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No FIR against Ikwinder’s
in-laws Ludhiana, February 17 The Jagraon police has declined the plea of Ikwinder Kaur's parents of registration of a case against her Manila based husband for want of jurisdiction. No case was possible against the victim's mother-in-law, Amrik Kaur, who lives in Dakha village here as she had never been to Manila and was not present at the scene of the alleged crime. The decision of the police was based on a legal advice taken by them on the issue. The victim's parents had moved an application before Jagraon SSP Mukhwinder Singh Chhina that a case be registered under various sections of dowry death and harassment against Rajinder Singh Kular, father-in-law of Ikwinder Kaur and mother-in-law here. The need for the registration of a case arose here when it was realised that the FIR registered at a police station in New Delhi was just a ‘zero’ FIR, which is lodged only for the purpose of conducting a post-mortem. The SSP, Jagraon, confirmed to Ludhiana Tribune that they were not lodging any FIR into the case. “We have taken legal opinion from DA (Legal) Ludhiana, in the matter and he had cited jurisdiction problems in the registration of an FIR.’’ He added that the incident took place in Manila and the police here does not have any locus standi to book the accused. The accusation of harassment to the victim by her mother-in-law and the demand of dowry has also not found favour with the police. The mother-in-law, Amrik Kaur, has never been to Manila as proved by her passport. This means that the accused in the case may not have any need for seeking legal remedy in the case. The case registered at Delhi does not require anyone to get bail. Ikwinder Kaur, alias Bindu, was one of the four daughters of a Kalsan village-based family. She died under mysterious circumstances at Manila in January. Her parents here allege that it was dowry death and her husband and mother-in-law were responsible for it. The case came to light when the Indira Gandhi Airport Authorities did not release the body to her parents. Helped by Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, president, Lok Bhalai Party, the family got the possession of the body vide orders by the Delhi High Court. |
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Impressive display of mallet skills by 86-year-old Ludhiana, February 17 Showing eight types of tricks with mallets, Channan Singh does not need an introduction in rural areas in Ludhiana district. He is a name to reckon with in athletics circles of the district. Not even a single day passes when he does not receive an invitation for participating in various rural games. Many youths have accepted his challenge to show their skills with mallets but no one has been able to claim an award of Rs 1,000 announced by him for a person who completes all eight tricks in one go as done by him during rural sports. He declares this award in all sport festivals, including the Kila Raipur Rural Olympics, but so far nobody has been able to beat him. Working as an iron smith in the village for more than 60 years, Channan Singh drinks four
litres of milk everyday besides binging on a kilo of desi ghee. He is fit and strong and while his sons cannot digest the concoction prepared by mixing desi ghee and milk, it is his elixir for life. He claims that it is because of his food that he has immense power in his arms. While his wife is bed ridden due to her age, Channan Singh is as active as a young man. He exercises daily and is on his special diet which is only two meals a day. He skips lunch and mostly depends on milk and desi ghee. He eats only four or five chapatis a day. “I have never fallen sick. I can't even remember when I had a headache. It's only because of the hard work I have put in that I have lived for so many years,” says Channan Singh expressing his disappointment at the youngsters who in his opinion can never perform with two mallets weighing 10 kg each. “I tried my level best to make my sons learn the tricks from me but they did not listen. Now I am trying that my grandson should pick up the art but I don’t think he is going to follow what I teach him.” said the octogenarian who is sore with the government for not doing anything for preserving the rural athletics. Recalling is childhood days he said he used to play kabaddi and in a match he had caught a boy's arm. ‘‘He was trying to get away and I was not letting him go. To my shock he developed a fracture in his arm. I was quite disturbed and then left kabaddi forever only to start exercising with mallet.’’ By performing such rare feats he has won various honours and awards. It is because of his perfection only that he has bought 27 acres of land in his village. ‘‘Determination and grit always pays. But the youngsters now don’t want to work. They want to achieve success overnight. But they don’t know that in order to reach somewhere one has to climb various ladders.’’ |
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Abandoned
newborn gets a home Ludhiana, February 17 The family, however, is not willing to be identified. They said they would bring her up like their own and would not disclose to their relatives that she was an adopted child. The girl, who was found in a vacant plot in the Chandan Nagar area is used as a garbage dump. Dr Narinder Toor said the infant's condition was very bad when she was brought to the hospital. She, however, requested
that she did not want to be photographed for a newspaper. ‘‘Her mother had abandoned her for no fault of hers.
May be her mother had some problems and she could not keep her. But anyway it was a dream come true for me. I have got a
beautiful daughter.’’ she said smilingly. Dr Toor said had she remained in the dump for some more time she could have died. She was also suffering from
anemia. |
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Fastener units to close twice a week Ludhiana, February 17 According to Mr Mohinder Pal Jain, President, Fastener Manufacturers Association of India (FMAI), the indifferent attitude of the government towards the plight of the small sector in the wake of “discriminatory” policies of major steel producers, had forced the industry to extend support Lok Sabha to that political party which was alive to the problems of the industry. He said the parliamentary committee, headed by Mr P.C. Alexander, in its report submitted to the Union Government, had pointed out that the main producers of iron and steel had created artificial scarcity of the material in order to jack up the prices. Moreover, the producers were exporting the material at a lesser price and in turn, were claiming 20 per cent export incentive from the government, in the process, spelling disaster for the domestic industry. The committee had asked the government to form a comprehensive long-term policy on iron and steel to save the industry from further crisis. |
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PAU students intensify stir Ludhiana, February 17 The students of the College of Agriculture have been on a strike for the past over one week and the students of the College of Veterinary Science started their strike yesterday. According to the students, there are more than 2,000 agri-graduates and postgraduates who are unemployed. As many as 150 agricultural graduates are produced every year in Punjab. Out of 1,157 posts, 750 have been filled and the remaining are lying vacant. The government has not advertised any post of ADOs, HDOs and SOOs for the past five years and even the posts of agriculture teachers have not been filled in the schools where agriculture has been introduced as a subject. The students further allege that jobs vacant in the FCI and Markfed are reserved for the agricultural graduates but the same have been opened for other streams. According to a spokesman for the students, there are 460 focal points in the state and only 80 ADOs have been posted. The students of College of Veterinary Science are seeking filling of posts of veterinary officers and a large number of dispensaries in Punjab are without veterinary doctors. Dr K.S. Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, has written a number of letters to the government urging it to fill the vacant posts and create more jobs for agricultural and veterinary graduates. The Vice-Chancellor said during interviews for some posts at the PAU, he had come across some postgraduate candidates who were earning their livelihood by giving tuitions. |
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Drive against illegally-run vehicles Ludhiana, February 17 Elaborating further, Mr Mukand Singh Sandhu, District Transport Officer, said that as a result of the strict checking for overloading of trucks, now most of the vehicles were now complying with the rules and adhere to the fixed limits. He said during the last three months, 128 Qualis have been given the permits to ply commercially. Mr Sandhu claimed that effective steps had been taken to eliminate the agent system to get the work done in the District Transport Office He said all works relating to the office, including the preparation of learning and permanent licences, new registrations, change of ownership of the vehicles were being executed within a
timeframe. He appealed to the people to come directly in the office for these works and in case of any problem at any window, they should meet him or ADTO, Mr Tarlochan Singh Sahota. He said on all working days, one officer, DTO or ADTO would remain present in the office for public dealing during duty hours. Any wrongdoing or harassment by the office staff should be brought to his notice immediately so that corrective action could be taken against the official concerned. |
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Ludhiana city has two kinds of people — those who have money and flaunt it and those who have power and status and lose no chance to show it off. A common practice of the latter is to use their vehicles for announcing their identity. One can see a large number of vehicles displaying the owners identity like ''Press'', ''Army'', ''Police'', ''Income Tax'', ''Advocate'' and even ''Judge''. Come election scene and there is complete new breed displaying nameplates on the vehicles. These are the politicians. Sentinel has seen a number of vehicles announcing it belongs to the general secretary, Congress, or the district president, Akali Dal, or even an observer of a certain party. Every body seems to oblige them as no one knows who would come to power. Nothing new The Valentine's Day celebrations in the city made several old people enquire about the reason for the festivity. While trying to explain the meaning of Valentine's Day to an octogenarian grandmother, the boy said, "You see granny on this day, the cupid of love is in the air and boys and girls exchange roses and gifts to express their love for each other". Pat came the reply from the grandmother, "What's new about this, your grandfather used to give me gifts he brought from Anarkali Bazar in Lahore when I was young". Even as the boy was yet to recover from the reply, there came the sequel "and he gave them to me every day and not just on one day of the year". Everyone had to intervene to say there is nothing new; it's just that people celebrate it with much more enthusiasm now. Advance celebrations
Cops' writing skills It is a common joke that policemen are the best writers. For, the kind of stories they weave in the first information reports (FIRs) are second to none. The criminals can be caught from any place but the cops build such a scene that the best script or screenplay writers would search for cover. But at a recent press conference, it was the cops' turn to be embarrassed. They had caught a notorious conman from a certain place but announced it to mediapersons almost 24 hours later. By that time, the news of the accused's arrest was published. So, when one of the senior officials declared that the accused was caught just at about 1 a.m., one of the reporters could not hold himself back. ‘‘But sir, by that time even the news was published.’’ All the mediapersons burst into laughter. The cops were first embarrassed but joined the light moment saying, ''Criminals nu andar karwan layee kahani banauni pendi hai ji.’’
Come elections and the men in white are seen all around. The white kurta pyajamas come out with the Gandhi cap in the case of Congress men and khadi jacket and a saffron ''angvastra'' if it is a BJP man or blue turban for Akalis. This breed is seen everywhere on the roads, at funerals, marriage parties and even on the broken roads and near the open manholes, places which they conveniently bypass when in power. The breed suddenly starts reading and noticing news reports about the problems of the common man and praise mediapersons for bringing it to light. Saint Valentine While the Valentine's Day fever was on in the city, the cops had a tough time to control the youths who were on a geri route. They were seen walking and speeding up their vehicles on various roads. The cops were posted on duty since morning itself and were on the job till evening. One of them was so sick of the entire day that he was seen talking to his colleague, ‘‘Pata nahin kehra sant si, sade layee tan musibat hi khari kar gaya.’’
In an incident depicting that people care two hoots for animal rights, a mule burdened with an overloaded cart collapsed near Damoria Bridge the other day. The cart was loaded with crates of peach and tomato which got spread on the road. It is not an isolated incident when horses, mares and mules collapse on city roads due to overloading. Every other day such an incident is reported at Jagraon Bridge, the flyover near the bus-stand and Damoria Bridge. The weak animals, unable to bear the burden, lose their balance while climbing up the slopes or on the descent of these bridges. Various animal rights organisations active in the city have been raising their voice against cruelty and torture being meted out to the poor animals. The local police had also started an animal helpline to save the animals from excessive burden. They had highlighted in the Press that anybody overloading their carts would be challaned and heavily fined, but to no avail. Good gesture The parents who cannot afford to marry their daughters due to financial constraints will have a sigh of relief. The Nishkam Seva Kendra, a city based NGO, will be organising a mass-marriage function in March to solemnise the marriages of the poor and needy girls. The parents, who have engaged their daughters, can collect the application forms from the Vridh Ashram and submit them by February 28. Today, when various elite clubs and other organisations are busy celebrating the festivals in a lavish manner, for their own entertainment, this would indeed be a good gesture. — Sentinel |
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BSP charges NDA govt with misgovernance Ludhiana, February 17 Addressing a news conference here today, BSP national general secretary Narendra Kashyap observed that the BJP-led alliance at the Centre had disappointed the people and had been running away from its constitutional responsibilities. The ruling coalition had gone for a general election before the scheduled time simply for its own political compulsions. Commenting on the issue of foreign origin of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he said the whole propaganda was baseless and politically motivated. "Ms Gandhi has adopted citizenship of India and had the constitutional right to occupy any position in the country." Giving details of the preparations for the coming elections, Mr Kashyap claimed that an exercise was on to examine the suitability and prospects of the contenders from each parliamentary seat that the party intended to contest all over the country. At the same time a large number of party activists, who had left the BSP for different reasons or were forced to quit, were returning to the party fold under the leadership of BSP supremo Choudhry Kanshi Ram and Ms Mayawati. According to him, Mr Satnam Singh Kainth of the Bahujan Samaj Morcha, Mr Devi Das Nahar of the BSP (Ambedkar) and Dr Ram Lal Jassi had come back to the party mainstream. In a bid to mobilise support and prepare the rank and file for the electoral battle, the party would organise a rally at Jalandhar on March 3 which would be addressed, among others, by Ms Mayawati, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He said the party was thinking in terms of contesting the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab but the final decision in this respect would be taken by the party high command. Meanwhile, a meeting of the district unit of the party, held here today under the presidentship of state unit of BSP Mr Parkash Singh Jandali, decided to consolidate the organisational base in the district. To achieve this objective, a joint meeting of all the factions, which had recently come back to the party fold, would be convened here on February 20 to discuss the preparations for the coming Lok Sabha elections. Arrangements for the coming ''shaheedi samagam'' at Jaspal Bangar village on February 22 would also be discussed at the meeting. |
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Party welcomes Bhim Singh's decision Ludhiana, February 17 Mr Gurinder Sood, president, Punjab Pradesh Panthers Party, said the state unit endorsed and welcomed this step which had been taken in view of national interest and upholding the fairness of parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The workers had also echoed their apprehensions in this context. The fact is that both the Congress and the BJP are playing with the sentiments of the people. |
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Govt to hold more cultural festivals Ludhiana, February 17 He was addressing the first cultural function organised by the Malwa International Sabhyacharak Manch in memory of late Capt Parag Singh, a former sarpanch, at Hambran on Sunday evening. It was largely attended. The minister said under the new cultural policy three cultural melas had already been organised and the fourth festival was in progress at Patiala to highlight the cultural heritage of the state. These events would enhance the tourism potential of the state. The state government has taken steps to open an art gallery at Patiala where a large number of art pieces will be kept so that the people could be educated about our cultural heritage, he added. Competitions among college students had also been organised in various cultural fields at the district and divisional levels. Exhorting the youth to participate in cultural and sports activities, the minister said these activities sharpened their talent and infuse the spirit of confidence. |
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Rly loco staff threatens to intensify stir Ludhiana, February 17 Addressing a rally at the conclusion of a chain fast by agitating members of the All-India Loco Running Staff Association here today, its divisional secretary Paramjit Singh said as a part of the ongoing agitation, the loco running staff would refuse to perform higher grade officiating duties, which had gone upto as high as 70 per cent.
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Cyclist crushed to death by truck Ludhiana, February 17 |
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Accord priority to industry,
says Johar Ludhiana, February 17 He was interacting with a deputation comprising prominent industrialists and office-bearers of various associations at a meeting
held last night. The representatives of labour organisations also met Mr. Johar and sought his intervention in solving the problem amicably. Mr Johar assured both the industrialists and labour leaders that the peaceful and smooth functioning of the industry was in the interest of both
parties. The government was deeply concerned about the unrest in the local industry. He also asked the industrialists to fully honour the rights of the workers, who were the backbone of the industry, he added. Later, addressing a function organised by the Model Town Welfare Association in his honour after his Pakistan visit, Mr Johar said people from both the Punjabs wanted to improve the mutual relations and live peacefully. He announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for the Model Town Welfare Association to carry out its charity programmes. |
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The race between institutions and individuals to celebrate every day in advance to get media publicity is assuming new dimensions. A local hotel organised a Valentine's Day function a day ahead of the actual day. Though it was hoped that many youngsters would avoid the eye of their parents and would join the function, it happened otherwise. The function did not go unnoticed by the young crowd, but the media too ignored the celebrations, resultantly not a word was published in any newspaper. Some nursery schools, too, celebrated the occasion even though the small children did not even understand the meaning of Valentine's Day.
