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| Saturday,
February 8, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Poll for ZP posts put off as members stay away Kapurthala, February 7 Senior Akali leaders BIBI Jagir Kaur, former president of the SGPC and an Akali MLA from Bholath, Dr Upinderjit Kaur, an Akali MLA from Sultanpur Lodhi, Mr Raghbir Singh, former Transport Minister and Mr Swarna Ram, former BJP minister blamed the district administration for not allowing seven members belonging to the Akali Dal and the BSP to participate in the election process as the administration had locked the gate of office of the Zila Parishad and deployed police force outside it to prevent the entry of members into the office. The Akali workers who assembled outside the office of the Zila Parishad raised slogans against the high handedness of the administration. Even seven members owing allegiance to the Congress did not participate in the election process. The Congress has gained majority in the House as one member of the opposition has switched his loyalty to the Congress. It is learnt that Congress members did not attend the election process as no consensus on candidates for the posts of Chairman and Vice-Chairman was reached and due to groupism among Congress leaders of the district. Meanwhile, a meeting was held among Rana Gurjit Singh MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira former secretary PPCC, Mr Rajan Bir Singh, in the house of Rana Gurjit Singh to sort out differences and to select common candidates for these posts. Mr Sabharwal told newsmen that fresh date for the election would be announced within a week. AMRITSAR: Election for the post of chairman of the Zila Parishad had to be postponed as only four out of 41 members turned up for the election. According to Mr Harbhupinder Singh Nanda, Additional Deputy Commissioner at least 28 members were required for the quorum. Despite sweeping the poll the Congress party, due to infighting in the party could not reach consensus on the candidate. |
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Senior Cong leaders abetted terrorism: Bitta Amritsar, February 7 Talking to The Tribune on telephone, Mr Bitta said that the book was nearing completion but he had asked his family members to publish his memoirs after his death criticising Mr H.S. Hanspal, president, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee who reportedly had stated that the state Congress did not mind if death sentence of Prof Devinder Singh Bhullar was committed to life term, Mr Bitta said that he was forced to pen another autobiography which would be released during his life time. He said Prof Bhullar was responsible for the attack on the Indian Youth Congress office in 1993 in which 20 persons were killed and the statements issued in his favour (Prof Bhullar) should be considered anti-Congress. Mr Bitta alleged that earlier certain senior Congress leaders had hatched a conspiracy to kill him. Elaborating, Mr Bitta said that a senior police officer from Punjab had camped at the New Delhi to get his security withdrawn at behest of a senior Congress leader. One day after Mr S.B. Chavan, the then Union Home Minister had ordered to withdraw his security, there was bomb blast outside the office of Indian Youth Congress. He said though he had brought the matter to the notice of president, Indian National Congress, Ms Sonia Gandhi, Ms Ambika Soni and other senior leaders about the role of Mr Kapil Sibal, a spokesman of the party, no action had been taken against him so far. The AIATF leader alleged that when a bomb was hurled on his cavalcade at Amritsar in which he was injured seriously, some Congress leaders of the state had described it as mere drama. He said role of such leaders should be probed by the party and all concerned. Mr Bitta also took exception to the statements of Sikh clergy for converting death sentence of Prof Bhullar into life term. He said such statements were uncalled for as Prof Bhullar was responsible for the killings of many innocent persons. He said he was shocked to learn that the Khalistani leaders including Paramjit Singh Panjwar, self-styled chief of the Khalistan Commando Force, managed to send messages in India in favour of Prof Bhullar. Mr Bitta appealed to the leaders of all political parties to rise above party loyalty for fighting decisive forces. He said Chaudhary Santokh Singh was the only senior Congress leader from Punjab who had the courage to state that Prof Bhullar should be hanged for his sins. He said other Congress leaders should learn a lesson from Chaudhary Santokh Singh. |
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Bitta plans drive to ‘expose’ Congress Bathinda, February 7 “I will cover the length and breadth of the country to expose the Congress leadership over the terrorism issue. The people should be made aware that the Congress, which has lost a number of its leaders to the bullets of terrorists, was demanding pardon for a dreaded terrorist, who had killed countless innocents,” said Mr Bitta while talking to TNS, here. He claimed that he was not launching the campaign to harm the party in the forthcoming poll, adding that he would go to Himachal Pradesh after the Assembly elections were over. He said earlier too a senior Congress leader, Mr Kapil Sibal, had contested the cases of terrorists in the court. Mr Bitta, who heads the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front, alleged he had been suspecting a conspiracy hatched by his political opponents to eliminate him. He alleged that when the blast took place in 1993, near the IYC office, a day before his security had been withdrawn. It may be mentioned that Mr Hanspal had made the statement while addressing a press conference at Rampura Phul on January 30, during a function organised in connection with ‘shradhanjali samagam’ of the martyrs of the Kuka movement. He said he had been contacting families of all terrorist victims in Delhi and would present them before the national and the international media so that they could express their views on whether Devinder Pal Singh Bhuller should be hanged or not. |
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Couple narrates tale of torture in custody Amritsar, February 7 Showing his swollen legs allegedly following beating by the police (lathis), he said he was picked up from the Thathi village bazaar on January 29 while he was looking for his wife after returning from a wedding, who his neighbours told him, was taken away by the police. He said he was beaten to unconsciousness at the police station. He was repeatedly awakened up by throwing buckets of water on him, he recalls. He said he does not remember what happened in these three days of illegal custody. He alleges that the police framed him. The next day, he said it seemed that on queries by reporters on that day, the police personnel washed his legs in warm water so that swelling from the beating subsided so that they could not be exposed. He was left off on January 31 after his bail. Karam Singh’s wife Darshan Kaur (40) says that the police came in two jeeps and barged into her house while she was arranging clothes at 5 p.m. on the day of incident (Jan 26). ASI Arjun Singh (who was allegedly beaten up by family of Dharam Singh and others first broke utensils and other household items and grabbed her. They slapped her hard again and again. While she tried to free her, she said. There was no women personnel with the police, she said. They kept asking her about her brother-in-law Dharam Singh and she kept repeating to them that she was washing clothes since morning and never left the house. She said she had no knowledge of their whereabouts (Dharam Singh or his family). She said she was kept in the police station till 12 noon without food, water or permission to use the toilet. Ms Chawla who visited the spot after a few days of the incident claimed that neighbours of Darshan told her that her duppata and shawl was lying in the street as no one dared to pick it up after the police let loose terror on them. She said it was ironical that the accused were Congress supporters and yet were being harassed even as it is common knowledge that political scores are known to be settled vice-versa. Mr Naroinder Bhargav SSP Tarn Taran had refuted the allegations of anyone in illegal custody by the police then, the SSP said that Karam Singh was accused in a case.
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Shatabdi’s farewell run today Bathinda, February 7 Official sources said though the authorities had stopped making reservation of seats from Delhi to Bathinda, yet reservation from Bathinda to Delhi was still on. Tomorrow, it would go off the track in less than six months after it was flagged off from here. Mr K.L. Meena, Station Superintendent, said the railway authorities had replaced the Shatabdi Express with the New Delhi Inter-City Express on the same track. He added that all formalities for running the new train in place of the Shatabdi Express had been completed. Information gathered by TNS revealed that the railway authorities were forced to bring the Shatabdi Express to a halt as on an average it had been suffering a loss of Rs 2 lakh daily and its continuation had become economically unviable. The losses were on account of manpower costs, operational and maintenance costs, fuel costs and wear and tear of equipment of the Shatabdi Express. All coaches of the Shatabdi Express were air-conditioned and commuters were being provided with snacks, besides breakfast and lunch. Mr Meena said on an average, the Shatabdi Express received 30 passengers daily against a capacity of 750, which had resulted in the losses and hence it was being withdrawn. Meanwhile, traders of Bathinda, Mansa and some other towns falling along the Bathinda-Jakhal-Delhi rail section pointed out that had the route of the Shatabdi Express been diverted to this line from the Bathinda-Ambala Delhi route, it would have fetched more commuters and could have become a viable venture. |
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Human rights body being treated casually Chandigarh, February 7 The Commission office usually remains flooded with complaints especially against police officials posted in the field. Obviously, the hands of Members of the Commission remain full with a lot of work to do. At the moment the Commission has only two Members- Mr N.K. Arora and Mrs Maninder Kaur Mattewal. Besides two vacancies of the members, the slot of the Chairman of the Commission is also vacant for quite long. Even the post of Secretary of the Commission has been vacant for a few months. As per rules either a Chief Justice of a High Court or a Judge of the Supreme Court can be appointed Chairman of the Commission. At present the charge of the office of the Chairman is with Mr N.K. Arora, a former Punjab Chief Secretary, who had taken over as member of the Commission shortly before his retirement from the IAS last year. Mrs Mattewal is scheduled to retire next month on March 31, according to informed sources. Source said that the state government has moved the file to appoint Justice N.C. Jain, a former Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court as Chairman. Already, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and the Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, Dr Kewal Krishan, has cleared the name. Now the file is awaiting clearance from the the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. As per laid down procedure, the approval from the Leader of the Opposition for making such an appoint is also required. Sources said that though many names were considered for Chairman’s post but only Justice Jain was found eligible. As Capt Amarinder Singh and Mr Badal are not even on talking terms, the joint meeting, which should have been in normal circumstances convened to clear the name of Chairman by Capt Amarinder Singh, Mr Badal and Dr Kewal Krishan, was not called. The file has been sent to Mr Badal through which is technically called a “ circular route”, that is first to CM, then to the Speaker and lastly to Mr Badal. At the time of appointment of Mr Arora similar procedure was adopted. What will be the alternative before the government, if Mr Badal does not approve the name of Justice Jain? When asked in this connection, a senior officer said that as two members of the approval committee had okayed the proposal, technically there should be no hitch for the government in clearing the name of Justice Jain for appointment. After Mr Badal, the file would be sent to the Governor for final clearance, the sources added. Sources said that the government had also given an undertaking in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to appoint the Chairman before February 28. No one has been appointed Secretary of the Commission since the transfer of Mr Ramesh Inder Singh, who has gone on deputation to the Centre. Only a serving IAS officer of the rank of Principal Secretary can be appointed as Secretary of the Commission, according to official sources. As the post of the Secretary is considered “ bland”, no one perhaps will like to take such a post. The government will have to force someone to take up the job.
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Prisoner
caught smuggling drugs Bathinda, February 7 Official sources said Avtar Singh was on leave from the jail on an order of the court as his brother died a few days ago. When his belongings were searched today, after he came back, intoxicant tablets were recovered by the jail authorities from his socks which he had put in the pockets of his jacket. The jail authorities immediately informed the district police chief, Mr Ishwar Singh, who had deputed the DSP (D), Mr Jaspal Singh, to register a case. Four days ago, another inmate, who has been facing trials under the NDPS Act case for smuggling narcotics, was caught red-handed while trying to smuggle about 15 gm of opium into the jail. The opium was supplied to him in the jail by one of his known persons when he came to meet him. A case in this connection had been registered. Information gathered by TNS revealed that perturbed over the rise in crime, incidents including smuggling of narcotics into the jail premises by its inmates, the jail authorities had stepped up its vigil on one hand while on the other hand it had started cultivating informers among the inmates to check this menace. The jail authorities had been finding it difficult to cope-up with the rush of inmates as more than 1,300 persons were lodged in it as against its capacity of 500. |
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SI’s bid to flee court, cop hurt Patiala, February 7 The Sub-Inspector, Ajaib Singh, who was working with the special operations staff in Abohar was, however, caught by policemen. Constable Gurcharan Singh was injured in the shoulder in the shooting. The policemen, who were escorting the SI, said after the accused was awarded a 10-year jail term and a fine of Rs 500 by the court of Mr A.K. Singla, Additional sessions Judge, he was escorted to the “bakshikhana” in the court complex where the accused were usually kept before and after the court hearings. The policemen said when the SI was being taken to the “bakshikhana” he was accompanied by four to five persons, one of whom handed him his service revolver. The SI immediately shot the constable. There was confusion all around following the incident after which he made the bid to flee. The SI tripped and fell and was caught. The Sub-Inspector was arrested in a case of Sukhmandar Singh of Bhagta Bhai ka from his village in 1992.
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Preneet pleads for farmers under debt Sunam, February 7 Maharani Preneet Kaur also stated that the government institutions would recover a nominal interest on the loan from the farmers by waiving off the penal interest. Besides, the government would also give financial assistance to the farmers so that they do not commit suicides as many of them had done during the SAD-BJP regime especially in the Sangrur district. The MP also honoured Sunita Rani, an athlete of international fame, by presenting her a shawl. She also announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the development of Shaheed Udham Singh Rose Garden which was inaugurated by her today. She also announced a grant of Rs 4 lakh for the development of a local stadium. Mr B.C. Gupta, Financial Commissioner (Coop), Punjab, said there were 85,000 families in the state which had yet to repay their cooperative loans worth Rs 282 crore. He said three lok adalats would be held on every Saturday to recover these loans. Ms
H.K. Bahia, MD, Housefed, said as many as 552 loan cases belonging to
Housefed, the Punjab State Cooperative Bank, the Punjab Agriculture Cooperative Societies and the Punjab Agriculture Development Bank, were today taken up at the Cooperative Lok Adalat here to settle over dues of Rs 136 lakh. |
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IAS body wants Tiwari reinstated Chandigarh, February 7 Mr Tiwari, who has since been replaced by Mr Raminder Singh in Ferozeore, also met the Chief Secretary here to explain his position. He reportedly told the Chief Secretary that as he was to attend a family function, he had proceeded on duly sanctioned leave and did not run away holding the zila parishad elections. Interestingly, though Mr Tiwari has been suspended there is no written complaint against him from any one. The government has not made it public that for what reason Mr Tiwari has been suspended. It only said that he has been suspended for disobedience and dereliction of duty. Informed sources said Mr Ratra told the delegation of the association that he would convey their sentiments to the Chief Minister and get back to the association after talking to the Chief Minister. However, the sources said till evening, the association had got no response from the government. The next regular meeting of the association is scheduled to be held on February 13. If Mr Tiwari is not reinstated by then, the issue is expected to be taken up again at the meeting. The association wonders how the suspension period of Mr Tiwari will be treated by the government, which has power only to place IAS officers under suspension but has to take the approval of the Union Government as well as the Union Public Service Commission for imposing even minor penalty on them.
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MC passes Rs 105 cr budget Jalandhar, February 7 Later, the Congress MLA, Mr Raj Kumar Gupta, criticised the civic body officials on preparing a budget, in which there were no provisions to increase the income of the MC. Mr Gupta also raised his voice against the officials, accusing them of giving least priority to the redressal of grievances of the residents. The members demanded that the House should constitute committees, as per the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, to discharge works pertaining to water supply and sewerage, roads, streetlights, House Tax and the building branch. The Mayor, Mr Surinder
Mahey, assured that necessary steps in this regard would be initiated. It was also decided not to collect arrears of pending water bills, running into about Rs 5 crore, from the residents belonging to poor sections of the society. The proposal was, however, sent to the state government for approval. In another step, it was decided to raise the limit for carrying out the works pertaining to water supply and sewerage from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore per year. The octroi collection target was also increased to Rs 55 crore during the next financial year and it was decided to keep a strict vigil on the officials, who are manning various octroi posts in the city to curb octroi theft. The next meeting of the House would be held on February 25.
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Dalit rape case: CPI threatens stir Bathinda, February 7 However, Mr Kirpal Singh, Station House Officer (SHO), police station, Sardulgarh, while denying the allegations levelled by the victim alleged that the woman was involved in a criminal case pertaining to the abduction of a girl, who was subsequently raped. She was levelling these allegations to pressurise the police to not to proceed against her despite the fact that her name figured in the FIR registered in this connection on December 14, 2002, he added. Mr Lakhwinder Singh SP, (D), Mansa, when contacted, said he was conducting an inquiry into the same and added that action would be taken only after the inquiry was completed. Mr Jagjit Singh Joga, general secretary, CPI, Bathinda district, who produced the victim before mediapersons, while addressing a press conference alleged that the police was not taking action against the accused deliberately. Mr S.S. Srivastva, SSP, Mansa, could not be contacted as he was out of station today.
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DPS Jalandhar ‘not
owned by Dhumal family’ Chandigarh, February 7 In a signed statement issued here, Mr Bhatnagar said the school was functioning on the aims and objectives of the Delhi Public School Society and was strictly governed by its rules and regulation. Thakur Arun
Singh who had done his B.Tech and MBA and happened to be the son of the Chief Minister of Himachal was appointed on account of his qualifications and merits by the society where he had applied for the post of secretary of the society along with the
promotion of headmistress on account of their hard work, sincerity and dedication in setting up the school. The DPS Society had over 100 branches in India and abroad and for outstation branches, the society chose and selected partners. For
setting up DPS Jalandhar, Mr Rajiv Bhatnagar who was also an old
student and successful entrepreneur, was selected for setting up the
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Badal flays raids on units owned by Dhumal’s kin Jalandhar, February 7 Talking to reporters here, Mr Badal alleged that the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, was using official machinery to settle political scores with the Opposition parties, which was highly deplorable.
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HIGH COURT Chandigarh, February 7 In their petition, Balwant Singh and others had earlier alleged that the DTO had earlier asked the petitioner to hand over the vehicle as it was required for his personal use. Seeking directions to the state of Punjab and other respondents to register a first information report in the matter against the accused, he had added that the police had failed to comply with the provisions by the CrPC by not registering the FIR on the basis of complaint submitted by the petitioners. Counsel for the petitioner had added that a bare perusal of the complaint made it clear that the accused had committed cognizable offence and as such the police was bound to register the FIR.
Job scam A bunch of petitions filed in the Punjab Public Service Commission recruitment scam case will come up for hearing on February 13 before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Arguing before the Court, counsel for the PCS officers, challenging the action of termination, had earlier submitted that there was no material with the state government for passing the order. He had asserted that the state should have acted only against the tainted candidates, and not against all. Counsel appearing on the behalf of Punjab state contended that even though there may not be direct evidence against all the candidates, they could not be “cleared” in view of the Rs 22-crore recovery from then Chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu and his family. He added that looking at the salary of Mr Sidhu, the recovery of such huge amount, around the time the selections were taking place, could not be justified. |
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Vedanti, Chauhan hold meeting Amritsar, February 7 Dr Chauhan said Jathedar Vedanti agreed to use his good offices to bring rapprochement among the warring Panthic organisations, including different Akali factions. He, however, dismissed the demand of radical Sikh organisations who sought the booking of Mr K.S. Sudarshan, RSS chief, under
POTA. Dr Chauhan said his party would participate in the forthcoming general elections of the SGPC. Replying to a question he supported the constitution of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. He said Mr Sham Singh, president, PSGPC, was not a converted Sikh as being alleged by the SGPC. |
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Unions
ask farmers not
to pay bills Gurdaspur, February 7 To make the farmers aware, the farmers unions will organise flag marches and meetings in rural areas. road traffic will be blocked on February 15 from 12 noon to 2 pm as part of the programme. The boycott will continue till the government restores free supply of power to tubewells and pays arrears due to the farmers against the supply of sugarcane. The farmer unions also demanded compensation against drought and exemption from recovery of loans. |
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Rally by DC office staff Ferozepore, February 7 Meanwhile, the Punjab State D.C. Office Employees Union held a rally in front of the DC office and struck work for two hours. Later, the employees submitted a memorandum to the Commissioner, Ferozepore Division demanding revocation of the Deputy Commissioner’s suspension. Mr Jinder Singh, President, D.C. Office Employees Union, said that if Mr Tiwari was not reinstated, the employees would resort to statewide strike.
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AG’s
office ‘retires’ clerk from life Batala, February 7 Surprisingly, the Indian Audit and Accounts Department Accountant-General (A&E), Punjab, issued a letter in which he was mentioned as dead and addressed his wife Jasbir Kaur as wife of Late Kundan Lal. Mr Kundan Lal himself gave a copy of the letter of the Accountant-General to the correspondent here today. The letter is also addressed to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Batala.
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Facts overlooked during probe: rice millers Ferozepore, February 7 The rice millers have demanded that the rice millers who are not guilty should not be harassed and justice should prevail. Mr Pawan Mittal, working president of the association, while lauding the efforts of the Vigilance Department in nab being the corrupt
officials asserted that the guilty should be taken to task but the innocent rice millers should not be trapped.
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Rice millers elect dist body president Mansa, February 7
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Cop remanded
in judicial custody Mansa, February 7
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2 held for trade in humans Gurdaspur, February 7 The SSP said that the accused brought this girl from West Bengal to marry her with a Punjabi driver but then planned to sell her off to an unknown person for Rupees 40,000 and took advance of Rs 10,000 through Satveer Singh .The SSP said that the said girl was sold to six persons who have been identified. A case under Sections 366/ 368/370/354/342/ 346/376/506/ 120-B of the IPC has been registered against the accused. |
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Heroin
worth Rs 5 cr seized Amritsar, February 7 Mr Sodhi said it was buried near the river bed as it had probably been left a few days ago, for their Indian contacts to retrieve it. A two-page document giving credence to the fact that Pakistan had become a leading producer of opium during the past one year was released to the Press. |
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Attack
on lawyer: 6 booked Amritsar, February 7 Those booked are advocate Kultar Singh, his son Amar Singh, Sumranjit Singh, Kanwaljit Singh, Soni and Gurdial Singh. The six have been booked under Sections 307, 323, 148 and 149 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. |
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Kidnapped
child’s body found Ludhiana, February 7 The police said the child has been identified as Shantu. His throat was slit open and the body was dumped in the sewage drain after packing it in a gunny bag. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination.
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Rs 2.5 lakh looted from post office Kapurthala, February 7 According to a report lodged with the police, Mr Sohan Lal, post master, said the three youths entered the post office and locked him and two other employees in a room before committing the crime. He said the amount had been withdrawn from bank for making a payment to a customer. A case has been registered. |
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Ex-DEO’s medical
examination ordered Ropar, February 7 Ms Batra was ordered to produce herself before the medical board constituted in this connection. However, she failed to appear before the board today. The government had recently transferred her as senior lecturer at the local Service Teachers Training Institute. Even after being transferred she continued to retain the official Gypsy given to her in her capacity as DEO. Ms Batra admitted that she did not present herself before the medical board today. She said she would challenge the decision of the government in the court.
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Science
Congress begins Longowal (Sunam), February 7 Inaugurating the congress, Professor Pathak threw light on the basic problems in the development of technology in the region. He emphasised the need for constructive use of natural resources and preservation of environment. Dr I.J.S. Bansal, founder President of the academy, said the PAS was encouraging young scientists and had instituted awards for them. Dr R.C. Chauhan, Director, SLIET, said, “We need to channel our science and technology in order to emerge at the global level in a big way”. He said Punjab had a lot of talent in the scientific field which needed a boost. Prof Baldev Singh Dhillon was awarded a Fellowship for his contribution to the science and technology field. The Bhagwan Dass Arora Memorial Award was given to Dr S.S. Sidhu. Prof N.P. Singh, organising secretary of the congress, said the main aim of the congress was to attract young scientists to make the state rich, scientifically.
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