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May 10, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Tension in village ahead of panchayat poll Bassian (Ludhiana), May 9 Two clashes have already taken place in which more than 10 persons were left badly injured. One clash took place early this week and the second one occurred yesterday. The two groups are led by a present and a former sarpanch of the village. One is a supporter of the Akali Dal and the other of the Congress. Most of the village residents are also divided on party lines. Though two political leaders of the area are learnt to have initiated a compromise move between the two groups in order to maintain peace, villagers feel that village-level disputes had been unnecessarily given political colour, whereas any issue can be resolved through talks. The immediate provocation behind the clashes was the issue of a primary school building. Yesterday’s clash took place near the main gate of the school. The school was constructed by the present Sarpanch, Mr Ved Parkash Rawal. The school, however, could not function there as the other group led by a former sarpanch claimed the land was private and did not belong to the panchayat. The condition of the school building was bad because of the dispute. Constructed at a cost of Rs 5.5 lakh, it was converted into a cattle shed. The District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO), Mr Mohinder Singh Grewal, had yesterday ordered to vacate the school building. The orders were yet to be implemented as the village was tense over the issue, sources said. Inquiries by TNS have revealed that the school building issue was one of the several ones over which the two groups were at loggerheads with each other. These issues may snowball into a major law and order problem if remedial measures are not taken immediately. The present Sarpanch, Mr Rawal, is an Akali leader and a staunch supporter of Akali leader and the
MLA of the constituency, Mr Ranjit Singh Talwandi. Mr Kuldip Singh, a former sarpanch, is a Congress leader close to Mr Harmohinder Singh, a former Congress MLA. The dispute
between the two groups had gained momentum after the change of government in the state. Apart from the school building, the groups have locked horns over the issue of misuse of grants given to the village panchayat during the past few years. It was alleged that there were gross irregularities in the money used for developmental work. This includes the construction of a road and some public buildings. Mr Rawal denied all the allegations. He said he had undertaken numerous developmental works and his rivals were just indulging in mudslinging to tarnish his image. Raikot DSP H.S. Brar said the police was keeping a close watch on the activities of both groups. ‘‘We cannot post security persons in the village round the clock but we will not allow any law and order problem in the village’’ he said. Mr Brar said the police and the political leaders were trying to strike a compromise between the warring groups. He said with panchayat elections round the corner, village factionalism always takes a turn for the worse and such period is always a testing time for the police. |
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Accused in NDPS Act case acquitted Ludhiana, May 9 Mr Banyal observed: ‘’ Inspector Maninder Bedi was the investigating officer but he has not been examined by the prosecution for the reasons best known to it despite the fact that this case remained pending for a period of more than two and a half years at the stage of prosecution evidence. So for want of his statement, a number of material documents have remained unproved on the record. So these documents could not be read into evidence against the accused.” The judge further said: “The alleged seizure of opium was effected in the presence of DSP Harmohan Singh but the prosecution has also failed to examine this material witness in order to prove the said recovery.” Sources said in this case summons issued by the court were duly served upon the investigating officer and the DSP more than twice but they did not present themselves before the court. The court ordered to send them summons through the SSP, Ludhiana. Despite the ‘last
opportunity given by the court, the prosecution failed to produce the witnesses and the judge closed the evidence of the prosecution by order. It may be recalled that the accused was booked under section 18 of the NDPS Act at Sadar Police Station on Feb. 15, 2000. According to prosecution, a police party comprising Inspector Maninder Bedi, the then SHO, Sadar police station was present at Model Town in connection
with the investigation of a case under Sections 392/307 and 25 of the Arms Act against the accused. During interrogation, the accused allegedly stated that he had brought 250 grams of opium for selling the same to students of Guru Nanak Engineering College, Ludhiana and he had hidden it near the college. Thereafter, the Inspector Bedi, along with the accused, went to the spot and
allegedly seized opium in the presence of DSP Harmohan Singh, as per prosecution. Apart from the non-examination of the prime witnesses, the court also took a serious note of the fact that the sample of allegedly seized opium was sent to the office of chemical examiner at Patiala after a delay of two weeks and the prosecution had failed to justify the delay. |
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Gang of dacoits busted, three arrested Ludhiana, May 9 According to Mr A.S. Raj, SSP, Sangrur, and Mr Rajbachan Singh Sandhu, DSP, Malerkotla, three members of the gang were nabbed by the police. They have been identified as Jaswant Singh, Joga Singh and Raman Kumar, all residents of Dehlon, while the kingpin of the gang, Satwant Singh, managed to escape. The police has launched a statewide hunt for him. The gang was busted during routine checking when the accused sped past a police party. The Bolero which had been taken away at gunpoint from Kuthala on May 7, was chased by the police and its occupants were overpowered. Preliminary investigation revealed that the gang had been operating in Ludhiana district for a long period. It is reportedly headed by a suspended police constable and resident of Dehlon, Satwant Singh. Most of the gangsters are wrestlers of an “akhara” at Alamgir. Several cases of robbery have been solved with the arrest of the accused. They had taken away a Tata Sumo at gunpoint from Kup Kalan on January 6. The vehicle was used to rob a property dealer at Dugri Road in Ludhiana. In February, the gang took away an
Ambassador car and looted its occupants. A house situated on the outskirts of Bool village in this district was robbed by the gang on March 3. On the same day, Rs 20,000 were looted from a house at Maloudh village. Their attempt to steal a Maruti Zen at Sahnewal was foiled by a public alarm the same day. The gang store a large electric generators set from Ahmedgarh on April 26 and an air-conditioner from Ludhiana recently. On May 7, three members of the gang took away a Bolero from Kuthala village which was seized by the police today. Mr Rai said the accused used a .315 bore, a double barrel .12 bore, swords and a baseball bat during action. The two vehicles they used included a Maruti Zen and a Gipsy and did not have number plates. |
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Garcha, brothers go into hiding Ludhiana, May 9 Massive raids were conducted by a special team of the state Vigilance Bureau comprising officials from Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Jalandhar at several houses and possible hideouts of the Garcha brothers today. The raids proved futile as none of the accused was found. The Garcha brothers- Jagdish Singh Garcha, Mann Singh Garcha and Sukhdev Singh Garcha — along with a woman close to Mann Singh Garcha were booked by the Vigilance Bureau yesterday. |
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Sarpanch gets clean chit, notice to patwari Ludhiana, May 9 Mr Rajinder Singh Miani, sarpanch and president of the Koom Kalan Sarpanches Union, has been acquitted of all charges in a fresh inquiry conducted by the SDM (East), Ms Bhavna Garg. Mr Miani is an Akali leader. He was booked on April 29 for allegedly encroaching upon 1.5 acres of shamlat land. However, in the latest inquiry report issued here today, the SDM has stated that the charges were false and recommended the police to withdraw the case against him. The district administration has issued show-cause notices to two officials of the Revenue Department, who have been asked to explain their position for indicting the sarpanch. Confirming the development, the SDM said she had completed the inquiry into the case and had submitted the report yesterday. She said she had found that the allegations were false. She said notices had been issued to a Kanugo and a Patwari in this regards. During the inquiry she found that the shamlat land was being used as a common passage by villagers and the sarpanch had converted it into one after passing a resolution of the panchayat. She said she was surprised that the revenue officials had not sought an explanation from the sarpanch and had entertained a frivolous complaint. A case had been registered against him under Section 447 IPC, on a complaint of the Block Development and Panchayat Officer. Officials in the BDP office at Koom Kalan claimed that Mr Miani had been asked to explain his side of the story but he had failed to do so. The department had written to him to remove the encroachment. |
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Water scheme comes a cropper Ludhiana, May 9 The amount is likely to swell further as the Vigilance Bureau continued raids for the third day today. A number of vigilance teams dug out pipes along Rahon Road, Shakti Nagar, Dry Port Road, Noorwala Road and Jalandhar bypass area. The irregularities have come to light following vigilance raids in several parts of the city in which many pipes were dug out to ascertain the quality of work. Though the vigilance officials are in the process of making final calculations of the actual estimate of the work completed to date and the amount allegedly siphoned off by the board officials, a rough estimate has been prepared by an Executive Engineer assisting the raiding parties. The Vigilance Bureau has also requisitioned the services of a Chartered Accountant(CA) to go through the entries made in the dispatch and receipt registers. The CA will also calculate the amount spent on the laying down of pipes and the money pocketed by the officials concerned. Mr Kanwarjit Singh Sandhu, SSP (Vigilance), said they would give the final figure of the misappropriation of funds in two days after completing the calculation. The Sewerage Board had taken up a Rs 150 crore project of providing sewerage and drinking water facility to the city residents. The project was being popularised as a “water for all” scheme unique to the city. Work worth Rs 20 crore had been completed when this huge scandal was unearthed by the bureau. Investigations reveal that the material like sewerage pipes did not bear any stamps from the testing authorities. The pipes were not of good quality and were not seepage-proof. The pipes were prone to breakage as the material used for padding in the drains was missing at various places. The sleuths said that joints of the pipes were not up to the mark. The vigilance officials said there were allegations that only 40 per cent of the funds were being utilised in the project and the rest of money was allegedly pocketed by the officials. They said the connivance of the senior officials and junior employees could not be ruled out in the entire episode. |
Lankan team visits PAU Ludhiana, May 9 Led by Mr Dhanusens Hotiaracchi, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the members were enthused over the results of the agreement and MoU they had signed with ICAR in 2000 for two years. In view of the similar cultural and geographical ground realities in the two nations, the agreement had been useful in facilitating the transfer of agricultural knowhow, they said. Encouraged by their experience in India, the Sri Lankan Government now proposes to go in for research collaboration involving the exchange of scientists besides sending their agricultural officers to India for training in crop production, horticulture, dairy farming, farm machinery and subsidiary occupations. Seven of their officers are studying in India, of whom two are in PAU. Now they plan to raise the number to 35 and PAU is one of the three universities they have identified for the purpose. Dr K.S. Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor, expressed his full cooperation to the growing scientific exchange between Sri Lanka and the varsity. Also, the deans and directors of the university explained the system of teaching research and extension to the visiting dignitaries.  |
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Mozambique President to visit PAU Ludhiana, May 9 |
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Move on Indo-Pak ties hailed Ludhiana, May 9 In a statement here today Dr L.S. Chawla President, Dr Arun Mitra, general secretary, Dr Bharti Uppal, secretary and Dr M.K. Mahajan, state president of the IDPD, said the initiative by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a positive response by the Pakistani Prime Minister, Mr Zafarullah Khan Jamali, and followed by visits of members of Parliament from Pakistan to India were highly welcome steps. “We have always been advocating a dialogue between the two countries. In fact, in the South Asian regional conference of the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear war (IPPNW), held at Kathmandu in April 2003, health professionals from several south Asian countries had advocated the resumption of a dialogue and resolution of conflicts between the nations through peaceful means and mutual dialogue. The conference had also expressed concern at the wasteful expenditure being incurred due to perpetual tension between India and Pakistan. This amount if diverted for the welfare could change fate of millions of the deprived people of the region.” The IDPD functionaries felt that the process that had begun, must continue in the true spirit of strengthening friendship between neighbouring countries. They desired that the process of visa for travel should be made easier so that there was an increase in exchange of people’s delegations and trade and cultural relations between the two countries. The rail and road link should be restored with immediate effect. “The focus of the talks should be on elimination of nuclear weapons by the two countries, reduction in arms expenditure and resolution of mutual differences and conflicts through dialogue for all time to come.” |
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Tribes dal demands welfare schemes Ludhiana, May 9 According to Rana Bawa Singh, Chairman of the dal, the dal has been taking up the matter with the government for the past many years but nothing came out of it. The dal has petitioned the President, Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition but they too have failed to provide any relief, he added. He said more than 70 per cent of them were living below the poverty line but had not been given any benefit like subsidised foodgrains or other financial
assistance. Their wards could not go to schools because of financial constraints and thus remain illiterate. He added that it was an irony that most of the benefits — including reservations — announced by the government over the past years had been taken by the Ramdasias, Valmikis and Mazbhis in the state. They only form 25 per cent of their 15 lakh population. The really needy ones comprising Sikligars, Barrars, Sansis, Dhehes, Nat, Bangalas, Bawarias, Borias and Bazigars were the most neglected. |
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PSSB flays govt for not paying bills Ludhiana, May 9 According to Mr Harmail Singh Gill, president of the local unit, the employees had been assured by the returning officer of Macchhiwara block that the dues would be paid by their respective departments. But despite repeated reminders, nothing has been done so far. Although employees have inquired about it from their department heads who denied having received any intimation in this context. “We are concerned that with panchayat elections are round the corner and the employees will again be deputed for poll duty. Moreover, the staff should be ferried in buses and adequate arrangements must be made for their overnight stay at the polling stations,” he added. |
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Postal forum constituted Ludhiana, May 9 Ms Manisha Bansal, Senior Superintendent of Posts, Ludhiana, said the forum had been constituted to implement citizens charter in post offices. The purpose of the charter was to make the public aware of its rights and duties as far as the postal services were concerned. The members of the forum came up with their problems and suggestions. Ms Bansal apprised the members of latest schemes and products being launched by the department of posts. The meeting would be held every three months. |
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Idol installation on May 11 Ludhiana, May 9 Havan and yajna will be performed under the guidance of Brahamshree Kandaru Rajeevaru, chief priest of Sabrimalai along with 10 head priests.
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Rising steel prices worry industry Ludhiana, May 9 The prices of steel have shown unprecedented hike since April, 2002, to April, 2003, to the tune of Rs 6,400 per tonne which has virtually shattered the production and supply schedule of the manufacturers of cycle industry, auto parts industry and miscellaneous engineering industry for which the steel forms the basic raw material. The prices of HR coils were Rs 13,200 per tonne whereas the prices rose up to Rs 19,600 per tonne by April, 2003. As per the international statistics, the prices of HR coils and similar steel products have shown downward trend. That is the prevailing prices of such raw materials have come down from $365 to $ 265 within one year. According to Mr Inderjeet Singh Pardhan, president of the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (CICU), the prices of such products ought to have come down in India also as compared to rates in the international market, which have not been reduced by the major producers in India like SAIL, TATA Steel and ESSR, for want of which the local industry is losing its international market for being uncompetetive in terms of pricing. Mr Avtar Singh, general secretary of CICU, urge the Steel Ministry of India to intervene immediately to protect the local industry by arranging the availability of raw materials like the HR coils on the internationally competitive rates. |
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Cotton seal launched Ludhiana, May 9 The seal is an initiative spearheaded by the Cotton Gold Alliance
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‘Flat’ revolution in TV market Ludhiana, May 9 According to Mr Chandarmani Singh, national head of LG Electronics for colour televisions, “the growth of flat TV sales is not just phenomenal. It is meteoric”. He disclosed that while LG Electronics sold only 5500 sets during the first three months of the year 2002, during the same period 80,000 sets were sold, 16 times more than what it was in the last year. Quoting market research and survey, he said two factors were primarily responsible for the growth of the TV industry. First, there was an expansion of customer bases. Second, a number of people went for upgradation. Similarly, people were moving from traditional TV sets to the “flat TV” sets which was reflected in the sales also. Mr Singh maintained that the massive entry of the branded sector into the TV market was all set to remove the unbranded sets from the market. The industry was not expecting much from the market this year. It had already had its best time during the Soccer World Cup in May, 2002, and the Cricket World Cup in February-March this year when the sales almost doubled. Now, the TV companies were trying to provide value added services besides exploring possibilities of better cost competitiveness. |
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