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| Saturday,
June 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Match-fixers fixed Patiala, June 6 The case has assumed political overtones with one of the main accused Pardeep Gupta being an office-bearer of the Congress party at Ludhiana. The Patiala Police, seized Honda City car of the Congress activist recently, is under pressure with senior Congress functionaries, including a Ludhiana party leader, asking it to go slow in the matter. Zonal Inspector General of Police Anil Kaushik ordered that the case be transferred to the Sangrur Police. The IG said he had given this order following a representation by Mr Pardeep Gupta that his car had been wrongly seized in the case. Mr Kaushik said he had transferred the case to Sangrur, Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) on May 26. Patiala District Police Chief Paramraj Singh Umranangal said Pardeep Gupta was the kingpin in the case and that further disclosures would take place once he was nabbed. He said the Honda City car of the accused had been seized because two magnetic plates used in gambling dens run by the gang, spread over the State as well as in Chandigarh, had been found in Mr Gupta’s car. He said the matter was in the notice of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. Meanwhile sources disclosed that the accused were also being linked with the seizure of a laptop computer and an as attache case containing a voice recorder set used to conduct match-fixing some time back. The sources said the voices of some of the accused against whom a case had been registered by the Patiala Police had been recorded in the voice recorder. According to the sources, the accused were still to take Rs 28 lakh form various people according to the recordings in the voice recorder. They said more persons would be exposed once the computer was further scanned by the investigating agencies. The Patiala Police in its FIR earlier had claimed that the accused were also running sophisticated gambling dens. The FIR says that a magnetic machine was buried in the ground of the dens and that members of the gang used to sit on the first floor and command a view of the roulette wheel gambling machine. It said the accused had a remote through which they could move the balls which also had an iron content at will to suit the players playing for the house. The Police has recovered one such machine from Khanna and claims that there were at least five more such machines operating in the State. The gang was apparently also making use of mobile phones for gambling and match-fixing activities. According to the local police, it has been able to unmask 13 mobile phones all of whose numbers ended with a 747 in a name of one Surjeet Singh, which were being used by the gang. The police sources said Surjit Singh, who is a driver and cannot afford even one mobile set. He cannot pay between Rs 3000 and Rs 7,000 for each 15-day paying cycle. Meanwhile the Patiala Police, which is still investigating the case, hopes to nab more people once it is able to get custody of one Amrik Singh who is in a jail in Ludhiana on gambling charges and sections of the Narcotics Act. It has been able to get a production warrant in the name of Amrik Singh from a local court for June 12. The Patiala Police has also been able to get the arrest warrants of Pardeep Gupta, one Bhendu and Rahul Safat in the case. Other accused in the case include persons from Punjab, Chandigarh, Ambala and Delhi including
Channi, Satish, Sandy from Chandigarh, Pappy from Ferozepur, Rocky, Chander and Ashok from Jalandhar, Bunty and Mahesh from Ambala, Vijay Gupta, Sanjay,
Kalu, Happy and Mahesh from Ludhiana. |
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BSNL grapples with mystery of calls to Pak Abohar, June 6 On learning about this sleuths of the central and state agencies also swung into action and reportedly visited the local telephone exchange today to probe on their own level. According to information gathered from different sources the probe had actually been started three months back. There were reports that some calls to Saudi Arabia were reportedly intercepted at the international ISD control centre at Mumbai. The conversation had raised several eyebrows. These calls had originated from Balluana village near here. The Union Government had completely banned ISD calls to Pakistan especially in the regions where the Army had moved to forward positions and hundreds of acres of agricultural land near the international border was mined. Even civil calls to Army locations had been banned during this period. Though the vigilance team led by DET Vigilance Manjit Singh and other BSNL officials were tightlipped on the issue, sources said six telephones had come under scanner at Balluana village and adjoining farmhouses. The vigilance team was told that no record pertaining to TF numbers 56178 and 56141 was available in the local office. Telephone number 56439 had been installed in the name of Rajinder Singh son of Karam Singh but the date of installation was not available. TF 56463 had been installed in the name of Ram Singh, son of Anurag Singh on August 4, 2002. TF numbers 56379 and 56389 were installed in favour of Harpreet Singh son of Lal Singh, and Charan Dass, son of Munshi Ram, on May 18, 2002. All four telephones were disconnected on September17, 2002. Though the subscribers had reportedly taken ISD facility but as per the rules their attested photographs were not affixed on the application forms. The forms were attested by the sarpanch but she said signatures and rubber seal had been forged. Another interesting part of the alleged scam is that all four telephone connections (56439, 56463, 56379, 56389) were restored on the payment of only Rs 1,111 each on the same day November 23, 2002 vide receipt numbers 7154, 7155, 7156, 7157. Things have become more serious after the revelation that none of the subscribers was now available in the village. Their whereabouts were not known. Though the ISD control centre at Mumbai reportedly observed that suspicious calls to Arab cities had been made from these telephone numbers yet the record of the local telephone exchange did not establish it. This obviously indicated that un-metered calls had been made. An officer of the BSNL, who had reportedly installed a private modem at his residence to control the working of the telephone exchange, might be interrogated in this regard. The officers were trying to make class three technical employees scapegoats in the controversy. The recent act of changing the version of the local exchange and washing the entire old data has added weight to the doubts. Such changes are made only when the entire parent exchange and rural exchanges connected to it go out of order and are declared irreparable. The bills recently issued to the customers carried information that data of STD calls for some dates was not available. Sources said another team of four DETs from the vigilance cell of the BSNL had carried out a raid at another rural exchange at Maujgarh village in the wee hours but whether something objectionable was found was yet to be known. The BSNL officer here had denied having operated from his residence through a personal modem but some employees spoke otherwise. Vigilance sleuths of the state police department had earlier arrested Mohinder Singh, a line inspector, red-handed as he was allegedly accepting illegal gratification from a resident of Balluana village for installing a telephone connection. The matter gained proportions because in-laws of one of the four main accused in the case pertaining to attack on the Parliament lived here. However the in-laws had said their son-in-law had never visited the town before or after his marriage to Navjot. Abohar, during insurgence of Pakistan abetted terrorism, had been a safer route for the top extremists to cross the border. This background had alerted the intelligence agencies after the above ISD scam came to light. |
NEWS
ANALYSIS HUGE offerings — modestly put at around Rs 5 crore annually — at the samadh-cum-gurdwara at Talhan village are stated to be the root cause of the Jat-Dalit conflict. Both sides have been trying to control the functioning of the shrine. Its functioning was being supervised by a management committee till last year. It is now in the hands of Jat Sikhs who are a minority at the village. The simmering discontent among around 80 per cent Dalits here has snowballed into a major confrontation taking a communal colour. The trouble started after the gurdwara management was dissolved last year by some Jat leaders, who passed a resolution saying that only those who followed the Sikh maryada (religious code of conduct) would be allowed to enter the gurdwara. Subsequently, the matter went to court and not much came in the form of relief for the Dalits. Frustrated on seeing the control of the shrine in the hands of a few Jat Sikhs, some time ago, a group of Dalits attacked the people running the gurdwara. Since the Jats had anticipated such an attack, they sought police intervention and the police personnel present there thrashed the attackers. Those in control of the shrine passed a resolution asking for a social boycott of those responsible for the attack. The objective was obviously to keep the Dalits out. Led by a Dalit leader, Mr Vijay Sampala, who is also the state vice-president of the BJP, the Dalits approached the National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Commission. The commission passed an order, asking an IPS officer to conduct a probe and find out whether the SHO had used more force than was required. A Kapurthala-based IPS officer, however gave the SHO a clean chit. Meanwhile, state Congress leaders arranged a meeting of Dalit leaders and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. The Congress leaders, who apparently wanted to take the limelight away from the BJP leaders, they promoted their own group of people, politicising the issue. The commission asked the district administration to punish the guilty under the relevant Sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The commission also directed the district administration to give adequate and immediate compensation and relief to the family members of the victims. It further directed the administration to initiate stern legal action against public servants who wilfully neglected their duties. The commission pointed out that it was an offence for a non-Scheduled Caste public servant to wilfully neglect duties required to be performed under Section 4 of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The District, Sub-Divisional or any other Executive Magistrate should have made arrangement for compensation and rehabilitation measures as per rule 12(4) of the Act, but in this case, no such action has been initiated so far. However, the administration could not proceed in the matter as holding someone guilty under the relevant provision of the law is the task of the court. The district administration could only implement a court’s verdict and not pronounce anyone guilty. The Dalits have been demanding that the Jats who asked for their social boycott should be told to leave the village. They also met the state Chief Secretary, Mr Rajan Kashyap, during his recent visit to Jalandhar in this regard. Since both sides were sore over the issue, a small incident at the annual fair at the “mazaar” of Pir Baba Fateh Shah sparked the clash. |
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Jat-Dalit clash: Cong men meet Amarinder Bathinda, June 6 Mr Mahinder Singh Kalyan, Chairman of the Punjab wing of the cell, addressing mediapersons, alleged that such incidents had also occurred at other places in the state. He alleged that members of the upper castes wanted to grab land of religious places which were being maintained by the Dalits. Mr Kalyan who was here in connection with a meeting of office-bearers of five districts of the party, said he had met officials of the police and the civil administration of Jalandhar and urged them to take action against those guilty. He said a three-day national-level convention would be held in Ludhiana from July 11 in this regard. |
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Gujral regrets caste clash Jalandhar, June 6 In a statement issued here this evening, Mr Gujral said it was regrettable that the controversy regarding the administration of the gurdwara in Talhan had snowballed into violence. Meanwhile, reacting to the constitution of the five-member fact-finding committee of Punjab ministers, the Bahujan Samaj Party tonight said it did not accept the committee as it was merely eyewash. |
Sikh high priests' resignation sought Amritsar, June 6 Talking to the Press, here today, Giani Talwara said that it was shocking that jathedars themselves violated the Sikh traditions while absolving Mr Badal accused of violating the edict. He said it was unprecedented that the accused (Mr Badal) was invited for consultation at Akal Takht before he was exonerated. He alleged that the present set of jathedars had surpassed the follies of the then Jathedar, Akal Takht, Roor Singh who had honoured Gen Dyer after the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919. Giani Talwara said that the Almighty and Sikh Sangat would not forgive the Sikh clergy for the violation of Sikh traditions. |
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Book
of sant’s speeches released Amritsar, June 6 |
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SGPC prepares English version of calendar Amritsar, June 6 Earlier the SGPC in a communication to the central government had urged that the holidays, declared by the central government should be re-scheduled to coincide with the ‘Nanakshahi calendar’. However, Mr Vaidyanathan, Undersecretary, Ministry of Personnel had urged the SGPC to supply the English version of the calendar at the earliest. In case the Centre accepts the ‘Nanakshahi calendar’ it would embarrass the state government which had rejected it. |
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Vedanti gives unity call, Mann rejects Amritsar, June 6 At a Sikh congregation here today, Mr Vedanti said all splinter groups of the Sikh Students Federation should also join hands in the larger interest of the Sikh Panth. He had already directed the Shiromani Akali Dal to organise the bhog of akhand path at Manji Sahib in the Golden Temple complex for the Panth. However, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), has rejected the unity formula put forward by Mr Vedanti. At a separate press conference here, Mr Mann said Akal Takht should not mediate to bring rapprochement among the warring Akali factions. He alleged that the call for Panthic unity had been given to establish the supremacy of the Shiromani Akali Dal headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal. |
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PSHRC
seeks report on jail conditions Chandigarh, June 6 The PSHRC, in its order, sought information regarding what the jail authorities and the State of Punjab were doing or planning to do to improve the living conditions of jail inmates. Mr
Justice R.L. Anand, a member of the PSHRC, in his order, said the
PSHRC was shocked to know that stale food was being served to the
inmates of the jail. He said even the Superintendent of the Central
Jail, Ludhiana, tried to play smart with the Minister of Jails, Mr
Malkiat Singh Birmi, who had paid a surprise visit to the women’s
jail at Ludhiana. However, the Jail Superintendent had to admit before
him that no fresh food was cooked. The PSHRC further said the commission was shocked to know about the condition of a Nigerian girl and German convict lodged in Punjab jails. Moreover,
against the approved capacity of 150 women, 250 inmates had been
lodged in Ludhiana women’s jail. The toilets in the jails were
stinking, making the life of undertrials and convicts a hell. The PSHRC sought inquiry from the State of Punjab and the ADGP (Prisons) about the sanitary conditions in various jails and sub-jails in Punjab, the approved capacity of inmates and the number of inmates lodged in each jail, besides the plan of the state government for the improvement of poor sanitary conditions of the barracks and workshops being held in the jails. The PSHRC has further directed an inquiry into periodical checks being made by the Health Department authorities regarding the raw material being used for preparing food for the undertrials and convicts. The commission also sought to know the steps being taken by the jail authorities for the release of those prisoners who had been languishing in jails even after completion of their sentence and the steps being taken by the state government in case of old inmates who were unable to see, hear or even walk. The
order said the commission was prime facie of the view that the state
government should order their premature release when they were a
liability on the state and their premature release would not be a
threat to law and order and security of the state. |
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PSEB to impose weekly off on industry Chandigarh, June 6 Besides, the PSEB is resorting to an eight-hour power cut daily on the single-phase power supply to the rural areas. The round-the-clock power supply areas in the rural belt also face a daily power cut of four hours. Sources in the PSEB said the daily demand for power had crossed 1100 lakh units. “It is expected to cross 1,200 lakh units by the end of this week if the heat wave continued,” said a senior officer of the board. “At present we are not enforcing any power cut on the sectors giving the maximum revenue to the board because power is supplied to them at high rates. And the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) also wanted that there should be a minimum power cut on the sectors from where the maximum revenue is generated,” said the officer. However, if the demand for power in the agricultural sector increased in the days to come, the board would have to review its decision regarding the sparing of the high revenue-generating sectors. Meanwhile, all thermal units of the board are generating power. Because of a fault in the grid, all units of the Bathinda Thermal plant had collapsed this morning. But three of them have been revived while the fourth is expected to come up again tonight. The Ranjit Sagar hydroelectric project is pumping about 80 lakh units daily into the state grid. The state is getting its allocated quotas of power from central power projects. Besides, it is buying the maximum power between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. when it is available at the cheapest rate from various sources because this is considered an off-peak period. As a result, the board has decided to supply the maximum power to the agricultural sector during the off-peak period. Meanwhile, the PSERC has allowed the board to purchase 8,826 millon units of power from various outside sources during the current financial year. |
RAJASTHAN ASSEMBLY POLL Bathinda, June 6 A large number of MLAs from both parties are likely to be fielded again. According to sources, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) led by Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, which put up candidates at a few seats in the last Assembly elections, is likely to field candidates in 100 Assembly segments out of the total 200 this time. The Shiromani Akali Dal which enjoyed influence over a sizeable population of Punjabis living in same districts of Rajasthan is also contemplating fielding its candidates. Ms Ambika Soni, General Secretary, AICC, who is in charge of the Rajasthan state for the Vidhan Sabha elections, talking to TNS, pointed out that for selecting new faces, the opinion of district and block workers would be elicited. Some sitting MLAs could be denied the party ticket, she said. She pointed out that seven observers, including Mr Varinder Kataria, Mr Ajay Yadav, Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala, Mr Chandan Bagchi, Mrs Santosh Chaudhary and Mr Har Krishan Bahadur, had been appointed in seven divisions of Rajasthan to look after the party affairs. She claimed the BJP had no issue to fight on as the Gehlot government had undertaken development works at a large scale during the past five years. Mrs Santosh Chaudhary, MP and observer, Bikaner division, said the Congress would carry out a “positive” campaign and make the voters aware of the “communal” agenda of the BJP. The Chief Minister, Mr Ashok Gehlot, had handled the drought situation in the state well. This would fetch him votes. Senior BJP leader and Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma, who has extensively toured Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts bordering Punjab and Haryana in the recent past during the “parivartan yatra”, pointed out the party had received “valuable” information regarding the selection of candidates from grassroots workers which would be considered while selecting candidates for the coming elections. The party would enter the election arena with a “people-oriented” agenda and seek votes by making the people aware of the “failures” of the Gehlot government. A large number of opinion makers, who had joined the party’s bandwagon during the ‘parivartan yatra’, had strengthened the party base, he claimed. |
Piped water eludes Talwandi Sabo Talwandi Sabo, June 6 However, the residents of this historic and holy town have been suffering on number of accounts due to the negligent attitude of successive governments of Punjab. The governments have neither developed this town educationally to make it a seat of learning nor have they provided the residents with basic amenities despite the fact that every year almost all political parties promise the moon to the people during the political conferences on the occasion of Baisakhi. Due to repeated neglect, the situation has come to such a point that more than half the population of this town has been buying water for drinking, washing clothes and bathing. Interestingly, a section of government officials has either been purchasing drinking water or fetching it from the local gurdwara. This town is the second historical city of Malwa region of Punjab, where drinking water is being sold at the doorstep of people even 55 years after the country got independence. The other town is Muktsar, where Gugu Gobind Singh fought the last battle with the Mughals, a large section of residents have been purchasing their daily requirement of water. The life of Mr Banta Singh, who has been supplying water to Bathinda residents at their doorstep through a tank fitted on a bullock cart, has become monotonous as he has been doing the same work for the past four or five decades. Before him, his father was in this profession. “I have reached the fag end of my life and I hope that before I die, the residents of this town should start getting piped potable water supply,” remarked Banta Singh. He has been earning his livelihood from the sale of drinking water at rates ranging from Rs 20 to Rs 30 per tank. He has been supplying the drinking water to those areas where there is not piped water as also in bungalows occupied by senior state government functionaries. A large section of residents have been fetching their daily requirement of water from the historical Shaheed Baba Deep Singh well situated on the premises of Takht Damdama Sahib complex. Information gathered by TNS revealed that the residents of the town, who could not get piped water supply, had been purchasing drinking water or fetching it from the well in Takht Damdama Sahib complex as the underground water in this area had been declared unfit for human consumption due to a high fluoride content. Information revealed further that the present Congress government of the state had set up a water treatment plant near the water works, catering to the needs of 40 per cent population of the town with the help of the Uruguay Government but it had failed to make arrangements for covering the entire population with piped water supply so far. In 2000, the then Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, laid the foundation stone of a new water works to cover the entire population with potable water. As much as Rs 40 lakh had been spent on its construction. But it has been lying incomplete as more than Rs 3 crore is required to complete it, say official sources.  |
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CPM floats body to free farmers of debts Bathinda, June 6 The Punjab Kisan Sabha demanded that the government should repay the loans taken by the farmers from banks, cooperative societies or arhtiyas and claimed that the campaign launched by them would bring the much-needed reprieve for farmers who were not able to repay loans due to their poor economic condition. The formation of the committee was announced at the “karja mukti” (liberty from debt) convention held in the city today. The office-bearers and workers of the party from Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot, Muktsar, Sangrur and Ludhiana districts had participated in the convention. The office-bearers of the sabha said Bathinda had been selected for holding the convention, as maximum number of farmers from the region were facing arrests, as they were not able to repay the loans taken from government agencies and arhtiyas. The association is planning a series of rallies, dharnas throughout the state in order to make the “karja mukti andolan” a movement of people, claimed the office-bearers of the
sabha. They said there was a need that people belonging to different political, social and farmers’ associations should join hands to launch an agitation, so that the defaulting farmers could be saved from legal action and a permanent solution could be found for improving the economic condition of the farmers. Mr Lehmbar Singh Taggar, Assistant Secretary of the All-India Kisan Sabha, said the government should pay the loans taken by farmers, who were unable to repay the same as the agriculture was no more a profitable occupation. Mr Taggar said the farmers had become poor while making the country self-reliant in foodgrains. He added that the farmers had become debt-ridden while serving the country in fighting the shortage of foodgrains. He added that rather than appreciating the efforts of farmers, the government was sending them to jails. Mr Rashpal Singh, president of the Punjab Kisan Sabha, said while the government had waived off loans to the tune of crores of rupees of industries by declaring them sick, why such a provision could not be applied for the agriculture sector? He said arrangements should be made to grant loans at the rate of four per cent of interest to farmers for agricultural purposes. Mr Naranjan Singh, State Secretary of the sabha, while talking to this correspondent, said compensation should be paid to the farmers who had committed suicide. He added that a campaign would be launched in the state to motivate the debt-ridden farmers not to end their lives and join the fight for their rights. Mr Naranjan Singh alleged that despite the assurances of the government the defaulting farmers were being arrested in the state. He added that occupations like poultry farming, fishery, and bee-keeping were not separate, but were allied occupations of agriculture. He added that if a farmer who had not repaid the loan taken for these occupations should not be arrested. |
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SEX DETERMINATION TEST Gurdaspur, June 6 Authorities, including the Civil Surgeon for Gurdaspur subdivision, SMO, Batala, for Batala subdivision, SMO Dhianpur for Dera Baba Nanak subdivision and SMO Bungal Badhani for Dhar subdivision have been authorised to prevent sex determination test. Dr Suman said the district had registration of 58 ultrasound machines. As many as four diagnostic machines at Pathankot have been temporarily sealed due to certain irregularities. One diagnostic machine’s registration at Pathankot had been cancelled due to the death of the doctor operating it. Dr Suman said the Supreme Court was very serious about the implementation of the PNDT Act. He added that his office had received six complaints regarding the medical termination of pregnancy due to the sex determination tests. Though all these complaints were anonymous yet the health authorities had looked into these complaints. But action could not be taken because of the wrong names and addresses given by the complainant as well as by the accused. Dr Suman said there were complaints that “Dais”, who were not authorised to perform abortions, were performing these particularly in the rural areas. He said all medical officers have been directed to be vigilant about the activities of self-styled doctors and report the same to the office of the Civil Surgeon for action. |
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TRIBUNE FOLLOW-UP Chandigarh, June 6 Taking a serious note of the alleged torture of 22 bonded labourers and their 12 children, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) had directed the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, to get them and their belongings released from owner of the brick-kiln. Giving details, the Communication Officer (CO), Ms Prabhjot Kaur, said following the PSHRC orders the VSJ had taken the three bonded labourers — Sham Lal, Bhagwant Singh and Bhant Lal — to Ropar to represent their case before the Deputy Commissioner. But as the DC was away to Chandigarh to attend a meeting they could not meet her. She added that the PSHRC had directed them to meet the DC and hand over the order for immediate relief but it got delayed by two days. Mr Rajinder Sharma, an advocate, who is fighting the bonded labour case free of cost, said whoever unlawfully compelled any person to work against the will of that person must be punished with imprisonment of a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both. Mr Sharma added that he was organising like-minded advocates to set up a forum for such cases. He added that he would also take care of the security of the labourers. Another human rights organisation, the Lawyers for Human Rights International
(LHRI) today decided to provide support to the labourers. |
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AFDP posers to Badal Amritsar, June 6 The members asked why no help was extended to ‘dharmi faujis’ (Army deserters) families and why “guilty” police personnel and officers were given promotions. |
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Flood-protection steps reviewed Chandigarh, June 6 Presiding over a high-level meeting to review flood-protection measures here, Capt Amarinder Singh said though there were five flood-prone districts — Gurdaspur, Ferozepore, Patiala, Sangrur and Ropar — the government should chalk out an action-oriented strategy to save the entire state from the vagaries of floods. The Chief Minister said paucity of funds would not be allowed to hamper the progress of ongoing drainage works in the state. A sum of Rs 4.54 crore had been
released by the Revenue Department for flood-protection measures and Rs 5 crore for de-siltation of drains and choes by the Irrigation Department. Most of the Deputy Commissioners sought additional funds. The Chief Minister asked the Secretary, Irrigation, to work out the demands for funds and take up the matter with the Finance Department. |
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HIGH COURT Chandigarh, June 6 The manager — Jagbir Singh — was apprehending arrest in a first information report (FIR) registered under Sections 406, 420, 506, 386 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. Seeking the grant of pre-arrest bail, the manager had contended that he was being implicated in the case. Arguing before the court, his counsel had contended that the manager had business relations with the accused Sarabjit Raju, but he was in no manner connected with the matter. The FIR, he had added, was a result of rivalry among different cable operators. It may be recalled that the high court, while taking up the case, had directed the “CBI to take over the investigation of FIR dated May 23 and proceed to interrogate all concerned involved in the alleged crime....” Adding a twist to the controversy, Baba Piara Singh Bhaniara, initially accused of sacrilege, today sought probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the alleged Bir burning case. In his petition against the state of Punjab and other respondents, the Baba asserted that he had nothing to do with the incident pertaining to the burning of the holy Birs in a village on the GT Road near Ambala. Claiming to have been implicated in the case due to political reasons, he had asserted that just before the trial court was to deliver the judgement acquitting him in the case, the holy Birs were again set on fire by some miscreants to build up opinion against him. The case will now come up for further hearing on July 14. It may be recalled that the high court had earlier issued notice of motion on a petition filed by the Baba seeking directions to the state and other respondents to inform the court how the Bhavsagar Samunder Amrit Vani Granth, written by him, was hurting the religious sentiments of any community. Students allowed Acting on a bunch of petitions filed by about 40 students of Jalandhar’s Punjab Technical University, the high court today allowed them to provisionally take the sixth semester examinations. In one such petition, students of Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Computer Applications had earlier alleged that they were not allowed to sit for the examinations as they could not clear the first semester examinations. Arguing on their behalf, counsel for the petitioners had contended that the students had passed the subsequent exams. Counsel had added that the students would suffer irreparable loss if they were not allowed to appear in the examinations. |
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Pigs in garbage heaps Bathinda Though the city has got a corporation status, it has not witnessed any big change as far as sanitation is considered. Heaps of garbage greet the visitors to the city and the condition in some of the areas is so pathetic that the residents there are considered as “second class residents”. The authorities had launched a scheme to collect garbage from various residential areas of the city and had bought some new rehris for the purpose, but due to an acute shortage of safai karamcharis the scheme has not produced the desired results. Some of the areas of the city, including Mohalla Pujan Wala, Telian Walla, Mehna Chowk and Quila Road, have open drains which often get blocked due to garbage and the dirty water overflows on roads. These areas have the maximum density of stray animals, including cows. With increasing urbanisation, the use of disposable goods made of plastic and paper has increased and resultantly production of garbage has also increased. As the city is not being developed under any plan, the problems of collecting and disposal of garbage has increased. The lack of civic sense among residents also adds to the problem, a senior municipal official pointed out. Officials of the Municipal Corporation said the problems of traffic and encroachments had been solved to some extent during the past few months and the sanitation drive was the next on the agenda. The officials said the corporation was planning to recruit nearly 200 safai karamacharis on contract. The sanitation of major roads of the city had already been improved, they claimed. |
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Shiv Sainiks pay tributes to Army jawans Amritsar, June 6 He said terrorism had not been wiped out from the state, instead it manifested itself in different forms for instance in train mishaps,
dacoity, killings which went on unchecked. Attacking the congress government he said the Chief Minister was an Akali in Congress garb and was withdrawing security to the opposition on the plea of there being no threat. Security arrangements at the venue included 50 police personnel, who also held vigil on main crossing near the site. Police Personnel of the rank of inspectors and ASIs were also spotted near the site. PHAGWARA: The Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) paid tributes to the Armymen who killed in Operation Blue Star in 1984. A “shardhanjali samaroh” was held in the Dana Mandi office of the Sena where a two-minute silence was observed and tributes paid to the Army jawans and officers killed in the operation. |
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PSEB plans computerised call centres Jalandhar, June 6 “According to the recommendations of the PSERC, if we fail to provide quality service, there are provisions to penalise the board. Since, we have been given a tariff, we are also duty-bound to improve the functioning of the board,” he said. He said the board had decided to tie-up with nationalised banks for the payment of power bills. The recently launched scheme pertaining to the payment of bills through post offices in the Patiala circle had evoked a good response, he said. “We have also decided to allow 0.5 per cent commission towards the rural development fund to panchayats that will opt for advance payment of bills on an average basis,” he said. |
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Award for unanimously elected panchayats Lehragaga (Sangrur), June 6 The money can be utilised by the panchayats to purchase TV sets, computers and other items. The state government will also honour panchayats which are unanimously elected. In reply to a query of the mediapersons here today, Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Agriculture, Rural Development and Panchayats Minister, Punjab, said the government had created 125 new panchayats in the state while 12,569 village panchayats already existed. She said for the first time since the enactment of the Panchayati Raj Act-1994, it was being implemented properly. She claimed that panchayat elections would be held in a peaceful manner. Ms Bhattal was here in connection with the hearing of grievances of panchayats of more than 50 villages of the Lehragaga Assembly constituency, which is being represented by her since 1992. Ms Bhattal told the mediapersons that she would take strict action against those officers who would not comply with the orders related to the grievances of village panchayats. She said she would also review the grievances and demands every month. Ms Bhattal said she would constitute five committees which would visit villages in the constituency to know about the party’s candidates for the panchayat elections. She said these committees would submit their reports within a week, after which candidates would be finalised to prevent two persons from the party contesting on a single seat. She said the Focal Point scheme was being reviewed and a meeting would be held in August to take a final decision on its fate. The minister said that in the past one year, irrigation water had been provided to 3000 acres at a cost of Rs 40 lakh in the area. She said three more schemes, amounting to Rs 8 crore, has also been sent to the union government for proper distribution of water and recharging of flood water in
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Warrant issued
against chief electrical officer Patiala, June 6 Earlier, the Patiala Vigilance Bureau had registered a case in this regard against him. Mr Sharma has been accused of accepting Rs 20,000 as bribe from a Ludhiana businessman. He was caught accepting the bribe by a Vigilance Bureau team at his office near Khasla College last week. Mr Sharma had acquired property in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. These included a showroom in Chandigarh and a flat in Delhi. The team had also seized Rs 22 lakh cash, besides 60 tolas of gold. |
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Thousands attend anti-drug function Tarn Taran, June 6 As many as 480 persons who had succeeded in giving up drugs attended the function. Representatives from 462 villages of the area also participated. Thousands from far-flung areas converged here as this border belt has recorded the highest numbers of drug addicts. The anti-drug drive is being conducted by the police with the help of NGOs, panchayats and political parties. Six mobile units were flagged off by the ADGP on the occasion. Each unit would include a doctor, a police officer and an NGO member. Dr J.P. Singh, president of Guru Arjan Dev Mission Society, who is spearheading the drive, said the society had provided doctors and paramedical staff to de-addiction centres at Naushara Pannua, Tarn Taran, Chabal, Bhikhiwind, Kairon and Goindwal Sahib. Top police officials, besides politicians, also spoke. Donors of mobile units and organisers of drug centres were honoured. |
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Dalits hold protest rally Dhuri, June 6 Three Dalit panches of the Hassanpur gram panchayat had already submitted their resignations to the Dhuri BDPO in protest against the auction of village land where the Dalits kept cow dung cakes. The speakers alleged that the civil administration had not taken any action in this regard so far. They also submitted a memorandum to the SDM. Mrs Rachhpal Kaur, Sarpanch of Hassanpur, has refuted the allegations levelled by the Dalit leaders. |
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Tripping averts tragedy in plant Bathinda, June 6 When the employee, Mr Mohinder Singh, an unskilled worker, joined the earth wire with the live wire instead of joining it with dead wire, there was a huge spark in the substation when he came into induction zone. After the spark, all four units were tripped. Mr Mohinder Singh suffered 20 per cent burn injuries and two other employees — Mr Bansi Lal, lineman and Mr Dharam Pal, an electrician, also suffered minor burn injuries. “Had there been no tripping in the four units, there could have been a big disaster”, pointed out a section of employees while talking to TNS. While Mr Bansi Lal and Mr Dharam Pal have been discharged from the local Civil Hospital, where they were taken after the incident, Mr Mohinder Singh has been kept under observation for 24 hours. However, his condition was stated to be out of danger. Mr S.C. Mahajan, Chief Engineer, GNDTP, when contacted, said from the substation, a direct line of power supply had been given to the fertiliser plant of National Fertilisers Limited (NFL). The section concerned had taken the permission to carry out maintenance work on that line. The employees of the substation also started carrying out the maintenance work of the substation as it was closed on account of the maintenance of NFL line. The employees were clearing the dust deposited on the insulators. He said an inquiry committee comprising two SEs of electrical and operation had been constituted to probe into the mishap. He added that prima facie, it was found that there was no fault of employees, who were working in the substation. He said the two units of GNDTP had started functioning again while the third unit would be made operational soon. |
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Pregnant woman alleges
misbehaviour by ADTO Kharar, June 6 According to the report lodged with the police, the above officer, who was on routine checking at about 5 a.m. in Kharar, signalled a Tata Sumo to stop, but the driver refused to. He was later forced to stop near Sahoran village on the Kharar-Kurali road. The driver was asked to show the papers of the vehicle. This led to a heated exchange of words and an FIR was lodged. But Mrs Bhupinder Kaur while talking to mediapersons said they were returning home to Bhulath village in Kapurthala district after attending the bhog ceremony of her father in Chandigarh. She said her husband, who was driving the Tata Sumo, was never signalled to stop but was made to stop near Sahoran village. She said she and her husband were pushed by Mr Karam Singh and others. Her husband was beaten up and she became unconscious and their vehicle was impounded, she alleged. They had to pay Rs 5,000 to the team for getting the vehicle released, she added. Mr Karam Singh denied the allegations and said they had paid Rs 5,000 as fine. He said they had misbehaved with the team members and did not show any documents of the vehicle. |
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Don’t close level crossing, say residents Patiala, June 6 The residents of the colonies said the level crossing No 22 market was the lifeline of local people of the area for their daily needs. Besides they said there were two schools situated on both sides of the level crossing and children would face a difficult time negotiating it once the level crossing was closed as was proposed by the Railways authorities. The federation president, Mr H.S. Sodhi, said people coming to pay their obeisance at the Khel Sahib Gurdwara would also be inconvenienced in case the level crossing was closed. They said the gurdwara was situated right next to the railway crossing. He said the business of the shop keepers who were running establishments on both sides of the crossing would also be affected. They said instead of changing the topography of the area by altering the roads coming to No 22 crossing, the No 20 crossing falling in the Baradari Garden should be
closed. The federation said that it would be more convenient as the offices situated near 20 number would be soon shifted to the new administrative block. Mr Sodhi said the precedence of altering the site of closing the crossing already existed as earlier instead of No 17 crossing under the bridge near the bus stand, crossing No 18 had been closed when an overbridge was constructed at the site. |
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Handicapped flays police apathy Patiala, June 6 Balwinder Singh, a PRTC employee, said his son had suffered a fracture in the leg besides serious injurious on the head. He said the police had not registered a case and was instead threatening to take action against the parties. He has also asked the SSP to arrest the assailant in the case under Section 307/326 of the IPC for causing serious injuries to his son. Balwinder Singh also said that his son was getting threatening calls from Darshan Singh and appealed to the local police to take action against him. |
Judicial officers assume charge Moga, June 6 Mr Gurdev Singh has taken over as the District and Sessions Judge at Faridkot vice Mr
A.N. Jindal. Mr Sukhdev Singh has taken over as the Additional Sessions Judge at Moga in place of Mr S.S.
Khera, who has been was shifted to Ludhiana. Mr M.K. Arora from Khanna has taken over as Judicial Magistrate (First Class) at Moga vice Mr K.K. Bansal who has been transferred as such to Jalandhar.
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New judges Kharar, June 6 |
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CM to open Mini-Secretariat SAS Nagar, June 6 |
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‘Help cops for better policing’ Kharar, June 6 |
Robbery bid foiled with arrest of four Phagwara, June 6 A press note issued today by Dr R.N. Dhoke, Kapurthala, SSP, claimed that with the arrest of the four inter-state gangsters, a plan to loot a person and a bank had been foiled. Those arrested under Sections 399 and 402, IPC, for planning and assembling for the purpose of committing robbery and sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act, included Vishal Kumar of Tehang village, Parminder Singh, allias Parveen, of Kang Jagir village, Deepak Kumar of Drrot Nagar Phagwara and Jatinder Kumar of Rajpur Road near Samrala. One of the gangsters, Jasbir Kumar of Atti village however, managed to escape. The local SP, Mr Harmanbir Singh Gill, had got information that some persons were making a plan to loot cash from a person near Mauli railway barrier. The SP, along with the SHO Sadar Police Station, Mr Sarabjit Singh Rai, rushed to the site and nabbed the four gangsters. Two white cars (numbers PB-08A-2264 and PB-08A-3637) a blue scooter (number PB-08A 614) and one black motor cycle (number PB 37A-1653), were recovered from them. One of the stolen cars had been stolen from outside Leo Hotel Jalandhar, and it belonged to Sunil Grover of Master Tara Singh Nagar, Jalandhar. The motor cycle had been lifted from Ambala and its number plate was suspected to be a fake one. The lifted vehicles were used for lootings and snatching attempts. |
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Girl found murdered in gurdwara Ropar, June 6 The parents of the girl told the police that Mala had gone to the gurdwara about 7 am on Wednesday, but did not return. The SSP Ropar, Mr G.P.S. Bhullar, said it appeared to be a case of sexual assault and murder. The girl was killed after being strangulated by a telephone wire. Some employees and granthis of the gurdwara have been rounded up for questioning. A case under Section 302 of the IPC has been registered. A post-mortem examination was conducted in the Ropar Civil Hospital today. Doctors who performed the post-mortem told this correspondent that since the body had decayed, the rape theory could be confirmed only after a chemical analysis. |
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Three held with fake currency Batala, June 6 The SSP, Mr Naresh Arora, said on a tip-off, Satinder Pal, a B.Com, along with a diploma in computer education and preparing for state civil services examinations, along with Vinod Chopra and Kapil Dev, was intercepted while riding a motorcycle in nearby Bahadursein village and 98 fake currency notes of Rs 100 denomination were seized from them. He said later another 110 notes, along with the computer and its accessories, used for making the currency, were seized at their behest. The Rangar Nangal police has booked them under Section 489 of the IPC, he added.
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VCD expose case: satta operators nabbed Ludhiana, June 6 Subash Katty and Bittu Chawla, two alleged satta operators were nabbed along with four other lottery shop owners in a raid conducted jointly by the CIA , division no. 3 and division no. 6 police. While no senior official was available for comments, reliable sources said the two had been charged for selling fake lottery tickets. Sources said Katty and Chawla were doing brisk business of satta and fake lotteries ever since they had exposed the corruption in the police department thinking that they were immune to any such police move. They had videofilmed cops accepting bribe from them. The sources said the two had been booked under Sections 420, 467 and 471 of the IPC. They were kept in the CIA building and were being questioned. Katty and Chawla had filed a review petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court yesterday in which they had sought action against as many as 40 cops. The Punjab State Human Rights Commission had directed the DGP, Punjab, to give them security as they were allegedly threatened by the accused cops. The PSHRC directions were not implemented by the state police at which the two went to the High Court. |
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Missing boy found murdered Amritsar, June 6 The police found an identity card, about Rs 500 cash and a diary from a bag lying near the body. A case has been registered under Sections 302, 34 of the IPC at Ajnala police station falling under Majitha police district. Mr Dilbagh Singh, SP (D), of police district Majitha, while talking to The Tribune, revealed that Rajesh, the only son of a potter, had been missing since May 31 from Delhi. The deceased had written a letter to his family before leaving Delhi. He said the police had found two mobile numbers, which were of deceased’s teachers, from his pocket who informed his family about the incident. After the preliminary investigations the police reportedly found three bus tickets, of Amritsar to Ajnala, from Rajesh’s pocket, which indicated that two more persons had accompanied him from Delhi. He reportedly had come to the city looking for better job prospects. The police teams headed by DSP, Ajnala, questioned a number of bus conductors and rickshaw pullers, by showing the photograph of the deceased. The conductors later confirmed that the two persons had accompanied the boy. Mr Dilbagh said the police had rounded up many “bad elements” of the area and was also searching hotels to nab the culprits. |
Datesheet issue irks PCS (mains) candidates Bathinda, June 6 A cross section of aspirants, who have qualified the preliminary exam, when contacted by The Tribune, pointed out that the claims of the authorities concerned to bring transparency in the functioning of the commission have been negated. They said earlier the statements issued by the Chairman of the commission regarding the likely date of main exams had created much confusion and the notice regarding the conduct of the same in October have given them some respite from confusion. The aspirants said the PPSC had not charged any fee for the reconduct of the preliminary exams and the exam was conducted in a fair and transparent manner. Some candidates said as the exam was being held after a long gap, they had been planning to change their optional papers for the main exams and without an advanced datesheet, they were feeling helpless. They said as per its own practice the PPSC sends the datesheet of the mains exams a few days before the actual exams when the aspirants have no time to change their optional papers. They alleged that due to a difference in the number of holidays between some optional papers, a section of students had better chances of scoring more marks. The candidates said if the authorities concerned wanted to bring transparency in the conduct of the PCS exams, the datesheet should be announced before the closing date of filing the applications for the main exam as the same would enable them to choose their optional papers in accordance with the holidays intervening the same. The Secretary, PPSC, however, could not be contacted despite repeated efforts. |
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‘Funds unused because teachers faltered’ Nawanshahr, June 6 The minister released the ‘CTE Newsletter’ on the occasion and announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for the ‘Micro Lab’ of the college. Dr Vij in his keynote address, appreciated the contents of the policy like community participation, decentralisation, restructuring of the present system and in-service training of teachers. He called upon all government agencies as well as the NGOs and teachers to implement the policy honestly. Mr Subash Dutt, a DIET lecturer at Kapurthala, said ‘community involvement’ had, first, been mentioned in education policy-1986, but no administrative change had been made at the lower level. He said even the data for the ‘educational survey’ had been collected haphazardly with teachers thinking that this was one of the futile exercises of the government, but now, an abundance of funds had created new problems for teachers. Mr Surjit Singh Saini, a representative of the District Education Officer, stressed the need for strengthening Village Education Development Committees. Dr Harjit Kaur of the MGN College of Education at Jalandhar, in her paper based on the reactions of the Deputy DEOs, principals, headmasters and leaders of teacher’s unions, highlighted practical problems in the implementation of the policy. Dr Satinder Dhillon of the Dev Samaj College of Education in Chandigarh, stressed the need for making two-year internship compulsory for teachers. Mr Siddheshwar Sharma, a college Principal, stressed the need for setting up resource centres at the cluster level for the professional growth of teachers, a system followed in USA and the UK. Ms Nishi Sethi, Secretary CTE, talked about the need to give environment education to students. Mr S.P. Khanna, Joint Secretary
CTE; Mr Prem Bhardwaj, president of the local unit of Arya Samaj; Ms Charanjit
Tassavar, Principal BLM Girls College Nawanshahr; Ms Surinder Kaur, Principal Guru Nanak College for Women
Banga; and Kailash Bhardwaj, Principal Ramgarhia College, Phagwara, were among others who spoke at the conference. |
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SAS NAGAR DIARY SAS Nagar, June 6 World Environment Day: The Environment Protection Society, in collaboration with the Bharat Vikas Parishad, observed World Environment Day yesterday. A seminar on ‘Water: Two billion people dying for it’ was organised. It was pointed out at the seminar that thousands of villages were still without potable water and many rural schools had no clean drinking water supply. It was resolved that a campaign should be launched to encourage the people to harvest rain water and PUDA be urged to issue a tree preservation order on the lines of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act 1994. It was also that the municipal council should be told to ensure that garbage collected by contractors was not burnt on the roadside. ‘Shramdaan’ by students: Students of Gian Jyoti Public School, Phase II, here were in the forefront of “shramdaan” at Sukhna lake, Chandigarh, yesterday. The team of students led by Ms Ranjeet Bedi, Principal of the school, reached the site early in the morning and worked till late in the evening. Mr Virender Singh, Adviser to the UT Administrator, also visited the site and lauded the efforts of the students. Expert panel’s plea: An experts’ panel on Punjab heritage, including eminent historians, architects, educationists, founded by the Punjab heritage and education foundation here met last week. According to a press communication issued by Mr Gurbax Singh Shergill here yesterday, the meeting was presided over by Dr Kirpal Singh, eminent Sikh historian. The meeting, while appreciating the efforts of the Punjab Government to reorganise the archaeological records at Patiala, requested the government to bring together all archaeological records of Kila Mubarak and Chandigarh, including the records of Khalsa Darbar Lahore, at one place and appoint a qualified director of archives for its proper documentation and care. The government was also requested to pursue the case of return of all rare books and manuscripts taken away by army men during Operation Bluestar to the Sikh Reference Library Darbar, Amritsar. School
function: Golden Bells Public School organised a function to honour the school toppers in the CBSE Class X examination. An interaction between the toppers and the students of Class X was held. |
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Red Cross school for special kids Faridkot, June 6 Stating here today, Mr Hussan Lal Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairman of the Red Cross Society said an amount of Rs 20 lakh had been arranged to initiate the project and the remaining funds would be collected through donations. The body was also approaching Punjabi NRIs for donations. The Deputy Commissioner said initially 300 special children would be admitted to the institution. Therapy treatment including music would also be provided in the institution, said the Deputy Commissioner. |
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Sidhu’s resignation accepted Patiala, June 6 Sources said the decision was taken at a high-level meeting, presided over by the Vice-Chancellor. The decision was also conveyed to Dr Sidhu. Dr Sidhu, in a letter on June 3, had informed the Vice-Chancellor that he would no longer deal with official matters as the head of the department. He had claimed in the letter that the Vice-Chancellor was deliberately coming in the way of his academic progress by refusing him permission to attend an international conference in Austria in December. He had also claimed that the Vice-Chancellor had made derogatory comments about him on official files and that he would take legal recourse in the matter. |
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GND varsity BA, BSc results today Amritsar, June 6 |
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