 |
|
| Friday, September 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India
|
|
||||
|
Pherurai used arhtias to convert black money into white Ludhiana, September 19 Accompanying this breakthrough was the confession of at least four arhtias before the police that they still had lakhs of rupees of the former SSP with them. These arhtias have agreed to hand over the money to the police. The recovery is being viewed as great success by the police as it will provide a significant evidence against the absconding cop, police sources said. Reliable sources revealed to Ludhiana Tribune that police investigations in the role of these arhtias, said to be eight in number, has found evidence that some of them were conveniently used by the accused cop to legalise his black money. Adopting the “rokda” system, commonly used by businessman, the accused cop allegedly used to give the arhtias black money and take cheques from them to show he had taken the amount as loan. The police has recovered some cheques used in this system. One of the cheques was for Rs 2.5 lakh given by a commission agent-cum-political leader of the city whose name had already figured in the investigation. Police sources said the confession of the arhtias were made in two stormy meetings between the arhtias, their union leaders and the Jagraon police authorities yesterday at Raikot and today at Jagraon. Informed sources said four arhtias, Tejinder Singh Taj, Prem Kumar Jain and Baldev Singh Khela (who happens to be a relative of the accused cop), and another unidentified one had agreed that they used to launder his money and were willing to return the cash. Tejinder Singh Taj will return Rs 20 lakh, Prem Kumar Jain Rs 10.35 lakh and Baldev Singh Khela will return Rs 18 lakh to the police. Other arhtias, including Raikot MC president Mohan Lal Goel, Parshottam Gupta, Surinder Garg and Krishan Nand, who were questioned for about two days, have denied the allegations. Police sources said they had been told to file affidavits that they did not launder money of the accused cop. The police has also told them that a case would be registered against them if the affidavit is proved false. Highly placed police sources claimed that one of the recovered cheques for Rs 2.5 lakh used by the accused cop to convert black money into white was given by one of these commission agents. Sources close to these commission agents, who did not wish to be identified, claimed that these arhtias were innocents and were being unnecessarily dragged into the controversy. These arhtias said the charges levelled against them were politically motivated. Meanwhile, the Jagraon police has sought details from the Ferozepore police about allegations that the former SSP was involved in fake currency and arms licence racket unearthed in Ferozepore last year. Gurcharan Singh Pherurai was booked by the Raikot police for amassing wealth disproportionate to his know sources of income. His total wealth is estimated at Rs 15 crore. The Police Department has set up a special task team, including Jagraon SSP, two SPs and a DSP to catch the accused cop who is suspected to be hiding somewhere in a neighbouring state. |
|
Evidence against
Pherurai found Ludhiana, September 19 An investigating
team of the Jagraon police team returning from Ferozepore today also
found ‘strong’ evidence that the former SSP, in utter violation of
rules got arms licences for his 11 relatives who lived in Ludhiana
district. All beneficiaries had one address only, which was of Mr
Pherurai. The claimed evidence of embezzlement of fake currency may have direct affect on the PPSC scam investigation as it was found by the Vigilance team that some person had given fake currency notes to deposed PPSC Chairman Ravi Sidhu. Later, it was found that the man was former SSP Pherurai. Confirming
the development, which has far reaching significance in tightening the
noose around the absconding cop, Jagraon SSP Mukhwinder Singh Cheena
told. The Tribune that the police had seized enough evidence and would
start proceedings of cancelling the arms licences and legal
proceedings, if any, against the licencees. |
|
9 ‘birs’ damaged in gurdwara fire Ludhiana, September 19 The fire broke out at 2.45 a.m. and was controlled by the joint effort of the local fire brigade, sewadars and residents of the area. Members of the gurudwara management and fire brigade sources have ruled out any sabotage behind the fire. No one was injured. Mr Kashmira Singh Sheera, president of the gurdwara management, said the fire was noticed at 3.00 a.m. by Mr Lakhbir Singh, head granthi. He raised an alarm and also phoned the fire brigade and the police. The fire spread and destroyed a room, made of wood, in which several birs of Guru Granth Sahib were kept besides window panes, doors and fans along with a large number of musical instruments. Several rooms made of white marble were completely blackened due to the fire. Mr Kashmira Singh said they had complained to the PSEB about the voltage fluctuation several times but the fault was not corrected. Mr Bhagwan Singh, a resident living near the gurdwara also stated that the voltage fluctuation was a common problem faced by them. He said that some electronic goods in his and adjoining houses were also damaged. The ashes of the sacred birs would be immersed as per the Sikh maryada laid down by the SGPC at Goindwal on Saturday. |
|
300 turn up for poll duty, only 180 needed Chronology of events Ludhiana, September 19 While all these days the district administration was facing acute shortage of the ‘willing’ employees, as many as 300 employees turned up at the second poll rehearsal in Guru Nanak Dev Bhavan today and volunteered themselves for the duty. The administration only required 180 employees and is now deliberating the problem of whom to choose and whom to leave. ‘‘We are facing a different problem now. The employees have gone surplus. We are working on the system of selecting the 180 required’’ confided a top
administration official to Ludhiana Tribune. While many teachers reported for the duty today, some of them staged a dharna outside the venue of the rehearsal and raised slogans against the officials of the administration. The unionists demanded the transfer of the ADC, Mr A.K. Sinha as they alleged that he had misbehaved with them. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anurag Aggarwal, said that the state government had reduced the quota of the employees from this district from 400 to 180 and stated that the selected employees would be leaving for duty on September 21. A spokesman of the administration, however, said that the administration was not contemplating any action against the various union leaders who had themselves refused to go for duty and had incited other teachers not to go. The latest decision comes as a surprise as the authorities were quite determined to take a strong action against such employees as this would set a wrong precedence for the employees. Meanwhile some teachers affiliated to various teachers’ unions sat on dharna near the Guru Nanak Dev Bhavan as long as the rehearsal was going on inside the hall till the afternoon. They were raising slogans against the officials of the administration. Earlier in the morning, they all went inside the hall and met the officials and then came out and sat on dharna. Mr Piara Singh Dhillon, president of the Government Primary Teachers Union, said that their case was admitted by the HC and he would go to Chandigarh tomorrow for the next hearing. |
|
Thousands throng Chhapar Mela Ahmedgarh, September 19 The first day, known as ‘chowkis’ saw a large number of men and women attending the religious fair. The police, which was busy with planning of security arrangements, found it difficult to control the unexpectedly large gathering. Being one of the largest fairs of North India, Chhapar Mela, started attracting a large number of devotees since early in the morning. Till around 11 am, women outnumbered men. But later in the afternoon, men also thronged the mela place. SP Amarjit Singh, the in charge of the mela, said more than 1500 policemen had been deputed to ensure security of devotees. Besides 17 gazetted officers, 114 non-gazetted officers, 126 havildars, 1,096 constables, 85 traffic policemen, 50 lady constables and 15 mounted cops would be on duty for next three days, he said. To keep a check on the sale and use of liquor, special teams had been constituted. Policemen in plain clothes, including lady cops, had been deputed at sensitive points, including zinda dance camps. The police would be also be assisted by concealed movie cameras which would keep an eye on bad elements. Mr Singh claimed that only a limited number of four-wheelers had been issued passes to enter the mela area. This, he said, would restrict the entry of weapons and wine. Though the fair metamorphosed into a political battle field during past few decades, but this time leaders and workers of various parties were still busy with setting up of their respective pandals. In all, seven political camps would be held in the coming two days and front-line leaders of all parties would address conferences on September 21. A helipad for the Chief Minister had been shifted to Latala village from Anand Isher Senior Secondary School in Chhapar. Leaders of the Congress, the SAD, the SAD (Amritsar), the SHSAD, the BSP, the CPI and the CPM could be seen around the police headquarters for vehicle passes. Though stalls and ‘jhadas’ had started their dealings early in the morning, but a chaos of sorts was was observed around 2 pm when the Subdivisional Magistrate of the area ordered the closure of a large number of stalls, including those of zinda dances. These stalls were later allowed to continue their business after the intervention of the panchayat of Chhapar village which assured that stall owners would get permission from the civil administration by evening. Though local residents and devotees seemed to be scared of bitter experiences during the melas held in past few years, but the police claimed to have made additional arrangements this year. Meanwhile, the Lok Bhalai Party accused police officials of harassing their workers by not allowing their vehicles to reach the site of the conference. No official of the civil administration was available at the site of the mela. However, adequate arrangements for drinking water ad medical camps had been made which would supplement facilities being provided by social organisations. |
|
PUDA’s demand of security fee
flayed Ludhiana, September 19 The leaders of the committee have also submitted a memorandum to the PUDA Chief Administrator and the Urban Development Minister, Mr Raghunath Sahai Puri, and the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, to direct the PUDA authorities not to charge any fee and security for the celebration of religious festivals. Leaders of the association termed such taxes levied by PUDA as ‘Jazia’, which was charged forcibly by the Mughal Emperors from the Hindus. Dr Shiv Gupta, general secretary of the association, demanded that permission to celebrate such festivals should be granted free of charge by the district administration and termed such taxes as illegal, unjustified and unwarranted. The leaders also condemned the PUDA authorities for their failure in controlling encroachments in the PUDA colonies. |
|
Overbridge completion
delayed Khanna, September 19 Since the work for the construction of the overbridge started on January 19 this year a controversy errupted over the length of the bridge. An agitation was also started by residents of the area. Meetings were held among residents and officials of the Civil, PWD and Railway Department. Mr Hari Pal Xen, PWD, Ludhiana, assured that the length of the overbridge would be reduced. But, there was no proposal in the department to reduce the length of the overbridge. When the work for the construction of overbridge started the road was blocked and there was only a four-foot passage for the commuters. This passage is not paved with bricks and there are a huge pits which causes accidents daily. The residents met the then SDM Mr Sabharwal to direct the contractor to provide a pucca passage who directed the contractor to do so. The contractor assured the residents that he would get a passage constructed. Mr Naresh Mehta, a social worker had demanded the early completion of the overbridge and a pucca passage for the commuters. The accounts officer, Mr M.K. Saharav, said the delay in the completion of the overbridge was due to delay in the approval of the department. He said the company had got an extension up to December 31. |
|
Effigies of Tohra, Jagir Kaur
burnt Ludhiana, September 19 Addressing a rally on the occasion, the council chairman, Mr Naveen Sood, charged Mr Tohra and Ms Jagir Kaur as being supporters of terrorism which tormented the people for well over a decade. “For these Akali leaders and others like them it was hard to swallow that Beant Singh had not only fought against terrorism with determination but had successfully rooted out the entire movement and restored peace in the state,” he added. Hitting out against Mr Tohra, the PPC chairman said he was a frustrated man because despite his long political career and a prolonged stint as President of the SGPC, his life long dream of becoming a Chief Minister of the state had not been fulfilled. Similarly, Ms Jagir Kaur, who was facing charges of killing her own daughter, also appeared to have lost her mental balance and was out to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in Punjab. He further said that the shameless conduct of these Akali leaders was tantamount to an anti-national act and the PPC activists would gherao Mr Tohra and Ms jagir Kaur, whenever they visited the city. |
|
A Muslim who worships Sikh
Gurus Ludhiana, September 19 He turns sad when he is asked to comment on the prevalent communal tension engulfing the world. ‘‘I am a Muslim, but I worship Sikh Gurus as the bond of my ancestors (mardana) has never been forgotten by the masses.’’ For this artiste hailing from a village near Patiala, religion means that one has to worship a god, who shows him the path of truth and goodness. ‘‘Whenever I start singing on the stage, I pray to Sikh Gurus.’’ says Shariff. ‘‘I create music that binds people irrespective of their religion or the place they belong to. I think it’s the responsibility of the artistes the world over to spread a message of love and harmony as art is a language that travels the fastest and is the most effective in conveying such messages.’’ He is in the city to participate in the National Food, Handicraft and Cultural Mela. About secularism, he says, ‘‘ I named my eldest son as Sukhwinder Iddu, a Punjabi name, second son Gulzar as Khan, a Muslim name, and youngest son as Vicky, a western name. My house is an example of unity in diversity. This is a message of brotherhood for the masses. How much does it take for us to love each other? Like many other folk singers, he, too, is worried about the prevalent music scenario in the state. He thinks youngsters are fast switching over to western culture and lifestyle. ‘‘Our own art is dying a slow death. Nobody is interested in folk music. Moreover, music videos have changed the entire scenario.’’ he says. He was offered a job with the Punjab Police, but he refused. ‘‘I knew if I become a cop, art will leave me. So I continued, I am quite contented with myself, although there is not much money involved in folk singing”. Shariff is now training his three sons in ‘Dhaddi’ singing. ‘‘I am doing my bit. I know there is a need to do something to keep this art alive. My sons won’t let me down, I am sure,” he says. |
|
Dullo blasts Badal for ‘misleading’
people Mandi Gobindgarh, September 19 The MP alleged Mr Badal by spearheading agitations and dharnas was misguiding farmers by telling them that the Congress government in the state had withdrawn free power-supply, whereas no orders had yet been passed on a report submitted by the Punjab State Electric Regulatory Authority, recommending metered supply to 8.5 lakh agriculture tubewells. He said Mr R. S. Mann, a relative of Mr Badal and former Chief Secretary, had been appointed as chairman of the authority by the former Chief Minister, who was now criticising the Congress government for its policies. Commenting on the BJP government at the Centre, Mr Dullo said its policies had discriminated against Punjab in the grant of drought-relief as compared to Andhra Pardesh. He said allegations that Capt Amarinder Singh had withdrawn old-age pensions and shagun schemes launched by the former government was false and the delay in the disbursement was due to verifications of certain cases. It was found that persons, not eligible, were getting old-age pensions and those who had got married 10 years back were benefitting from the shagun scheme. The verification of such cases would be completed by September 30, he assured. Mr Dullo alleged the previous government had spent 92 per cent of the state revenue on establishment, and only 8 per cent on development works in the state. The Badal government, he said, had made the state bankrupt. He earlier announced a grant of Rs 1,00,000 for a college at Bhamarsi. Among those present on the occasion included Dr Harbans Lal, Minister for Forest, Food and Civil Supplies, Mr Sadhu Singh, MLA, Amloh, Mr Gurvinder Singh Dhillon, OSD, Mr Ranjit Singh Tarkhan Majra, a samiti member, and Mr Gursatinder Singh ,former district president, Youth Congress. |
Theft in FCI godown Ahmedgarh, September 19 The theft, which was committed sometime on the intervening night of September 16 and 17, had come to the notice of Mr Sukhchain Singh, in charge of the unit No 4 of the FCI godowns last evening. Meanwhile, instead of reporting the incident to the police immediately, the local Assistant Manager, Mr K.L. Verma, has passed on the buck to the District Manager at Sangrur. Mr Verma, while confirming the theft, told Ludhiana Tribune that the loss was being assessed. A team of FCI officials would be arriving here tomorrow to take stock of the situation arising out of the incident before the police is approached to get a case registered, he added. Mr Kamikkar Singh, SHO (city), when contacted, however, denied having arrested any of the suspected thieves last night from near the godowns. He said a case would be registered after a formal complaint. |
|
Inter-state gang of thieves busted Khanna, September 19 The SSP, Mr Paramjit Singh Sarao, said in a press release here today that under a special drive launched against the anti-social elements a naka was put up at Neelon Pull under the supervision of Inspector Malkit Singh, in charge, CIA Staff, Khanna. A truck (HR-45X647) was stopped. The truck was loaded with stolen wheat. Six persons, Vikram, Amarjit Singh, Raju, Baljinder, Vijay and Hans Raj, were arrested. The police had recovered four trucks loaded with wheat, seven truck tyres and a stolen truck. The SSP said nine other members of the gang were still at large. |
|
Couple commit suicide Samrala, September 19 The cause of suicide is stated to be a household dispute. They leave behind three minor children. After a post-mortem here today, the bodies were handed over to the family members of the deceased. In another accident, a Bihari labourer died at Hedon Bet village, 15 km from here, yesterday. Mohamad Shah Niwas, a resident of Champaran district in Bihar along with Rooban Kumar, labourer, were going on their bicycle when a scooterist hit them from behind. Shah Nawaz died on the spot while Rooban Kumar was admitted to the Civil Hospital in Ludhiana. The police has registered a case in this regard. |
|
Man accuses wife of
elopement Sahnewal, September 19 In his complaint, Karnail Singh said he was married to Poonam of Mandi Gobindgarh and had an eight-month-old daughter. He said that they had rented out four rooms of their house to some Nepalis. The rooms were vacated last month. One of the tenants, Arjun, was, however, still staying in their house. Karnail Singh said that his wife went to buy medicine from Sahnewal on September 11, but did not return. He alleged that Arjun was responsible for her absence. The police has initiated investigations, but no arrests have been made so far. Policeman assaulted Jagraon Opium seized Knife seized The accused could not present any license or permit for keeping the same with him. The police has arrested the accused and registered a case under Sections 25; 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.
Ludhiana Sewing machines seized Police sources said that fake machines were seized on the complaint of Mr Suresh Satti, Enforcement Officer of Usha company. The accused, Angrez Singh, has been arrested and booked under the Copyright Act. |
LMA holds lecture on ‘Competition and strategy — sustainability’ Ludhiana, September 19 “One must be able to anticipate uncontrollable events — the supply, demand, political shocks and probe deeply drivers of industry change like technology, demographics, lifestyle and competitions and be able to consider not only today’s customers, suppliers but customers and competitors of tomorrow to formulate a good strategy,” he added. Explaining characteristics of a successful strategy he said it should be able to minimise buyer power, offset supplier power, reduce the intensity of rivalry, raise barriers to entry, reduce threat of substitution, and expand the availability of complements. He described Yoffie’s four common sense rules to successful strategy which revolved around uniqueness, creating value, communicating value and making motivating targets. He said, “Great Companies have a vision on how to compete, exploit clear competitive advantages, turn crisis into opportunities and influence the environment,” Answering a question on why good firms fail to sustain there advantages, Mr Sharma said failure to innovate, fear of self-cannibalisation, misperceiving the threat from new technologies and competency traps were the main reasons. Mr V.K. Goyal, general secretary, LMA, talked about the relationship between competition, strategy and sustainability. “Without competition there is no need for strategy because the sole purpose of strategy is to enable an organisation gain a sustainable edge over its competitors,” he said. Mr Goyal said, “In today’s fast-changing world, strategies that took months and years of research and hard thought to develop can be dashed in a minute by a single headline. Single headline is all that is sufficient to negate all that effort, revealing new circumstances, vendors, technologies and business conditions that make your strategy, all but useless. But does that mean that we should not make a strategy? As the old saying goes, if you do not know where you are going, any road will lead you there. Organisations need strategies and the trick is to make them as enduring as possible,” Mr Goyal said. Dr M.A. Zaheer, Dean College of Basic Sciences, PAU, cautioned that with global competition knocking at the door, Indian companies can ill-afford to exist without a good strategy. Organisation wanting to succeed in today’s fast-changing time must be built on foundations of intelligent strategy, solid planning and nimble execution. Mr Rajinder Gupta, president, LMA, said, “Knowledge plus skills raise to power attitude is what is required for beating the competition in the present day’s fast age when we have virtually two days in a day.” More than 300 members of the LMA, including industrialists, entrepreneurs, management executives, managements academicians, bankers, professionals and students of PAU, attended the lecture. |
||
Cultural festival from tomorrow
Ludhiana, September 19 Twelve teams will be competing for 37 events.
OC
|
 |
| 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 | |
