medical associations, which had claimed that cotton, gauzes and bandages had been purchased at inflated prices during the tenure of the previous government. Superintendent of Police, Vigilance Paramjit Singh Grewal disclosed that the samples were being sent for tests. He said according to complaints substandard medical goods worth lakhs had been supplied to various hospitals in the state. |
|
Bandh to mourn cows’ drowning Samana May 9 However, banks and government offices functioned normally. Local lawyers also abstained from courts. A condolence meeting was held at Aggarwal Dharmshala here in which representatives of all religious, social, charitable institutions and of various parties were present. They assured the public that peaceful atmosphere would not be allowed to be disturbed. Mr Jaspreet Singh Sidhu, DSP, informed at the meeting that cases had been registered against 16 persons out of which 8 had already been arrested. |
|
Heat wave claims two lives Malerkotla, May 9 |
PAC ‘wrongly’ taking bureaucrats’ advice Chandigarh, May 9 This was detected by the Accountant-General (Audit) (AG) of Punjab and Union Territory, Mr Nand Lal, at the maiden meeting of the new PAC members of the Punjab Assembly amidst almost everyday reports of “wrongdoings’’ in the state. Mr Lal, who unearthed the fodder scam of Bihar allegedly involving the Rashtriya Janata Dal President, Mr Laloo Yadav, and a former Congress Chief Minister, Mr Jagannath Mishra, was shocked to know that the members had been considering bureaucrats as their advisers as against the provision that only the AG would advise them, sources told The Tribune. The MLAs were surprised when they were told by Mr Lal that the committee, formed with Constitutional protection, could hold its meeting anytime, anywhere and call any official for oral examination in the presence of their Adviser, the AG. The PAC members, who are initially briefed by bureaucrats, also did not know that they could make recommendations on each para of the CAG Report and ask for Action Taken Report, the sources said. Mr Lal informed the new members that their exercise of powers and care could save the state crores of rupees. He explained to them the functioning of the PAC, the exchequer control mechanism, institution of CAG and AG and audit procedures and preparation of various audit reports. The AG informed that the former Chief Election Commissioner,
Mr S. L. Shakdhar, had made recommendations as head of a high-powered committee on the functioning of PACs in the states and measures to improve control on the exchequer. Mr Lal suggested that timely disposal of outstanding audit reports should be taken as delay in timely detection of error leads to the culprit going scotfree due to removal of evidence. |
|
Vigilance
check to curb absenteeism Barnala, May 9 According to reports, vigilance team visited Barnala Civil Hospital to check attendance to make physical verification of hospital staff checking of attendance register etc. Dr Subhash of Civil Hospital Barnala send the Vigilance team found hospital staff present on duty. Reports reaching here revealed that Vigilance team visited Primary Health Centre Dhanaula and Kattu village, 20 km from here where they visited the village Health Centre. The team visited Health Centres at villages Longowal and Badbar too. |
Liquor smugglers’
gang busted Hoshiarpur, May 9 Ms Gurpreet Deo, local SSP, stated here today that during nakabandi a police party headed by Mr Dharam Singh Uppal, DSP (D), and Mr Kulwant Singh, Sub-Inspector, CIA staff, intercepted a scooter and checked its occupant Balwant Kumar, alias Suresh Kumar, son of Mr Jiwan Lal Dass of Bihar, at present residing at the local Mohalla Sukhiabad. The police seized two cases of whisky from him. Balwant Kumar led the police to Amarjit Singh’s residence from where it seized 1,62,000 ml of country-made foreign liquor. A case under the Excise Act has been registered at the city police station against them. During their personal search, the police seized four fake currency notes of Rs 500 denomination from Balwant Kumar and one of same denomination from Amarjit Singh. A separate case under Section 489, IPC, was also registered against them. The SSP said during interrogation Balwant Kumar revealed that he pushed lakhs of fake currency notes in the market on the pretext to make them double. He used to buy liquor from Chandigarh at cheaper rates and sold it at Hoshiarpur at an exorbitant price. She said in another naka at the Bajwara bypass Malkiat Singh of Bassi Mustfa, was arrested and the naka party recovered 18,000 ml of English liquor from him. |
|
Manufacture
of spurious drugs on rise Bathinda, May 9 In the past few years, the police has unearthed factories manufacturing spurious drugs and cough syrups and arrested a number of persons who have been trying to make a fast buck by playing havoc with the lives of unsuspecting buyers. Yesterday evening, a vigilance team from Amritsar sealed a factory manufacturing bandages and sterilised medical wear located in a locality of Amrik Singh Road in the town. Though the vigilance authorities refused to divulge the details of raid and seizure, sources said sub-standard bandages and medical wear being manufactured in this factory were being supplied to Government Medical College and Hospital, Amritsar. Sources said the raids were conducted at the drug stores in the three government-run hospitals and the suppliers of medicines and other clinical equipment on the directions of DGP (Vigilance), Punjab. Sources revealed that this town had been emerging as a centre of fake goods manufacturers as they had found it easy to dispose of the same because of its location. A number of markets in Haryana and Rajasthan are close to this town and these markets are being used by them to dispose of their fake goods. |
Students from Bathinda excel SAS Nagar, May 9 A student of the school, Nisha Garg secured the top position by securing 97 per cent marks. A student of SD Senior Secondary School, Malout (Muktsar), Sonal shared the second position with Tarun, a student of SSD Public High School, Bathinda by securing 96.25 per cent marks each. With 96 per cent marks, the third position has been secured by Sukhchain Goel, again a student of SSD Public High School, Bathinda. As has been the precedent in the past, girls have once again outshined boys in the merit list of the first 540 students released by the board. The pass percentage for the regular candidates has dropped to 75.92 from 81.69 of last year. A similar trend has been seen in the case of private candidates for whom the pass percentage has fallen to 66.14 from 74.94 of last year. Of the total 3,26,778 regular candidates who appeared in the examination, as many as 2,48,094 have been declared pass. For the private candidates, a total of 58,063 candidates of the total 87,787 candidates have been declared pass. The board officials said that earlier the results were scheduled to be declared by May 3, but due to confusion in marking of the elective subjects — which has 13 optional subjects— the results were delayed. The gazettes would be dispatched to the respective centres tomorrow. The merit wise result of the first 50 candidates( roll no/ marks) Nisha Garg (272891/779), Sonal (619889/770), Tarun (272920/770), Sukhchain Goel (272922/768), Arpit Jindal (272922/768), Ritu Garg (272892/765), Mukul Singla (583699/764), Meenakshi (272905/764), Gaurav Goel (272947/761), Ankur Jindal (272946/761), Bindu (619887/760), Sobia (601314/760), Amandeep Kaur (619451/759), Dimple (272074/759), Shikha Goel (282358/759), Nishu Bala (272084/757), Garima (619893/757), Chitvan Kumar (553403/756), Banita Rani (750413/756), Chandani (601313/755), Sahil Kwatra( 748123/ 755), Shivani (739282/754), Pallavi Jassi (462887/754), Harpinder Kaur (619870/ 753), Karishma Bhardwaj (553318/753), Gagandeep Kaur (699069/753), Ketki Rani (742694/753), Amarpreet Singh (583704/752), Harpreet Kaur (434954/752), Simranjeet Kaur (373407/ 752), Gitika Bansal (739281/752), Harpreet Singh Bhatia (462902/752), Sanjeev Sharma (476232/751), Deepak Arora (282473/751), Nisha Rani (272896/751), Pradeep Kumar (619955/751), Rishu Kakkar (560802/750), Seema Rani (739273/750), Prabhjot Singh (619556/750), Pallavi Jindal (299112/750), Roopali Bansal (272073/749), Sheenu Garg (739283/749), Manisha Kansal (739261/749), Sandeep Sharma (329662/749), Priya (619878/ 748), Tarun Sharma (750718/748), Prabhjot (578003/748), Munish Goel (282462/748), Pooja Bindal (272907/748) and Krishma Jain (596573/748). |
|
Sweeper
suspended for ‘causing’ burns Bathinda, May 9 Gurwinder suffered burn injuries on his legs after he fell into the fire pit while throwing the waste paper into it. Neither the principal of the school nor other staff members came to his help. The school authorities also failed to inform the district education authorities about the incident. The matter came to the notice of the district education authorities when a news item appeared in this connection in
The Tribune on May
8, following which officials visited the spot to inquire into the incident which took place on May 4. Ms Bhupinder Kaur said it was very unfortunate that no staff member, including the Principal, Ms Surinderjit Kaur went to the house of Gurwinder Singh to ask about his well-being. When she asked about the incident from Ms Surinderjit Kaur and other staff members, they expressed their ignorance, she said. The DEO (Secondary) said a report about the incident had been sent to the higher education authorities. |
 |
| 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 | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
