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September 16, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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10-year RI for attempting to murder father Ludhiana, September 15 “It cannot be ignored that the injured in this case is none else but the aged father of the accused himself. In case the convict is worried about his own children, he should have kept in mind the welfare of his old father also, who had brought him in this world, and brought up with a hope that he would be helpful to him in his old age. On the contrary, the convict has proved to be merciless, observed the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr S.M.S. Mahal, while declining the plea of leniency raised by the accused. The accused was booked under Section 307 of the IPC at the Sadar police station Khanna on the complaint of Darshan Singh, elder brother of accused. The complainant had stated to the police that their father, Malkiat Singh, was having a joint manure pit with the accused and they used to store their manure at one place. On December 16, 2001, the complainant was standing on the outer door of his house, while his father was getting manure loaded in a trolley. In the meantime, Avtar Singh arrived there and asked his father why he was getting the manure loaded as he was to use it. Thereafter, he started
quarrelling with his father. The angry son snatched a shovel from a labourer, who was loading the trolley and dealt a blow from its sharp side on the head of his father. As a result, his father fell on the heap of manure and the accused fled away, added the complainant. Pleading
innocence, the accused said in court that in order to grab his share in property, he was implicated falsely. Praying for the acquittal of the accused, the defence counsel argued that his client was implicated after due deliberation and no independent witness was joined by the prosecution. After appreciating the evidence, the court held that there was no explanation from the side of accused as to how the injury was suffered by Malkiat Singh. The nature of the injury was such that it could be safely inferred that neither it could be self-inflicted nor was it possible by a “friendly hand”. “A judicial notice of the fact can be taken that in normal life also sons may prove to be disobedient towards their parents but it is rare that parents will stoop so low to fabricate injury or falsely involve their real
son. The agony of Malkiat Singh can be well judged as he has survived only with the grace of Almighty,’’ observed Mr Mahal. |
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Domestic
violence on the rise Ludhiana, September 15 There is little data available on domestic violence in Punjab. According to a study on “Men, masculinity and domestic violence in India” conducted by the International Research on Women, domestic violence issues are also related to the concept of masculinity being equated with controlling a woman. Although domestic violence is universal in all cultures, religions and ethnic groups, it is considered a family issue and not a public or legal one. Earlier, acts of violence against members of a household, towards wife and children, were considered part of discipline enforcement by the person in authority. However, in the past two decades the issue has come into public domain due to awareness campaigns launched by women groups. “One of the causes of domestic violence is alcoholism. Punjab has the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in the country. The interface between domestic violence and alcoholism is multifaceted,” says Dr
A.K. Kala, a consultant psychiatrist. He says alcoholism leads to strain on financial resources. Financial constraints make wife and children frustrated and whenever they complain, it leads to domestic violence. Alcoholism leads to low self-esteem in men who then become susceptible to assertion and turn violent. It also weakens emotional bonding which leads to domestic violence. “The worst is that Punjabi culture and society not just condone drinking, but give it cultural sanction tacitly. Unfortunately, in Punjabi culture, masculinity is synonymous to having the woman under full control. Drinking and beating up the wife are viewed as signs of masculinity,” says Dr
A.K. Kala. According to Dr Ravinder Kala, counselling professional, who has been working at the Crimes Against Women and Children Cell at the Ludhiana Police Lines for the past three years and is the secretary-general of She says, “Domestic violence is not just wife beating. It is misuse of power and control in an adult relationship. Domestic violence includes emotional torture, dowry demands, sexual abuse, financial deprivation, insult and trauma to the dignity of a person (mostly women and children) by people in authority such as husband, in-laws or other adults. Now domestic violence has been recognised as a violation of human rights and women have started protesting against the injustice meted out to them.” Dr Ravinder Kala says during her work, 2,500 cases of domestic violence came up out of which 65 per cent marriages were saved through counselling. In 22 to 25 per cent cases, it was found that marriage was not safe and amicable separation was achieved through counselling. In 10 per cent cases, men were handed over to the police for committing crimes against women. Is there any way out to end domestic violence? Dr Ravinder says, “Women awareness campaigns should be launched. Developing support systems to handle their problems was also needed. This can be done by networking NGOs, government agencies and the legal support system.” “Moreover, women have to be financially empowered to counter domestic violence. NGOs should undertake research projects into this area. It is important to work in this direction in a scientific, dispassionate, objective and non-judgmental way,” Dr Ravinder says. |
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Life term for killing
mother-in-law Ludhiana, September 15 The accused was also sentenced to undergo two-year imprisonment each on the charges of injuring his wife, Salma, and her maternal uncle, Anyus. However, all sentences will run concurrently. An FIR was registered against the accused on May 31, 2001, at the Sahnewal police station under Sections 302 and 307 of the IPC, on the statement of Anyus. The charge under Section 307 of the IPC could not be proved, as the court found that injuries inflicted by the accused on his wife and her maternal uncle were simple injuries. According to the prosecution, the accused had quarrelled with her wife about four months prior to the incident. Her wife left the matrimonial home and started living with her mother, along with her children. One day, he went to her in-laws and forcibly took away his sons with him. But his in-laws refused to send back their daughter, which infuriated the accused. On May 30, 2001, he forcibly entered into the house of her in-laws and tried to take away her daughter, Tammana. When his mother-in-law, Mamuda, opposed him, he attacked her with a sharp-edged weapon and inflicted injuries on her head. His wife and Anyus also received injuries, when they intervened. Ultimately, the accused succeeded in taking away her daughter. Mamuda was taken to a hospital at Koom Kalan. The doctors referred her the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, but she died on the way. The prosecution examined 12 witnesses. Tammana also deposed against the accused. She narrated the entire incident, accusing her father responsible for the death of Mamuda and causing injuries to her mother. After appreciating the evidence, the court found the accused guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. |
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Gang of
robbers busted, five held Ludhiana, September 15 Those arrested are Angrez Singh of Karnal, Rajesh and Davinder Kumar of Bagpat, UP, Kuldip Singh of Hisar and Harjeet Singh of Ludhiana. The police said they were planning a robbery at the office of Honey Gupta’s Candle Factory. ASI Dilawar Singh raided the spot and caught them. A pistol with four cartridges, another .315 bore pistol with four cartridges and two knives were seized from their possession. The police has registered a case under Sections 399, 402 and 115, IPC, and under Sections 25, 54 and 59, Arms Act. The police also claimed that those held had confessed of committing some crimes in Karnal and Panipat districts. According to police sources, a number of gangs are operating in and around Ludhiana. The police does succeed in nabbing some sometimes. |
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Left hails Indian stand at Cancun Ludhiana, September 15 Mr Kirpal Singh Hans, a member of the secretariat of the party, has called upon the government to take a more consistent stand for safeguarding the national interests, especially of the downtrodden and the poor. He called upon the other developing nations not to bow under the pressure of developed nations and build an alternative trade centre and united front comprising developing countries, where a majority of the world population resides, as they constitute the largest trade market of the world. The party also described the Israeli move to forcibly evict and eliminate PLO Chief Yasser Arafat from
Ramallah, PLO Headquarters, as dangerous and harmful not only to the Middle-East but also to the world at large. “This sinister design may prove counter-productive for Israel and jeopardise the lives of Israeli people. The USA and other allies of Israel should restrain the Israeli leadership from committing such a mistake,” he said. The party also flayed the dictatorial and fascist attitude of Capt Amarinder Singh and Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor S.S. Boparai in not accepting the genuine demands of students. “It is unfortunate that student leaders are being implicated in false cases, which may further deteriorate the situation on the campus”, he opined. The MCPI also ridiculed the false claim of Capt Amarinder Singh regarding the demands of agitating farmers and asked the Central and state governments to be sympathetic towards the farmers by accepting their genuine demands. |
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Complaint
against CDC Principal Ludhiana, September 15 Mr Clarance B. Lal, moderator of the church, in a complaint filed on September 10, said an application for sanction of a plan as site plan number 344-A, dated February 20, had been submitted to the Assistant Town Planner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana. Along with the site plan, an affidavit had been filed by Dr Joshi, allegedly claiming himself to be the Secretary of the CMC. In the affidavit, Dr Joshi had also used the stamp of the Secretary, CMC, Ludhiana. Mr B. Lal said Dr Silas J. Charles was the Secretary of the CMC Society. Dr Joshi was the Principal of the CDC and not the Secretary of society. The complainant alleged that Dr Joshi had impersonated as the Secretary of the society and by this act, he had cheated both the Municipal Corporation and the CMC Ludhiana Society. “This act has been done by him with dishonest intentions. He is liable to be penalised under the law,” he said. Church members have appealed that an inquiry be held and Dr Joshi be booked for impersonating and hatching a conspiracy for fabricating false documents. |
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Badal lashes out at govt over students’ strike Ludhiana, September 15 He was in city to lay the foundation of the Valmiki Dharamshala here this evening and was accorded a warm welcome by the Valmiki community. Talking to mediapersons, he said the government was now trying to pass the buck to the Akalis by claiming that they were responsible for the current conflict. “During our tenure we did not raise the fee and in fact released grants to further the cause of higher education. No tension had ever erupted on university campuses across the state during our regime,” he said. Now the Congress was trying to give an impression to the people that they were the real culprits, he added. Reacting to the inauguration of the Sidhwan-Mehatpur bridge by the CM today, he pointed out that the construction of bridges was started during their tenure. Keeping in mind the convenience of the people of Gurdaspur and Ludhiana, three bridges were sanctioned and more than 90 per cent of the construction had been completed before the elections. Now the Congress was trying to score points by claiming that these development projects had been started and completed in the past one year. He said there was no rule of law in the state and not even a single promise in the manifesto of the Congress had been fulfilled. On the other hand the welfare schemes started by the Akalis had been discontinued. New taxes were being levied, he stressed. Mr Badal said they were gearing up for the parliamentary polls and would win all seats on the basis of their pro-people policies and outrage among people towards the non-performance of the present government. |
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Migrants
face problems at post office Ludhiana, September 15 Serpentine queues greet visitors at the post office everyday where clients, mainly migrants, have to spend hours waiting for their turn to send money orders. A visit to the post office during the day is enough to see hundreds of migrants queued up at two windows. The queues start from the counters and end at the road outside. They said they had to take leave from work, if they wanted to send money orders to their families. Ramesh Kumar, a migrant, said he had been waiting there for the past four hours. “Now they have gone for lunch. They will come back after an hour. I will have to stand here till 4 pm,” he said. Another migrant, Vijay Partap, said he was faced with the same condition every time he visited the post office. Earlier, there used to be two counters, but today nobody was manning the second counter. He said they had to wait in the sun for hours for getting their work done. The employees were in a habit of leaving the counter after about every 15 minutes, he alleged. “Thinking that we are migrants, they don’t take us seriously. If our work is not done by the evening, they send us back. They know we are not going to complain against them.” While the Sub-Post Master was not available for comments, being on leave, another official said shortage of staff was the cause of all problems. He said the department had not done any recruitment after 1982, although the rush had increased manyfold. He said the Ludhiana Central Post Office catered to the needs of most of the migrant labourers and it was becoming difficult to handle the increasing rush. |
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Deceased
officer’s wife awaits dues Ludhiana, September 15 Bhullar, who had gone to demolish encroachments in the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar area along with the demolition squad, was fired at by the occupant at point-blank range on August 14, 2002. He died on the spot. Since then his wife has been moving from pillar to post to get the benefits released. While the Junior Engineers Association had provided her with a relief of Rs 4 lakh, the Improvement Trust did not bother about his sacrifice. Although his picture has been put up in the office of the trust, the dues have not been cleared. “They do not realise that my husband was in the forefront to demolish the illegally occupied building. He knew that there was threat to his life, but he did not bother. And now look at the way the authorities are treating us”, said Ms Kulwant Kaur Bhullar, while talking to Ludhiana Tribune on the telephone from Amritsar. She added that the trust had promised to give employment to one of her sons. While the trust is delaying her rightful dues, relatives of the accused had been sending her feelers for compromise. “They have offered me money but my conscience does not allow me to accept it from the person who killed my husband without his fault. I can never forgive him”, said Ms Bhullar. “I have met officials of the Local Government Department in Chandigarh a number of times, but nobody cares.” Mr Ashok Singh Garcha, Chairman of the trust, said he had gone through the case and sent the file to the department concerned for further action. He said he also wanted that the benefits were given to his wife. Ms Bhullar said her husband had purchased a plot from the trust and paid half of the amount. The rest was pending and she had made a number of requests to the Local Government Department for waiving off the interest on the loan, but nobody bothered. Trust officials said there was no rule as such that provided for paying compensation to the family of the employee who died on duty. Mr Bhullar was shot dead allegedly by Ranjit Singh in the presence of the then Administrator, Improvement Trust, Mr Raminder Singh. |
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Embezzlement
charges levelled against union chief Ludhiana, September 15 Ms Randhawa alleged that during the striking period at the DMCH in 1998, the union president in connivance with Mr Ashok Kumar and without taking any office-bearer into confidence agreed to abide by the terms and conditions laid by the secretary, managing society, Mr Prem Nath Gupta. In the notice, the joint secretary alleged that the president had differed with the management when it was ready to accept their demands. “He compromised later, which amounts to cheating with employees,” said Ms Randhawa. She said Mr Kalia was always supported by Mr Ashok Kumar, whereas he (Ashok Kumar) backed out from the union at the time of agitation and struggles. Ms Randhawa asked as to why Mr Kalia had not called a general body meeting of the union for such a long time? “Whenever convenient, Mr Kalia changes the office-bearers. He has not been given the right to take such important decisions of the union all alone,” said Ms Randhawa. The most serious allegation levelled against Mr Kalia, however, was that he had withdrawn a sum of Rs 90,000 from the account of the union without informing anyone. She demanded that Mr Kalia should give details of expenditure of the amount. Mr Kalia, on the other hand, said that the allegations were baseless. “She has no authority to serve notice on me. I am not accountable to her,” he said. |
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Factory
workers stage dharna Ludhiana, September 15 The workers, led by Mr Sarbjit Singh of the Indian National Trade Union Congress, claimed that they were not being given any increment. They demanded that they should also be provided incentives and extra bonus. They also demanded that there should be a provision to get casual leaves encashed. As the protesting workers tried to prevent some of their colleagues from entering the factory, the management called the police. The police officials reportedly told them either to lift dharna and allow those who wanted to join their duties or go away. Ultimately, the workers lifted the dharna from in front of the factory and went to the local labour office and started raising slogans against the factory management. The issue remained unresolved. While the workers alleged that they were lathicharged, the management and the police denied this. On the other hand, Mr Manmohan Singh Bhogal, managing partner of the company, claimed that the company was already paying extra wages to the workers. He said each employee of the factory was paid more than Rs 2,185, the minimum wages. Moreover, he said, each one of them was also paid production incentives. He accused some trade union leaders of provoking the workers to go on strike. He said the trade unionists were trying to create “a mafia” in Ludhiana and hold managements to ransom. He said they were the same people who had tried to stage strikes in Nova Cycles, Hero Cycles. He said the management had already made it clear to the workers that they were welcome to discuss their demands and problems, if any. “But all of a sudden, they gathered outside the factory premises and tried to prevent other workers from entering the factory,” he said. The striking workers had not sent anything in writing to the management so far, he added. |
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FCI officers celebrated Hindi Divas Ludhiana, September 15 Mr Rangeela welcomed those present and presented a “Saraswati Vandana”. He also recited a poem. The programme was managed by assistant organisers Vidya Bhushan and Satpal Kaur. Mr Pramod Kumar was the chief guest.
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Office-bearers of Lions Club installed
Ludhiana, September 15 Seven tuberculosis patients were adopted by the club and were given medicines by the President, Dr Ashok Puri. Among others present on the occasion were Mr K.L. Malhotra, Mr Satish Mahendru, Mr Prem Grover, Mr Charanjit Singh and Mr O.P. Munjal. OC
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Three booked for murder bid Ludhiana, September 15 The complainant alleged that when the accused were taking illegal possession of Ramdassia Dharamshala in the locality, he objected to it. They attacked him with swords with the intention of killing him. He was injured and admitted to hospital. Five arrested:
Rape bid:
Arrested for
In another case, the police on Sunday registered a case under Sections 452, 323, 324, 294, 427, 506 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Ms Kanta Rani, a resident of Mohalla Sandhu Nagar in Haibowal Kalan, against Davinder Singh, Manjit Singh, Gurwinder Singh and Sawinder Singh. The woman stated that the accused teased and beat her daughter up. CID man assaulted:
Assault cases:
The Sarabha Nagar police on Sunday registered a case under Sections 324, 341, 506, 323 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Balbir Singh, a resident of Haibowal Khurd, against Charanjit Singh and Balwinder Singh, both residents of the same locality. The complainant alleged that the accused stopped him on September 12 and beat him up. The Jodhewal police registered a case under Sections 323, 506, 341, 148 and 149 of the IPC on the statement of Ms Mohinder Rani, a resident of Basant Vihar, against Deep, Bablu, Jagmohan, Chander Mohan and Gopal, all residents of Madho Puri. The woman alleged that the accused assaulted her on Saturday. Girl injured:
Knife seized:
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Industrial unions urged to avoid policy of conflict Mandi Ahmedgarh, September
15 Talking on the eve of Workers Education Day, Mr Prashar said the Central Board for Workers Education, an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Labour, had been educating and guiding workers and managements and three-dimensional efforts enabled us to face multinational companies in the open market. He said,” Undoubtedly we would be among the most developed countries, if managements and worker Unions shun conflict policy and adopt path of cooperation.” Mr Prashar said one should work locally and think globally and make efforts to increase productivity quality and profits. Commenting on the need for worker’s education, the Regional Director said,” Education of workers should not be considered as a liability, it is an investment. Success of western industries has taught us that ‘Machines depreciate while man appreciates.” The Regional Director said, “We should be self-motivated like workers of Japan. Japanese techniques like Kaizen, Zero Defect, total quality management, quality circle, JIT(just in time ) and six sigmas should be taught to our workers also. Mr Prasher stated that labour laws had been ammended for boosting the industries and also for the welfare of the workers. He cited many steps taken by the union government recently. These included reduction of interest rates on crop loans from 15 per cent to 9, repayment of high-cost debt worth Rs 14,434 crore, swapping of high-cost state government loans worth 44000 crore, assured return of 9 per cent on pension fund for senior citizens, universal health insurance scheme, tax-administrative reforms based on the Kelkar Committee report and massive change in company laws. Mr Prashar further claimed that despite adverse circumstances, Indian industry could compete in the open market. He counted many cases of distinguished achievements of leading Indian Industrial houses on global industrial scenario. |
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